Commute Brooks City Base to Northwest SA? Best area to live (San Antonio: real estate, condos)

[melsaw15]

We are relocating to SA. Will be working at Brooks City base, but son's school is just this side of Helotes. How are the commute times? We live in Omaha NE now, so there really is no rush hour, although don't tell the Nebraskans that. Is the Northwest area nice. Should we live inside or outside the loop? Which areas are safe?

[nicholasa101]

hello,
glad to see you're becoming a Texas Longhorn (fan) now! I currently work at Brooks City Base and live on the northwest side of san antonio in helotes texas. It a bear dealing w/traffic everyday and it's only getting worse. i really suggest you look at some real estate on sw military (on the east side of hwy 37). it's really growing up in the area around there with some really high end homes. d.r. horton is an excellent home builder and is currently building on the republic golf course at awesome prices. that's my two cents. any more questions please ask

[Insomniac]

Brooks City-Base will soon have new housing built. Condos and town homes.

[buffy888]

Originally Posted by melsaw15

We live in Omaha NE now, so there really is no rush hour, although don't tell the Nebraskans that.

So funny - I live in Omaha right now, too (moving back to San Antonio in about 3 weeks) and we always laugh at some of the traffic reports on TV or when people complain about how bad the drive is at "rush hour." Rush hour here is about the same as the lightest traffic in the middle of the day elsewhere.
Having said that, I lived in San Antonio off and on when I was growing up (we would be stationed in S.A., then somewhere else, then back in S.A. again...) and I can't believe the amount of traffic there is now.

[Chris Besinger]

I live in S.A. right now and used to go to school at UNO. You are so right, people in Omaha are like, "it's 5, i better not go to the store because of traffic" YEAH RIGHT!!!! There is no traffic, you are having a bad day if you have to touch your brakes on the way home!

I loved Omaha though! But Texas is SOOOO much better!

I suggest if you are working at BAMC and you want to live NW that you live somewhere near 151 so you will have easy access to 1604 and 410. Just my suggestion and the schools supposedly are a little more recognized in the NISD as well.

[melsaw15]

Originally Posted by nicholasa101

hello,
glad to see you're becoming a Texas Longhorn (fan) now! I currently work at Brooks City Base and live on the northwest side of san antonio in helotes texas. It a bear dealing w/traffic everyday and it's only getting worse. i really suggest you look at some real estate on sw military (on the east side of hwy 37). it's really growing up in the area around there with some really high end homes. d.r. horton is an excellent home builder and is currently building on the republic golf course at awesome prices. that's my two cents. any more questions please ask

What is a bear? 30 minutes, 45? I'm really not sure about the area around Brooks. I've heard there are building up around that are with new homes, but the research I've done showes it to be high crime.

[hadleyzoo]

WOAI (our local TV station) is actually doing a series this week on growth on the south/southwest side of San Antonio.

Last night they talked about BCB and all that's going on in and around it: Changing Face of Brooks City-Base | WOAI.COM: San Antonio News

Tiffany

[Sabine66]

I live in the new build SE Side and love it, Crime???????? Not here it is very familyfriendly and I am very happy we chose to live here for once if there would be a walkway I could walk to HEB and Walmart, all the stores are close and I just love it School right there, everything is new and the traffic is probably the least at our side of town. So come on down

[Living Near Shamu]

Originally Posted by melsaw15

We are relocating to SA. Will be working at Brooks City base, but son's school is just this side of Helotes. How are the commute times? We live in Omaha NE now, so there really is no rush hour, although don't tell the Nebraskans that. Is the Northwest area nice. Should we live inside or outside the loop? Which areas are safe?

My wife used to work in BCB and had to commute all the way to 151 and Military drive (Hence the name, Living Near Shamu) so I can say a little bit about this commute. Since they build 151 the traffic is not as bad as it used to be. However, as 151 connects to Loop 1604, the nightmare begins. The problem is that Loop 1604 is not a fully developed highway. It has traffic lights and there are no frontage roads. The drive from BCB to the 151/1604 corner is about 30-40 mins highway time. From there, to Helotes its about another 15 to 20 mins of stop/go traffic. You're better off taking Culebra to 1560 and 1560 to Bandera Rd.

Don't be discouraged by traffic when coming over here. Our city is wonderful and growing every day. There are a ton of things to do and to visit. The old towns around here are excellent weekend getaways and there's plenty of family things to do. Yes, SA is growing by leaps, but its worth it.

[gwrober]

I live in the Villages of Westcreek, and have commuted to Brooks for the past 4 years...with San Antonio traffic, timing is everything. A five minute difference leaving my house almost equals 10-15 minutes on the roads, due to traffic! But, my drive was maybe 25-30 minutes each way.