I'm sure hoping that's not the sound side. :)
So...you're going to give Corpus a try, eh? I hope my assessment of South Padre Island didn't scare you away from there; I have equally unflattering things to say about Corpus. That said, you're going to be AMAZED at how cheap groceries are. I still remember one guy from Canada, I think, marveling multiple times about the size of the sausage section at the H-E-B in Flour Bluff. Then again, a Coloradoan once described to me, with the same awe or maybe horror in his case, a guy at that same store who went into the seating section of the deli department and opened a package of hot dog wieners he'd bought, and ate them. Just like they were. The entire package. Of course, he's from Colorado--the skinniest state, so he would notice something like that. I bet nobody else did.
If you're not boondocking, then January and February in Corpus are fine. I avoid it because I don't mind being cold while boondocking but I really don't like being wet and salty and cold while boondocking.
Plus, you'll be joining in on the full-on retired snowbird thing, to get a taste of that. Sounds like a good plan all around.