From San Jose in NorCal to SA

[IrishSA]

Originally Posted by srcerebro

Any recommendation?

It's all your taste. One thing i would say is stay away from KB Homes.

[RENinja]

Exactly--it'll depend on your tastes. If you're looking for Mediterranean or Spanish-style homes, there are currently 31 homes that (according to the descriptions) meet that criteria and area also under $200,000.

Like people have mentioned before, you have to consider the higher property taxes here. You can find homes that have a 2% tax rate, but 2.5 to 3.0% is pretty normal. For a home that is $200,000, you can expect to pay between $5,000 and $6000 per year in taxes (a lot higher than what you're paying in Cali!)

[rd2007]

I thought stucco was a problem here? or at least that's what some builders told me and you rarely see it here. I personally like the new style that's going with a combination like brick, wood, stone and even some stucco. gives it character..
Bella Vista does this

[Tommi]

We used to live in Willow Glen in San Jose! Welcome to SA! We live in Lincoln Heights right now and are building/remodeling a home in Alamo Heights. Great school district and centrally located to everything.
514 Normandy Ave (broken link)
Good Luck!

[srcerebro]

Originally Posted by Tommi

We used to live in Willow Glen in San Jose! Welcome to SA! We live in Lincoln Heights right now and are building/remodeling a home in Alamo Heights. Great school district and centrally located to everything.
514 Normandy Ave (broken link)
Good Luck!

Tommi, Willow glen is a very nice place to live in. you still own the house here? currently we live in the Mt Hamilton foothills(story & clayton) can you tell me some of your likes and dislikes about SA since you are more familiar with San Jose and can compare. Pls

[srcerebro]

Originally Posted by IrishSA

It's all your taste. One thing i would say is stay away from KB Homes.

Yeah! KB Homes also built here and aound the bay area and i think that they are the most cheap builder out there + no style at all. when you enter their houses it seems that you whent into a Hotel. at least thats my take.

[spursfansatown]

i'm a texan born and raised. lived in el paso, dry heat, for 35 years, then lived in SAN DIEGO for three years. i adore San Antonio and hand-picked this city when wanting to come back to Texas. the biggest negative is the hot summers. you really do have to stay inside. i had a heat stroke in dallas two years ago, so it's a texas thing much of the time, except for west texas which is dry heat.

you can sell your house in SJ and be considered middle class there, come to SA and buy a house for half the price and retire. perhaps i'm being hyperbolic. but i know many people who've moved to SAN ANTONIO from other high-cost cities and they have sold their houses in those high-cost cities and got WAY MORE for their money here, for half the price or sometimes less.

we have beautiful country here, in the Hill Country

i love our downtown, as well.

some people say the arts do not thrive here; i have never had a problem with that. as a matter of fact, between literature (some nationally and internationally acclaimed major writers and poets live here) and the visual arts scene is very strong and NOT COMMERCIAL. very organic. also, our symphony is one of the best in Texas, though it does struggle to find funding.

if you want a big city that feels like a small town, this is your best bet.

though the traffic has worsened here, it's much heavier traffic in houston and dallas and austin. there is lots of construction here on the freeways. you can find alternate routes.

if you can stay inside during the summers (and do all you do in San Jose during our falls and springs and even winters) and if you don't mind finding alternate routes on heavy construction freeways, you'll be fine. if you like baseball, we are not a baseball city. dallas cowboys have a huge presence here as training camp is here. we are a MAJOR SPURS CITY. YOU WILL GET CAUGHT UP in the SPURS spirit. hard not to. so much to do here, really.

if you like good blues music, this place is awesome. we're also only 1.5 or less hours away from austin, great place. 3.5 hours away from houston. five hours from dallas. and less than three hours from the Texas Coast. best place on the Texas coast is ROCKPORT FULTON. we are centrally located and have many places out in the natural world/country that are stunning at different times of the year, such as LOST MAPLES which is fiery with autumn leaves.