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Looking for a place on N. Padre Island (Corpus)

The Muffin Man

New Member
My wife and I will be moving to Corpus early April. We've been looking at apartment complexes in the N. Padre area and they all seem like dumps/bad deals from online reviews (though some look nice in pictures). Has anyone lived on the island and knows of a good place to live while at primary? We're looking to pay $1000 max for rent, condo, home, or apt is fine.
 

scoolbubba

Brett327 gargles ballsacks
pilot
Contributor
check out the breezeways at encantada... they're all advertised at about 1350-1400, but most of the owners are hurting for tenants and will accept for you to talk them down to about 1100 to 1000 bucks. there are plenty of places on the island, palm bay realty has a good bunch of places to rent, too.
 

PropAddict

Now with even more awesome!
pilot
Contributor
Unless rents have dropped a lot in the last month (which IS possible), I think you're either going to A) live in squalor on the Island or B) have to start looking on South side.
 

The Muffin Man

New Member
We lived in base housing and had a great experience... the downside might be that it is a 2 bed/2 bath duplex, but it has a garage and a decent sized back yard.

Living so close is a huge plus too! ;-)

https://www.housing.navy.mil/onestop/_phototours/

These might be a dumb questions, but...
1.) Does base housing come furnished?
2.) Are pets allowed?
3.) What (if any) utilities are included?
4.) Do I have to sign up ahead of time?
5.) Is the place as nice as the pictures?
 

paigeme04

New Member
These might be a dumb questions, but...
1.) Does base housing come furnished?
I do not think any of the housing is furnished... although I suppose you could ask! They will give you a microwave if you need one...

2.) Are pets allowed?
Yes - you can have 2, although our neighbor had 2 dogs and a cat and no one every said anything.... There is a $300 pet deposit - and $100 is automatically taken out to clean the carpets when you move, so you get $200 back... and we really did get all of ours back! Oh and of course, the vicious breeds aren't welcomed... and you have to register them with the base vet (although no one followed up with us to make sure that we had)

3.) What (if any) utilities are included?
Water, electricity, gas and trash are included. There is a baseline for electricity and gas and if you come under that baseline, you will get a check for the difference. We ALWAYS came under, (we didn't try too hard, just turned off lights and the A/C when we weren't around) and we got a check for about $20... 3 times of the 6 months we lived there... (We were on a "trial" basis or something for the first 3 months so we didn't get those checks...)

4.) Do I have to sign up ahead of time?
No, you can literally walk in and get a house (if they have one available) but I would recommend that you let them know you are coming to make sure you get a house... They can hold it for you for 2 weeks - but we have had one held for over a month (if they know for sure you are coming and such) The houses seemed to stay filled.. we moved out Jan 8th and our house had new tenants about 6 weeks later... (we have friends who are still there - well until Feb)

5.) Is the place as nice as the pictures?
Yes, as long as you are looking at the "Laguna Shores" 2 bedroom/2 bath 2 story duplexes - That is what we lived in... The one story version of the Laguna Shores is the Handicap Floor plan and only has 1 bathroom...
The free standing houses and much larger duplexes (ie 3/4 bedroom) are only for permenant personnel.. NOT STUDENTS :-( so if you found those some how, you wouldn't be offered those as a student...
The all tile floors downstairs were less than ideal (mopping takes longer than vacuuming) but that wouldn't keep us from living there again... The walls had no holes and fresh paint.. The maintenance people were pretty good - if it wasn't an emergency they always came within 7 days...

Also, they usually have a move-in type deal where you can get your 2nd month's rent for $250 and you get to keep the rest of your BAH...
And, there is no deposit (ie one month's rent, etc) as long as you set up an allotment through MyPay...

Feel free to ask any other questions!
 

MasterBates

Well-Known Member
I rented a 2/2.5 condo on the island for $1050 a month 2 years ago. It had a 1 car garage and was very nice. You can find decent deals on the island, especially with the market. At a minimum, if you rent a place on the island unseen, you will be in a 'safe' area relatively speaking.

Southside can be really hit or miss depending on where you are, from nice to "holy shit this makes Flint and Detroit look nice" within a 1/2 mile of each other.
 

mastbump

I live vicariously through myself.
pilot
I lived north of the base in Corpus...at Staples and Saratoga...I paid 800 for a 2br/2ba apt. I didn't really care about location, and my wife enjoyed being close to the malls/shopping/restaurants. All my friends lived on the island though...but after wearing out the Pelican they were driving up into town anyways...
 

scoolbubba

Brett327 gargles ballsacks
pilot
Contributor
I lived north of the base in Corpus...at Staples and Saratoga...I paid 800 for a 2br/2ba apt. I didn't really care about location, and my wife enjoyed being close to the malls/shopping/restaurants. All my friends lived on the island though...but after wearing out the Pelican they were driving up into town anyways...


blasphemy. there's nothing on the mainland you can't get on the island, and there's nothing on the island...so...

my point is, no matter where you live, you'll be ready to leave in about 8 months.
 

mchodges

New Member
pilot
You might have a hard time finding a nice place on the island for under $1000 but you can easily find that in Corpus. I would love to rent my house to you but unfortunately I can't afford to go that low. If you can hold off renting a place until you get here, I would do that. There are lots of postings in the main wing building on base, and you'll hear of some good deals by word of mouth as well. Best of luck!
 

Mr. Blonde

My ass is a motherfuckin' champion
pilot
BUMP.

Looks like I'm classing up for API on friday, so I'll be in Corpus by the end of next month. Wife and I want to get a house or townhome in either flour bluff or on padre. We're looking to spend about $1300 max. We've got two small dogs and a border collie. If anybody owns and is looking to rent it out or if you come across something in your own searches please let me know. I've been searching craigslist/militarybyowner.com but haven't come up with much yet.
 

sundevil_av8r

Member
pilot
i lived in breezeways of encantada. nice place, but no "yard" if you have a big dog. i found that a lot of the duplex townhome rentals on the island were not listed online. if you can, wait until you get down here and use the ten days of paid BOQ to look for one.

as stated above. i've heard that the beach club and compass bay apartments were nice. and i believe they have options for less than $1000.
 

MrsPickle

MIT- Manatee In Training
Contributor
Seriously... you are going to be there for EIGHT months, MAX.
We were there May 1, 2008- Oct 20, 2008

Don't think about this too much. Where to live in JAX is going to be a bigger deal.

Besides, the beaches in Corpus SUCK ASS. Be glad you only have to be there for a short period of time. The Pickle Jar voted, and we'd rather be in Enid again, than Corpus (and we even had a baby there! the Diva was born at Bayside).
 
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