All Started spending time in Rockport/Port A. more and more over the course of the past few years. I'm surprised that Rockport is not more populated given the relative low cost(I know this is subjective) of real estate and the fact this it is ~3 hours From Houston and Austin. I would have thought given the proximity to nice beaches and good fishing there would be much more retirees or full time residents in general. Any thoughts as to why?

They are there. Then, about Oct the Snow Birds start invading. I will also say that there are houses and developments popping up all around RP-the Islands of Rockport being one of several. Not even sure what is being built over at Lamar or Copano.

I would venture a pretty good guess that within 10 years, the strip along the ICW between RP and AP will be developed pretty solid. Same thing between PortA and Corpus.

Agree with Brush Country on ongoing development. There are quite a few new high end neighborhoods popping up on the water.

We've had this debate for a while in our house and not totally sure why either other than maybe because it's seen as being too small and just not enough going on. I will also say it's still relatively unknown. Almost no one in the DFW area has ever heard of it. When we tell people we are going there they have no idea where or what it is. They immediately know about Port A but are clueless about RP.

We've had an ongoing debate for two years about whether we want to keep our primary house or move full-time to Rockport. Our challenge is that our primary is in Dallas so that's a big move for us and away from all of our immediate family. I think we are unique in that regard since almost everyone of our neighbors is from San Antonio, Austin, or that surrounding area.

We actually tried to sell our house in Dallas last year with intent to move there full time but we got no offers on house so we are waiting until 2024 when we might try again but we also might just float 50/50. Who knows.

Anyway, with most people having second homes there living 3 hrs or less from RP they may feel like there is no need to move there full-time. Dunno though.

Bought a lot in Cape Valero last year with intent to build in a few when the wife and I get our youngest out of high school.....Buddy of mine lives down there and loves it. Hope it keeps it character.

We have place in Port A but bought a lot in La Buena Vida this year. Hope to be living there full time by spring of '25. Port A is already bad but it will be nuts once 361 gets developed on the bay side from Island Moorings back towards Corpus.

I think Hurricane Harvey stopped some of the growth of Rockport. A lot of people left and never came back in the aftermath. I met several transplants from Florida that had moved into the area because, to quote them, the area doesn't get hurricanes. I always laughed at that. Wonder if they are still around.

Lola68 said:

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I think Hurricane Harvey stopped some of the growth of Rockport. A lot of people left and never came back in the aftermath. I met several transplants from Florida that had moved into the area because, to quote them, the area doesn't get hurricanes. I always laughed at that. Wonder if they are still around.

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Man, I have to disagree with this. We've had significant development IMO since Harvey. Maybe my perspective is off because we are part-timers, but Key Allegro (specifically) has been almost completely rebuilt and upgraded since Harvey. The amount of money that has flowed into there is astounding.

Then you have other hoods popping up around the area like The Reserve over there by the state park. New restaurants, the new Art Cener "downtown", new shops downtown, the absurdly over the top City Hall buildings being built right now. Overall, traffic downtown seems to be way up downtown since Harvey.

We won't know if the current trajectory would have been more accelerated if Harvey had not happened but there has been decent growth. We are hoping it doesn't grow too fast and remains largely a secret to most people, selfishly.

Maybe we are taking about different things. I live in the area full time and have kids in local schools. So we are probably discussing different demographics. Vacation homes are being built at a rapid rate as this area may be the last undeveloped coastal property available in the country. Port A is the same. But I really wasn't counting vacation homes as growth. I was talking about full time residents and new businesses.

Lola68 said:

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Maybe we are taking about different things. I live in the area full time and have kids in local schools. So we are probably discussing different demographics. Vacation homes are being built at a rapid rate as this area may be the last undeveloped coastal property available in the country. Port A is the same. But I really wasn't counting vacation homes as growth. I was talking about full time residents and new businesses.

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Gotcha.

YouBet said:

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Bird78 said:

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Sadly, Rockport has changed. My first trip was in 1958 and we spent a week at Hunts Courts on Water Street, in a cabin with no air-conditioning. We have a house one block off the water, and although, we arent residents, we spend a good deal of time in Rockport. Taxes and AirBNBs are ruining Rockport. Over the last 5 years, the property taxes on our 1,000 square foot home have gone from $1,300 to $5,000+/year. Outrageous! People cant afford to pay the taxes, thereby causing them to sell to people who wish to rent them out. AirBNBs have ruined our neighborhood. A few more years of higher taxes and more AirBNBs and Rockport will find themselves with significantly fewer foundation families.

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Feel your pain but (1) we* are on the water and got discovered as one of the few areas left in the US with undeveloped land on coastal land (2) we have a thriving art community that urban area types gravitate towards, and (3) welcome to Texas on taxes.

That last point is a problem everywhere there is any kind of wealth at all.

*While I'm not foundational, we do own a home there, do not rent it out, and plan to move there permanently by next year.

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Congratulations on the move to Rockport. Drop me a note sometime and we can go grab a burger. Bird 78

Bird78 said:

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YouBet said:

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Bird78 said:

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Sadly, Rockport has changed. My first trip was in 1958 and we spent a week at Hunts Courts on Water Street, in a cabin with no air-conditioning. We have a house one block off the water, and although, we arent residents, we spend a good deal of time in Rockport. Taxes and AirBNBs are ruining Rockport. Over the last 5 years, the property taxes on our 1,000 square foot home have gone from $1,300 to $5,000+/year. Outrageous! People cant afford to pay the taxes, thereby causing them to sell to people who wish to rent them out. AirBNBs have ruined our neighborhood. A few more years of higher taxes and more AirBNBs and Rockport will find themselves with significantly fewer foundation families.

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Feel your pain but (1) we* are on the water and got discovered as one of the few areas left in the US with undeveloped land on coastal land (2) we have a thriving art community that urban area types gravitate towards, and (3) welcome to Texas on taxes.

That last point is a problem everywhere there is any kind of wealth at all.

*While I'm not foundational, we do own a home there, do not rent it out, and plan to move there permanently by next year.

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Congratulations on the move to Rockport. Drop me a note sometime and we can go grab a burger. Bird 78

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Will do. Thanks!

My folks owned property on Key Allegro since the mid 80s. We sold this past October for good.

The demographic has definitely shifted from upper-working class retirees to the wealthy, on the island.

The taxes are sky high, Key Allegro fees, and homeowners/windstorm insurance are so high. The demographic has shifted since most of the people who were retired 20 years ago have died off, and there is kind of a gap in the next generation because us "kids" were not in a position to maintain a second home but my parents were ready to let it go.

Hopefully the "new guard" will finish taking over post Harvey and hold Key Allegro for 20 more years.

It holds a special place in my heart. Not sure I will ever buy there again though.

I think Rockport is partially handicapped by not really having a worthwhile beach. I used to fish that area regularly (10-12 times per year), when I was just out of college. I've seen some developments come and go, and admittedly, haven't been there much in the last decade, so my opinion may be out of date.

I do think it will continue to see more popularity going forward, but I just don't know if it will ever go crazy like Port Aransas, etc, due to the beach. And I'm not saying Port A has a great beach. Don't get me wrong. After vacationing in the Florida 30A coast for many years, I know what a nice beach is like. I grew up on Texas beaches each summer, but our brown mud from the Mississippi river is nothing in comparison to white sand. I prefer Texas inshore fishing over just about anywhere. And to be honest, I would probably choose Rockport to move to, if I was single. It's the most attractive to me in terms of balancing the size of town with the pain in the butt required to get around. I like the place a lot!

You Bet: Rockport resident here, and you Sir are CORRECT! The change in Rockport after Harvey is nothing less than DRAMATIC! Most of the truly dilapidated and broken down old stuff is GONE, thankfully! Lots of new things going in, now is that a good thing. Hard to tell because the town is definitely changing, not as quaint and fun (for us anyway) as it was. But to say that we are suffering after Harvey is not true, Place is BOOMING, in the Country Club an incredible amount of new homes are being built, again not sure I want a tub load of new neighbors, but the truth is that the boom is happening.

They still have it on the lunch menu …but I bet you know that !

Congrats, that's awesome news! We will be down this weekend to see the solar event around noon Saturday. Should be a good viewing spot based on what I have read! May have to get some fried shrimp sat night too!

drmwvr said:

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Congrats, that's awesome news! We will be down this weekend to see the solar event around noon Saturday. Should be a good viewing spot based on what I have read! May have to get some fried shrimp sat night too!

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The menu has been updated a little bit, but the fried shrimp still reign supreme. We will probably be there as well.

drmwvr said:

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Just adding this pic from tonight (RP on horizon) here because it's bad ass

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Our sunrises and sunsets here are just incredible. Never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world. It's almost every day that we get something like this. We have friends in Hawaii who rave about theirs, but they don't come close to Rockport (I realize that sounds insane, but we've been out there several times, and they are not on par with Rockport).

Aggieangler93 said:

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I think Rockport is partially handicapped by not really having a worthwhile beach. I used to fish that area regularly (10-12 times per year), when I was just out of college. I've seen some developments come and go, and admittedly, haven't been there much in the last decade, so my opinion may be out of date.

I do think it will continue to see more popularity going forward, but I just don't know if it will ever go crazy like Port Aransas, etc, due to the beach. And I'm not saying Port A has a great beach. Don't get me wrong. After vacationing in the Florida 30A coast for many years, I know what a nice beach is like. I grew up on Texas beaches each summer, but our brown mud from the Mississippi river is nothing in comparison to white sand. I prefer Texas inshore fishing over just about anywhere. And to be honest, I would probably choose Rockport to move to, if I was single. It's the most attractive to me in terms of balancing the size of town with the pain in the butt required to get around. I like the place a lot!

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Some dont mind being handicapped by not having a worthwhile beach…… Port A aint that far to the beach (and crowd)

Aggieangler93: Rockport resident. I DO NOT think we want a beach like Port A, it gets wild enough with the beach we have. I am fine with the crazies being in Port A!