North Padre Island or ??? (Corpus Christi, Kingsville: low income, rentals, vacation home)

[A.Vern]

Hi all,

I will be moving to the Corpus Christi area this October. I have a young family (4 and 7 YO's) that love the water, (i.e. surfing, fishing, sailing, etc.).

I am very interested in a house on North Padre with a slip, but have a few questions about the quality of life.

1. I last lived in Corpus in 2000, North Padre was a bit undeveloped then. Better stores and such now?

2. How is it for a family? Is there a good deal of families out there, or is it more rentals and vacation homes?

3. I know there are some good schools out there, but are they full with long waiting lists?

4. Any reason not to raise a family in North Padre?

If so, any other coastal areas that you recommend within commuting distance to NAS Kingsville?

Thanks so much for your help!

I really enjoyed Corpus the last time I was down there, and look forward to living there again.

Cheers,

Aaron

[Marlow]

I don't live out there, but I'll try to help. There's an HEB Plus in Flour Bluff now and a WalMart too, I believe. Could be wrong about that. There's not a major grocery store on the Island. There are several good restaurants. The Seashore Academy is a highly rated elementary school--don't know about a waiting list. I think you have to go to FB for middle school and high school and it's a pretty well-regarded district.

I can't comment on whether it's a good place to raise a family or not--just don't know.

Personally, I would never buy a house on the Island because if/when we get a major hurricane with a major storm surge, the whole thing will be under water. I just wouldn't want to live with that kind of risk. But if you're comfortable with that, have at it!

Welcome back and I hope you and your family are very happy here!

[king's highway]

~


I have a single friend who lives on North Padre Island.

She doesn't live right on the water, but she can walk to the beach.

The temperature is not as hot as in Corpus... but you do have to deal with topical storm/hurricane threats.

My friend's main complaint is having to drive to the mainland for grocery shopping.

She also doesn't like that many of the houses in her neighborhood are rentals.



~

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by A.Vern

Hi all,

I will be moving to the Corpus Christi area this October. I have a young family (4 and 7 YO's) that love the water, (i.e. surfing, fishing, sailing, etc.).

I am very interested in a house on North Padre with a slip, but have a few questions about the quality of life.

1. I last lived in Corpus in 2000, North Padre was a bit undeveloped then. Better stores and such now?

2. How is it for a family? Is there a good deal of families out there, or is it more rentals and vacation homes?

3. I know there are some good schools out there, but are they full with long waiting lists?

4. Any reason not to raise a family in North Padre?

If so, any other coastal areas that you recommend within commuting distance to NAS Kingsville?

Thanks so much for your help!

I really enjoyed Corpus the last time I was down there, and look forward to living there again.

Cheers,

Aaron

It would be difficult for me to consider any part of North Padre Island within commuting distance of NAS Kingsville. Unless you only had to commute a couple of days a week, with flexible hours, and really, really, really wanted badly to give your family that island living experience.

Commuting time estimated by Google Maps from NAS Corpus Christi NAS, TX to NAS Kingsville, TX. is 53.6 mi – about 1 hour 6 mins. Commuting time for anyplace further out on N. Padre Island is clearly going to be much further and take much longer. That is beyond the range of what I would consider a reasonable commute considering you would have to do it twice a day. If you consider that acceptable, then go for it.

It might be worth it if you really, really, really loved the island living experience. But you and your family might be far better off if you picked a more reasonable place to live in CC which has better schools, a larger selection of nice homes at reasonable prices to choose from, better shopping and more well rounded living experiences for your kids, including an occasional drive to the beach. Instead of spending hours commuting every day, you could spend more of that time actually involved in your kids lives instead of always on the road, tired and grumpy when you are home with them.

If you actually could live and work on NP Island, then I'd say, yes go for it. That could be great, but from what I see in looking at say Port Aransas, TX City profiles //www.city-data.com/city/Port-Aransas-Texas.html , the majority of the native population seems to be low income, low education levels, and very transient.

[jbtx]

I was going to suggest this, but since I don't know your situation I hesitate. Are you military? You might want to consider the Calallen area,,, pretty good schools, good neighborhoods, reasonable priced homes, and easy access to Hwy 77 south to Kingsville. I actually know very little about Kingsville although my wife was offered a teaching position at the TA&M campus there and we looked the town over briefly, it didn't look like the kinda place that would appeal to us.

[Marlow]

I missed the part about commuting to Kingsville. Like CptnRn said, I would never live on the Island and drive to Kingsville. I did that commute from central CC for about a year and half and hated it. 90 minutes in the car every day--filling up a Nissan Sentra twice a week at early 90's prices. Yuk.

If I were you I'd consider living way out Weber or Staples somewhere. It'll cut your commute time to about 30-35 mins. and you can still be at the beach in 15 mins. from your house.

[littlesranch]

I will toss in my 2 cents worth .... we live on the island and absolutely LOVE it! We live in a canal front home with a boat lift & dock. It is cooler than "inland" and we always have a nice breeze. My kids are grown and didn't attend schools here but 2 high school teacher friends love the Flour Bluff schools and I've heard great things about the Seashore Learning School. Yes, you have to go "off island" Over The Bridge (OTB) to get to HEB but it only takes me 10 minutes (about the same as when I lived in a subdivision in town). About 1/3 of the houses on my block are 2nd homes so it is very quiet. We only have 2 rentals on the block and it isn't a problem. As far as worrying about hurricanes, etc. I think you need to look at statistics and make your own decision. We have lived in California (earthquakes), lived in Virginia tidewater area (hurricanes), lived in the Colorado mountains (wildland fires) and lived in North Texas (tornadoes). Every place we have lived there has been someone saying they wouldn't risk living there so I think people forget that you take a huge risk driving your car. I find the people here friendly, seeing dolphin in the canal & intercoastal waterway are huge benefits and am glad I live here and not inland. With all that said it sounds like your biggest problem would be a commuting issue so make your decision based on job location first. Good luck and I hope you end up somewhere you enjoy! Life is too short to not enjoy the present.

[A.Vern]

Thanks all for your posts!

Yes, I am in the military and the commute to Kingsville is not going to be fun, but we looked at the Kings Crossing area as well and it would only save me 15 minutes each way to live in typical suburbia when I can have my family live with a channel in the background and a beach walking distance away. My orders are just under three years, so I'm hoping I can handle the 2 hour commute (total) each day, but when I compare that to 1+30 commute that I would have from Kings Crossing... the life experience that littlesranch mentioned above will make an extra 1/2 hour drive worth it.
I was out there 2 weeks ago and we put a deposit down on an amazing canal home on Tesoro Dr.

Also, I wanted to put out there that for those looking at the Kings Crossing area... the major draw there was the country club with the golf course and pool facilities. That closed around a year or so ago and is now posted with no trespassing signs.

Once we get settled I'll post more to help others that are considering living on the "island."

Thanks again

Aaron

[ikare]

Hi! I think we'll be moving to South Texas in mid January. I so want to live on Padre Island because of the cooler temps. I used to live in Tampa, Florida and my sister lived on Davis Island. It was always so much breezier there. We have 2 kids (5 and 8). Looks like Flour Bluff is the designated school for the homes I've been looking at to rent. Does anyone know if the bus takes the kids to the school? Just curious! Also, is there a waiting list for Flour Bluff if your designated for that school based on your address? Thanks for any information!

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by ikare

Hi! I think we'll be moving to South Texas in mid January. I so want to live on Padre Island because of the cooler temps. I used to live in Tampa, Florida and my sister lived on Davis Island. It was always so much breezier there. We have 2 kids (5 and 8). Looks like Flour Bluff is the designated school for the homes I've been looking at to rent. Does anyone know if the bus takes the kids to the school? Just curious! Also, is there a waiting list for Flour Bluff if your designated for that school based on your address? Thanks for any information!

You are right about there being more moderate temperatures near water and needing a breeze to be comfortable anywhere along the Texas coast.

I can't answer the school and bus questions but someone here should be able to
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