Moving to Corpus Christi

I am moving to Corpus Christi in the next month. I have some questions.

Are there any newspapers other than the big daily?

Are there local magazines?

Is there nightlife?

Anything else you know from living here?

There is an island newspaper, some quasi-regular printings that are more or less demographic-specific.

No local mags.

Downtown is in a renaissance of sorts... into a mock Bourbon Street atmosphere; good restaurants downtown as well. Most of the property belongs to one or two people.

Corpus Christi isn't a high-tech, silicon valley environment. There's a severe "brain drain" from the universities here. We do have the island beach, lots of sun.

Do yourself a favor -- stay where you are. There is one decent newspaper, a handful of decent restaurants, and two malls that, if combined would be one mediocre one. Be ready for selfish and thoughtless drivers, a Whataburger and payday loan on every other street corner, and property taxes that rival those of Chicago. You will go through a set of brakes in 12 months, will need new shocks from the craters in the band-aid repaired roads, and be prepared to have your windshield cracked. Don't park within a 1/4 mile of anyone or you'll get your doors banged up. The grocery stores are packed with rude obnixious people.

The beach is ok if you like brown sand and dark murky water. I will say the enchiladas are good and it doesn't rain much. Best wishes on your move.

Jeff - this is a great place to live if coming from a BIG City environment. 15 minutes from just about anywhere to the Intl. Airport (i know-i've been running late for years to pick updrop off friends and myself). No more winters...it may have dropped to 35% once or twice this past winter. It is hot and humid, especially during Aug/Sept.(today it was 82% with 47 mph wind gusts and about 85% humidity) Pretty laid back metro area of 300k with a decent amount of good restaurants and lots of good places to get away for a wkend with Rockport and Port Aransas as well as Lake Mathis all within 45 mins away. Good place to raise a family. Like to fish-wind surf-sail? This is the place. Sounds like David needs to move into your house in Ohio!! Call with ?'s alan 361 8577236

Alan's comments are all true - with the exception of me moving to Ohio. Weather is great and there are some good restaurants. My issues with Corpus Christi are a lack of vision, lack of political courage and lack of planning. If you can look past the litter and look past the lack of decent shoppiing, it's a decent place to live for a few years. My suggestion is to get a condo on Ocean Drive or on Padre Island. While I look forward to moving from Corpus Christi, I will look back on my time here with some degree of affinity for the friends I've made and the opportunity to see the beauty of Ocean Drive.

I hate Corpus, might as well call it mexico!

dont go up to hillcrest some people be flaging you down to buy drugs in daylight on the corners

Totally agree with David. My family moved here because of my husband's job in the oil & gas industry. People here are comitted to keeping this place a dumpy small town. This place desperately need a new high school to relieve overcrowding - it was voted down. A beach developer wanted to develop a beach resort that would have brought desperately needed jobs - voted down. Toyota considered building a plant in our area, the city wouldn't give tas incentives. It has tremendous potential but residents here would prefer to live in a dumpy little town.

I hate people like David and Teri who don't know how to stay on topic in a thread.

David, nobody cares that you couldn't find those red stiletto heels you were looking for.

Teri, we don't want or need your life story.

Jeff, the main newspaper here is decent...if you look past the fact that it was written at a 11th grade reading level...

There are no local magazines that come to mind.

The nightlife is good, especially downtown.

jef, good luck on your move here!!just remeber what i am about to tell you. This town is a trap, once you get here, it will suck you dry and you will be trapped here for ever. I hope you dont intend investing in this town, it is not business friendly at all and working withthe city is a nightmare!

I'm looking to relocate to Corpus from the Midwest within the next 6 months. We are tired of winter weather and boredom. Corpus seems unique in that it is a beach-side city that is actually affordable. Obviously, that includes some negatives as people in this thread have pointed out. If my family is looking for affordable sun, should these problems be enough to keep us away? We are from a town of around 100,000 so Corpus would actually be larger and we are used to laid back.....

its a fun city,crime is low,sun is warm,it might freeze here 3-5 days a year. been here 38 yrs and have been afforded the ability to travel anywhere i want to go due to the cheap living expense,although growth is slow its not a bad place to raise kiddos,semi-surrounded by water,easy access to anywhere,light traffic,compared to alot of other places.make sure you have uninsured mexican coverage on your auto policy.and be aware its almost all democrat,so if you need government help you'll be okay.its just like any other growing city with the usual ups and downs,oh ya might wanna learn spanish.good luck.

Teri- we are considering taking a position in the oil and gas industry and I was wondering if you could tell me more about it. I'd like to know about raising a family there, as well as the job market and general family life. Tell me more about the schools (mainly elementary level) and the living conditions. Also, what's the weather generally like for winter and summer. Thanks for your help.

Corpus is a great city with some big problems. I am not a fan of Texas but I would say it is one of the best places to live in the Lone Star State. There are numerous outdoor activities that other Texas cities lack.
Although the city has made some progress in the past few years. The city is in need of some good leadership. It's embarissing when cities like Mc Allen and Laredo are growing faster than Corpus Christi. Corpus has the beach, nearby lakes, great fishing, a laid back feel and great infrastructure. There is even a wifi system in most of city. Corpus is one of a couple of U.S. cities with a system like that. But more needs to be done. The local officials need to think big and bold. To stop the brain drain they need to figure out how to bring good paying jobs to the Coastal Bend. Unless they get their act together the area will live up to its potential.
I appologize if I upset anyone but you can research the history of the city. Someone dropped the ball after the 1960's and put the brakes on the city's growth. The city has not grown much since the 1970's.

as someone who was born and raised here, I can tell you its a great place to raise your kids if you want them either:
A: moved across country after graduation
OR
B: pregnant with 3 kids before graduation

People who have lived here their whole lives and never seen anything else, who want the dingy white picket fence with five kids and a yard full of trash blown in from one of the scum neighborhoods down the street, love it here. I've lived in california, florida, nebraska, and have traveled many other places. Now I'm in washington and couldnt be happier.

I have no interest in going back. I dont want to deal with the closed minded people who are happy with what they have. Any time I have gone back you really notice the smell of chemicals and rotting sea weed. Downtown corpus sucks once you have seen a real downtown. The beaches are horrible, even if you can drive on them. The nightlife is a mix of mexican thugs and white frat boys trying to be mexican thugs. The vast majority of the women in the clubs are whores, and those who arent there to hook up already have a guy or two at home and a half dozen kids. I knew very few 'worldy' people from corpus, and those I did were usually forty years my senior and well settled on the island or one of the very secluded neighborhoods on the outskirts of town. If you like cooking, good luck finding foods. HEB has a decent american selection but if you want anything fresh and not covered in wax, you will never find it. The restaurants are very subpar for the prices, with very very few exceptions(notably Vietnam, Aka, Hemingways in Rockport, and Jezabelles).

Corpus is very lacking in a culture that is appealing to outsiders, unless you enjoy the look and feel of a slightly cleaner and less criminally rampant mexico.

Born in Corpus Christi. Couldn't wait to get the hell out.
Local newspaper is OK, heavily leans to the right like the rest of the "city".
No real magazine to speak of.
If you're into Tejano/Ranchero, I guess there is a night life. Otherwise not really.
Crime is actually worse than national average. There is nothing there for the youth. If you have half a brain you leave, therefore the "city" is mostly populated with ignorant, small minded people. If you work for gas/oil, medical or perhaps for the goverment, it is decent as far as cost of living. It has in way begun to become a retirement community because of the weather and therefore property values are out wack with the rest of cost of living.
The only reason I go back is to visit family are are misfortunate enough to still be there.
If you have to go, try to stay on the south side.

I moved here from Dallas because of work and I regret it so much. Southern hospitality does not exsist in this city. Most of the people seem snobby wether they are rich or not.

My husband & I live in the midwest and he has a job offer in Corpus Christi. I have never been there and I am wondering if it is a decent place to raise kids. How are the schools (need to look into elementary)? Can someone please tell me what are the nice, decent areas (zip codes) of Corpus Christi?

Thanks,

Karen

Karen my husband and son in elementary now are moving to the area from Virginia. We are originally from north TX and excited to be coming "home". With my husband in the military it will be our second move. I have similar questions about what it is like in south TX. I have done some research and found Portland a small town north of Corpus has an exemplary elementary school-East Cliff. Also the houses you can get for the money compared to here are really nice. I am just wanting some opinions on the area of Portland to know if I am on the right track. On avg. what would I have to pay for tax purposes on a house from 120,000 to 150,000 a year?
Thanks for any help.

One other thing. Karen go to greatschools.net and search the corpus christi schools and then you can select the ones you want to compare and sort the results as to what is most important to you. Look for exemplary rated schools and test scores along with the other info. It also has feedback on some of the schools from parents who have children attending. Hope it helps.