Any San Antonio Locals?

[JustinH]

Anyone on here in the San Antonio area?

My wife and I are in an interesting situation in Austin. We have a ton of equity in our house, we are thinking of putting it to use.

We are finding many more job opportunities in SA that pay more than Austin. I have had a couple job interviews that went well, she has had a couple also.

We are considering selling our house, taking the equity and paying off all our debt, car loans, and student loans, then starting fresh in SA.

Anyways, we are looking for a month to month apartment for a few months while we purchase another house.

I was just looking for some feedback on areas to avoid, etc.

We both would be working near the Medical Center, and looking to live in North West SA.

Thanks.

 

[Nyogtha]

If y'all have the skills / credentials you should have no problems finding jobs here as you've noted. We've been on the Far North Side just outside of 1604 for 2 years now. There is some residential crime in the Medical Center itself, there was a serial rapist prowling apartment complexes there in the time we lived here that took some time to catch. Having said that there's plenty of areas near the Medical Center that are quite nice, within a short drive by distance. If you want more small-town feel with a longer commute consider Boerne or Helotes, or even Bulvurde depending on how much of a commute you'll tolerate. Certain times of day have a lot of traffic along the main Medical Center arteries including Wurzbach but as Austinites you're no strangers to that. I'll take SA traffic over Austin, Houston, or especially DFW myself any day.

 

[E150GT]

I'd stay away from the North East side. I grew up there. Stick to North side or North central. I personally avoid Northwest at all costs due to traffic. My wife and I just settled into the North central side at the end of last year and we love the area.

 

[Nyogtha]

Sounds like we're not far apart geographically E150GT.

 

[HondaBroMike]

I remember the days when people would move to Austin instead of away from it. Hated SA, great place to visit but not to live, uhm no.

 

[sasilverbullet]

The whole north-west side is sooooooo crowded, which I'm not a fan of. I live north of SA in a suburb called Bulverde. You won't find apartments out here, just houses to buy, with a very few rentals. If you love the crowd and traffic, then find a place near the Medical Center. Drive from my house to Medical Center is about 45 minutes.

If you have some more specific questions feel free to PM me, I've lived in the San Antonio area since the early 60's.

 

[sasilverbullet]

Originally Posted By: HondaBroMike
I remember the days when people would move to Austin instead of away from it. Hated SA, great place to visit but not to live, uhm no.


Yeah, "keep Austin weird" is a pretty real phrase...

 

[WyrTwister]

I have heard Austin referred to as Moscow on the Brazos .

 

[Mr Nice]

I'd like to visit Austin some day.

 

[JustinH]

Thanks all for the help. I had a couple good interviews this week, and my wife had one today with a hospital.

We drove around the north east side and some of it was ghetto.

I will look at North west or North central.

 

[Nyogtha]

Far North Side SA (north of Loop 1604) where I currently live has extra temporary traffic hassles right now due to way too long delayed conversion of US 281 from the Super Street concept to a real expressway. It will be much better once this is completed (late 2019?). The construction crews have been making good progress in my area.

 

[Nyogtha]

Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
I have heard Austin referred to as Moscow on the Brazos .


It is definitely the most Californized piece of Texas and has been referred to in that way at least since the early 80's when I lived in San Marcos. It's become even more extremely true with time, including traffic issues, population demographic, and public spending costs. BBQ joints have tohave exhaust gas scrubbers to not negatively impact residents sensibilities there. This started to infect SA as well but only one extremely high volume joint affected here so far (but the precedent has been set).

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/restau...ay-12866660.php

 

[JustinH]

Thanks for the advise, we leased a nice apartment on Expo Blvd near i10 and Hubner blvd.

Very nice area, near the Strand shopping district.

Nice option the lease is a one year lease, but we can get out of it if we are purchasing our own home, and provide documentation.

So we can lease for a few months, then walk with no problems.

Moving down in a couple weeks. I had a couple very good interviews, my wife starts at the hospital in a couple weeks in the medical district.

San Antonio traffic is NOTHING compared to Austin, its nice to drive around the city.

 

[Mr Nice]

BBQ scrubbers?????
OMG

It’s good that you’re relocating and have all your ducks lined up...