Hi! I am currently planning on relocating to Texas and I was wondering which area was the best...Austin, Houston, Sugar Land, or Corpus Christi. I want to teach high school Spanish and I think Sugar Land pays the best but I'm not sure if that's the best place to go.
Right now I'm looking into Austin and possibly Corpus Christi.
I love the outdoors and nature and cities with culture which seems like Austin but affordability is key as well.
Houston seems like it's affordable but doesn't seem very pretty as far as outdoor recreation. Is Corpus Christi pretty? Are there things to do there?
Any information would help. Thanks!
2006-09-13 19:49:07 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Austin
Personally, I have lived in all these places that you are considering. Currently, I live in Austin. As everyone might have aleady mentioned to you, Sugar Land is just a suburb of Houston. It's about 10 to 15 miles southwest of downtown Houston. Considering how Houston is always expanding, Sugar Land will soon be a pocket city like Jersey City (another city/suburb of Houston) that was consumed by Houston.
Judging from your criterias, it is really a toss-up on price versus activity. For starters, Houston and Corpus (as most of us in Texas call it) are the cheapest of your two options in terms of housing price. I do agree that Corpus can become touristic, but you can easily avoid the crowds and such as you slowly gain your footing. Depending upon where you choose to buy or rent will determine the final price. The east part of Houston is experiencing a gentrification, so the prices are slowly increasing. However, you can still get lots of bargains. Similarly, the main sections of Corpus is seeing renovations and such to attract more tourist and keep locals from moving away. Anything near the beach strand or touristy areas will cost dearly.
As for Austin and Sugar Land, the housing market makes little sense here. The prices are forever increasing for no reason what so ever. Sugar Land started as an upscale suburb of Houston, similar to Kingwood, The Woodlands, Champion Forest and Jersey Village. However, Sugar Land has not lost much of its value. If you desire the higher pay from teaching at any of Sugar Land's awarding winning schools, then I would recommend living in the Alief or Hastings areas, where housing is much cheaper. Just remember that you will see lots of traffic and congestion as you try to make your way towards your outdoor activities (depends again on what you desire to do outdoors). As for Austin, it is a large metropolitan packaged inside a small city. The entire length from north to small is only 25 miles. East to west is roughly 20 miles. Others might state it is bigger, but do not considering the surrounding cities as part of Austin. Anyhow, the cheapest the location is the southeast side of town for rental and purchase. However, it is not the safest of areas. If you want safety and somewhat decent pricing, something northwest of downtown is your best option. Just know that it will not be as cheap as Houston. The traffic could be equivalent as Houston, but it depends on which direction you are going during the traffic hours.
If you only consider outdoor activities, then Corpus and Austin offer much more than Houston (including Sugar Land). Austin has three lakes within and touching its borders. You can jog, bike, or walk around Town Lake. In addition, there is canoeing, swimming (not recommended in Town Lake) and other water activities at the end of your day. To the south of Austin is a dedicated track for Cycling. It is 3.3 miles long w/ two lanes for slow and fast riders. It is one way, so you never have to deal with on-coming traffic. If road biking is not your thing, then the numerous parks and creeks offer more than enough for mountain bikers. If you prefer sporting activities, there are soccer, tennis, flag football, and numerous other leagues that meet throughout the week. I think you get the idea of Austin being an outdoor kind of place. I think it has something to do with the younger median age of the population. Moving Corpus, it is a water sport heaven. You can go kite boarding, surfing (depends upon the tide and location), fishing, jet skiing, boating. and many others. True tourist do come to invade during holidays and many school breaks. However, you can easily avoid them by going over to Rockport, Port A (Aransis for non-Texans) or Mustang Island. I think the locates can easily clue you in on where to go and what to expect. The plus about the beach at Corpus compared to Glaveston (45 miles east of Houston) is that the water is actually blue. Due to the large amounts of slit from the Mississippi River draining into the Gulf of Mexico, the beaches around and near Houston have brown water.
I guess I have stated more than enough about all the places. As for things to do, Houston will have the most offerings. Being a large metropolitan, there are many more concerts there than in Austin or Corpus. In addition, broadway shows, touring acts and other special events will most likely stop in Houston. This is not say that Austin or Corpus does not have it's attractions. For instance, Austin hosts the SXSW (South by Southwest) and ACL (Austin City Limits) festivals each year. SXSW is a week long event that showcases movies, music and interactive programming. Usually, there are over 120 movies that screen during the week. So are shorts, others full length, documentaries, Hollywood premieres and many other categories. Music offerings range from local, international, mainstream to independent. Interactive gives the latest and greatest in technology to interact with people. As for ACL, it is a 3-day long concert in the park (location is Zilker Park). Headliners have been Coldplay, REM, Sheryl Crow, Oasis and numerous others.
I hope this helps with your decision. If you are still up in the air, I would recommend coming down for a quick visit.
2006-09-14 06:13:08 · answer #1 · answered by akrai 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Austin is the greatest city in the world. I love it here and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
Houston isn't horrible, I am not familiar with Sugar Land specifically, but I have been to houston many times, and it's not that bad, but violence is a real problem in Houston. Granted it's only in certain areas, and I doubt you'd see alot of it in Sugar Land, but it's still there. Austin has violence too, but nothing like what Houston has. People here are generally friendly, the city isn't too bad to navigate.
Corpus is...eh, I dunno. I mean, it's not bad cuz you're on the beach, but it has it's flaws. I wouldn't even consider Corpus, I would try to decide between Austin and Sugar Land, and really, it's a no brainer. (:
2006-09-14 01:23:54 · answer #2 · answered by audemars 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well first off there are only a few vacant lots between campus and downtown. Just so you know, they're not exactly 'beachfront' like you probably have in mind. The available ones are priced between 550,000 and 1.5 mil... The largest is a 1 acre lot by ropes park on Ocean and Airline. Your best bet? Build out on Padre Island. It's like a 5 min drive over the cosway. There are hundreds of acres available for a fraction of what you'de find in Corpus or Port A.
2016-03-27 00:46:05 · answer #3 · answered by Martha 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hey, I just relocated to Texas a couple of months ago. The guys that I work with speak highly of Corpus. I guess the cost of living is low and the coast is beautiful. From what I understand it has a diverse culture as well. Houston is getting over crowded as well as Austin and the crime is on the rise in both places. Interesting enough most of the crime in Houston is getting blamed on the hurricane evacuees, another reason for the population bloom in that city as well, which might make looking for a place a little more difficult. I hope my little info helps.
2006-09-13 20:04:25 · answer #4 · answered by Eric 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Austin is good and has UT there of course....Houston too busy and crowded and Corpus would be my second choice with Austin being the first. I have been to all three and Austin is deep in the heart and withing an hour or so away from lots of things to do.
2006-09-13 19:59:32 · answer #5 · answered by amazincajn_99 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Houston has a lot to do and see, and its central to visit other areas, check out The Woodlands TX, it is about 50 miles north of Houston, but its not a bad drive at the rigth time. And the house prices ROCK. Don't take my word, contact a agent or look at a site. The Woodlands is nicer than Sugerland, and lots cheaper for what you get. I'd tell you what I paid for my house, but you wouldn't believe me. I should have stayed there. My father builds houses in Michigan, and he couldn't believe me.
CC is expensive, touristy (expensive), bad season changes.
Austin is probably the nicest neatest town in TX, if you can stand the college atmosphere. That is where Matthew McConaughey got busted for playing the bongo drums in the nude while him and some friends were smoking pot with the front door and curtains on the windows were open. Too much stuff like that happens in Austin, he probably did things like that all the time, cops were just having a slow night.. his bad luck. You should def see Austin though, eat at the Salt Lick BBQ when you go there and swim in Pedernalis Falls.
2006-09-13 19:58:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Austin
2006-09-14 05:17:47 · answer #7 · answered by A 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Corpus Christi is Great. Check out these awesome High Schools in that area. Gregory-Portland, Callallen, Flour Bluff, ETC. just to name a few.I went to High school at Taft which is about 17 miles from Corpus. All of this Corpus Christi area is a Wonderful Place.
2006-09-13 23:57:02 · answer #8 · answered by James Dodge Boy 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Sugar Land is probably the best. Houston is too near the coast and evacuating during the last storm was a disaster. (People were stuck for days on the freeways there in town.) Living in Sugar Land, you could live west of town and you probably wouldn't even have to evacuate ever. Austin is really getting too crowded and has spilled way over into other counties. If you choose Sugar Land, don't live too close to the Brazos. (Richmond and Rosenberg are really beautiful towns near to Sugar Land!) Be sure you are on pretty high ground. Corpus---never liked it (flat, nasty, snake-infested, saltgrass prairie)! And too close to the coast anyhow.
2006-09-13 20:02:53 · answer #9 · answered by The Invisible Man 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Austin rocks.
There's lots to do Houston, but it was recently one of America's fattest cities. Sugar Land is just a suburb of Houston. Corpus Cristi isn't bad, but it's a tourist town that has lousy winters. Austin has lots to do, and it's not far from Houston and San Antonio.
2006-09-13 19:55:23 · answer #10 · answered by ralfg33k 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋