Mission

Between Mission and Palmview, La Homa's small community is seeing rapid growth. Schools, parks and grocery stores are at residents’ fingertips for more accessible price points than nearby McAllen, Hidalgo County’s largest city. That’s part of the reason why La Homa is growing at a rapid rate. As a result, resources and local improvements have continued to funnel into the area’s underserved colonias from the neighboring city of McAllen. “We have over 250 events a year that the city sponsors in order to help fund necessary developments to improve quality of life in the surrounding communities,” says Alejandro Rios, a representative and activist of Visit McAllen. According to Regina Acosta, a market research analyst for the city of McAllen, resources that include improvement plans for drainage, sewage lines and roadwork are in the works. “We try to work with bigger surrounding cities on encouraging tourism here to help propel this growth.” Along with La Homa’s hopeful future is its proximity to one of the best retail scenes in South Texas, situated all along Interstate 2. La Homa features quite a bit of new construction, but there are also homes in the area that date as far back as the 1960s. One of the benefits properties in La Homa share is lower taxes compared to McAllen. The houses around La Homa come in a range of styles, from Craftsman bungalows to new traditional and Spanish Revival. Many of the lots of homes around this area come with a stretch of roughly half an acre. The price range for most properties in La Homa often hovers in the $200,000s, but prices can sometimes climb into the $400,000s and $500,000s. Kids in La Homa can attend schools in the 24,000-student La Joya Independent School District, which has a B-minus overall grade on Niche. Dr. Americo Paredes Elementary School, Memorial Middle School and Palmview High share a C-plus Niche score. High school students can enter multiple pathways in the Technology Early College High School program, which provides instruction on topics like precision manufacturing. Locals can hop on Interstate 2 to get to McAllen, 12 miles away, along with McAllen International Airport and South Texas Health System Heart. U.S. Route 281 is also in the area, an artery that connects to Interstate 37 for trips north to San Antonio, roughly 250 miles away. Those who live in La Homa are particularly close to Palmview Municipal Park, which is full of athletic fields, a playground and a basketball court. The park is adjacent to the Palmview Parks and Recreation Department, where families can sign their kids up for a range of sports, from flag football to volleyball to golf. The department has a summer camp. Quinta Las 4 Luna’s Waterpark is another popular spot in the spring through the fall. In September through December, locals flock to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge or Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park to watch hundreds of Monarch butterflies and birds migrate through La Homa and into Mexico. Authentic Mexican restaurants line La Homa Road, including Taqueria Mary. This neighborhood staple is mostly known for its cheesy sincronizada. Some of the best shopping centers in South Texas are located along Interstate 2, including Las Tiendas Shopping Center, home to Costco, H-E-B, Target and Walmart. Farther out towards McAllen is La Plaza Mall, one of the area’s largest shopping centers with big department stores and a movie theater. Flea markets, including the Palmview Fleamarket, are another popular source of shopping. The Palmview Parks and Recreation Department and the nearby Palmview City Hall host various community events. For instance, the Parks and Recreation Department has an annual turkey distribution each November. There’s also an annual Christmas tree lighting event at city hall, with craft vendors, live entertainment and a car show. Along Oval Park in McAllen is the McAllen Convention Center, a popular spot to host quinceañeras and comic cons, and the McAllen Performing Arts Center. Orchestra and symphony performances grace its large, amphitheater-shaped auditorium stage. McAllen hosts the largest holiday parade in Texas. Daylong festivities start with a toy giveaway at the city’s senior center, followed by an extravagant parade. Brightly illuminated floats and marching bands parade fill the streets and are narrated by celebrity hosts like Mario Lopez. According to Acosta, crowds chant to spin the floats around in circles as they make their way to Municipal Park on Bicentennial Boulevard for a festive carnival celebration.