What's wrong with Corpus Christi/Padre?

[Phry]

Lived in Corpus Christi while i was working at the army depot.  Its constantly windy there, like super wind.  The beaches are like clay almost.  Theres no cool hangout spots that i saw.  I agree with the "close to Mexico in a bad way" thing too.  Was pretty miserable there and soon as i moved away i was a much happier person.

I do miss the H.E.B (grocery store) there though oddly enough.

[schild]

Honestly we need a panel to host a discussion on the viability of Nebu's girlfriend. We can have schild and angry.bob chair the session. Nebu, can you make her available weeknights on google chat?

She's half Spanish and half Mexican... and SANE.  What's not to like?

She likes Corpus. That's not sane. But it's easy to hide, just don't move there.

You should visit, see why she likes it. Could be a fun experience. Fun is a weird way to spell dismal, but whatever.

[Strazos]

If she's legit-Mexican, this is probably a way to be a lot closer to family, at least in part. Just something to consider - have you met her family? You might be seeing them a lot if you're in South Texas.

[rk47]

Be sure to buy sombrero, maracas and luchador masks to gift them.
They really really really love that kind of stuff.

[schild]

Be sure to buy sombrero, maracas and luchador masks to gift them.
They really really really love that kind of stuff.

This is a genuinely funny post.

[rk47]

Also, they don't like watermelons.
Latins don't dig them. Don't make the same mistake as I did.

[Lantyssa]

I do miss the H.E.B (grocery store) there though oddly enough.

You can find HEBs almost anywhere in Texas.  Only reason I don't shop there is because I frequent a local store I want to support.

Nebu would probably love Central Market, which is also owned by HEB, but less common.  I know Houston has one.  I'd guess Austin and San Antonio.

[Ruvaldt]

We have Central Markets in Dallas and they're great.  No regular HEBs though, which is a shame.  I'd trade all of our Whole Foods for HEBs in a heartbeat.  Fuck Whole Foods.

[schild]

Disagree. Whole Foods, just for their prepared foods, is vastly superior to the slightly better than absurdly ghetto level of regular HEBs.

HEB is an Austin chain and we're home to many Central Markets. So is Whole Foods for that matter.

[Merusk]

Whole Foods continues to amuse me as the cynical manipulation of hippies by a hardcore right-wing conservative that it is. As such I avoid shopping there.

[jgsugden]

Find her an opportunity in the dental field elsewhere... There are lots of places to land dental jobs.

[Strazos]

I subsist on HEB at this point, and they get some of the Country Market stuff as well.

[schild]

Note: I don't actually know what Whole Foods is like outside of Austin. And the two locations I have easy access to are probably two of the best supermarkets in America (Corporate HQ, and the fucking Whole Foods Disneyland at the Domain).

[Teleku]

I've been in Whole Foods on either end of the country, and they were exactly the same, ask I doubt it's much different.  I like whole foods, it's just over priced.  That was especially apparrent when I lived in Berkely where they had the Berkely Bowl, which basically does everything whole foods does times 10, for half the price.

[Paelos]

I like Trader Joes better than Whole Foods in Atlanta.

[schild]

Trader Joes is great everywhere. But it's not really comparable as everything is white labeled weird shit. Some of their stuff is out of control good, and some is just crap. The nature of what they're doing.

[Nebu]

Byerly's in Minneapolis is pretty spectacular as a grocery store.  I'm also a huge fan of Pike Place Market... but that's not a traditional supermarket.

[Paelos]

Trader Joes is great everywhere. But it's not really comparable as everything is white labeled weird shit. Some of their stuff is out of control good, and some is just crap. The nature of what they're doing.

Yep, which I like because I enjoy the adventure of finding what is amazing and what is crap.

[Trippy]

Note: I don't actually know what Whole Foods is like outside of Austin. And the two locations I have easy access to are probably two of the best supermarkets in America (Corporate HQ, and the fucking Whole Foods Disneyland at the Domain).

It depends a lot on the size of the store. The Austin flagship store you mentioned is obviously a behemoth at ~80K-square-feet but there are other stores that are close in size. In the Bay Area the Cupertino store down the street from Apple is the largest at ~75K-square-feet.

[schild]

The new one in North Austin at the domain is holy fuck ridiculous. It's bright white like a casino and you can get completely lost in it. The selection is out of control. Since it's an Austin chain, the brand just doesn't have the stigma here that it has in places like Seattle or Portland or east coast cities.

[Trippy]

Trader Joes is great everywhere. But it's not really comparable as everything is white labeled weird shit. Some of their stuff is out of control good, and some is just crap. The nature of what they're doing.

This thing is the reason to visit Trader Joe's:

[schild]

Trader Joes is great everywhere. But it's not really comparable as everything is white labeled weird shit. Some of their stuff is out of control good, and some is just crap. The nature of what they're doing.

This thing is the reason to visit Trader Joe's:

There's all sorts of reasons to go to Trader Joe's. Mostly though, I'm just waiting for Instacart to offer it here. I've only been to a supermarket once in the last month.

[WayAbvPar]

For the stuff they do right, Trader Joe's can't be beat. Agree with schild on the prepared food at Whole Foods- restaurant quality goodies in a grocery store. Yes, it is spendy. Yes, it is probably worth it. Also, their toffee nut cookies are probably about 75% crack, with some sugar and toffee bits thrown in.

[Merusk]

Do some research on Whole Foods. It's spendy because it's deliberate manipulation to keep it 'exclusive'  I wasn't kidding when I said it was a cynical manipulation.

We've got Trader Joes and they're good. There's a local guy, "Jungle Jim" who does it 10x better than both, though.

[HaemishM]

Unfortunately for me, Whole Foods is the only place that has that kind of stuff - produce and meat that isn't dosed to the eyeballs with pesticides and hormones and god knows what else. Sounds to me like I'd love a Trader Joe's.

[Jimbo]

You know I read threads and I wonder, how the hell did we go from Corpus Christi to grocery stores? That why I love this site :) I don't have any thing special but an independent chain down here in my town, they really take pride in there products, like actually have a butcher and produce and it is fresh and there deli is awesome for prepared food to go. They partner with a local bakery for some bread products and they bake a lot of there own, so it smells wonderful in the morning, or hell even in the middle of the night. It cost more, but I've been on a healthy kick and it is so worth making my own dishes with fresh ingredients. Whole Foods in Indianapolis and Florida were the same, is the chain across the USA set up to be almost the same?

Nebu I hope you don't attract crazy women like I do, but then crazy ones are the best (until you wake up and she is outside setting your truck on fire because she thought you were talking to other girls). I had a friend from Corpus Christi and he talked about how he worked on a shrimp boat in college and how they have awesome seafood. I don't know if you care for that, but fresh seafood and fishing is pretty good down in that area. Hot, windy, and humid, either you like it or you don't. I spent years in the tropics and loved it. But some might not. I used to go for runs in Florida during the day and you would work up one heckuva sweat. Same with New Orleans.

Go visit it for a week or two in the off season and see how you like it.

[schild]

Corpus is in Texas. HEB is in Texas. It's really not much of a leap.

I would happily put Corpus on the fucking moon or annex it to Mexico if I could.

[Paelos]

I'm interested what towns Schild would live in if it wasn't for Austin. Like what towns in America do you not hate?

[schild]

I'm interested what towns Schild would live in if it wasn't for Austin. Like what towns in America do you not hate?

Seattle, Portland, and Berkeley are the only remaining options. The first two are basically a no go due to weather, and fuck California. Don't hate the towns though. I'd probably move to Vancouver before any of those three. Florence is high on the list also. London to a degree, as well.

[Paelos]

I'd be in Chicago, Denver, Dallas, or Birmingham if i wasn't in Atlanta. Mostly due to either family connections or for job reason.

[schild]

I can't live a life that's restrained by job or family connections. It's not so much a "free spirit" thing, I just refuse to live somewhere hellish. Those places you just listed would fall behind Hong Kong on places I'm willing to move.

[lamaros]

I'm interested what towns Schild would live in if it wasn't for Austin. Like what towns in America do you not hate?

Seattle, Portland, and Berkeley are the only remaining options. The first two are basically a no go due to weather, and fuck California. Don't hate the towns though. I'd probably move to Vancouver before any of those three. Florence is high on the list also. London to a degree, as well.

Does not compute.

[MahrinSkel]

If you don't like the weather in Seattle, Vancouver and London are not going to be improvements. Although culturally, Vancouver is still like Seattle was in the 80's while I was a teenager there (Seattle has more than doubled in size since). Something awful happens to great cities right around the time they pass 1 million population. Enjoy Austin while it lasts, the clock is ticking.

There are still some medium-sized cities in the upper Midwest that are nice, and I really liked what I saw of Fort Collins when I lived in Cheyenne.  But for the most part, Generica has taken over everywhere.  You can move halfway across the country and find that other than weather, nothing has changed.

--Dave

[Nebu]

There are still some medium-sized cities in the upper Midwest that are nice, and I really liked what I saw of Fort Collins when I lived in Cheyenne. 
--Dave

When I lived in Laramie, I spent all of my free time around Ft Collins.  I'd move back there tomorrow if I could land a job at CSU.  Golden was also quite wonderful.  Colorado School of mines would be a great option as well.

[Bunk]

Always weird hearing people talk positively about where I live. Weather really isn't always that bad. Last week was wet, but we had average temps in the mid 50's while everyone else was enjoying their blizzards.