Port Lavaca Info (Alamo, Bowie, Mart: real estate, shops, beach)
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I am from Port Lavaca and have lived here all my life...49 years total. Well actually I did live in Houston for a couple of years and Dallas for about 8 years...so I have experienced a bit of how the city folks live during those years.
I would like to make a plug for my hometown. Port Lavaca is a great place to live in my opinion. We do have a nice city owned beach front with plenty of white sand, a nice park, a new long lighted fishing pier, and a wetlands walk next to a nice RV park in town. Then we have what we lovingly refer to as "weekday" beaches of Alamo, Magnolia, and Indianola Beaches that fill up during the long days of summer with tourists and hometown sand and sea lovers. These beaches are a short 15 minute drive outside of Port Lavaca.
We are a town that have many families who date back to the 1800's as well as many new faces that are finding living in our town a little slice of heaven on the gulf coast. We are growing, as are the other small towns in our county like Port O'Connor, Seadrift, Point Comfort, and Port Alto, and this is adding to the addition of new businesses and ammenities in the city and county. We are currently adding three new hotels in town, and several new shopping centers. We have a beautiful old downtown area with lots of interesting shops and restaurants that are a favorite of tourists as well as locals, and most recently we have opened a beautiful new 5 star seafood restaurant on the water of Lavaca Bay.
Folks in Port Lavaca are friendly and the town has a real relaxed and laid back feel to it, and as one post already said...we don't like trouble makers here. There are enough local stores to supply a person with everyday needs and if not Victoria is only 30 miles up the road. Radio stations and Television stations from both Houston and Corpus Christi provide the area with a good variety of station choices.
The best thing about Port Lavaca though has to be it's location. We are central to everything on the Texas Coast. Around an hour and a half from Corpus, two hours from Houston, two and a half from Galveston, and three hours from San Antonio and Austin. Want to go to the theater or a concert...a day of shopping...Sea World, Fiesta Texas, Rockets game...all only a few hours away. It is the same for all the wonderful beaches here in Texas, Rockport, Corpus, Port Aransas, Surf Side, Crystal Beach, Padre Island...same deal. The only real drive is a trip to Dallas/Ft. Worth.
For anyone looking to have a nice quiet beachy place that is well connected to the rest of the beautiful Texas Gulf Coast you might check us out here in Port Lavaca...we have a lot to offer.
I am from Port Lavaca and have lived here all my life...49 years total. Well actually I did live in Houston for a couple of years and Dallas for about 8 years...so I have experienced a bit of how the city folks live during those years.
I would like to make a plug for my hometown. Port Lavaca is a great place to live in my opinion. We do have a nice city owned beach front with plenty of white sand, a nice park, a new long lighted fishing pier, and a wetlands walk next to a nice RV park in town. Then we have what we lovingly refer to as "weekday" beaches of Alamo, Magnolia, and Indianola Beaches that fill up during the long days of summer with tourists and hometown sand and sea lovers. These beaches are a short 15 minute drive outside of Port Lavaca.
We are a town that have many families who date back to the 1800's as well as many new faces that are finding living in our town a little slice of heaven on the gulf coast. We are growing, as are the other small towns in our county like Port O'Connor, Seadrift, Point Comfort, and Port Alto, and this is adding to the addition of new businesses and ammenities in the city and county. We are currently adding three new hotels in town, and several new shopping centers. We have a beautiful old downtown area with lots of interesting shops and restaurants that are a favorite of tourists as well as locals, and most recently we have opened a beautiful new 5 star seafood restaurant on the water of Lavaca Bay.
Folks in Port Lavaca are friendly and the town has a real relaxed and laid back feel to it, and as one post already said...we don't like trouble makers here. There are enough local stores to supply a person with everyday needs and if not Victoria is only 30 miles up the road. Radio stations and Television stations from both Houston and Corpus Christi provide the area with a good variety of station choices.
The best thing about Port Lavaca though has to be it's location. We are central to everything on the Texas Coast. Around an hour and a half from Corpus, two hours from Houston, two and a half from Galveston, and three hours from San Antonio and Austin. Want to go to the theater or a concert...a day of shopping...Sea World, Fiesta Texas, Rockets game...all only a few hours away. It is the same for all the wonderful beaches here in Texas, Rockport, Corpus, Port Aransas, Surf Side, Crystal Beach, Padre Island...same deal. The only real drive is a trip to Dallas/Ft. Worth.
For anyone looking to have a nice quiet beachy place that is well connected to the rest of the beautiful Texas Gulf Coast you might check us out here in Port Lavaca...we have a lot to offer.
based on your post, i went and checked out some houses for sale (on line of course...) in port lavaca and am REALLY liking what i am seeing. can you maybe provide a little more information on desirable areas and maybe less desirable areas?? i am a single woman, no human children, just 2 feline and 2 canine fur children. a couple of the houses that i "looked at" were off of alcoa avenue..... although i am sort of familiar with the area, i have been away many many years ....... is this area behind a plant??
any advice you can offer would be appreciated. i am not really concerned with the ages of the houses or the ethnic or racial makeup of an area..... just that the houses and yards are overall neat and well kept..... i know that there is ALWAYS a house or few in every neighborhood where the residents are a little less conscientious, shall we say, than the rest..... i am more interested in the overall feel of the different areas of town......
any info on port o'connor or seadrift would be welcomed as well.
I love the Texas Gulf Coast. When I was a kid my dad would take us to Rockport/Port A to fish back in the 70's & 80's. Those places are totally different now but still nice. Today, I take my family to Rockport and Port O'Connor. I like Port O for fishing but you need a boat for serious fishing b/c its right on the ICW or MadBay.
Does anyone have any info on Indianola? Is it a decent place to live and then commute to Port O'Connor, Port Lavaca, Victoria?
I love the Texas Gulf Coast. When I was a kid my dad would take us to Rockport/Port A to fish back in the 70's & 80's. Those places are totally different now but still nice. Today, I take my family to Rockport and Port O'Connor. I like Port O for fishing but you need a boat for serious fishing b/c its right on the ICW or MadBay.
Does anyone have any info on Indianola? Is it a decent place to live and then commute to Port O'Connor, Port Lavaca, Victoria?
Has Indianola come back to life?
I thought it was a abandoned after a couple of 1880s hurricanes & all that was left was the foundation slabs & a couple of statues?
Well, it looks like you're getting some good responses from the beach folks on here, Harry. If you have any questions that aren't answered, let me know, and I'll ask Sis. She is the beach bum in the family, and goes several times a year. Her favorite places are Rockport-Fulton and Port Aransas, if I remember correctly! She's south of Austin, so it's easy to get down to the coast.
She would love to live on the coast, but has several reasons for staying where she is. There are a LOT of considerations for living on the coast.
You get both Corpus and Houston stations on the radio in PL. I think the local stations on cable TV are either all or mostly from Houston, although there is a Victoria station, too.
If you depend on NPR, you will be able to get nothing but the Victoria relay of the Corpus Christi station, which has only 5 hours a day of talk/information NPR programming.
Most of the time you can pick up Corpus Christi NPR Raido directly on a car radio in Port Lavaca. It is not round the clock talk but it does play all day with music during parts of the day. Satellite radio is also available and great in Port Lavaca and Calhoun County.
Indianola in the mid to late 1800's was the only port on the Texas Gulf Coast that rivaled Galveston. It was almost totally destroyed in a major hurricane in 1875 and while many citizens stayed and rebuilt, it never reached the glory days it saw before the storm, and another huge hurricane in 1886 finished the town.
Today Indianola is a nice little community on Matagorda Bay and it's beaches along with Alamo and Magnolia beaches are frequented year round by fishermen, winter Texans, and locals, and in the spring and summer are busy with tourists and locals who love her water, sands, wetlands, local wildlife, and sun. Over the past 20 years much has been done to clean up these beaches and amenities like covered picnic areas, camping areas, nice public restrooms, some public piers, and boat ramps have been added.
There are also inns, motels, restuarants, stores, fresh seafood shops, and curio shops in the communities of Magnolia, Alamo, and Indianola...and even a local radio station. These little communities are nice and have been seeing a great deal of growth in the past decade in both citizens and tourists. There has also been several new developements spring up in the past several years, as there have been in Port O'Connor and Seadrift. Calhoun County is one of the last places, as well the county with the most coastal land on the entire Texas Gulf Coast, that still has land up for grabs.
Indianola itself, has some nice homes overlooking Matagorda Bay, LaSalle's statue, and several historical sites that are very interesting to tourists. Although it is home to this small beach and fishing community...Indianola is still known as the largest ghost town in Texas.
These beaches are only a 15 mile drive from Port Lavaca, and about a 20 minute drive to Port O'Connor and Seadrift.
Hope this helps answer some of your questions and come check us out.
Homeboy..
You can live at Indianola, Magnolia, or Alamo beach communities and are close enough to commute to any part of the county. Calhoun County residents often live in one are of the county and work clear across the county or even in Victoria. Likewise there are many industrial plant employees that work in Calhoun County and live in Victoria.
A good example is our school district. There are elementary schools grades K - 5 in Point Comfort, 2 in Port Lavaca, Port O'Connor, and Seadrift. Seadrift has a middle school for grades 6-8 but the rest of the county attends Travis Middle School in Port Lavaca. All high school students in the entire county attend Calhoun High School in Port Lavaca.
While each community and city has it's own local governments, chamber of commerces, and local attractions, the county as a whole is also very interactive like with the schools, the county fair, and work, and we support each others special events as well. Those of us who have grown up here have friends all over the county...the school situation has been key in keeping the county close knit.
So glad that you checked out our little bit a paradise on the gulf. Alcoa Drive is not behind or by any of the plants that are located in the county. It actually runs between two additions that were built in the late 1950's early 1960's known as Alamo Heights and Mariemont. In Alamo Heights the last street "Jackson" is nice with nice homes and people keep their places nice and neat. One of the elementary schools is located on this street and is currently going through a complete remodel. The 1800 blocks...those closest to Alcoa Drive, of Leon, Justice streets are nice as well. Mariemont on the other side of Alcoa Drive is nicer. Very nice homes that were built in the 1960's most custom built homes. These folks keep their property clean and nice on the whole. These streets are Vail, Larry, McPheerson, Jackson, and Leon. There is also a new housing edition going in with lakes...etc. being built between Mariemont and Chocolate Bay.
Other nice neighborhoods in Port Lavaca are Lynnhaven, homes built in the 60's, most well kept, located off Hwy 35 Bypass. Streets are Houston, Bowie, Bonham, Travis, Crockett. Houston and Travis street have the nicest homes, many custom homes that are well cared for. There is also a fire station located in this neighborhood.
Across Hwy. 35 from Lynnhaven is Brookhollow. Brookhollow was built in the 60's and 70's. I grew up in this neighborhood and my parents and sister still live here. The nicest homes are big custom homes on Brookhollow Drive, and the back streets of Oak Glenn, Beachmont, and Brentwood, These homes were built in the late 60's early 70's. Very nice homes well manicured yards. The front and side streets of this neighborhood consist of developement homes built in the early to late 60's, smaller and every 4th house similiar but for the most part nice well kept homes.
Out on Hwy 35 towards the Lavaca Bay is Brookhollow Estates. This neighborhood was built in the mid 80's. There are some big huge homes on the water edge, and then the rest of the neighborhood consists of homes that are mid range type homes. Very nice neighborhood, has it's own park. Most homes are well kept. Some of the streets here are Spyglass Hill, Chevy Chase, LaSalle.
Out on Hwy. 87 to Victoria is a fairly new neighborhood known as Hackberry Junction. Homes here were built in the late 80's and 90's. Nice homes with big yards.
Out on Hwy. 35 to Corpus is Matson Addition. Some homes built in the 70's and some in the 90's. All homes and yards are well kept.
There are also some new homes out in the Six Mile area behind Brookhollow on the water of Lavaca Bay. This addition is Bay Meadows, Very nice homes built in the 90's and still building.
The historic part of Port Lavaca, down in and around old Main Street and across Austin streets, there are some really nice homes that have been redone and that are some of the original structures in the original townsite. These streets are Colorado, Guadalupe, Virginia, Commerce.
The nicest two neighborhoods by far are Bayou Vista, located out past Brookhollow Estates and between Brookhollow Estates and Brookhollow, and Oak Grove which is located on F.M. 1090 across Lynn's Bayou from Brookhollow. Both of these neighborhoods are small, full, and have both beautiful custom homes and beautiful well kept property as well. These are homes built in the 90's to current and both are full at present. Both have Home Owner Associations that help to keep these neighborhoods clean and beautiful.
As far as other places in the county, Port O'Connor and Seadrift have both seen tremendous growth. Property there is HIGH HIGH HIGH...many long time POC residents have had to move because of the cost of property taxes have risen with the invasion of outside developers...many million dollar homes here. Community Center, nice restaurants, docks and piers.
Seadrift property values are the same, however the oldtimers are still living there and don't seem to be victims of the property value taxes that have taken over POC. Seadrift is looking much better, but they still have a good deal of the old clutter about town. City has several great places to eat, a nice water front, a branch of the county library, piers, boat launches, parks, and ballfield.
Port Alto is growing and has a great deal of new building going on. Olivia Community is about the same as always.
Point Comfort is the city with the plants, Alcoa and Formosa. I have lived here for 15 years and I love this little city. Tight knit and great amenities like a branch of the library, olympic size public pool, store, shopping strip, post office, boat launch, 2 nice new fishing piers, and a beautiful park complete with a jogging track through it on the bayfront, ball field, community center. There are not a great deal of homes for sale here, but it is a great place to live.
The neighborhoods that I would not recommend are Western Heights, DeShazor, Old Town by the Pt Lavaca Cemetery, Lou Davis, George Addition, Crestview Additon, and Meadowview. These neighborhoods will not fit your needs as you described.
As far as the people go ethnic and cultural makeup is fairly balanced across the board no matter where in the county you live. Most neighborhoods have a mix of hispanic, white, and asian families. Everyone gets along well here.
Hope this has helped. Please let me know if I can send you any more information. Hope you come check us out.
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