I went to South Padre Island and found it's becoming the Hamptons of Texas. Here's what it's like to visit.

South Padre Island, or SPI as it's locally known, is a coastal community in South Texas with a population of 2,816.

I visited as a child but decided to return in October 2021 with my mother for five days. Over the course of our time there, I noticed much had changed, namely, growth and wealth on display.

It reminded me of another popular beach area: the Hamptons in Long Island, New York.

I flew from my home in Chicago to Austin to get to South Padre and the drive from Austin took five-and-a-half hours.

From the time I've spent in New York, it reminded me a lot of trying to get out to the Hamptons on Long Island for a long summer weekend.

With its mild climate, South Texas has long been an agricultural hub, growing cotton and food staples for consumption in the US and abroad. Today, South Texas agricultural producers are diversifying; no point in letting all that wind energy go to waste.

Considering the Hamptons' potato farm history drawing many to Long Island's East End, I continued to see parallels between the two locations.

SPI is connected to the mainland by the Queen Isabella Causeway from Port Isabel.

Driving east across the 2.5-mile expanse of steel and concrete, I could smell the salt in the air and caught glimpses of white condominium towers that jutted up from the horizon against the gray-green seawater and blue Texas sky.

South Padre Island is the southernmost tip of Padre Island, a 113-mile long barrier island that runs along the Texas coast from Corpus Christi to Port Isabel. The SPI most visitors know is only about 6 miles long and half a mile across.

Since the 1960s, South Padre Island was largely known for the college students that made their annual pilgrimage for spring break. Much of the associated partying happens at the beachfront establishment, Clayton's, which bills itself as the biggest beach bar in Texas.

For example, there's a polo club on SPI that hosts United States Polo Association tournaments. Known as the "Sport of Kings," the cost of purchasing and maintaining polo horses can be steep. The SPI Equestrian and Events Center is also the home of the South Padre Island Polo Club. The South Padre Island Polo club offers polo lessons — just like the La Pampa Polo Club in East Hampton.

In 2019, the SPI Polo Club hosted two United States Polo Association tournaments, the Hall of Fame Challenge Cup, and the General George Patton Jr. Cup.

One of six hypersaline lagoons worldwide, the Laguna Madre runs the length of Padre Island's west side between the island and the mainland.

I noticed new single-family homes with private piers on the Laguna Madre side of SPI that seemed more opulent than they did on my last visit.

The Laguna Madre side of SPI is protected from the wind and rain coming off the Gulf of Mexico to the island's east, and is, therefore, home to many marinas where lavish yachts dock.

Getting to the beach, however, requires getting to one of the public beach access areas on the opposite side of the island.

The Gulf side of the island is best for those who want easy access to the beach. Private homes on this stretch are rare, and instead, you'll find high-rise condos interspersed with low-rise complexes, hotels, and scattered town homes.

From a boat on the Laguna Madre, we could see the SpaceX launchpad. By car, it takes less than an hour to get from SPI to Boca Chica. By boat, it took us about 25 minutes.

Earlier this year, Musk announced his plans to create a city called Starbase, replacing the town of Boca Chica that currently houses his company's headquarters.

Tesla owners who make the 371-mile journey from Austin without being fully charged may have to stop along the route to recharge. But once they get to SPI, finding a charging station doesn't seem to be an issue.

A Cabernet blend, Opus One is regarded as one of the most prestigious wines out of the Napa Valley. Fine dining establishments in the Hamptons acknowledged by Wine Spectator for their wine lists carry Opus One, including Stone Creek Inn in East Quogue, and the 1770 House in East Hampton.

You could order a bottle of the 2017 vintage from Wine.com for $364. Or, as I saw for myself at the Sea Ranch on SPI, you could order a bottle to go with your locally caught red snapper and Gulf Coast oysters and shrimp for $530.

The bar manager at the Sea Ranch told me a restaurant must be invited by the winery to sell Opus One. She said the influx of wealth to SPI has been good for business at the Sea Ranch, both food and alcohol.

I came across this six-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bathroom, beachfront penthouse apartment spread over two floors. The property features a wrap-around balcony, staff quarters, premium appliances, a garage, and comes fully furnished.

There are only 7 units within the property, compared to other penthouses on the island in much larger buildings.

Mickey Furcron, the agent representing the home, has been selling real estate on SPI since 1990. He told Insider he's witnessed a tremendous increase in real estate sales on the island in the past 18 months.

"It was like the doors were blown open," he said by phone. "Everyone who didn't know about SPI discovered we were here."

Furcron said that in years past, a property would be on the market for approximately nine months or longer. "Now," he said, "within a couple of days you have multiple offers of more than the list price."

Pre-pandemic, Furcron said home buyers came to SPI from the US, Canada, and Mexico, but now are mostly from the United States in places like Austin, Dallas, Houston, the Midwest, East Coast, and Colorado.

This six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 3,656 square-foot, single-family, recently renovated home was featured on HGTV's "Beachfront Bargain Hunt."

Located 100 feet from the beach, it has a private pool, jacuzzi, and multiple balconies. Inside, there is even a slide from the third floor that leads to a secret room on the second floor.

Gayle Hood, who has been selling real estate on SPI for 21 years, represents the sellers and told me that the owners' $2.1 million asking price is based on their projection of $240,000 in gross rental income per year. The home is listed on Vrbo for $1,407 per night.

According to Hood, the last 12 months have seen a marked increase in the luxury home market on SPI. "A couple of years ago it was difficult to find people to spend $1 million on a home," she said. "In the past year, there are more luxury home buyers."

We booked a 7th-floor, two-bedroom, two-bath unit in the Aquarius Condominiums on Vrbo for its Hamptons-like laid back air of exclusivity. The complex had a pool and direct beach access via a walking path, plus fenced-in parking and a 24-hour doorman.

Everyone staying at the complex was required to wear wristbands for the duration of their stay. The doorman told me even the condo owners wear wristbands, although they were different from the guests.

Beachfront two-bedroom, two-bath vacation rentals with a pool and view of the water on Vrbo can be found for as low as $115 per night, plus fees and tax. But that's for an unrenovated condo in an older building, in low season.

On the high end, you can rent an entire seven-bedroom beachfront house with a private pool for $1,833 a night.

If a hotel is preferred, a room with a private balcony and a partial ocean view at a mid-range beachfront hotel will start at around $140 per night.

We paid $1,453 for five nights at my condo vacation rental — $194 per night plus fees and tax — and was far from the cheapest vacation rental I have ever had. But it was renovated, well equipped, clean, and had great views.

Most of these options are still far cheaper than what you'll likely find in the Hamptons, but I expect as more people catch on to SPI, this will change.

I observed many water sports on the bayside of SPI. Yet, despite all the activities, this area felt more private as tourists seemed to prefer the beach on the Gulf side.

Parasailing on the bay will cost between $75-$100 per person for about a 45-minute ride.

A Laguna Madre Eco Tour with Osprey Cruises is $20 for adults, $18 for children. My mother and I took this trip and thought it was one of the highlights of our stay.

A full day of fishing on a private boat on SPI is $660 for 1-2 people, and an overnight trip for big game fish in the Gulf of Mexico — yellowfin tuna, sailfish, blue marlin — costs $4,800.

As in the Hamptons, a home by the water is no longer solely for vacations or an investment. With more upper-income people telecommuting, Gayle Hood told me, "You can now do everything from the beach that you can do from home."

Hood foresees a bright future for SPI with continued growth. "They're expanding the parks here. We're hoping to get a deep-water marina. They're pushing for a second causeway," she said. "I think we're more affordable than other East or West Coast communities, or Florida."

After my trip to South Padre Island, I think it's gearing up to be the next Hamptons. All the new signs of wealth confirmed to me that it's much more than just a spring break party scene.

While it may have a ways to go, I can't wait to see how it continues to evolve and certainly won't be waiting another 11 years to visit.