What's San Marcos like? (San Antonio, Austin: transferring to, buy, public school)

[buffettjr]

Originally Posted by Ole Texan

Hmmm, park incorrectly, get towed, seems easy enough to fix...

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.

[TexasHorseLady]

Funny, I'm well able to distinguish between said member and other people who use the head smack icon. But I don't pretend to speak for "this board" in general, only for myself.

I've never been towed in San Marcos (or anywhere else, come to think of it), so can't speak to that experience, and I've never lived there. But we've contemplated moving there and find it worthy of such consideration, which means that it's a nice little town with sufficient amenities for daily living and easy access to other amenities in Austin and San Antonio. Being a college town is a positive from our perspective, too.

[OzzyRules]

Having to deal with the consequences of their actions can have an interesting effect on some people. It's best to give them lots of room whenever you come across them.

[Trainwreck20]

Kind of funny, the towing story, because the (almost) exact same thing happened to me at a Jack-in-the-Box on the drag some....gosh, twenty plus years ago or so. I parked there, ate at the JITB, and then when I went out the front door I met some friends and stood there talking for a while (20 minutes maybe?). It was around closing time when we came out, and it turns out a towing service is hired to remove all 'illegally' parked cars after closing. So at approximately 2:01 am, a tow truck showed up and towed my car, which was around at the back of the building, and was gone within 10 minutes or less, I would guess. I went back to get my car and - tada! No car.

I ended up shelling out some cash that I had to borrow from friends at 2:30 am (it is good to have friends), because a tow truck place will not take check or CC and I had no cash.

I eventually called JITB corporate and they agreed (to their credit) to pay for the towing costs once I showed them my receipt and the record of the time that my car was towed.

Anyway, I think it is a college town thing - business anywhere around campus have 'automatic' towing services contracted, although yours is a bit different in that you were in an open store and someone would physically have to call the tow company. I would have made the store pay, or at least try to.

[Ole Texan]

Originally Posted by buffettjr

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.

Some on the board might think it means, oops I could have had a V8

San Marcos is a nice place to live!

Have a nice day.

[Scooter 48]

Thanks to all that have submitted here!
Mike

[thenikster]

Ah nostalgia. I know this thread hasn't been active in awhile but a recent conversation led me to this forum to kind of check things out. I was born in WI, raised mostly in the south; Louisiana, California, Mississippi and from the age of 24 to 28, Texas; specifically Austin for 2 years and then San Marcos after I decided I couldn't handle the traffic any longer in Austin. I've been in WI now for 13 years, the longest I've ever lived in one area...and its sucking the life right out of me. Anywho, that's a topic for another forum I'm sure. As is the reason I ended up back in this place.

I have finally decided, after many years spent waffling and raising my kids, that it's time to go home. And by home I mean TX and probably specifically San Marcos. Never in my life have I encountered such hospitality and manners. My most vivid memory of my first few days in TX involves a trip to the gas station. A man finished fueling just as I did and as I went to go in, I saw him speed up his step and I figured "typical", but wait....he wasn't trying to beat me to the door so he'd be first in line for his 12 pack of Miller Lite and lotto tickets, he was racing to get the door for me! You could have knocked me over with a feather. 13 years in WI and I can assure you, that does not happen.

Anyway, what I miss about San Marcos and TX in general. Oh good BBQ I miss you so. And Sunday brunch at whatever little mom and pop Mexican restaurant we decided to try. Walks down by the river. Truly kind and generous people. Some Mexican fast food place I can't remember the name of but I could have eaten my weight in their burracho beans. And another restaurant I forget that had homemade flour tortillas. Shiner beer, although that's migrated up to my neck of the woods. Perdnales falls. Weekend trips to Corpus Christie. Fresh shark steaks. Fresh seafood period. Rafting on the Guadalupe, tubing at Stinky Falls. San Antonio's River Walk. Trips into Wimberly walking up and down the streets visiting quaint little shops. Trips into Austin for more great food. (Yeah, I am a bit of a foodie.) Texas sunsets, wow just nothing like 'em. Trips into Tijuana although I'm sure that probably doesn't happen much these days. I could go on and on. What I liked about San Marcos was the feeling of small town living in not such a small town, with easy access to Austin and San Antonio.

Yes most of my family lives in WI and I have a few really great friends (transplants oddly enough), but hey, that's what vacations and spare rooms are for right? There's just no place like home...

[jd411]

I've been to San Marcos a few times. Mostly for tubing and exploring the downtown area. Also, I have driven through San Marcos from Wimberley to get to I-35 back to Austin.

Based on my limited experience, it did not appear to be a desirable place to live, nor does it resemble what you'd most likely have in your mind as "hill country".

Not that its terrible, but there are other options surrounding the Austin area that are probably better. Also, I hear their public schools are not very good. Not sure if that matters to you.

[achtungpv]

Come on, jd411. That's like critiquing a city when you've never left the airport.

[LongLiveCassettes]

San Marcos is a mix of Old Town Charm and New Town Development. They need to work on the sidewalks, they have been finally getting much need street repairs. They say that San Marcos has the cleanest water, it was from a report from last year. The CARTS bus system is backwards they stop running about 5:30pm so it is car and bicycle town pretty much, oh and the only bike racks are on the Bob Cat Tram, You can get to San Marcos for $6 from Austin, Texas via Bob Cat Tram. A choice of Smoking and Non Smoking bars, and a handful of Restaurants too. San Marcos attracts Conservatives and Liberal College Students, it is a Ying and a Yang. I had no problems with San Marcos. But if you are retiring there it is best to choose outskirts like Hunter, and Wimberley, unless you like parties and loud music. San Marcos is charm and more in a small town. They seem to make it Utopia for quite a few. Plus you don't have AT&T you have CenturyTel, and I believe you can pay your phone bill in person at their downtown office, if they haven't changed that!