Separating from the military, trying to decide where to live (Austin: low crime, house)

[Zekerace]

Background:
Was raised in Austin, Texas but no longer want to live there due to the overpopulation. I am waiting on a job offer from Fort Hood (better pay), but I have a backup position in NAS Corpus Christi (lower pay than Fort Hood) if I don't get the position in Fort Hood. I am 23 years old, love outdoor, require a big backyard since I have two huge dogs (80+ lbs) that needs a place to run around time to time. I'm Asian with Spaniard thrown in the mixed; fiance is Italian mix with Spaniard if that matters since I was told they discriminate in the area.

With that said, most of my research I found in the forum have been outdated pertaining to areas near NAS. If I were to move there, my price range for housing would be no more than 270k. I can go higher, but I don't want to include my fiance's income unless I really have to (like to have a safety cushion just in-case). Looking for a place that has low crime rate, good school district (in-case a baby pops out lol), and potentially a place that can hold value without flooding since I might move again in 6-8 years for career/company moves. Zip codes would be great so I can look at the housing online!

Thanks!

[Marlow]

You can easily afford a nice house for less than 270k with room for your dogs. I would look within 4 blocks on either side of Alameda Street from Ayers to Ennis Joslin. You can also look in Flour Bluff or the Island which has easy access to NAS CC. Zip codes are 78414, 78418, and parts of 78404, 78411, and 78412.

It is highly unlikely that you or your fiance will experience any discrimination.

[Zekerace]

Originally Posted by Marlow

You can easily afford a nice house for less than 270k with room for your dogs. I would look within 4 blocks on either side of Alameda Street from Ayers to Ennis Joslin. You can also look in Flour Bluff or the Island which has easy access to NAS CC. Zip codes are 78414, 78418, and parts of 78404, 78411, and 78412.

It is highly unlikely that you or your fiance will experience any discrimination.

Out of the zip codes you have said, how would you rank them from least to greatest in crime rate? Also, the zip code 78418 is on the island with what seems to have only one access, is there bad flooding during storms? Hard to move about during summer vacations?

I do like the 78414 area in terms of housing, anything wrong with that area?

Thanks!

[Marlow]

Living on the Island has challenges. There are mandatory orders to evacuate when a hurricane or tropical storm heads this way and if we are ever hit by a Category 4 or 5, it's likely the entire island will be several feet under water for a while. And yes, to get to the navy base, you have to go over the Causeway. There's a long way around through Port Aransas and taking a ferry, but it's not practical for a daily commute. And traffic is heavy during the summer, but it moves. People who live on the Island complain that there's no grocery store--you have to travel over the causeway to get to the closest one. The plus side is that you're 5 minutes from the beach and can live on a canal if that's something that interests you.

As far as 78414 goes, that's a fairly mixed area. You'll find everything from crappy shacks to million dollar estates, so keep that in mind while you're looking. You'd have to come down and see what you think.

Regarding crime, all of these areas will have some crime--mostly property theft. There is little violent crime unless it's related to the drug/human trafficking trade, or domestic violence.