We will be moving in around two years, to the coast, valley, or Laredo area..... so I've been looking.

No shizzle Ese, have lived in all 3 if you ever want my perspective on them...

There's a couple of those on here.

I've lived in Corpus and Laredo, S.A. when I was very young. You couldn't pay me to go anywhere that big these days.

Laredo is expensive for what we are, and the highest taxes with the most worthless local government you've ever seen. Takes 3 of them just to work up an appetite. I'd be looking down towards Edinburg where you can still get nice plots of land with homes for a respectable price. I'm moving out towards Cuero in the next couple of years, if I can, love small town Texas.

We won't have a choice, but if I could choose, it would be 30-50 acres and a house in the Victoria area, or on a channel with a boat lift somewhere in the C.C., Rockport area. My son was looking in the Ed area and he was amazed at what he could afford down there. The valley would be my third choice, and Laredo would be my last. Time will tell.

I don’t know what to tell you. I have an Aunt and Uncle that have lived in Allen for decades. Used to call it McKinney when I was a kid but I guess it’s Allen now. They had to apply for some type of special homestead deal or they would have been forced out of their home over the cost of taxes. I believe they have neighbors with homes in the million dollar range with no property, just a typical 1/4 acre lot.

I remember jumping on the trampoline and eating peaches fresh off the tree in their back yard when i was a kid, and I could see forever and there were no homes in view behind them. Now it is the complete opposite.

if you were lucky to invest in tech stocks from the 90s 2000s, amazon, meta etc ....

you can buy multi mil house with change left to last til death

Exactly. We went on a fishing trip turned short boat tour due to weather at Hilton Head years ago. The houses were a real eye opener as to the wealth in this country. 'Guide said most of them were 2nd homes. I seriously doubt there were many mortgages.

I think all of the above is true. That said, I don't think we should shortchange the folks that are not "old money", didn't make it on stocks and bitcoin, aren't overleveraged, but actually worked their rear ends off along the way to earn it. Folks may not agree with how they are spending it, but that falls in the NUNYA category

Lots of people have found out ways to make lots of money.

Instead of wondering “how are they doing it”, ask yourself “ how can I do this”?

Ese, born and lived in Laredo, lived in S.A., Harlingen, and C.C. Played Victoria in HS sports. Don't think you'll find as much as at S.A. but some nice about ea. of them. Good folks, eats and hunting in Laredo, good eats, folks, business ops. in The Valley, good seafood and slower pace of lifestyle in C.C. Victoria reminds me of C.C. minus the beach/Bayfront and more African Americans since a lot of share cropping was there in 1800s into 1900s. In 80s into mid 90s, Victoria had really good HS football and baseball, still decent. Rockport is like C.C. but smaller scale and more seafaring type community.

Laredo is actually the city with the highest rate of success for new businesses in the entire state according to studies done by the A&M Real Estate Research Center. Corpus has gotten... dirty? I don't know how to put it. The city is just visibly dirty whenever I go out there to visit my mother.

You tell Mr. Butts I said to send you to Cuero so you can enjoy some peace and quiet.

Agreed. Live in Corpus from 70-83, it was always kinda dingy and still is. Heavy port industry combined with heavy, stagnant dews many mornings just leaves grime a lot of places. And while it's a coastal city, it doesn't get all that much rainfall to wash things off routinely. Lots of mold/mildew as well.

I used to work a bit in corpus.

It’s just a grimey place. Cant think of many redeeming qualities about the town myself.

You can dump trash into the bay and no one will notice?

I noted seafood and slower pace, about all I could come up with and I lived there 15+ years growing up, lol.....

Agreed

"Hang out with four drug addicts, you will become the fifth. Hang out with four millionaires, you will become the fifth."

i'll take the fifth.

Some made it outside of their career. A few rental properties and 2-3 really good stock plays can put you way ahead of the day job that people know you for. A career with a great company keeps you relevant, insured, engaged with peers.........so even if you don't need it, you're still a working man.

Lol, I'm thinking Rockport, or Mustang island/Padre island, I think we'll skip over AP, Ingleside, and CC

You still won’t catch a keeper red - unless I come down. If to be, she’d better be wearing a short golf skirt.