What part of town should I live in?

[Dr.Mcninja]

Originally Posted by Marlow

You'd have to work hard to live in CC and have an hour commute to TAMUCC.

Or Kingsville for that matter.

In your budget you should be able to find a nice house just about anywhere. I like the area within a few blocks of Alameda from Ocean Drive to about Ayers. That encompasses King and Ray High Schools, but I'm not as sure about the others. There is an IB program (used to be called Athena program) for GT kids that all of your kids would be eligible to test into. Your high schooler might not even have to test--s/he may just be able to go. It's at Ray High School, but you can live anywhere in the city and go there. Most of the newer school buildings are on the Southside, which is roughly anything south of South Padre Island Dr. I'm not up on school ratings like I used to be so you'll need to check that out on other sites.

You could also look in Flour Bluff which has a good school district and is an easy commute to TAMUCC. Portland, Tuloso-Midway, London and Calallen also have pretty good school districts. Portland and Calallen would be the longest commutes, but still not an hour unless there's a wreck somewhere.

Welcome and I hope you enjoy it here.

Portland, Port A, and London probably work well. As long as they test into Windsor Park G/T (and then Ray), then the Ocean/Ayers/Alemada corridor is pretty good. Otherwise, the schools get pretty terrible in there.
Even Rockport is well in the driving limits, but a 30 minute commute for here is tedius (vs Cali, DC, or Austin).
I've learned that many people prefer the new construction even though the quality isn't the same.
Coming for a visit is probably your best bet.

[jackalope48]

For boating the best equipped marina is Downtown if you are talking sailing/docked boats. If you are talking skiff and fishing flats Flour Bluff and the Island have the quickest access although there are plenty of boat barns if you live elsewhere. The public schools near the university are all pretty good and have the option to test into the IB program for CCISD. Flour Bluff/Padre Island have their own district which has historically been good but not as good recently. Flour Bluff has a nationally renowned NJROTC squad and has a lot of military kids. The better preschools for testing into IB tend to be in the core part of the city. JCC is for instance at Staples and Everhart.

I'd look around Poenisch and Montclair for low end of your budget or the Cape streets at the high end. They are 5 minutes from the University and the base if you want to access base facilities and services. Montclair elementary is a three minute walk and it's in King high School district but close to Windsor Park, Baker, and Ray for the IB program.

If Flour Bluff realize the neighborhoods can be hit or miss. My favorite is the canal neighborhood off Carribean. The houses are raised up but have canals and you can dock your boat there. They are well within your price range and I think nicer than Padre Island canal houses of similar price(they tend to be on top of each other at this price point).

[thirdcoast]

IMHO, the Southside is the worst part of town. It's very cookie-cutter and has a real "Anywhere, USA" feel to it. Just a long series of chain stores and strip malls with roof farm after roof farm.
If you live in Corpus, it makes no sense to me not to live close to the water.
For what you describe, I recommend checking out The Harbors Development on North Beach. Street names are Imperial Harbor, Crown Harbor, Snug Harbor, etc. It's a very close-knit community of canal-front homes. Anything out of the ordinary happens there and everyone knows about it. The neighbors know each other and watch out for each other. They have a strong HOA. Many of the owners are retirees, so it's a very quiet place. You can hear the highway noise in the properties closer to the road but it's way better the farther in you go.
If you like boating, you can park your boat right outside your door and be in Corpus Christi Bay in minutes. You can drive it over for dinner at Harrison's Landing in the Corpus Christi Marina!
Most people on North Beach shop for groceries in Portland, just 6 miles across the Portland Causeway.
Nightlife and dining is 2 miles across the Harbor Bridge in Downtown Corpus. Or, some of the restaurants on North Beach have live music.
North Beach is a great community. The north part of the beach is definitely the place to live, as it's higher in elevation than the south end near the Aquarium, plus the north end is more residential than the touristy south end. It's a hidden gem in Corpus.