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Old 03-02-2013, 10:08 PM
 
Location: San Marcos, TX
2,570 posts, read 7,713,280 times
Reputation: 4059

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I am bumping this old dead thread because I need info. I am currently a student at TSU but I commute from San Antonio 2x a week. I don't hang around so I am never there before or after school, instead I'm on my way home to my family as soon as I m out of class, but we are probably going to be moving to San Marcos this summer so now I'm trying to get the scoop. My spouse will be transferring to TSU also and we're just ready for a change, been wanting out of San Antonio for a long time now. It's a baby step up the road but nevertheless...

First off, we're a same sex (female) couple with kids. I am assuming that won't be an issue... ? I mean, it hasn't been in SA and I got the impression that SA was more conservative overall (been here over 20 years). In SA people just kind of let you do your thing and mind their own business. Can we expect the same in SM?

Next, what about the schools? I think we're going to be ok on school for our youngest daughter (she is 10) based on ratings and reviews, but I'm a little worried about the high school (our son will be a Junior next year), since there is only one, and lots of reviews online say it's kind of awful. I couldn't find any info on a charter school option for high school and we don't have money for private.

Also, what kind of stuff, aside from the river, is there to do for a teenager or a younger kid? Are there a lot of parks with playgrounds and SHADE (big huge deal)?

We're getting pretty excited but I'd love to hear more. People say it's a lot like Austin was 30 or 40 years ago, and I've always loved Austin, so I hope we'll love San Marcos too. It seems pretty (hills and river) and kind of funky and laid back but that's just my impression as a commuter student.
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:22 PM
 
Location: San Marcos, TX
2,570 posts, read 7,713,280 times
Reputation: 4059
Bump? No one has an opinion about a city that is about 50,000 people? I mean, it's not exactly tiny, I hoped for some input.
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Old 03-07-2013, 12:34 PM
 
Location: central Austin
7,228 posts, read 16,025,446 times
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Here is a thread that discusses the school a little bit:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...questions.html

I would look at New Brunfels too, primarily for the better schools.

good luck!
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Old 03-07-2013, 01:42 PM
 
Location: San Marcos, TX
2,570 posts, read 7,713,280 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by centralaustinite View Post
Here is a thread that discusses the school a little bit:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...questions.html

I would look at New Brunfels too, primarily for the better schools.

good luck!
Yes, I posted on that thread, saying I would not be living in San Marcos! Ha! Eating those words now.

Thanks for responding. I lived in NB before, it is nice, but we really want to not be car-dependent. We are a one car family and our vehicle is old but great... however I live in fear of "something" going wrong and having to miss class as a result. We are not necessarily in a position, if the car died completely, to pay high repair bills or turn around and buy something else, so I have much less anxiety if I know I can still get where I need to be via bikes or bus or on foot. I would really like to be able to take public transportation or the Texas State shuttle to school with no worries about parking on campus... so we are trying to stick to San Marcos proper. As a personal preference we'd normally choose NB or Canyon Lake or Wimberley but like I said, the driving thing is a big consideration for us.
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Old 03-08-2013, 02:41 PM
 
Location: Austin
251 posts, read 396,219 times
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San Marcos is a beautiful town IMO. Go take a swim in the crystal clear San Marcos river that runs right through town. Take time to relax by the water and take in all of the natural beauty, and I'm not talking about the trees. You'll never want to leave.

On a more serious note, I hear that the schools aren't that good. Also, it's a sleepy town that shuts down at midnight, unless you still like going to keg parties.
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Old 03-09-2013, 09:17 PM
 
7,991 posts, read 10,332,852 times
Reputation: 15003
Quote:
Originally Posted by buffettjr View Post
I didn't park incorrectly. I parked at a shopping center, then shopped there.

You might not want to use the head smack icon -- it's not usually well accepted on this board because it makes you look like a member who is universally hated and uses multiple head smacks in every post.
I have a feeling that I know exactly what shopping center you are talking about. And you are not alone. I had to get many a friend who had their car towed who did the exact same thing you did.

That said, I like San Marcos. I went to school there and ended up staying there for about 10 years. I do think a lot of things there geared towards the under 30 crowd, but overall I think it is a great little town.

On negative is that the public schools there are pretty bad. Maybe that's why so much of the population is either on the younger side or on the older side.
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Old 03-09-2013, 09:20 PM
 
7,991 posts, read 10,332,852 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sally_Sparrow View Post
Bump? No one has an opinion about a city that is about 50,000 people? I mean, it's not exactly tiny, I hoped for some input.
Nearly 35,000 students attend Texas State. So you need to realize that about half that population only lives there from the end of August to May. I don't think it's as big as you think it is - at least it doesn't feel as though it is.
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Old 03-10-2013, 09:46 AM
 
2,878 posts, read 4,612,752 times
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The town is growing, new stuff is being built all the time. That's the bad. The good is, it's still a relatively small town and in the middle between San Antonio and Austin and also gives you quick access to Hill country or you can hop over to the east side of I-35 and see places like College Station etc. You can find most of the stuff you need in the surrounding area to San Marcos along the I-35 in either direction without the need to go into the city.

I wish they had a bigger farmer's market though, the one we saw last Saturday was pitiful.
OD
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Old 03-10-2013, 12:00 PM
 
Location: Avery Ranch, Austin, TX
8,977 posts, read 17,454,123 times
Reputation: 4000
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sally_Sparrow View Post
Bump? No one has an opinion about a city that is about 50,000 people? I mean, it's not exactly tiny, I hoped for some input.
It's not exactly outside the door...SA is as close as Austin to San Marcos. What do your local homies have to say about it? Just the layout is quite different if you're comparing SM to the Austin of 30-40 years ago.
No Lake Travis, darned near everything within 6-8 minutes of IH-35, no giant UT, so much of the 'identity' being linked to commercial/tourist visits along the highway, no state legislature, etc. etc.
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Old 03-10-2013, 09:43 PM
 
Location: San Marcos, TX
2,570 posts, read 7,713,280 times
Reputation: 4059
Quote:
Originally Posted by 10scoachrick View Post
It's not exactly outside the door...SA is as close as Austin to San Marcos. What do your local homies have to say about it? Just the layout is quite different if you're comparing SM to the Austin of 30-40 years ago.
No Lake Travis, darned near everything within 6-8 minutes of IH-35, no giant UT, so much of the 'identity' being linked to commercial/tourist visits along the highway, no state legislature, etc. etc.
Well I asked on my SA forums and didn't get but one reply.

Downtown Austin to SM is about 35 minutes right? Downtown SA to SM is closer to an hour. But whatever, my point was I figured there would be more opinions and experiences even if they were from former students who lived there for their entire school careers... and since SM isn't big enough to have its own sub-forum here, the Austin forum seemed like the most logical place to get replies.

The school rating sites have a tiny handful of ratings about the high school there. We did drive by it and it is frighteningly huge! For a kid who has been in a pretty tiny public charter school most of his life anyway, and an even tinier private before that.

I guess we will just find out when we get there. Whatever the outcome, it will only be temporary so if it sucks, we'll survive. We've survived SA for this long!
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