Corpus Christi, Texas may seem like a perfect place to live, but in reality, there are tons of things that make it a bad place to call home. If you are considering moving to Corpus Christi, Texas, keep reading! We’ve got some pretty important things you need to know about the city.
1. High Crime Rate
Corpus Christi has a lot of positives and negatives. The biggest and one of the most obvious is the high crime rate. NeighboorhoodScout.com is a site that shows different statistics about cities all over the United States. One of these statistics is their rating of how safe the city is on a scale from 1 to 100 with 100 being the safest. On this site, Corpus Christi received a score of 6 on its safety relating to crime rates. In general, Corpus Christi has nearly double the number of crimes compared to the national average, and both property crime and violent crime are above the national and Texas average. Theft is the most common case with about 26 people being robbed per every 1,000.
2. Poor Politics and Political Leaders
When locals talk about their political leaders and political situations, one of the more common descriptions is “Old ultra-conservative people who only care about taxes and their property value.” There are plenty of different statements by many people from Corpus Christi that are expressing their displeasure and frustration with the politicians and many talks about how corrupt the city is.
“The horrific corruption of so much of the established wealth in our fine city – they keep the city council, mayor, and much of our local city govt. locked into about a 1980s mentality that only benefits them and the oil, gas, petroleum, and plastics industries as well as their other established businesses… and run off anyone who attempts to change the way things are done here.”
3. Lack of Development in the City
One of the main reasons that people have a negative outlook on their political leaders is the fact that the city isn’t developing. The big problem is that the downtown is older and doesn’t have that much for anyone to do and so anyone visiting will only be out by the beach. This problem has been getting slightly better over recent years as the city has started working on a few new buildings.
“I still live in Corpus Christi but I would want to see a lot changed, from scenery downtown being brought back to life to a better way for traveling into town than just one freeway.”
4. Awful Road Conditions
This is a complaint that it seems every single city manages to have if you include drivers. Corpus Christi is slightly different as most people had problems with the roads themselves rather than the drivers, though there were complaints of the driver going 20+ mph over the speed limit. The big problem that people had with Corpus Christi roads was the fact that they always seem to be falling apart. From large cracks to constant potholes, there seems to always be something going on with the roads that need to be repaired every few years.
“Living in Corpus can be quite irritating sometimes, especially with the constant roadwork”
5. Construction Everywhere
You might think that since there isn’t a lot of development happing that there wouldn’t be construction right? Well, there is construction just about everywhere working on all sorts of projects. It seems that there are so many projects going on that the construction companies are understaffed and take a few extra years to finish whatever project they work on.
“I also find all the road construction to be ridiculous. They start projects all over the place, screw up the street enough so people can’t drive on it, then dump. The project to start somewhere else. Fast forward 3 to 6 months they will assign 5 people to do a 10-person job and 2 people out of that 5 will work while the other 3 watches.”
6. Taxes
The national average for sales tax is just over 5%, however, in Texas, it started at 6.25%. This wouldn’t be too bad, but as you get into the city of Corpus Christi you get several other minor additions to the amount of tax you have to pay. First, just being in Corpus Christi adds and additions 1.38% to the sales tax. Corpus Christi Crime Control adds another 0.13% which frustrates people since many have complaints that the police don’t do that much, and a final 0.5% is added for the MTA Transit. Combined, those in Corpus Christi are paying a large 8.26% sales tax on each purchase. While not the highest (10.3% in Washington) this is still a high amount to pay for what many feel is money that’s just being taken by political leaders.
7. Limited Job Options
When it comes to working in Corpus Christi you likely aren’t going to have much luck since the vast majority of jobs are either governmental jobs or with the nearby oil plants. There are also plenty of minimum wage jobs available if you aren’t too close to either of the colleges, but besides that, the job market is very small and limiting.
One local stated the job situation very well when they said, “My boss: There are plenty of jobs! I’m looking to hire more people because I can’t keep workers here! Me: Have you considered paying better? Boss: They don’t deserve more money! These people are lazy and don’t want to work!” So if you have plans to move to Corpus Christi anytime soon, you are going to want to make sure that you have a solid job before moving or you could have a lot of struggles.
8. Homelessness and Poverty
In the most recent United States Census they found that 11% of the population is either homeless or living in poverty, and Corpus Christi is both above the national average to a level that concerns U.S. officials. The amount of people that are in poverty or homeless is 16% of the population or some 51,000 people. Not only does Corpus Christi have a concerning level of people in poverty, but the average household income is also far below the national average, likely being a key reason the poverty rate is so high. The average household income in Corpus Christi is $57,387 which is around $10,000 less than the national average.
9. Litter Everywhere (Including Diapers)
One thing that typically is common when there is a high rate of homelessness and poverty is that there is going to be little. However it isn’t just those who are dealing with poverty, rather just about everyone is contributing to it. From wrappers and cups being tossed from cars on the highway to diapers scattered about parking lots, there is lots of litter and the city has yet to take steps to get it cleaned.
“The casual littering. People throwing their Mcdonald’s cups out their window in the Whataburger drive-through. The flicking of cigarettes. The DIAPERS, oh God the diapers! They are literally in every major store parking lot.”
10. Pollution
When you leave trash and litter throughout the city, you are going to deal with some pollution, however, Corpus Christi has a long history of water and air pollution. When it comes to air quality, major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago all have cleaner air than them. The average air quality in Corpus Christi is 78, while the Texas average is 41, and the U.S. average is 43.8. The air quality in Corpus Christi is bad enough that on a typical day those who are sensitive may experience some respiratory symptoms.
11. The Water Situation
Over the past several years Corpus Christi has had a few problems with providing drinking water and because of that, the city has limited the amount of water each home gets. This comes from an order to citizens early last year, “As a result of the low water pressures, the City must implement an immediate water boil order as required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. All water customers are being notified to boil their water prior to consumption. Seniors and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria and should especially follow the order.” Since that time many citizens have purchased large amounts of bottled water to prevent this from happening again.
12. Weather
It should come as no surprise that since Corpus Christi is in Texas that the weather is going to be very sunny and hot. But, along with it being hot, those in Corpus Christi get to experience the occasional tornado as well as hurricanes since they are along the Gulf of Mexico. Corpus Christi also has received the unofficial nickname of “Windiest City in the United States” so anyone who is thinking of moving there should be ready for lots of hot, humid, and very windy days.
13. Poor Education
Despite having two colleges located within the city, the education for those in elementary and high school is not the best. The first noticeable thing is that the high school graduation rate within the city is below the national average. The United State high school graduation rate is 86%, but Corpus Christi has a graduation rate of just over 80%, ‘so still not too far from the national average. But, many people have problems with the school system, saying things like,
“The schools prioritize money over students.”
14. Lack of Activities (Besides Fishing)
Corpus Christi is a beach city, so if you like being on the beach, swimming, and fishing, then you will have the stuff to do. But after you have done those things a few times you likely are going to get bored and it isn’t much else within the city. There are a few museums but those tend to be a single-visit experience and the closest thing you are going to get to pro sports are the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A team for the Houston Astros.
“There’s not much stuff to do in the city outside of Texas A&M University of Corpus Christi stuff besides the tourist attractions.”
15. Limited Church Options
When it comes to Corpus Christi and religion, you are going to want to be Christian or it will be fairly hard to find a church. Almost exactly 60% of people within the city are Christian, with the most common being Catholic at 33.6%. Only 0.1% claim Judaism and 0.8% are Islamic, so this shows just how far and few these religions are throughout Corpus Christi. The city is far more religious than the Texas average and the average population percentage that is Catholic is double the Texas average. Other eastern religions are just as rare as Judaism and Islam within the city, so the places of worship are few and few throughout the city.
16. Wild Animals
Another problem that Corpus Christi has is a large number of feral cats and dogs. One of the big reasons for this is the lack of spaying and neutering pets, who eventually escape or get lost. These former pets have populated and now there are lots of ferals throughout the city. From the local news, “A recent cat killing by a pack of stray dogs is just one of the reasons Animal Care Services is cracking down on irresponsible dog owners. The problem of stray dogs is not new. Martinez says they plan to work with police on patrol sweeps looking for packs of strays and will continue offering spay and neutering procedures at their facility.”
17. People are Extra Rude
Yeah, unfortunately, those who are from Corpus Christi tend to find each other some of the rudest people around. “I was at the laundry mat washing comforters when the lady working there even had to tell the kids to not run around. Keep in mind, that there are signs stating this. It’s then that the children’s mom was offended and got upset. I had to intervene and tell her, that there are signs everywhere. Again as I stated prior, not all, but most Corpus Christians have an attitude with, I do what I want, when I want. It’s when they get called out, that they get even more of an attitude. Almost as if it’s a whole different breed.”
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