For San Antonio, TX residents.............?

Question

I am contemplating a move to San Antonio from Tulsa. What are your likes and dislikes about San Antonio? Are there parts of town you want to avoid when looking for a home? Are some school districts better than others?

Yeah, there's definitely not much to do in ol' Tulsa town. Not to mention the eternal road construction.........

**May I just say I'm getting great answers, and I appreciated them all. SA is sounding better and better all the time. I am on SS Disability, so does anyone know anything about subsidized housing in the area? (Not public housing though)

Answer 1

I have a friend whom has several homes which she rents as part of the subsidized housing. You should check with the (Alamo Area Council of Governments) AACOG on Tesoro Rd.

San Antonio is a beautiful city. Where will you feel most accepted? It's a big city. If you have to travel to the medical area alot, I would say probably the Northside of town near the medical area. I know I hated the driving back and forth constantly with my two disabled children. I am just happy the lord has helped find doctors cure their illnesses at young ages.

I disagree with several of your previous answers about school districts. Just because someone has gone to a school doesn't make them an authority.

First, Northeast and Northside are not about the same. Second, Alamo Heights is one of the best in the city, but if you have a child who is special which includes the gifted and talented as well as the autistic or any other disability, factor out this school district. They are traditional. If, on the other hand, you have an above average kid and you have a bit of money, well Alamo Heights is where you want to be. Even most of the people in the Heights are moving out of the Heights as they seek better school districts which can better serve their children.

Look to the school that best serves your child's interests. For example, if the child is geared toward medicine or media, you want them to go to Northside. It's their specialty and no one has anything near as good. If it's technology your child is more geared toward, then the Northeast is best. An example is the Automobile technology for the future where the NEISD has the only ATA program of it's kind for students in secondary schools in the USA. Cars are diagnosed with computers now and NEISD knows this truth. They have teamed up with Alamo Community College District to have 12 hours of college upon completion of the program. There is also the A+ program in several districts including NEISD and Judson ISD who have teamed up with ACCD. Students learn many various computer technological aspects including media communications.

Every school district has their areas of specialization. I would call and find out about the various schools and find out what the physical areas are like and which schools provide what specializations. Even SAISD, despite all the bad rap it gets in both the schools and communities, has a great foreign language program beyond just Spanish bilingual. They also teach Russian, Japanese, German, French and Latin. They, too, have a great Media communications program. The Southtown Lavaca area just south of downtown is beautiful and up and coming in the SAISD. I am sure there is subsidized areas within the district as well. Good luck on your venture.

Answer 2

I am NOT a San Antonio resident, but I HAVE BEEN THERE.... in November.. and it was beautifully WARM and sunny.....I felt that the best areas in town to live were all situatied close to LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE.... houses and streets were well kept and most kids who live in those areas are Military kids who attend local schools ... so you KNOW the schools will be first rate... It's actually a lovely little city.... a mix of old world and new world are intermingled.... for example. the ALAMO sits in the middle of some very large office buildings in the middle of the city.... It kind of makes the Alamo look a LOT smaller then you would THINK it should look, but knowing it's rich history still makes it a site to see. Also, there is this really nice mall in the middle of town where they have what is known as RIVER WALK... the river runs right through the center of the mall. you can go for a boat ride along the river and end up in the middle of this watery plaza in the center of the mall where there is music and food and fun.... you WILL enjoy your time in San Antonio....and the weather... it was 82 degrees there on Thanksgiving Day when I was there...

Answer 3

I moved to S.A. in 01.I've lived in other major cities including Tulsa,Los Angeles,Las Vegas and San Fransicso.San Antonio is okay.The weather is hot like Tulsa,you roast to death in the summer.The winters are pretty mild.I had a hard time getting a job.I've had to take a low paying job in retail.If you move here bring your car.I tried to get around on the bus the first year I was here without a car and it was nothing short of hell.I live in the North East side which is a busy side of town.The apartment I live in is fair,I pay 700 a month,2 bedroom and the rent varies from area to area complex to complex.The south and west side as well as the east all have their own culture and unique flavor.I think of San Antonio like little neighborhoods in one big city.The medical care here is pretty good as I've had some medical issues which were delt with better than any other city I've lived in.I like it better than Tulsa but keep in mind what I said above.Unless you have a degree or field you are good in work wise,you too will be stuck in a retail or food service job.

Answer 4

On the subsidized housing question...there are several apartment complexes that cater to this type of need. Also, I was recently in a CENTEX Homes office and noticed something on the wall about lower income housing needs, I am not sure of the logistics, but since the housing market is going down a bit, I know there are some different programs popping up.

Answer 5

The city of San Antonio, is rapidly growing. This is both good and bad. In many ways there is still a small town feel, which many people like, but you can't get around the fact that the metropolitan statistical area is over 7,000 square miles. In the growth, there is development in most parts of town.

The Southside of town, for many years was slower to develop, but has been making a lot of new development to the south, especially since the opeining of the new Toyota Plant on that side of town. There is also a lot of redevelopment and development in the area called Southtown, just south of Downtown. This is also a very artsy area with several nice galleries and some very nice restaurants in the area.

Downtown is seeing some refurbishment and redevelopment of older buildings and some new building of residential space mostly in the form of condos and apartments. Though there are some very nice historic areas downtown.

The east side has had the least development, not to suggest there are not really nice people living there. But it is the least developed area of the city.

Southwest is seeing development slowly, but it is beginning to grow.

The Northwest from around Sea World north is rapidly growing with a lot of new development and new businesses building.

North Central is currently the most rapidly developing area of the city, having grown 66% in the last 12 years. And Northeast has long been an established growth area along the I-35 corridor towards Austin.

As far as housing, there are nice developments throughout the city, but the areas in the northern half of the city seem to be the more rapidly growing, and where there are better housing choices for the most part.

As far as school districts, in Bexar County, there are three very strong school districts which stand out above the others in academic acheivement. These are North East Independent School District, North Side Independent School District, and Alamo Heights School District. Northside is the largest school district in the metropolitan area, and had 9 schools in the Best schools in Texas rankings for 2007. Alamo Heights High School was in the best schools in Texas rankings for 2007, and North East ISD had 15 schools in the best schools in Texas rankings for 2007.

As far as likes...I really like the predominately friendly attitude of most people in the city, and the almost constant celebratory feel, due to the many festivals and events in the area. Also, being 21/2 hours from the coast,it is close enough to drive down for a nice weekend, but far enough away that the weather fronts don't significantly affect the area. The Hill country to the north gives you an outdoor paradise, with rivers, hills and lakes, and a lot of widelife, plus many wonderful towns, and a very nice wine country.

Dislikes, the traffic is not as good as it could be, and the city planning has not kept up with the need. But that has to be expected as rapidly as the city is growing. The city's Via metro bus system is nice, but is limited in some areas, and there is not a rapit transit system as is needed in a city this size.

But still, I would never want to live anywhere else.

By the way, I was living in Oklahoma, before I moved back to San Antonio this last time.

EDIT: By the way, Just as a note...To respond to a couple of comments from westguy above. I have lived in San Antonio off and on all of my life, and while there are some people with the inevitable, "I will work for food" and "Homeless Vet Please Help" signs on some of the major corners, I have seen those in every city I have ever been in, Including Denver. I have never had a begger come to my door, and I have never had one in my neighborhood that I can recall, and I have lived in 10 different areas of the city over the years (including once on the east side), so I don't think I am isolated here.

As far as the humidity, it is higher than parts of the central US, because we get the winds from the Pacific from across western Mexico and from the Gulf of Mexico, but that is also the reason for our rather temperate weather. When I lived in southern Oklahoma, the humidity was lower, but in the summer the temperature was usually hotter, and in the winter it was always colder. And since I have lived in San Antonio, I have never had to go throw canvas over a friends house because a tornado blew part of it away. And while we do get snow every 10 years, it rarely last past noon.

I think you would love the area if you move here.

Additional Information: Subsidized Housing is managed through the San Antonio Housing Authority.

San Antonio Housing Authority
818 S. Flores St
San Antonio, TX 78204
[phone]
www.saha.org

You can also contact the property managers who can help you with the information. Currently there is a waiting list for Section 8 subsidized housing in San Antonio, the waiting list is also currently closed, as there enough applicants on the list for the current 24 month waiting period.

Answer 6

Born in San Antonio and lived there many years. I am now in Austin, a better choice. San Antonio has gotten so big! The traffic is bad all day long.

It is a beautiful city and great weather. Lots of Mexican culture which is fun and the food is fantastic. I have not lived there since 1997 so can't advise on the neighborhoods.
All the best!

Answer 7

I will try not to be as wordy as I some times get. Strong points are a huge city with a small town atmosphere. Neighbors try to know one another. The city encourages folks to watch out for one another. We have a very fast growing economic base wages are going up. we have a enormous medical complex including many hospitals and support facilities.

We have Toyota, Micro Soft, Chase, CITI, Sea World, Spurs, employers and amenities list goes on and on.

Housing cost here are low and are on par with much of Oklahoma. Some parts of the city are better than other parts but there is not a part of the city that I wouldn't live in. The price of houses varies some what but the average in a middle class area is going to run about $150,000, but you still can find houses costing much less I like the far West side, north west side, north side and north east. This is what I like but I will point out that the south side and south west side is rappidly become quite nice as well.

Schools are another story, The NISD and NEISD are pretty much on par with one another, I would do my best to have my children attend schools in either one of these. Folks from either of these school districts are going to tell you theirs is the best but taken a good hard look you will find that they are about the same.

I will make the suggestion where ever it is that you decide to live here you might want to try to find a place close to where you are going to go to work. Gasoline here is getting toward the $3.00 mark and I don't see it going down. We like Tulsa have a lot of road constuction going on as well, unless there is an accident most of the time you can move along pretty good.

I wasn't born here or raised here but I have lived here for 45 years and for me the very best thing about San Antonio is that it is ,......Home

note; I spent 20 years in the military and have lived for shorter periods of time in other cities and I can tell you for sure that San Antonio does not have beggers coming to the door so Wiseguy tell your Aunt she doesn't know what she is talking about or is blowing smoke, and come on back to San Antonio and leave down town and look around you will find that this is a beautiful city all over and like all cities we do have our poor section of town just like all cities,

Note #2, Austin is not a better choice as some one has said. May years ago before we have I-35 it took about 5 minutes to cross Austin and then they put the interstate in to make things faster, now it takes 30 minutes to an hour to cross at rush hour, go figure, Austin better?

Answer 8

I have never lived there so I cant say a lot, but I was there for a week just for work and I way mostly just downtown. The downtown area is awesome! Its a small one but with the river walk there, there is a lot of places to see and eat at. Also, there is a lot of old historic places that remind you of the old south which was cool. According to some of the resients and my aunt who use to live there though, the rest of SA is not a very ncie place. My aunt said that beggers as everywhere and even come to your homes somethimes. I personaly could never live there because the humidity is unbarable and because Im just not into the whole Big Texas thing. I have been to Tulsa though so i know why you are wanting out haha.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Hi, I am from S.A and you are making a great decision to move here. The market is booming here. We are the 7th largest city in the U.S but it does not seem like it because we are not a huge media market. The city is growing and there is so much construction going on with the widening of roads and construction of new homes. The largest school district is the Northside ISD. Many properties are being built there. You will probably would like to move to the Northwest, Northeast or Northcentral side of town. The Northwest side is where most of the white collar jobs are and where the different theme parks are located.Northcentral contains the airport and it is quick to get to any side of town. The Northeast has more of a variety of races and cultures. I would probably say the Northeast has more affordable homes then any other side of town. Availability of homes are everywhere here but the best side of town would be the northside w/ the northeast as the most affordable. Some suburbs to considor that are on the northeast is universal city, selma, converse ( which is home to the talented Judson Rockets football team and Judson ISD- great school. I would say all the school districts are good except for the San Antonio ISD.
I like everything about S.A. Many jobs are coming here, great affordable housing, the weather is great. You will not have to go through all those ice storms. The people are friendly. There is so much stuff to do here. I would say that there is more to do here as a family then all the TX cities except Houston. Great family atmoshere.