[Greg Anos]

DixieGal, I'll give you the Texas choices. (Quiet VR!)

I would say the San Antonio-Austin-Texas Hill Contry Triangle.

San Antonio, is cheaper, but more...ahem...redneck.
Austin, is more expensive, but much more metropolitan (read Liberal).
The Texas Hill country is north of San Antonio, west of Austin. Quite scenic with various small towns. Think Ricky Maveety, except she moved to one of the biggest snob pockets in all of Texas.

Climate is hot and relatively humid from May 1 to Oct 15. Green Christmases (no freeze before Christmas) are not unheard of in San Antonio. Winter temps are highly variable, wth a warmup of several weeks usual sometime between Jan 1 and Feb 15, During the warmup, high temps of 70's are normal and often the 80's (and low humidity). This is the Picnic time for the natives, (no bugs/snakes).

While there are tornados that occur there they are few and far between. You are basically out of Tornado Alley.

The North Padre Island/Corpus Christi area is 150 miles away from downtown San Antonio, freeway all the way. A hard day trip. Corpus itself is out, It's become a Rustbelt type town.

For more details. Just ask. I know S.A. very well. Austin has grown so much in the last 30 years I don't know it very well.

Rocks in the area are mostly Creatceaous Limestones and marls, (marine fossils). The top of the Hill Country has igneaous rocks and metamorphics.