Advice from San Antonio residents

[vetski]

There's a good chance I'll be relocating towards the end of this year, and fortunately I have some degree of freedom to decide where I want to go. We're considering the Willamette Valley because it's close to where we are now (Seattle area) and we have friends there.

But the San Antonio area intrigues me. Both my wife an I have always lived on the outskirts of fairly large cities (Washington DC, New York, and now Seattle) and like having the advantages of being near a metropolitan area without being in the middle of it.

So what can members tell me? We have horses, so what area would that be? Will not have to commute so that is not a priority. Looking for an attractive area as far as the landscape goes, good schools for the kids, safe, really, I suppose, the kind of area anyone with a family would want to live in. What is the weather like throughout the year? What do you like best? Least? Just feeling things out for now, later on in the year, if things get more serious I'll take a scouting trip, but for now I'm just trying to get ideas of where to look or <span style="font-style: italic">if</span> to look.

Thanks.

 

[Michael]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

Best if you like arid climes and have a better than good command of spanish.
You'll enjoy the Willamette valley alot more.
As to schools, since Bush's No Child Left Behind we rank 49th out of 50th in education and #1 in drop out rate.

 

[eleaf]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Michael</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Best if you like arid climes and have a better than good command of spanish.
You'll enjoy the Willamette valley alot more.
As to schools, since Bush's No Child Left Behind we rank 49th out of 50th in education and #1 in drop out rate. </div></div>

Who's 50th?

 

[greygoose]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

I think the population has changed a little since Bush did anything, and like said learn a new language, so I would not blame him.
I do not live there but visit. Got back yesterday from SA, had to go to Lackland AFB. The city has some really nice features as well as the usual any big town problems. My wife and kids have horses and she is always wants to have me explore moving there someday. I tell her with the pasture land so dry and poor we could not afford enough land to feed them. Besides we would probably have to live sixty miles out so there is no going to the library, or store for milk, and there is no place other than doing it to find the groceries. It is not the wide open spaces she pictures with herds of longhorns roaming around. I think she read to many Zane Grey's as a kid. I have seen one such herd out east on I10 and one horse herd with half scratching for something to eat and the other thin bunch hanging around some barns waiting for a handout.
Besides it gets cold, it was in the mid thirty's at night and I guess I just missed the snow. It made up for it by being windy, I guess out there on the open flat the wind seem to alway blow unless it is really hot. But do not worry, that does not last forever because I have seen many a 'down flag' training day at the base when it was mid ninty plus.
Visit anyplace your contemplating at least two seasons, as well as checking the schools, prices, taxes etc.. Great hardy people and a nice place to vist but seriously can you tell the only way my wife will live there is to re-marry.

 

[structureaggie]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

I was born and raised in SA and would go back in a heartbeat. It is a big city with little city charm. I grew up on the NW side of town, which has the best school districts in the City. I would say that anywhere between SH 151 to I35, west of Loop 1604 is going to fit your bill. Much of that land is undeveloped and somewhat at the base of the Texas Hill Country. There aren't too many rolling planes there for pastureland. Most of it is thick cedar trees and bushes, but most of that is easily cleared if you want to make a pasture for your horses. The command of the Spanish language is WAY blown out of proportion. I can go on and on because I still call SA home. Shoot me a PM if you have anything more specific. Did I mention Texas has no State income tax?

 

[chpprguy]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

New Braunfels area is nice as well,
Halfway between San Antonio and Austin.....

You can still get some acreage that is ten minutes or so from major shopping/convenience.... but be secluded from the major part of the city....

 

[vetski]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

Some good points here, thanks for the input. Strucuraggie: WA has no state income tax either, but is about the most unfriendly climate for small business I've ever lived in. If I head out this spring I'll PM you first to get some ideas.

Horse management is an interesting thing. We moved out here from VA where we were used to large, rolling pastures like greygoose talked about. (better not push it it bud, I've always said I rank third with my wife just behind the kids and the horses, and sometimes I wonder who's on top between those two!) Here, west of the Cascades, space is scarce and folks will put 20 horses on five acres and it turns into a big mud pit. Took a while for us to get used to, but when we finally put our own place together we manage it more like a VA farm and are able to keep good pasture year round (course, plenty of rain here for that).

The school thing is a bit worrisome, I'll look more into that. Schools around here aren't great, hit or miss depending on the area. In the district next to us I wonder if the kids even know how to read, but our town is decent. Our friends in Oregon (who used to be our next door neighbors) are real happy with the charter school system there, seems to allow a lot more choice without the expense of private school.

 

[bignada]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

San Antonio is a great town to visit. If you won't need to commute daily, about the nicest area of Texas is Between the North side of Canyon Lake to Ranch Road 12 up to Dripping Springs, West to Blanco/Lukenbach.

Very nice around Boerne, Comfort and Kerrville; but basic I-10 commuter towns and no more Hill Country ambience. Real Estate is very expensive no matter where you go. Wimberley area is really excellent, Sattler as well. About 45mins from South Austin and North San Antonio. 30 mins to New Braunfels and San Marcos. The finest water recreation in the world. Trout fishing below the dam. Stripers on Canyon Lake. Used to be Cave Diving in Jacobs Well at Wimberley. Tubing on the Guadelupe. Lots of horseback riding. Dietz gunrange and Hyard Dietz gunsmith extraordinaire. Gruene. Blanco River and Little Arkansas.

Check out the Devil's Backbone area out Ranch Road 32 above Hancock. Great scenery, winding roads, great bike riding. Comal County is the best area to choose for your residence.

 

[223ai]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

My San Antonio roots run deep as I was raised there. My parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sister were all born and raised there, and pretty well all live there. I absolutely love SATX, and if I had an opportunity to move back to the area (and could convince my wife), I would do it in a heartbeat, though New Braunfels would be the first choice for a multitude of reasons...If not New Braunfels, then I would be buying in Alamo Heights/Olmos Park area.

 

[sjohnny]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bignada</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Trout fishing below the dam. </div></div>

Sorry for the drift.

Whereabouts is this trout fishing about which you speak? I live between San Marcos and Austin and I've recently gotten the kids interested in fishing and we've been looking for some places to go.

Thanks.

 

[396chevy]

Re: Advice from San Antonio residents

I moved here from Iowa last July, and I love it here. I don't miss winter but the summers do get warm but the lack of humidity is very nice. I don't know any Spanish and I haven't run into any problems I live in the 1604 & I10 area and my uncle and aunt live in the borene area, I think you would enjoy it here.