I keep reading that Corpus Christi isn't like the rest of Texas (Dallas: apartment, condo)

[karnival96]

Originally Posted by Canine*Castle

There is a way less percentage of Hispanics in SD, less crime, and the weather is terrific. Sure, one could say CC is like SD when speaking of he military, marina, outdoor activities, et al but in SD one can enjoy the weather. I think one would have to be in CC in the winter to enjoy to not swelter. SD's scenery is much prettier with the mountains, but at least both places have palm trees.

I'm into weather, less crime, and beauty for the most part, so forgive me if I don't like CC as well as I like SD. SD's crime is getting worse, but it's still better than CC. As I said, the CC beach was okay minus the heat, humidity, storms, wind, sand blowing everywhere, and bugs.

Canine,

It appears to me that you are giving Corpus Christi an unfair shake on the basis of one bad experience. Crime in Corpus is not nearly as bad as you make it out to be. Based on the 2007 numbers on the City-Data site, there is essentially no difference between the robbery rates (173.5 per 100,000 for CC, 166.1 per 100,000 for SD) and murder rates (5.9 per 100,000 for CC, 4.7 per 100,000 in SD) for the two cities. In fact, there were only 17 murders reported in Corpus in 2007 vs 59 in San Diego. My guess is that the typical news report in San Diego is a lot more scary than its counterpart in Corpus. As far as property crimes go, burglary is the only major category of crime that appears to be substancially worse in Corpus Christi than in San Diego (1189 per 100,000 vs 608.9 per 100,000). Of course auto theft was 3.5 times worse in San Diego than it was in Corpus (1048.5 per 100,000 vs 287.7 per 100,000).

And as far as the weather goes, there are only 4 months where the average daily high temperature is above 90 degrees in Corpus Christi with the highest average of 93 degrees occurring in July and August. The average daily high in January for Corpus is 66 degrees which is exactly that same as the daily high as for San Diego in that month. In February, the average daily high in Corpus is a horrendous 70 degrees, versus 66 degrees in San Diego.

My son and I were recently in Corpus on a beautiful day in March. In mid-day, we walked from the far end of Cole Park to the Omni hotel on the Bayfront and back (a total of more than 4 miles) and barely broke a sweat. Although I don't recall seeing any mosquitos or hobgoblins during our walk, we did encounter literally thousands of organisms belonging to the human species, engaged in just about every sun seeking activity imaginable (swimming, sunbathing, skateboarding, biking, fishing, walking, throwing frisbees, eating snowcones, people watching, etc.) I don't think I observed anyone dodging bugs or flying sand.

Now to be honest, if I were given the choice to live in either of the two cities and if costs were not an issue, I would choose San Diego without hesitation. This is mainly due to the fact that it's a much bigger city and therefore it has a much greater diversity of activities and people. It also has many more options for interesting excursions that are relatively close by (cruises to Mexico or Catalina, mountains, deserts, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Vegas, etc.) But the reality is that Corpus is not a bad place to spend time at all. Given your low tolerance for high temperatures and humidity, I would suggest you try visiting at some time other than mid summer.

[greenfrog]

CC is like a mini-me San Diego. Or maybe think of CC as like San Diego was 40 or 50 years ago. Okay, without the humidity.

[SweethomeSanAntonio]

Corpus is a quick fun getaway for me. I love the beach.

[jabbit]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

Those comments about "Texas mentality" are the dumbest I've ever seen in this forum. It's nothing but comments on stereotypes that most Texans find nauseating. Growing up in Houston and Austin my friends, family, and I wouldn't be caught dead in "country and western" stuff. It exists but the stereotype represents a small part of the culture down here. It's a stereotype perpetuated by Hollywood and "outsiders" who think it's the thing to do. Sometimes I think people in general are just plain stupid when I read threads like this.

seeing country western saturated folks in texas gets a bit monotonous. kind of like a repetitive beat played over and over for longer than it should.

[SharonL]

I lived in San Diego for about 4 years and also Corpus Christi for about the same, there is just absolutely no comparison. The weather, lack of jobs, and lack of encouraged growth by the local government, puts Corpus Christi for me at a 2 and San Diego at a 9, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best. I often enjoyed Rockport and Port A, but again, how many different beach areas are in Southern California ? More than you can imagine. Texas is great for Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio in my book, and the hill country, but Corpus ? No thanks. I will hit California for beach.

[jabbit]

corpus christi is part of the dirty south. its called that for a reason. in stark contrast to the west coast filled with plastic and materialism. in the dirty south things are a bit more raw and sincere. growth doesnt equal to good, if the growth you are talking about is growth in monoculture.

[SOM]

Originally Posted by jabbit

corpus christi is part of the dirty south. its called that for a reason. in stark contrast to the west coast filled with plastic and materialism. in the dirty south things are a bit more raw and sincere. growth doesnt equal to good, if the growth you are talking about is growth in monoculture.

I have thought about what makes Corpus Christi what it is, and that's a big part of it, in my opinion. I look at CC as 7 parts South + 3 parts West. And by that I do NOT mean the "Southwest" (Arizona, New Mexico, etc.). It has more of a "true" southern feel than other parts of Texas, and a funkiness in places that I associate with the deep Southeast. Now if we just had the *trees* that the Southeast has!

[jabbit]

You bet SOM. Texas is composed of different regions... each having their own personality. South Texas is way different from North Texas... and East and West... Central etc. but still Texas. Its hard to find another state with this amount of diversity in regions.

[hkmcdermid]

I have to agree with Canine*Castle. It is extremely hot and humid in Corpus. The "sand" on the beach is sticky sand/mud due to the inflow from the Nueces River and is usually covered with rotting sarghassum seaweed and with trash that flows in from the Gulf (or with beer bottles and cans from our lovely gang population). My son stepped on a syringe needle at the beach when he was 7 and had to go the hospital to get it out because it went up in the bone -- the doctors said this happens frequently at our beaches ... my son made a friend at the hospital: another 7 year-old boy whose two left toes were sliced off from one of the shards of beer bottles which completely litter the beaches. There are "bird" mosquitos, the place is infilterated with fire ants, hornets, and poverty. Corpus is nothing like San Diego. I was born and lived in San Diego, where the sand is real and you can actually go to the beach to escape the heat, and have now lived in Corpus Christi for 10 years. Corpus has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation, and has been consistently rated by newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, as one of the worst places in the nation for women to live -- a few of the variables looked at were job/career opportunities for women, and service and community groups provided for women. The medical care is atrocious due to a flight by doctors after all of the frivolous medical law-suits occuring here, the education is watered down (I know, I've taught high school here for 4 years) so large corporations don't want to relocate here. Finally the cost-of-living is actually much higher than reported due to overlooked variables (car and health insurance, property taxes -- which are some of the highest in the nation -- and property insurance). Everyone I know who came to Corpus to retire had to take on part-time jobs to compensate for hidden costs. And I don't know what culture you saw but this place is totally not cosmopolitan. Coming from California where there was a tremendous ethnic mix makes this place seem down-right archaic. 70% hispanic population, 23% white, and 7% "other".

[rednax]

CC not like the rest of Texas. No, it is at the end of the road compared with the big cities, and consequently feels like the 1970's as it hasn't experienced the influx of outsiders. People are comfortable in themselves so far as visiting with strangers is concerned, they feel they already know everyone else (or are aware of who they are). Static. Good and bad. We like to joke that CC is where the United States ends . . but Texas continues another 130 miles south to the border. (You'll note that no Interstate goes any further south; unlike in Maine or Washington, etc).

Weather? I was a lifelong Dallasite and this is a far better area to live (and I don't like hot weather). I like to work in the yard and have learned to work exclusively in the evenings in deep summer, unlike Dallas where one could work the early morning till about 1100. The big difference is this:

With shade and a breeze, one can sit outside all day, every day, and be comfortable. One cannot do this in Dallas (extremely high heat and pollution). One works slowly in either place, but if I had to choose where to have my car break down -- exclusive of traffic -- it would be CC in a landslide. The winter and spring is wonderful. Dallas, I could have my windows open a few days in fall and spring, but here we can open the house up at February first and continue right thru mid-April or longer without ANY air-conditioning. (We also live close to the bay; can't understand why anyone with a choice would live anywhere else if they have the choice).

Drought is a serious proposition here. Rainfall in Dallas and CC don't really compare as the numbers are deceiving. On the other hand, with the high humidity and below 95F temperatures, the grass never stops growing. . . .

"Overlooked variables" in the above post is accurate. Living on the Gulf Coast has higher insurance premiums and types, and the problem of uninsured motorist is too high. The city of CC is around 53% Hispanic with white, black and other making up the portion. The SMSA is somewhat different.

CC is not only a port, but the highest land elevation from Veracruz, Mexico to Key West, FL. The storm surge of Katrina was 30-feet, and a good portion of CC is above that (except the Islands, and the inexplicable growth of the south side of town). Even with a Cat 5 hurricane, big portions of the city are exempt from mandatory evacuation (though you won't see me hanging around for big winds).

The city has some unique advantages -- I challenge you to find another city of the same size with the type and quality of the museums, NPR/PBS station, library systyem, etc -- with a layer of true civilization unlike some others. The consolidation of the oil industry in the 1980's pulled the "ambitious class" away, and until these types of jobs are replaced it may not see the growth of the big cities.

One good hurricane along the upper coast could change much. There is a big new container port underway (slowly) across the bay, as well as an LNG facility. A deepwater terminal for oil imports could rapidly replace the current lightering system of petroleum; and it is possible to expand the current refineries and build more.

There has been significant construction of wind farm facility. South Texas has good sized reserves of natural gas remaining as well.

Highway 59 from Laredo to Houston will be expanded to an Interstate-style highway, as will Highway 77 from the Valley. Both pass nearby.

This city was the nexus of big. Big ranches, big oil and gas holdings, big industry, big military, big agriculture (during the war, Nueces Country produced more cotton than any other Texas county, a serious brag). The "modern" economy has changed the needs locally, and change has been slow (change from one form to another).

For us, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.