Coastal Town (Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi: condo, to buy, camp)

[tjak]

Hello my name is Troy I am a Captain in the US Army currently serving in Iraq. Upon my return from Iraq I am going to purchase a condo/home for retirement. I still have a few years to go but wanted to buy now.

My question what coastal towns would you recommend? I am not planning on living right on the beach but would like to be within a 20-30 minute ride of a good beach area.

Additional things I am looking for:
Town 8000+ in population
Good public hunting area within a 2 hour drive (Turkey, Dove, Waterfowl)
Safe community
Winter temps above 50 degrees if possible

Thank you Troy

[NOTAM]

Hooah CPT
I would look into Rockport/Fulton area.
Stay safe in the sandbox.

[TexasNick]

Originally Posted by tjak

Hello my name is Troy I am a Captain in the US Army currently serving in Iraq. Upon my return from Iraq I am going to purchase a condo/home for retirement. I still have a few years to go but wanted to buy now.

My question what coastal towns would you recommend? I am not planning on living right on the beach but would like to be within a 20-30 minute ride of a good beach area.

Additional things I am looking for:
Town 8000+ in population
Good public hunting area within a 2 hour drive (Turkey, Dove, Waterfowl)
Safe community
Winter temps above 50 degrees if possible

Thank you Troy

Thanks for your service.

Your wish list will be perfectly granted in South Texas anywhere from the city of Corpus Christi on down to the border town of Brownsville. Look at a Texas map and you'll see this is like some 200+ miles of land. I would say spend a week of your vacation tracing the coastal area and then visit the coffee shops and talk to people. Here are some towns for you to consider: Harlingen, Port Isabel, Los Fresnos, Raymondville, Corpus Christi (may be too big for you), Port Aransas, Rockport, Kingsville. All those areas are coastal and close to great hunting areas, if not the areas themselves. For your info, Corpus Christi and Kingsville are military towns and contain Naval bases.

[jfre81]

No matter how I feel about the people calling the shots - I always support the people on the ground over there. Stay alive and well, and hurry up and get here.

South Texas is, for the most part, dirt cheap (compared to the big cities) and is a hunter's paradise. Anywhere on the Texas coast is. From Palacios to Port Isabel, you've got a lot of potential choices. Some places don't offer much to do besides hunting and fishing, but you might not be very far from Houston or San Antonio if you want an occasional trip into the city. Corpus feels more like a very big small town (if that makes sense) but has a few big-city type amenities. There's something for everyone within a day's trip.

[alexei27]

Troy...

Best wishes on your last tour...and thank you for serving!

I am looking into moving to deep south TX for work (Brownsville). From what I am told...Harlingen, Port Isabel, Los Fresnos and Raymondville seem to match up with what you are looking for.

If you plan to use Commissary and BX privileges regularly...you may want to end up closer to Corpus Cristi...the two Navy bases have facilities. I don;t think there are any in Brownsville.

Best of luck in your search!

Brandon
LTJG-USNR

[jfre81]

San Antonio is also a very military city - you might consider moving more inland (less to worry about in terms of hurricanes/tropical weather) and be a reasonable trip to and from the water and several prime hunting locations. I know people who live well north of Houston who make weekend hunting trips to Matagorda Bay and other points on the coast.

[TexasNick]

No, Brownsville has nothing for the military vets. There's also an ongoing fight between living vets in the Brownsville area who are trying to get a VA hospital. The closest is in San Antonio, I believe. There are no bases in the "Rio Grande Valley" and the only base is located in Kingsville/Corpus areas. I'm thinking that since he said he's looking for a place to retire, the lack of a VA hospital in the deep south area may not be ideal. Maybe the area will get one soon, who knows.

Btw, Harlingen has lots of ex-military, older people like WWII and Korean vets who loved the area while training at the major bomber base there in the 40s/50s. It has since closed down and is now an general airport (and a fantastic one!).

[NOTAM]

i know this is kinda far from the coast, but still within a few hours drive-but i would suggest Castroville and Hondo areas....Medina County. for several reasons-you would have access to full-fledged military facilities, whether for use of the MTF's, VA, PX/BX, AAFES etc at all the bases/posts in San Antonio, and the area is just plain "pretty". it can be pretty desolate along the areas between Corpus and Brownsville, and contrary to popular belief, land aint cheap-it is prime hunting territory, with a large portion owned by King Ranch. btw, you will find more educated folks in Medina County area-it seems like there is a VERY large population of indigents in South Texas. i strongly recommend Hill Country. HOOAH!

[tjak]

I think I will just do like everyone has recommended and spend about 10 days in the area checking it out. Do you think 10 days is enough time?

Thanks
Troy

[TexasNick]

Yea, I think 10 days is perfect. I would say that it's too long for those just visiting, but if you're looking for a place to retire, you want to spend all the time you can. I used to ask people if they'd let me camp out on their land before I bought. See how loud it gets at night. Listen to the quiet.

If you're looking for ideas on when to visit the area, please don't do it in the summer times. The best times are between late October - April.