Portland Texas??? (Corpus Christi, McKinney, Ingleside: apartments, condo, low crime)

[gabetx]

Even thoug Flour Bluff is lacking a Walmart Supercenter, it does have an H-E-B Plus. In case you have never been to an H-E-B Plus, it is just like a Walmart Supercenter, except its bigger and it only sells baby clothes. Its been rumored that they are going to build either an H-E-B Plus or a Super Target out here in Calallen. But I havent seen any signs of either of them happening.

A couple of things I like about Calallen over Flour Bluff are:

1. The small hills along I-37. It's not flat like the rest of Corpus. Now they are building large windmills across the bay and the site is pretty beautiful with the little hills and large windmills in the background. From some parts of Calallen, you can see beautiful sunsets that last for miles and see other towns lights in the distance... Granted its nothing like the hill country though.

2. You don't get the nasty ocean smell in the wind like you do get in Flour Bluff sometimes. But to be fair, in Flour Bluff you don't have to look at the refineries on an almost daily basis.

3. Calallen is closert to down town than Flour Bluff is.

4. Calallen has a lot of potential and open land for development, Flour Bluff doesn't have much room left. Calallen has 5 points, the lenght of I-37, and the lenght of US 77 all the way down to Robstown.

5. Calallen is a safer area and has less rough neighborhoods.

One way to describe these to places would be like this. Calallen is more of a suburb and Flour Bluff is more like a bourough. Both places have good school districts. But personally, being a Calallen graduate, I like Calallen better.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[CalallenMom]

I'll 2nd what Gabe said. You said what I was thinking (and more). Also, there's a reason Calallen has slightly higher property taxes -- it's worth it.

[Marlow]

You don't say where you're moving from, but Calallen has a bit more of a traditional "Texas" feel to it than other parts of the CC area. If your kids are interested in FFA or 4H stuff they'd probably like it out there. If they're more into fishing or water sports like surfing or windsailing FB might be better. One nice thing about Calallen is it's about 20 minutes closer to San Antonio if you see yourself making frequent trips there. Not a big difference, but something to throw into the mix.

[mcphee25]

we (husband and i) are from a suburb of san antonio originally but we are moving from washington state. and the kids are all elementary aged or younger so i don't think they really "know" what they like yet. lol.

thanks though post was helpfull.

[gabetx]

Another thing. Calallen is about 5-10 degrees cooler in the winter both day and night, but is warmer by 5-10 degrees in the summer than Flour Bluff. Although it is a little less humid in Calallen. Both areas get a good breeze year round to keep the air fresh. That is why Corpus Christi never has ozone or air quality problems. It is one of the windiest cities in the world. Windier than Chicago.

[Rottnboys]

Originally Posted by mcphee25

we are debating portland and calallen.

mcphee25 - you think YOU are debating Portland and Calallen and just putting those two school districts in the same sentence brings out 'cross town rivalry' in people who love one city over the other

I haven't lived in Portland in many years - but I did grow up there, graduated from GP High School and my own sons started school there many years ago.......Obviously I think Portland is a nice place to live. I have family that lives in the Calallen area and their kids attend those schools - they too FIRMLY believe that Calallen is a nice place to live!

Still other family members have elected to have their kids attend Flour Bluff schools, because of the ranking of that district.

We enjoyed Portland because of it's small town feel - the lack of violent crime, heavy traffic, and obvious corruption. Going to the grocery store always took longer, because you got caught up with everyone while you were there. Your hairdresser filled in any gaps, in case you didn't get to the grocery store often enough The kids could ride their bicycles in the neighborhood without much worry - because we all had one anothers phone numbers and it wasn't uncommon to have a neighbor a few doors down phone to let you know they just ran your kids home because it was time for them to eat. It was a town where someone would put out your trash can if you forgot and left for work - neighbors would gather your newspaper if you were out of town, and the dog catcher would drop your dog back off in your yard, rather than take it to the pound, in the event it escaped your yard. Friday night at the football stadium was a time for laughter, serious sportsmanship and rooting for the home team, whether it was football, cheerleading, band, drill team or flags. I think in many ways - some of these small town virtues are still there - and I'm sure in Calallen too.....can't speak for Flour Bluff.

I think you and your family will find any of the three areas 'fine' - "The Wildcats" (school mascots) on opposing sides of the bridge (GP & Calallen) both believe their fine fair city is a good place to be! Flour Bluff has its own loyal following too.

Good luck on your move! My parents moved from Portland to Corpus Christi two years ago - they downsized after we all moved away - and all their appointments, extended family, etc., were 'over the bridge' in Corpus. That might be something for you to consider - along with your husband's commute - is how often you and your childrens needs will take you to Corpus. We're in San Antonio now - and LOVE it here too

[mcphee25]

one thing i recently remembered was that our football team used to play calallen and i was on the danceteam in highschool at a game there and they wouldn't let us on the football field so we had to dance on the track. our tights got all tore up. and gp was a huge rival of ours in highschool drama department. well, not as much rival as we always envied them. lol

i think portland sound like where i want my kids to grow up based on that.. thanks for posting!

[CalallenMom]

Originally Posted by mcphee25

we (husband and i) are from a suburb of san antonio originally but we are moving from washington state. and the kids are all elementary aged or younger so i don't think they really "know" what they like yet. lol.

thanks though post was helpfull.

What part of Washington? I lived in NW Washington briefly (Port Angeles) was a child -- didn't really appreciate it much as a kid, but I'd kill for their weather right about now.

[mcphee25]

Originally Posted by CalallenMom

What part of Washington? I lived in NW Washington briefly (Port Angeles) was a child -- didn't really appreciate it much as a kid, but I'd kill for their weather right about now.

PORT ANGELES... that's from the twilight books. lol. (my dorky self says while i am currently wearing my twilight tshirt)

we live in spokane or just outside really. eastern washington

[Kibby]

Originally Posted by mcphee25

thanks to both of you... ocean port aransas is too far from the airport for us it would be about an hour commute each way living in that area, not to mention i am wary of portland for how close it is to the gulf and port a would be RIGHTTHERE. we are debating portland and calallen. just wish i could get more info on calallen... anyone know any websites?

Let me address the "water" issues while the others debate "best" neighborhoods.

I know it must be a major concern to anyone moving to the Gulf Coast after watching some of the major hurricanes (and the damage) of the last several years, BUT it's not going to be as bad as you fear.

Look at the elevations -
Corpus is about 7 feet
Port A is a little less than that
Portland is 43 feet

Now look at the barrier islands, sea walls, bluffs (38-40 ft) and break waters ... these all help with storm surge. Add to that - Texas has a really good evacuation program and the Corpus Christi weather station is the tops in the Nation. The "port area" is not a problem at all - have you traveled between Corpus & Portland on the causeway? [SIZE=2]Nueces County Navigation District No. 1 (now the Port of Corpus Christi Authority of Nueces County, Texas) owns over 21,000 acres of land, of which approximately 16,000 acres is submerged land. Lots of places for water to go and Portland sits well above all of it.

All residents take the storms seriously and stay informed - that doesn't mean "panic", it means making smart decisions based on current data.

In all honesty (I've been through 3 major hurricanes in Corpus & Dad was around for the city destroying 1919 storm), it's more the aftermath than the storm itself. It's the clean up, loss of power and hassle of the whole thing. There is usually a LOT of rain and some flooding does occur is low areas - Portland does not usually experience too much of that due to the higher elevation. The "surge" and flood problems that New Orleans experienced were due to geography and faulty levies. Galveston new before IKE hit that the surge was going to exceed the sea wall, those who refused to leave were insane - islands (especially those with no barriers) should always evacuate.

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. IF I still lived in Corpus, I wouldn't even consider leaving during a hurricane if I lived in a house I owned.

Welcome to the Corpus Christi area - the natives are friendly