Please!......info on Freeport/Surfside area (Houston, Galveston: appointed, spring break, rentals)

[tlw]

Could someone please give me any info on the Freeport/Surfside area. Is the whole area very densely populated like driving from one town into another into another?? What type of industry and jobs are there and how is the economy?
Is home insurance all out of control on the Texas coast?
Any insight or comments on coastal living, actually from Freeport south would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to everyone for the help.

[tdading]

Freeport is small and about 5 to 7 miles from Surfside Bch TX. Clute, Lake Jackson, Oyster Creek, Angleton and Quintana Beach are all just a stones throw from each other. Insurance pricing depends on where you are at and what you consider out of control. It is still reasonable in Surfside in some places. I left Houston 6 years ago and do not regret it. The population sign here in Surfside has 763 on it but those are home owners, not the actual number that live here. I would have to say full time residents would be under 300. Compared to larger cities, none of the areas I mentioned are over populated. Also, not a bunch of rude drivers you find in larger cities. I love it here.

[CellarBelle]

Lived in Lake Jackson for 11 years (left in 2003). Surfside and Freeport are not areas I would recommend for living. Okay to go to for fishing and a beach day. If you are relocating to the area, look at Lake Jackson and Angleton. Freeport gets a little scary after dark, and Surfside is just a beach town with not a lot more to offer.

If you go to Surfside, you MUST eat at Red Snapper Inn. You will get a wonderful meal that is guaranteed fresh! I know the family that runs the place, and they are up and at 'em every morning getting the "day's catch". You will surely not be disappointed. It is a treat.

[Trainwreck20]

Don't know if it is still true, but if you live right near or downwind of Dow Chemical, you kind of have to get used to the smell of 'DowTherm' and a few other common chemicals. As for industry, very, very heavy into the petrochemicals manufacturing. Lake Jackson is probably the nicest city down there (weird roads nonwithstanding), although the area of Richwood that I live in was not bad, either.

Surfside was a pretty nice beach area. They do charge for 'beach parking passes' (or at least used to). They are good for a year, but Surfside makes a ton of money by charging spring breakers, 4th of July and Memorial/Labor Day visitors.

[jfre81]

They actually have a couple roads called "This Way" and "That Way" down there. Imagine the confusion of trying to give or receive directions. Those are actually in Lake Jackson (I think) but the roads are nonetheless wacky.

[Trainwreck20]

a couple roads called "This Way" and "That Way"

A couple!?!

This way
That way
Any way
Which Way
Park way
And several others...plus you park in the middle of the road....and the roads are all arcs, not straight roads

[Winkelman]

As far as jobs go you have Dow Chemical, BASF, American Rice. Mostly blue collar factory jobs. You also have the Port of Freeport which is one of the busiest ports in the United States. If you have a skill that one of the big plants need you will have no problem finding work. Otherwise its low paying service jobs. A lot of people commute up to Houston which is an hour away.

Freeport has actually cleaned up quite a bit. The comment that its dangerous after dark is not true. It still has that reputation to some people but the city has been very proactive at improving the city. I spend about half my time here and I have never had any problems with crime and never felt unsafe. There is also a major marina project being built that will mean big changes. There is water everywhere. Everyone seems to fish and go crabbing on a regular basis.

I have seen a big increase in housing prices over the past couple years. But its still quite affordable. You can buy a pretty nice house for under $100,000. For under $400,000 you can buy waterfront. You can find fixer uppers starting at about $20,000.

Surfside is mostly made up of beach rentals. Almost every house has a for rent sign. The beaches are nice, they get crowded near Freeport on the weekends. There are lots of less crowded spots going towards Galveston Island which is about 20 miles away.

The weather is more bearable than inland. You get a nice gulf breeze and temperatures rarely get out of the 80's in the summer.