Just how humid does it really get in the summer and other questions? (Houston: how much)

[mistygrl092]

I read half the thread last night on what do you love/hate about San Antonio (maybe 300 posts) and am intrigued by this place. However, I do have a concern about humidity as I have a problem breathing in humid places. I live in the desert now where there is little humidity, but also no water and I can't deal with the no water aspect any longer. I was in SA maybe 35 years ago and remember how much I liked the River Walk.

Also, I hear that housing is inexpensive and that property taxes are high. As a percentage of the house's value, just how high are we talking? I think I pay about 1% where I am.

How is the job market there? The thread posts I read were from 2008 and I'm sure things have changed. It seems like people either love it or hate it there. Is road construction still a big issue? Thanks in advance.

[GlorifiedMalcontent]

Originally Posted by mistygrl092

I live in the desert now where there is little humidity, but also no water and I can't deal with the no water aspect any longer.

do you mean no water as in rain or no water as in bodies of water like lakes and rivers? if it's rain, you probably know that texas is in the midst of a historic drought, so you won't be seeing too much of that for a while.

humidity in san antonio is frequently bad in the summer/heat if you aren't used to it (like me, who was used to very dry southwest desert like heat) BUT as others will mention it is nowhere near as bad as coastal areas like houston and florida. i see humidity peak in the 90%s in the early morning but it usually doesn't last that long and evens out to about 30-50% throughout the day, on bad days.

[Chaka]

Well, SA has no water AND humidity.

Compared to Houston, FL, the south, or anywhere in the midwest, humidity in SA is pretty mild. Compared to AZ or central CA, it's humid. I understand not being able to breathe, that's how I feel in places like FL. Not an issue here.

FWIW - it hasn't rained in forever so it's very dry, but it's humid enough that I get about 15-20 gals of water per day out of my a/c, which is set at 80F most of the time. So, clearly there's some humidity, but not that bad.

[mistygrl092]

Thanks to both of you! By water I mean lakes and rivers and I read that in the Hill Country there are both. How far is the hill country?

Living where I am, I am quite used to having the A/C running, not that I like it, but it sounds like your summers don't reach 105, 108, 115 as far as temps.

Also, where I live, IMHO, there is absolutely NOTHING to do that interests me. It's a very transient place with huge sprawl and whatever water in this town is a man made body of water.

I read you have fiestas or fiesta week and at least a Seaworld, which puts SA on a different level completely than here. At least it sounds like there are some attractions. I read the pace of life is slower, but at 52 that is ok by me. One concern I have is that the thread said it's very family oriented. Well, my kids are my furbabies and I'm single. I don't want to move to a place where everyone is married with kids as I think I'd have a hard time finding friends to do things with (you know, families tend to come first and often single people are not part of the equation). Oh, one more thing, I am not a republican and I was reading that it you're not people look at you funny. In fact, I am quite the liberal and wonder if there would be many like-minded people there.

[TXsurburbanmom]

Well I am a Republican (for lack of a better choice to match my personal values) and I won't look at you funny I have liberal friends and I just make sure I don't talk politics with them. I should note that I live in the far North Central part of SA which is pretty much the "Republican" side of town--and yes there are plenty of non-conservatives here as well. The rest of SA tends to vote Democrat for the most part, however, I'm sure people who moved here will tell you it is probably still less liberal then some parts of the country. SA is a big city so unless you plan on moving into one of the surrounding towns you should have no problem finding like-minded people or people who know how to have a conversation without bringing party lines into it. I can't guarantee you won't ever hear a discouraging word about the current president but I'm guessing there aren't many places without a little political contention.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by mistygrl092

Thanks to both of you! By water I mean lakes and rivers and I read that in the Hill Country there are both. How far is the hill country?

Living where I am, I am quite used to having the A/C running, not that I like it, but it sounds like your summers don't reach 105, 108, 115 as far as temps.

Um, yeah, it does, but not consistently. At least not usually. It's not unusual to get temps above 100 throughout August, but this year we've had that pretty much since late April.

And yeah, we have rivers and lakes.

Originally Posted by mistygrl092

I read you have fiestas or fiesta week and at least a Seaworld, which puts SA on a different level completely than here. At least it sounds like there are some attractions. I read the pace of life is slower, but at 52 that is ok by me. One concern I have is that the thread said it's very family oriented. Well, my kids are my furbabies and I'm single. I don't want to move to a place where everyone is married with kids as I think I'd have a hard time finding friends to do things with (you know, families tend to come first and often single people are not part of the equation). Oh, one more thing, I am not a republican and I was reading that it you're not people look at you funny. In fact, I am quite the liberal and wonder if there would be many like-minded people there.

By family-oriented means more it's a comfortable place to raise a family. However, where I live (near downtown), there is a huge mix of families, child free couples, single people, old and young, and within all those groups of combo of gay and straight. You don't have to have kids, but it helps if you don't mind kids around. Lots of places are family-friendly. Not necessarily geared towards kids, but kids are welcome. However, there are also plenty of adult oriented activities and places where kids would not be comfortable, so you can escape them once in awhile.

Politically, San Antonio overall is split about 50/50, however, some areas will be heavily conservative and others heavily liberal. if you lived in my neighborhood, you'd have thought Bill White would surely be our next governor and gay marriage would be a done deal...but we do have a handful of Republicans and they get along just fine (they tend to be more socially liberal tho). Other parts of San Antonio, are the opposite. There are plenty of people with a variety of views, and plenty who don't care.

[wCat]

Compared to AZ...humidity here would be high. I lived in Dallas for 25 years, and it was drier in Dallas than SA. The closer to the coast the higher it gets.

I'm also one with breathing problems in humidity. Like others have said....we're in a severe drought....and while our humidity on a temporary average right now is lower than usual, when it rains, it's like a steam bath for the next few days as the wet grounds evaporate. I have to stay inside on those days...or at least limit outdoor. We've had temps over 100 all summer....and that is unusual. Typical highs are around 95-98 in the summer but more humid.

As far as lakes....all the lakes around San Antonio are man made. That doesn't mean they aren't nice.....but a couple are way below typical levels for this time of year....especially the Medina river. Most river beds are completely dried up, unless they are spring fed. Even then, the aquifer level is low so even some springs are not flowing.

Clearly...this is not a good time to look at SA and decide if its right for you. Nothing is typical right now.....and it looks like next year will be a repeat.

[Spock's Beard]

In a normal summer devoid of high-pressure heat pockets that keep the rain out, it can and does get humid with high heat indexes a lot.