HACKED BY CYBER-ATTACK - ALPERENBTN

[jeff]

Probably a real dumb question in the subject line but I have a delimma I'm trying to work through. I may have the opportunity(a job) to move from the Hill Country(north of austin) to the Corpus area. We are not much into the metropolitan city Corpus is headed for so we'd probably live in the country and commute like we do now. We don't have kids yet but we do plan on it in the next few years. What would you do?
Any direction would be helpful.
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Jeff

[FlakMan]

Tax and Tax and more taxes. Check out Kleberg County for cheaper land and good access. Kingsville is a nioce little town with good infrastructure and relatively low tax rates. I live in Portland across the bay in San Pat County. Taxes are lower than Nueces County. Good schools and quick access to Corpus. Ingleside and Aransas Pass are also relatively close.
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Ahh sand between my toes!

[am3]

i live in bee county about 30 min drive to corpus, lower taxes than san pat and nueces. i live in tynan and went to school in skidmore, one of the best schools south of san antonio. nationally recognized blue ribbon award winning school. exemplary campus.

[GoinCoastal]

I can't wait to move there from Austin. I have 7 years left in Austin. Then my stepson will be off to college and my wife is willing to go wherever I want. Personally like the older parts of CC and I like Aransas Pass.
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GoinCoastal aka Cap'nSherbet

[ffgonefishin']

thats funny...i would love to live in austin or just outside....of course ive lived in corpus most of my life...i guess the grass is always greener on the other side..till u have to pay the water bill..........

[Big John]

Corpus has gotten a little more metor lately, but it is still small enough that it is still a nice place to live. I live over off of Airline between Holly and Saratoga, and everything is no more than 20minutes away. 2 minutes to the malls, 10 minutes to work, and 20 minutes to Port A or PINS! Most important, only 2 minutes to Roy's!

Let us know what you decide.

Remember, if you can't get there in 20minutes or less in Corpus, you are either driving too slow or going the wrong way!
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Give a man a fish, feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish, he'll be broke and hungry the rest of his life!

John Sullivan
Native Corpus Christian
Currently Displaced in San Antonio

[jeff]

Thanks for the replys guys...keep'm coming.

To quote ffgonefishin' "i guess the grass is always greener on the other side..till u have to pay the water bill.........."

Yep - you are right. Grass is always greener but speaking of water - we just dropped about $8k on a 500+ foot water well on our property thru many layers of limestone rock and kaliche!...OUCH to say the least. BUT that is the kind of info I'm looking for from you guys.

Most of you have mentioned taxes...people are getting REALLY proud of their cookie cutter lots and even land in the country up this way. From what I've seen so far on realtor.com the Rockport/Aransas Pass/Portland taxes are comparable to what we are paying right now....but If I do get the offer for the job I still won't discount Corpus...although the wife loves the country life.

I'll keep you posted but any other suggestions/tips are welcome.

Now to the fishing stuff, I've got a question about soft plastics and jig heads I'll post shortly.

Thanks again!
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Jeff

[RedMike]

Think long and hard about that move! If I were you, I would stay put unless this new jobs pays you alot more money to live in Corpus. Corpus is good for hunting and fishing for sure. Roads are bad, windy all the time, taxes are out of control for what you get for paying them, petty theft is a big problem, etc. I am moving after 2 years of living here. Austin is a much better place to be I promise. Taxes are high in Austin but atleast you get more for your money! I am ready to get out of here and be content to drive down for fishing in the spring. Good luck!!!

[ShawnQ]

to those who live in the corpus/salty areas...

Do you notice much salt/constant humidity related maintenance on your homes that you think may not be a factor in say San Antonio or Austin? (even though it is 100% humid up here all the time anyways... )

I know the houses that live right on the canals will have a bit more upkeep, but I've always wondered about the houses inland. A big pet peeve of mine when I'm in Corpus is to keep a full windshield wiper reservoir, because the windows get layered with gunk...and I can't stand a dirty windshield when I'm driving.

Just curious.

Personally, I would rather stay in San Antonio. If I was in Corpus, I would:
A) Not have a job, because I skip work too much due to fishing
B) Not have a wife/gf because I'm never home
C) Not have a truck because it would be rusted out from too many PINS runs, and I wouldn't have a job or a wife to help repair or replace it

[Guest]

Had a shrink tell me I was narcissistic because I reacted to an offense against my office mates as though I was being attacked myself. Now that I'm retired, I guess I've become just as protective of the whole City of Corpus Christi. Funny, don't mind sharing the fish here, but resent like hell selling San Antonio the water that makes the fishing good and giving shoreline entrepreneurs and coastal developers a free ride when we need the taxes to repair our streets. Corpus Christi - love it or leave it.

[Guest]

GO CORPUS This is not a sales pitch, just my observation from originally being from outside of Corpus.

I've been living in Corpus for about 7 years now. Moved from Baton Rouge. Originally from NY. Have traveled coast to coast and vacationed many coastal areas. Corpus is a TERRIFIC coastal community that is livable! There are some terrific people living here.... especially the sports fishing community that loves to fish and protect the coastal waters!

If I had a choice on a place to live and had the money, welllllll..... I would live either in the Pensacola/Destin or the Florida Keys. Of course, have to prepare to evacuate every year because of hurricanes. That's the price for living in heaven. Check out the emerald green waters of the Florida pan handle. Check out the coral reefs of the Keys. Wow. Back to reality.

For answering the question: Living in San Antonio vs Corpus.

I have to vote for Corpus if the job is secure. There are less job opportunities currently in Corpus, but things should be improving. Corpus is third on the list of commercial development in the country behind Baltimore and Houston. There will be more high paying jobs in the near future as more and more people in the mid-late 50's start retiring from CCAD and refineries. There are some good schools in town. Flour Bluff ISD is a great school system compared to Corpus Christi ISD. Island kids attend FBISD. My twins attend FBISD. I'm a college grad and expect the best in education. So far, I haven't been disappointed from FBISD - a public school system.

For being a coastal community, the Island is still one of the LEAST expensive places to live in the United States. You can get an Island home (3/2, garage, non-canal lot) still for a bargain (~$139-$179 K) compared to other island communities (>$250-$500 K of similar size and location). Crime isn't so bad compared to other areas. Like any place else, we all have to take home, auto, and personal protection and security seriously. Where there's a drug problem, which is almost every community, there will be theft problems. I believe taxes are almost relatively similar to other communities of similar sizes. Infrastructure is improving in Corpus. Roads and utilities should be greatly improved as past election voted for fixing and improving those areas. Millions will be spent. Crosstown and SPID interchange will be completed soon. So, there'll be relatively little traffic issues on the major hwys compared to San Antonio, Austin, and Houston. Plus, Corpus has clean air compared to other major metropolitan cities. The completion of the interchange will offer more opportunities for retail and access to suburbs-countryside living. New American Bank Center is providing high calibre entertainment (e.g., rock stars, Texas A&M teams, Rayz hockey team). The new WhataBurger Baseball Field will house Nolan Ryan's Double AA baseball team come April '05. JFK Causeway will be completed to allow access/egress off the Island much quicker. Packery channel will be opened up that will allow greater opportunities for recreational fishing. On and on. I use to be down on this City, but I've seen many good things happen. People and attitudes are changing for the better here! Slow, but it's happening... ready to burst to benefit most everyone.

Contact the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce for info. and compare to San Antonio. Here's one site: www.corpuschristi-tx-cvb.org/index.htm Good luck on the job offer and deciding.

[jeff]

Not to offend anyone here BUT I DO NOT LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO. I live NORTH of Austin...Burnet County NOT Bexar county.

Mr C - VERY good info I'll be able to share with my wife. We are also college grads and schools will be very important to us when we decide to have kids.

Thanks to All of you guys that have responded to my question. I was NOT here to bash Corpus. I love our Texas Coast no matter what city is on the stretch of sand.......
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Jeff

[RodBreaker]

[RedMike]

Jeff,

North Austin is a great place live and I would move there the second I got the chance. Corpus is a great place to visit, hunt, and fish. Corpus may get boring to ya'll unless you both enjoy fishing and hunting all the time. A college friend of mine moved down here from North Austin less than 2 years ago and regrets the decision now. You are just limited if you enjoy a variety of entertainment such eating out, shopping, etc. You can probably tell I am a little bitter about living here and it basically comes from the 5 grand a paid in taxes this year. I just expect more I guess. Why don't we just trade houses and jobs!

Later

[Big John]

Sounds like somone who posted above is a little bitter.

Petty theft is a problem anywhere. I have lived in all the major Texas cities and a few out of state ones, and you don't get away from that.

Corpus is the place to be, really. Austin is overpriced compared to here on property values, and the areas North of Austin are following suit quickly. If you want to live in the country and commute a short distance, my recommendation is to check out the areas and see if you like them. I know a few good realtors in this area and would be glad to put you in touch.

Dallas and Houston - enough said. McAllen, really, need I say anymore. I did like living is San Antonio, but we were driving down every weekend. Becomes just too costly. Ausitn, lived in the suburbs Northwest of town. Okay town. Lousy traffic. Expensive homes. Too many drunk college kids at all the public facilities.

Corpus, gotta love it. Mostly freindly people. Light traffic. All the shopping you need. Great medical facilities. Good schools - I went to TMISD (Tuloso-Midway) and it is one of the best. If considering the city, stay in the King or Carroll districts. Great food. Great fishing. Great hunting in the area. Beaches. It rarely freezes here. The wind blows during the majority of the hot summer, making it feel cooler than Austin and San Antonio, where when the wind does blow it feels like standing in a convection oven. You can feel your skin cooking away.
Colleges. Museums. Etc.

People who don't enjoy Corpus typically are more inactive or unemployed. Most of the fun stuff requires being active and jobs are hard to come by still. But the job situation is continuoesly (spelling?) improving. Heck, that's why I am back. Got a great job offer I could not pass up here. Glad to be back in the hometown! I think you are getting plenty fot your taxes here. Have you ever driven on the roads in downtown Houston. They make Shoreline Dr. look as smooth as a raceway. Seriously. They are making repairs everywhere, and redoing Shoreline completely very soon too.

Move to Corpus!
_________________
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish, he'll be broke and hungry the rest of his life!

John Sullivan
Native Corpus Christian
Currently Displaced in San Antonio