moving to texas need help!! (Houston, San Antonio: insurance, buying a house, buying)

[hsanders519]

okay, me, my son and my husband are planning on moving to texas in about 2 years. so i'm looking for a decent place. I have had no luck at all so i thought maybe someone out there could help me and give me some ideas.

We want to be between 1-2 hours from the ocean.
A decent town to raise children in
A good school
Low cost of living (where buying a house isn't too expensive)
And the population can be anywhere between 8000 to 25000 (nothing too big or too small)

Any help would be much appriciated. Thanks

[changeofpace]

Check out Rockport. We were impressed with the town. Its a 35 mile commute to Corpus (althought with gas prices not sure I would commute again) for employment. We decided to purchase a home in Corpus rather than commute but we really loved Rockport.

[love roses]

Maybe League City. It's in between Houston and Galveston. Although, I do like Rockport as well

[case44]

The best bet for you would be in the Houston area. If you desire to be close to the beachfronts along the Gulf, the booming suburbs in Houston would be your best choice. Pearland is red hot with new development right now, and that would be one option.

[allamericantx]

Look at a map of Texas - a real map of Texas - and you will see there is a "barrier island" that almost follows the entire coast of Texas and is connected to the mainland of TX by bridges and ferries - from the Houston/Galveston area all the way down to Corpus, all the way down to Mexico's border with the U.S. It is one long, long island. This is Padre Island. For locals, we refer to Padre Island in parts.......as Galveston (north part of the island), Padre (usually refers to the Corpus Christi area which is kinda mid-state), and South Padre which is near Mexico.

You can live on the mainland of TX like the Houston area as was mentioned, or on the island itself in Galveston (which is the only real "city" ON the entire barrier island stretch in terms of population), or you can live further south like one mentioned Rockport or Corpus Christi, or in what is known as the Rio Grande Valley which is FAR south TX. South Padre is Rio Grande Valley, also seen on some forums as the RGV.

In my humble opinion, I prefer the beaches of deep south Texas, South Padre - the reason is because the beach is much wider. More sand, more area and LESS people. Galveston will see the Houston crowd come down to get away on the weekends. I can't speak for Corpus, so someone from C.C. might want to chime in here. But I spent lots of time down in the Valley when I was a kid and I prefer the beaches down there - BUT, living down there is not my thing.

I suggest you go onto "pbase.com" and look in the search box for Padre Island or South Padre Island or Galveston Beach or similar search words, and take a look. Pictures can tell you a lot. I like the city life, so I live in Austin which is NOT what you're looking for because Austin is in the center of the state. But I hope some of those suggestions help. As for people who live in the Rockport, CC, or Galveston area, they may have better suggestions to help give you a feeling of the local flare.

One thing I will say about TX beaches....the water is warm, and I like that. I moved to San Francisco for work and lived there for 5 years. People think CA is a great place for beach activity, but have NO idea the water is freezing cold. Though CA is beautiful, I have to give it to TX beaches: the water is warm and more inviting. It's not Carribean green/blue!!! Head's up there. BUT, it is nice, with nice sand, nice people, and somewhere, along that barrier island we call Padre Island, you should be able to find something that suits you.

enjoy and welcome to TX.

[shoe01]

Isn't Rockport on Mustang Island? I thought Padre ended at Corpus, and that it's actually two islands cut at Port Mansfield (allowing for North and South PI).

As for a response to the original post, be sure to check if you need flood insurance. It might be a good idea to get hurricane windows that close to the water.

[Lobstah]

to hsanders519,

If you are seriously considering moving to a small town on the Coastal Bend of Texas, I would consider Rockport or Port Aransas. They are close to Corpus (pop. 300K) and have the feel of a small close knit town.

Do be cautious though....Corpus Christi has gang problems, animal cruelty issues, trash, and heavy amounts of pollution from the oil and gas refineries on the west side of town.
It is better to stay outside of the city limits and away from the craziness. Recently, Coprus Christi was rated as having a 70% "greater likelyhood" of cancer in unborn babies than anywhere else in the state.

My wife and I moved down here for jobs with the Feds. Will WILL NOT get pregnent in C.C. because of this reason. I have caught 7 stray animals and then had to hand deliver them to no-kill animal shelters because the city will only pick them up 8-430 Mon-Fri in a box that you have to leave outside your house in the heat. Oh, and the beaches....are not closed to traffic. Everyone drives on the beach and there is trash EVERYWHERE on the beaches in the Coastal Bend of Texas.

I have lived in 8 different states, all over the country, and this area of Texas is by far the worst place I have ever lived. The San Antonio and Austin area are much better places to live as far as I'm concerned.

Choose wisely before you move down here and bring your family with you. It is definitely very different....

[awecelot]

This thread concerns me...I'm going to address each and every issue in a semi-orderly manner.

1) To the OP: When you say you want to be between 1-2 hours from the ocean, I am assuming you don't want to be directly on the coast, correct? It's going to be easier to find towns of that size either on the coast or further inland than 1-2 hours away. Most towns within the distance you are looking in are very small. Also, by coast, do you mean the barrier islands or the bay coasts?

2) Rockport is on the mainland and does fit your criteria, other than being located on the coast. Another town in that general area that also fits your criteria (except the distance from the coast) is Portland, which is between Rockport and Corpus Christi. I like Port Aransas as well, but it is on the barrier islands which is even closer to the coast than the others.

3) If the OP doesn't want a big town, why would ANYONE suggest Houston?

4) The barrier islands are separate islands...there is Galveston Island (Galveston), Matagorda Island (uninhabited), San Jose Island (uninhabited), Mustang Island (Port Aransas), Padre Island (separated at Port Mansfield; north end is near Corpus Christi, south end is South Padre Island), and Brazos Island (uninhabited).

5) Contrary to what Lobstah would have you believe, Corpus Christi isn't some sort of disease-ridden crime-ridden hell. Are there gang problems? Yes - it's a city. Are there animal cruelty issues? Unfortunately yes - but again, those exist in cities everywhere. Is there trash? Yes - but there are also clean areas of town. Is there pollution? Yes - but on most days it is not bad because the wind is strong enough to prevent smog from forming. Corpus Christi is not on the American Lung Association's most polluted cities list for 2007, unlike Houston and Beaumont (source: City Mayors: The most polluted US cities).

[Soon2BTexanMama]

I have never heard that particular information about the percentages of cancer in unborn babies in CC! That is the most horrible thing! Is that true for other parts of the state further inland? Is it possible that it could harm people other than unborn children? I would think if the cahnces of your baby having cancer are that high than it mus be reaking havok on the mothers system as well! What about young children?? disturbing...

[awecelot]

Originally Posted by Soon2BTexanMama

I have never heard that particular information about the percentages of cancer in unborn babies in CC! That is the most horrible thing! Is that true for other parts of the state further inland? Is it possible that it could harm people other than unborn children? I would think if the cahnces of your baby having cancer are that high than it mus be reaking havok on the mothers system as well! What about young children?? disturbing...

He offered no source on that information...I would tend to not believe that.