Diving around Austin and Corpus Christi

[emttim]

Hey guys, I have a question regarding the diving in Texas specifically around the Austin or Corpus Christi area. I'm kind of tired of how expensive the cost of living in California is, but on the other hand, I'd be crazy to even think of moving somewhere without knowing what kind of diving is near me. Priorities you know. so those two cities are near the Gulf of Mexico unless I'm completely inept at geography...is there good boat diving or shore diving to be had there? How about springs, lakes, etc. nearby? Scuba parks? Sorry in advance if this has been covered.

Oh, and if you just happen to live in Texas and you moved from California, I'd love to hear your input on how the switch has been and any other advice you feel might be beneficial. Thanks!

 

[Hemlon]

Austin's big draw is Lake Travis. For a fresh-water lake, it's good. Vis is sometimes as low as pea-soup and sometimes as good as 20 +/- ft.

Corpus Christi, while being on the water, does not boast great diving unless you get a few miles off-shore via boat. There are several oil rig platforms off-coast that make for fantastic blue water diving.

 

[Hemlon]

I moved to Austin 7 years ago after living in the San Fran area. Yes, the cost of living is high in CA...but people also tend to EARN more in CA. Make sure that you are making an apples-to-apples comparison.

 

[emttim]

I moved to Austin 7 years ago after living in the San Fran area. Yes, the cost of living is high in CA...but people also tend to EARN more in CA. Make sure that you are making an apples-to-apples comparison.

Well, a quick breakdown is that paramedics make about $23/hr starting in the bay. With a 12/42 schedule, after taxes, I'm bringing home around $3,100/mo. A house payment on a "decent" home here would probably run upwards of $2,000/mo or maybe more because even 400-500K gets you a clunker in the bay. 300K would get you a shanty which is about the only time a house payment would be much less than $2,000/mo. From the looks of it, I could probably make $18/hr starting in TX which amounts to around $2,400/mo left after taxes. A house payment even of $1,000 could get me a very nice home from the looks of it. So ironically, I'd actually have more money left after my mortgage/rent/whatever even with making less money.

Hell for that matter, if me and my gf lived in a cheap apt in the bay and saved for several years, we could probably just buy a house outright in TX due to the reasonable cost of housing there and just not have a house payment period.

As far as the rig diving goes, that's something I always wanted to do, but are there any reefs accessible by boat in the Gulf? Any boat diving outside rigs?

 

[Hemlon]

Yes, there are incredible dives off the Freeport coast (Houston). Do a web search (or SB search) for the Texas Flower Gardens.

 

[redacted]

Little to no shore diving around Corpus except for about 8 weeks centered on August when blue water reaches into shore. The rest of the year, it is a 5 to 30 mile run for clear water. And the Gulf is normally too rough for diving from Nov through February and then real iffy except for May - September.

 

[driftwood]

Other spots you might want to dive in Texas are the Comal and San Marcos rivers. My favorite is Spring Lake in San Marcos, but you need special training to dive there. Diving for Science : Aquarena Center : Texas State University They generally have me doing the habitat conservation work, but this Saturday we will be floating the web cam for cleaning.
Cleanest water in Texas, at two of the springs you can drink from them.

Also Robert Weiss was talking about getting local divemasters to run tours from his boat in Lake Travis for tips. I will post a link to his site later.

 

[driftwood]

Here is the link, Welcome to Lake Travis Scuba

 

[parrotheaddiver]

We also have Canyon lake and The Comal River that is nearby....lots of other lakes within driving distance for a weekend...

Gulf of Mexico Diving as well Gulf Diving LLC - Welcome!

 

[Phil_218]

Tim,

I'm pretty new at diving and still learning the dive sites in the area. I would suggest checking out the San Antonio Scuba Divers website for descriptions of local diving.

I have dove in Lake Amistad (Del Rio), Frio River (Uvalde), Comal River (New Braunfels), Canyon Lake, and Medina Lake. They are each nice dive sites through the warmer weather, but get cold (low 50's) in the winter, with the exception of Comal River. Comal River is a shallow, spring-fed river which stays at 70-72 year round.

Good job on deciding to research this first and best of luck on your decision.