Rockport...Blah! (El Paso, Corpus Christi, San Angelo: real estate, rent, insurance)

[tstone]

Originally Posted by johnbain

...The drug problem in South Texas is EXTREME. Even teachers are using cocaine....

... they told me I would love it here because it's the most beautiful place in the world. Yet most of them had never travelled out of the South Texas area!

The drug problem in TX is everywhere. Teachers on cocaine sounds pretty extreme, but teachers smoking cannabis @ home, and others bringing flasks for their parking lot lunchtime is nothing new no matter where you are in TX. This has been going on for decades.

Coming from the west coast, you must have thought that "most beautiful place in the world" comment was downright hilarious. You want truly beautiful coast? Try Monterrey all the way up to Oregon. You can find some really good beer out there, too.

[Jammie]

John and Gruene, thank you for the info and the links. It sounds like it's a very nice area.

[Synopsis]

Regarding crime statistics. I really scratch my head on these. Each city reports crime statistics differently. I'm not saying those stats are wrong, but sometimes cities that have residents that report every crime are actually the safest because each crime is reported, and investigated (with the exception of murder; that one's hard to avoid). I noticed Rockport had zero murders.

[buffy888]

Originally Posted by Muhnay

First off.. LOL at the HUHNAY!

Well I want to be near the coast. Thats why I was looking at Galveston. I like the feel of the city. Corpus had a more run down feel to it than Galveston did. But I have spent lots of time on the island there in Corpus.. camping on the beach. Have a friend who lives there.. he likes it. Works on the Navy base there. One thing I can not understand is why the one mall looks run down and empty and the other looks ok.. they are right next to each other.

I really like the look and feel of Galveston, but I worry about the crime stats, and the schools there. I have 3 kids. One about to go to High School one in Middle school and one in elementary school.

Also want a place that pays above minimum wage, but is not a high cost to live there.

I lived in Galveston for several years. My husband's extended family still lives there. It's a great place to visit... but we would not live there again. I would not wish Ball High on anyone. Middle schools are iffy. Elementary - Oppe would be your best bet.

We honestly never had a problem with crime, but that is an issue overall on the island.

Housing prices are skyrocketing because there are a lot of out-of-state people buying properties either for themselves as vacation homes or to rent out (either as vacation rentals or regular rentals)... there are others trying to "flip." A couple of years ago, my husband's aunt and uncle's house probably would have appraised at about $150,000 - maybe $175,000 at a stretch. It was recently appraised at almost $250,000 - it is a well-maintained home, but not overly large by any means - not historic - on a typical Galveston street where two or three houses in a row will be well-kept, then a couple will be absolutely trashed, then one or two will be fairly decent, then one will be almost falling down, etc. (On the other hand, there are beautiful older houses near 25th/Broadway area that are listed far below market value that have been for sale for quite awhile due to the crime/people that make their presence known in the neighborhood.)

Employment - It really depends on your field and your experience. Service industry is big there, but pay scale is typical for the service industry. Some medical jobs due to UTMB.

There is plenty to like about Galveston. It has a small-town feel - you always run into someone that you know, someone that knows someone you know, etc. Finding your "own" spot of beach that the tourists don't know about is a joy. Access to fresh seafood. Ferry ride just for the heck of it is only minutes away...

If you didn't have kids, I might say "Go for it." With kids... I don't know.

There is a pretty active message board on GALVESTON.COM: Official Website of Galveston Island, Texas Tourism & Marketing - locals visit the board pretty frequently. If you are seriously considering Galveston, you might want to pop on there and post any questions/concerns. You should get responses from a variety of folks.

Good luck.

[Muhnay]

I hear so much about Ball High School.. what is it? Is it rough, gang land, full of drugs, or is it lack of good educators, or both? Is it the laid back island culture? There are no other choices for High School out that way?

I am a former law enforcement professional, and security specialist. I have an opportunity to work security for the docks out that way, or even as a cop. So I was/am considering it.

Thank you for the insight and info Buffy. It was very helpful.

[GrueneRiver]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Regarding crime statistics. I really scratch my head on these. Each city reports crime statistics differently. I'm not saying those stats are wrong, but sometimes cities that have residents that report every crime are actually the safest because each crime is reported, and investigated (with the exception of murder; that one's hard to avoid). I noticed Rockport had zero murders.

There was a murder just last week. I read the Rockport Pilot paper online.

[buffy888]

Re: Ball High - Rough would be a good word for it. There certainly are drugs, but I don't know of many high schools that don't have at least some of that going on. Gangs - there are gang members in Galveston, so there is a presence at Ball High, but nothing insurmountable. There are also "fraternities" at the school. There are definitely some good educators there and others who could be good if they did not feel held back by administration and/or students... It is completely possible to come out of Ball High with a decent education, but it takes some effort on the part of the student and the parent(s) in order to do so.

The only other option for high school would be O'Connell as far as I am aware. This is a private Catholic school. The Archdiocese was going to close it a few years ago, but it is still open at this point. Some of my husband's family members graduated from O'Connell and they enjoyed their time there.

There is a lot of activity at the docks - the cruise ships have definitely added to that - so it seems like security there should remain in demand. Of course, as a police officer you would get to see the full array of citizens, so that would be interesting as well. We have friends on the force and they always had fun stories to share.

[love roses]

When I lived in Clear Lake, I had a friend who went to school in League City and they lived just across the bridge from Galveston. Granted, she had to wake up kind of early to get to school, but her parents didn't want her to go to Ball. But I'd pretty much agree with buffy888.

[Muhnay]

Thanks for the info.. I try to compare the schools there with the ones here.. and trying to think whats the worse of the two. Andress has on school police there now.. and I see K9 school police there all the time. We have big time gang stuff starting up again, heck a couple blocks from my house a kid was killed.. so I am guessing it maybe an improvement at Ball than here.. and that maybe sad to say that.

[ocean2026]

Maybe Bain is angry at his wife because she doesn't want to move.

Rapes in Rockport?? Maybe a date rape but I spent years in the courts here and rapes between strangers is almost non-existent. Bain show me your data. There has been an increase in other felonies, but Bain instead of complaining talk to your commissioner about us getting our own DA- the state would pay for it and many more crimes would be prosecuted.

Much of Rockport is waterfront and its all scenic - many types of birds, and the EPA gave our beach its Blue Ribbon Award for Cleanliness and Environmental Quality it beat out all other beaches in Texas (62 of them ranked).

The schools have gone downhill somewhat and they almost got rid of the incumbents in this month's election- at least one got ousted. The newspaper (Pilot) and its two reporters are horrible.

Summers are bad in Rockport as they are in most of the state- at least there's an ocean breeze.

Rockport is so friendly that cars routinely pull over if they see a vehicle approaching from behind- just to let you pass.

Rockport does have more men than women- not so great if you're a single guy but that's due to boating -fishing and construction - all of which attract more men than women.