Got my list, so how do I make a decision? (Houston: apartment complexes, for rent)

[awecelot]

The causeway is the same road as the Harbor Bridge. There is a small interlude of land between the two. The sidewalk on the bridge is on the outside part of each direction up. It is just between the traffic barrier and the side of the bridge...and it is VERY narrow.

I don't know about the quality of the beach in Port Lavaca. I can tell you that there are certain areas of Corpus Christi that have decent beaches, some of which are in close proximity to Portland (one is across the causeway but not across the Harbor Bridge - that area is called "Corpus Christi Beach.").

The pollution would not be one of my major concerns with Portland. The water is not polluted, it is just very shallow (no waves) and marshy along the coastline. Despite the chemical plants in Corpus Christi and the plants between Gregory and Ingleside, air quality in Portland is good. There is no stench that pervades the area.

If you are looking for a more seaside location with a good beach, and are willing to sacrifice convenience to Corpus Christi, you might want to look into the Rockport-Fulton area. It is nice, compact, and has a great beach. It's also a very quiet area with low crime rates.

Personally, I think Portland is a great town, but it just doesn't sound like it would work for you. Rockport-Fulton might be a better choice. And, it's just as convenient to Corpus Christi as Port Lavaca is to Victoria.

[clawson26]

Don't get me wrong...I loved Portland as a town. I just don't think it would be right for YOU. I used to sell safety equipment etc. at the chemical plants...that is the reason I mention pollution... I drink out of the creek at my parent's place but I'm not touching anything that comes out of the water around the plants and I wouldn't swim in it either...just my opinion. Portland has a lot to offer...if you have a car or plan to just stay in Portland (it has most of the things you would need except the beach). I just think based on your original list I would go with Austin because of the car issue. Good luck!

[CandyApple]

Very discouraging. I'm not 100% convinced, but there's enough evidence that unless I find some proof that it's not polluted, I'm going to err on the side of caution here.

As far as the other towns (Rockport/Fulton/Corpus), I'd prefer somewhere with less crime.

What about Port Lavaca, any pollution problems, there? I'd like to look at at least one gulf coast city on my trip. Every other town on the coast has been knocked off my list for one reason or another.

What I want is somewhere where I can get to places via foot or bike easily. Also, if the town is small, cab rides would be cheaper on the occasions that I need one. As far as bus service, I'd rather have that as "an option" rather than something I have to rely on. I've lived through a bus strike in Calgary that lasted about a month in '01. If I didn't stay with a friend, I don't know how I would've gotten to school. I don't want to be in a position where I'd be screwed without bus service... that's why public transportation doesn't really rank too high on my list of needs.

So, if the buses stopped running in Austin, how well would I be able to get around town?
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Hmm... someone wanted a bulleted list of preferences... here goes...

My NUMBER ONE criteria is:
* Nothing so bad about the town that I would feel like I have to move, and enough good about the town that I'd want to stay.

Why I'm moving:
* NO/very very little snow (rare and melts quickly). NO ice.
* WARM winters. Otherwise I'd stay here.
* Easy to play outside year-round.

And the rest:
* Cheaper rent than Anchorage for a decent place/location, and/or more for the money. I pay $750/month plus $30-40 electric for a ~650 sq. ft. 1 bed/1 bath condo.
* Overall cheaper than Anchorage for me. Besides rent, my other big expense is food, and the car. But I won't have a car in Texas. I like fresh produce.
* Where I rent cannot use gas anything. I don't want my house to explode.
* Prefer to NOT live in a condo (dumb rules), and to have NO fireplace (I have a toddler)
* Want to be able to buy a house a few years down the line. High appreciation rates are a -negative- factor for me. I don't know how much I'll be able to afford, but definitely under 200K, preferably under 150K for a decent house, the lower the better.
* When I buy, I want a place without a HOA or excessive deed restrictions. Rules about not putting in a mining operation are fine. Rules about painting my house ugly colors are not.
* Prefer houses to be a part of the town, instead of isolated subdivisions. Anchorage has both.
* Want to be able to get to places via foot and/or bike, year round. Public transport is a plus, as long as I can still get places without it. (Fairbanks, in the summer, was like that, not counting climbing up the hill to get to campus)
* Prefer to have a grocery store a block or two away, and a park a block or two away (or better yet, next door). I have that now, and I can't tell you how convenient it is. During the winter, the store seemed too far away to walk to, but this summer... I'm surprised about how close it is, and the only thing that's changed is the weather.
* Must have reliable cab service for the few occasions I need it.
* Enough people in town to support the businesses that get my basic needs/shopping met. Fairbanks, with 30K, did that just fine. Will a town of 10K people be enough? That's about the minimum population size I decided on.
* *IF* I have any more kids, it will be another home birth. Need a midwife in town, or one who's willing to travel to the town I live in (I read something online about a midwife in Corpus Christi who would travel up to 155 miles. Port Lavaca is closer than that).
* *IF* I have more kids, a hospital needs to be within 20 minutes drive of my house, so that if the midwife sees complications arise I can be transported there.
* Crime rate less than Fairbanks (possibly somewhat negotiable, if the town is totally awesome otherwise), but the lower the better.
* Able to acquire goat milk through non-internet sources. IE, if it's not on the shelves, I want to be able to order it at the store. I am able to order a whole case at once.
* Need social activities for self and child.
- Some sort of mommy group where we play with and brag about the kids. *very important*
- A group of people that are passionate about something I'm interested in that I could get involved in. Like, actively doing this stuff instead of just appreciating it. Computer programming/graphics, art, music, dance, language, cooking, games like D&D... Open to other ideas, too. Not church or sports.
- Something else, too, I'm just not sure what. Open to ideas!
* Some kind of art/music/theater/etc. scene. Doesn't have to be big, just something to do once in awhile.
* Atheist/living in sin/unwed/single mother tolerant population.
* Town is not full of jerks/*****3$. If people aren't feeling sociable, that's fine. What's not fine is when people go out of their way to be mean.
* Able to get to from Austin via Greyhound, train, or some other means. I'll be dropping the rental car off in Austin and have to be able to return to the town somehow.
* Lots of greenery- trees, parks, etc. dotted throughout the city. Biking trails a plus. Ex.: Anchorage is great for this.
* A large park somewhere that I can walk along for miles on a nice trail. UAF had the ski trail behind the residence halls, it was several miles long and went in a loop through the woods.
* Fewer mosquitoes than Fairbanks/surrounding areas. I smeared myself with mosquito poison when I went camping, they were so bad, and I'm the kind of person that won't take aspirin for a headache, or pills for my summer allergies. They were inescapable!
* Places outdoors to swim in besides pools... beach, lake, etc.
* Some place a bit out of the way that would be fun to bike to when I'm feeling adventurous, 10-15 miles or so, maybe more.
* Town will still be a nice place to live 30-40 years from now.
* A good portion of the population stays long term, not because they have to, but because they want to. I need to have friendships that will last, and I don't do long distance relationships very well.
* The kind of "rain" we have in Alaska. Very light, doesn't stop anyone from continuing their picnic or whatever. Lightning *maybe* once a year. But, somehow, I don't think I'll get that in Texas. C'est la vie.
* Mountains on one side, beach on the other. But since California is too expensive, and Anchorage is too cold, I don't think I'll get that.

I have other criteria of things I like/dislike, but I'll stop there for now.
So, how much of that can I get in one town? I assume not all of it...

[changeofpace]

You will have a tough time finding cab service in a town with a population under 50K. One of the problems with most cities and towns is that all the retail is being built along major streets and highways. Corpus has most development of retail along SPID which "kills" downtown as it does in the majority of towns and cities. Finding an older neighborhood with even a grocery store nearby will be very difficult. We originally were going to build a new home in Corpus but decided against that, so we had investigated renting a residence (apt, townhouse or home) and found rent very reasonable throughout Corpus. Crime is less of an issue in Corpus than it is in many smaller towns in Texas. Personally, if you are going to be able to check out only one or two coastal towns while in TX, I think Corpus is a must for you to visit and investigate.

[houstoner]

Wow, that's a lot of criteria! LOL I looked at some of your previous posts (I didn't realize you were the atheist in TX poster) and of your selections I think you should just get it over with and move to Austin. It's not a small town anymore, but it meets a lot of your criteria. Not having a car could be a real problem. Walkability, if it's a real concern, you will only find in some smaller towns, but then I don't think you'd feel all that comfortable in many as an atheist single mom, and they may not have the arts scene, etc. etc. you'd like. If it's a small town you want, maybe narrow your list down to small college towns, or small towns near major metros. But then 'near' won't matter much if you won't have a car... so really, I don't know what to tell you, so... um... good luck!

[CandyApple]

I might consider Corpus or Rockport/Fulton despite the higher than ideal crime... and if I was checking out those areas I'd certainly see Portland and it's beaches for myself... except for the chemical plants and refineries. I just don't know what to think. I've lived near a polluted river before, so I know it's not impossible for water to be polluted.

If I can't get enough info, or I get enough bad news, I'm going to have to find a replacement city. I want to visit five places before I decide where to live. How about Kerrville, is that any good? It's a little bigger than Fredericksburg, about 20 miles to the south. I just checked the profile, the pictures look pretty, it has low enough crime.
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Well, Austin is kind of my "back-up" plan in case I can't find anything better. I'm sure it would work out ok, but... I'd rather try something else.

If I do end up there- anyone know of any cheap places on the bus line I can stay for a month or two while I'm finding a place to rent?

Which neighborhoods would be best to rent in?
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When I lived in Fairbanks, the cab service was fine, and that's only 30K people.
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I've got so many criteria, I'm afraid to look half of this stuff up. If I really research everything I probably won't have any places left to look at.

Besides the Portland/Corpus area, is there anything super wrong with any of the places I picked? Any BIG reason not to move to Port Lavaca, Denison, Fredericksburg, Austin, or (possibly) Kerrville?
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I'm gonna have to make a decision soon about which cities to see, so I can make reservations. I wish I had more time to research this. Apparently a year wasn't enough

One thing is that, I've visited enough places on vacation where I've just seen the city and *known* I didn't want to live there, although some of those I really liked *visiting*. The layout, the scenery...just the feel of the town didn't suit me. A couple days, heck not even a day was enough for me to think "no". And there's been a few places I've seen that I *would* like to live... but those were too expensive or had other problems.

But there's more to a town than meets the eye. I know just seeing it isn't enough to know if *living* there would be a good thing. What am I gonna do? If I could just come see the towns, I'd know whether I wanted to come see the towns.

I know what would solve my problem! Money! Give me a million dollars and I can tour the country until I find a town I like, stay there for awhile, then go to the next town I like until I've stayed in enough of them to say which one I like best.

I think I'm rambling now. Time for dinner!

[CandyApple]

Ok, I found the bad news I was looking for. This is from the EPA site. I found the list for Texas superfund sites:
NPL Sites in Texas, NPL, Superfund, US EPA (http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/tx.htm - broken link)

In the Corpus Christi area:
One superfund site (BRINE SERVICE COMPANY Corpus Christi, Texas):
NPL Site Narrative for Brine Service Company, NPL, Superfund, US EPA

And one proposed superfund site (FALCON REFINERY Ingleside, Texas):
NPL Site Narrative for Falcon Refinery, NPL, Superfund, US EPA

In Port Lavaca:
One superfund site (ALCOA (POINT COMFORT)/LAVACA BAY Point Comfort, Texas):
NPL Site Narrative for ALCOA (Point Comfort)/Lavaca Bay, NPL, Superfund, US EPA

Point Comfort is right across from Port Lavaca.

So, now, I guess the only thing I can do is call and find out if: A. They're still causing pollution and B. If they've cleaned them up or not.

Oh, I am so mad. I wanted to live by the beach and swim in the ocean, maybe even catch a fish if I had the heart. But some careless people had to go and mess that up.

Hmm... I was about to ask about Port Arthur/Port Neches, despite them being some of the rainiest cities in the U.S., so at least I'd have *one* coastal city to look at, but it turns out that area has superfund sites, too. I'm not going to even bother asking about that one. To heck with that. It wasn't my favorite coastal city anyway. I'll call about the other two, though.

Contact Us
Call the Superfund Hotline:
(800) 424-9346
or
(703) 412-9810

Available Weekdays
9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST

Regular or Certified Mail Address:
U.S. EPA OSRTI
Ariel Rios Building
Mailstop (5204G)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20460

So, unless I receive some good news when I call Monday, the beach is off.

[CandyApple]

Well, Corpus Christi/area is out. I have found out enough info about the pollution to decide once and for all not to move there. I didn't get a hold of the superfund hotline, though, because it's only open 10AM-3PM EST (Monday-Thursday), rather than the times posted on their website. When I called today they were closed.

Port Lavaca... I'm gonna call the hotline tomorrow and find out about that, plus I'm gonna try to look up some stuff online. The Port Lavaca chamber of commerce website says:

The economy of Port Lavaca and Calhoun County is very diversified, including manufacturing, petrochemical, oil and gas production, electric power generation, seafood production, farming and ranching, retirement living, and tourism.

The county is home to 5 major petrochemical plants, offering business access to low cost rail and water transportation of raw materials and finished products.

That and the superfund thing makes me leery, but I'm gonna find out more before I thoroughly give up on Port Lavaca.

BTW- My kid's dad is coming to Texas, too (she likes him, and he's a pretty good dad, otherwise I'd leave him in Alaska by himself). Does having the dad in the same town/involved with the kiddo make a difference? Positively or negatively? Is there any social stigma about dating single moms?

Since Corpus Christi is off the list, I'm gonna have to find a replacement. Which is better: San Marcos, or New Braunfels? I looked up the New Braunfels crime stats and they are lower than I thought, lower than Fairbanks anyway, so that's an option, now. I think someone in this thread mentioned San Marcos, and I read elsewhere that it's a college town.

I'm also thinking of adding Kerrville to the list. It's only 22 miles from Fredericksburg. How different is it from Fredericksburg? The layout and scenery I figure I can compare in a day just seeing it, but other than that? I'm trying to figure out if I'd just need to do a day trip to Kerrville, or if I'd need to alot as much time there as I'm allotting Fredericksburg.

Also, I can't seem to figure out if Fredericksburg has any good places to swim. Any info on that? Lakes, rivers, etc. in town or not too far away?

[changeofpace]

Food for thought, its better to live where it is known than unknown. We bought an existing house in an existing neighborhood rather than a new home because all of the new homes in developments had empty lots or land within a block of the home. Case in point, found a new home in Cameron Lakes Estates and low a behold a Valero gas station with a fast food chicken resturant was just over the fence. The station lights were like beacons into the entire Cimeran Lakes development. Regarding pollution, you know it is there and that it is being cleaned up. You may just move someplace and find out the pollution is there after you move there. The Gulf around Corpus is less polluted than many areas of the Gulf and many lakes and streams are fed by highway and farm runoff which is not being addressed at all.

[CandyApple]

Well, I've thought about it, read a few things about it... Port Lavaca's out too. There's a whole book about the subject, that, while I haven't read it, the reviews of it on Amazon were scary enough, that combined with everything else... I'm not moving there. It's called:

An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas
by Diane Wilson

Seadrift is just about 18 miles from Port Lavaca. Then I read in the Victorian Advocate about people being injured or killed in some of the plants in Calhoun county... and the plants seem to be a major employer, so who knows if I will have the option NOT to work there?... not exactly reassuring.

It's too bad, because honestly, Port Lavaca is the town that kept drawing my eye to it.

So, here's my new list:
Austin, Sherman/Denison, Fredericksburg, Kerrville, San Marcos, New Braunfels, Georgetown, and Cedar Park. And someone mentioned San Angeleo? Is there a good amount of trees there?

I'm gonna cut some of these off the list to get it down to 5-6, but first I'm going to have to research to figure out which ones. I haven't checked the pollution stats on them yet. If I have to cut too many because of that I'm gonna have to add other towns to make up for it.

At this point... as long as there's nothing too bad about the towns (bad pollution, gazillion-dollar-a-month rents, buildings built out of playdough and broken glass, just waiting to collapse and crush people, etc.), I'm gonna go see 'em and pick which one I like best.

I see your point, changeofpace... a place might be polluted/etc. without me knowing about it... but I'd rather not "seek out" places that I *know* are hazardous, ya' know? Especially since I have the option to live just about anywhere I want in the U.S. There should be some place I like that's not a sludge fest.