what is the deal with Corpus Christi (San Antonio, Austin: environment, oil refinery)

[Linson]

its got a beach.

why are there such big, fancy homes for so cheap?

is it the hurricanes?


what is there to do in Corpus?

what's the weather like?

[blackthorne1980]

Yes, CC has a beach, but you have to keep in mind the Texas Coast is not anywhere near as densely populated/overdeveloped as similar areas in Florida for example.You also get to view alot of Oil Rigs out in the ocean that sort of ruin the view, but it's part of Texas. I personally would be concerned about the air quality.The massive oil refinery in town puts out alot of pollution.Property taxes are extremely high, as is the crime rate, and jobs that pay well are hard to find.I personally like to visit CC any chance I get when I am in Texas because I love the beach, any beach, but if it's a good place for you to live you can only find out by checking it our yourself

[bellestaroftexas]

the beaches are ALOT nicer than coastal Georgia and the barrier islands, where i just spent 3 years..........so i dont know why folks complain about Padre Island and all.....
regarding the pollution, oil refinery etc......i dont know-i "SEE" clear beautiful blue skies with lots of nice strong breeze almost every day. much windier than on Atlantic coastline where i lived on an island.
but what puzzles me is the amount of YOUNG nurses i work with who are turban wrapped, going thru chemo for cancer..........as a 42 year old, i have NEVER EVER met a coworker with cancer in my 15 years career, until i moved here 6 months ago.........now there i see a list of "recent deaths" from cancer.
its scary enough for me to move

[Linson]

^thank you. what is the weather like, and what is there to do in the way of outdoor recreation?

[Marlow]

I live in CC and have posted about it several times in recent months. If you search "Corpus Christi" on here you'll find some information.

To answer your specific questions: The weather is very hot and very humid from May through September--typically in the mid-90's, sometimes peaking in the 100's. October and November tend to be beautiful, although sometimes rainy. March and April tend to be perfect--cool with blue skies. That's not always true, of course, but those are the best months. Winter (as it's known up north) is virtually non-existent. It might freeze for a couple of days and we did get the miracle snow fall during Christmas of 1995, but that's rare. The wind mostly blows from the south and it blows most of the time.

We face hurricane threats like every other coastal city. You just make sure your insurance is up to date. The City did just do a multi-year, multi-million dollar repair of the sea wall, which offers protection from storm surges.

Outdoor recreation: Fishing, hunting, birding, sailing, kayaking, wind-surfing, kite-boarding, skateboarding, cycling, running. No real hiking or camping in the area. There are soccer, baseball and kickball leagues for kids and adults.

I think the reason CC has not boomed is because of poor planning and poor city leadership. No one seems to be able to make a decision about development, other than touristy things. Downtown has looked abandoned for years and although lots of commissions are formed and studies are done, nothing ever seems to happen. Also, there's lots of inside dealing on the City Council. Two veteran city council members owned title companies and seemed only interested in increasing their own wealth. They were just replaced though, so maybe things will change.

Taxes and insurance are high, but as in the rest of Texas, there is no state income tax. Crime statistics may be high, but it doesn't feel dangerous to me. I think most of the crime is drug and gang related and if you're not involved in that, you're ok.

I don't know anything about cancer rates being especially high here. Air quality is ok because the refineries are on the northwest side of town and the wind blows from the south most of the time.

If you have any other questions I'll try to answer them.

[nolatex]

just moved here a year ago and it just hasn't been discovered. Lots of windsurfing and kite surfing, fishing, birdwatching, etc. enjoy it while you can. fifth largest port in the nation and has a concentration of industry to NW. SO? There is a strong environmental sentiment here, but still some real potential for development that will happen within the decade. Lots of nice people too. It is funny - you go to these sites for any region and everyone is negative about where they are. keep that in mind. Also most folks are leaning towards the amenities of major urban areas, but also overlooking the issues associated with that. CC is large enough to have what most want, but not so large as to be a pain in the butt to move around without a subway (unlike larger TX cities).

[Marlow]

I think you're right that it just hasn't been discovered and I've decided to keep quiet about Corpus Christi. People are flooding into the San Antonio/Austin corridor and it's only a matter of time til the whole area from Kerrville to Waco looks like one big strip mall. Then people will start looking down here.

So, shhh. Let's just keep it quiet about what we've got and maybe we can keep being ignored.

[scubashawn]

I'm new to CC....Sorry Marlow.....But I moved here for a job.
So far we love it....People seem to be very friendly. The food in the restaurants are good. The grocery store's here are amazing( HEB). Much better than anything we had in GA. I love being near the water.

[Marlow]

Please don't apologize! I'm not saying I don't want anyone to move here, but I do sort of fear the type of rapid influx of people Central Texas is getting right now. Corpus has always been off the beaten path and sort of sneered at by the rest of the state. I think it's a pretty great place to live and am happy to share it--but I hope we can avoid the stripmall-ization that comes with a bunch of people moving into a place in a short amount of time.

[scubashawn]

I agree with that....I was just teasing you......

Why does the rest of the state sneer at CC ?

We were in Austin last weekend and one of my wifes new friends said...OMG why would you live in Corpus ?

I haven't seen anything bad here....I'm confused about the attitude towards CC.