Made the move to Portland, TX! (Dallas, Corpus Christi: house, transfer, school district)

[txsizzler]

Well all, I decided to move into a house here in Portland. Although Calallen is nice, going through Portland is like a night and day difference from Corpus. I love the small town type atmosphere that exists here, and yet I am still about 6-7 minutes from downtown Corpus. Plus, with my wife doing volunteer work in the N. Beach area, it really makes it nice.

The only bad things I can think of about making this move, is that now I have about a 20-25 mile drive to work (near the 5 Points area of Calallen), so I am shopping around for a fuel efficent vehicle or motorcycle. I will say though, that the Joe Fulton International Corridor is a great way to travel, although taking 181 to I-37 and then going west to my job takes about the same amount of time (if not slightly less time, depending on the traffic). Also, we have no way of getting DSL here (no AT&T here)... you have to use a service like Clearwire to get internet here (radio wave modems), or use an expensive cable service (no Time Warner here either), or stick with a paltry dial-up service.

All in all though, I must say I absolutely love Portland! Lots of great parks, nice clean atmosphere, friendly people abound! My family loves it here too, and I enjoy the prospect of sending my kids to a great school district (although Calallen/Tuloso/Flour Bluff/London would probably all have been equally as good).


Ian

[DutchessCottonPuff]

Hi Sizzler ,

I am glad you like Portland,,many times I have thought of moving there ,, even from the island ,, but something always came up .... I wanted to make sure you double checked about that cable .. The reason I am saying this is that all the years I lived in Rockport ,my Charter cable office was right there in Portland kinda behind the goodwill store there . Maybe that is just the office ,, or maybe they arent the best service for your needs but just in case you hadnt seen it,it should still be there . I havent been over there in a while .

[CalallenMom]

Glad to hear you're enjoying it out there

[awecelot]

Odd on the DSL thing...I moved away from Portland over 2 years ago, but I remember people having DSL there (it was SBC/Yahoo back then). I had service through Charter Communications (cable) and it was pretty reliable and about the same that I pay for Time Warner Road Runner here in Dallas

[txsizzler]

Awecelot: I had SBC when I lived in Calallen, and when I called to transfer it to Portland, the rep said they do not have any service out there (they don't own the phone lines in Portland). I talked to another guy at AT&T (a tech), and he reitterated the same thing. The only service phone provider out here is Verizon (yes, they do landlines here). But, Verizon does NOT offer DSL services; they told me that I would have to go dial-up if I wanted internet from them. So, I am using Clearwire right now.

Dutchess: I talked with Charter Cable, they are similar to Time Warner with their packages. They don't have RoadRunner, per say, but they have a twin to it, and its just as expensive. Of course, they try to sucker you in with the "package" prices, but after 12 months, they hike the price up again. If I want cable, I would probably use a dish, as they offer more of what I want.

At least they still use TXU as the main energy provider, but with deregulation, there are others to choose from. I just stuck with TXU for the move, but am always open to less expensive alternatives.


Ian

[awecelot]

Originally Posted by txsizzler

Awecelot: I had SBC when I lived in Calallen, and when I called to transfer it to Portland, the rep said they do not have any service out there (they don't own the phone lines in Portland). I talked to another guy at AT&T (a tech), and he reitterated the same thing. The only service phone provider out here is Verizon (yes, they do landlines here). But, Verizon does NOT offer DSL services; they told me that I would have to go dial-up if I wanted internet from them. So, I am using Clearwire right now.

Dutchess: I talked with Charter Cable, they are similar to Time Warner with their packages. They don't have RoadRunner, per say, but they have a twin to it, and its just as expensive. Of course, they try to sucker you in with the "package" prices, but after 12 months, they hike the price up again. If I want cable, I would probably use a dish, as they offer more of what I want.

At least they still use TXU as the main energy provider, but with deregulation, there are others to choose from. I just stuck with TXU for the move, but am always open to less expensive alternatives.


Ian

TXU is the main energy provider down there now? Times have changed. When I was there, AEP (used to be known as Central Power and Light) was the main energy provider for the entire Corpus Christi area.

[txsizzler]

Well, its TXU, but I think CP&L does the contract work for them.


Ian

[Marlow]

Have you been to the municipal pool? We make the drive from CC regularly because we like it so much. Also, you're close to the Aransas Pass pool--your kids will love it.

[awecelot]

Originally Posted by txsizzler

Well, its TXU, but I think CP&L does the contract work for them.


Ian

Yeah, times have changed...I remember the days when you had no choice - your provider was CP&L and that was that.

[txsizzler]

Marlow: No, I have yet to go to the Municipal pool. We have been hitting alot of the parks along the bay, and over near where I live (Memorial Park). They seem to be well kept parks, with alot for the kids to do. We were wanting to go to the City pool, but haven't done so as of yet.

So far, we have had nothing but really positive things to say and think about Portland. Probably the best move we could have made, although I did like Calallen alot. Even the HEB here is really nice. Gas is also alot cheaper here... it has been staying at $2.42 for the past 2 weeks at nearly every gas station (minus the shell station along the access road heading toward Walmart). Not sure why gas is less than CC, but it sure is nice that it is!


Ian