Boho community in San Antonio? (Houston, Austin: leasing, houses, neighborhoods)

[Peggy Howe]

Does anyone know of a community/neighborhood/area of SA known for it's alternative "feel" or "bohemian" atmosphere? I've lived in some pretty progressive (Austin, San Francisco) and not so progressive (Lawrence, Ks., Pittsburgh) cities/towns and all seemed to have neighborhoods that were attractive to the bohemian set as opposed to the suburban set. I'm not knocking a suburban lifestyle. I'm just looking for a neighborhood that is not necessarily geared towards raising a family and that has some less than mainstream attractions. i.e. independent movie theatres, gay population/hangouts, small, independently run restaurants and bars, grocery stores within walking distance, a music scene....Thanks a bunch for any input.

[wCat]

King William district....lots of artsy and fun people there.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

Monte Vista, possibly; perhaps Mahnke Park as well.

[ArizonaTexan]

Definately King William/Southtown. Great restaurants, bars, atmosphere, theatre, art scene, etc...I'll be flying home Saturday so I'm gonna spend my afternoons sipping cold Lone Star beer at La Tuna!

[ShaneSA]

Southtown and Mahncke Park come to mind. King William is to a point, but mixed with attitude. Southtown is close to King William, even the same houses without the historic designation. I think Southtown is more Boho than any of the others.

[guerosincero]

Originally Posted by Peggy Howe

I'm just looking for a neighborhood that is not necessarily geared towards raising a family and that has some less than mainstream attractions. i.e. independent movie theatres, gay population/hangouts, small, independently run restaurants and bars, grocery stores within walking distance, a music scene....

Southtown/King William: Probably the artsiest of boho areas in town due to the Blue Star Arts Complex. But also pretty expensive, though areas immediately outside of King William can sometimes be had for a good price. I think you should consult plans for the river improvement projects going south of downtown to the missions (called the Mission Reach) as there is one segment called Eagleland, which may end up driving up quality of life farther south of King William proper.

Monte Vista: Close to SAC, which is where a number of gay bars are located. Like King William, though, price very high in Monte Vista. If being close to this nightlife is primary concern for you, then Alta Vista, Beacon Hill and Tobin Hill may be a good area to look for more bang for your buck.

Monticello: Close to Jefferson High School and a lot of awesome houses in and around the Woodlawn Lake area are available at some good price last time I checked, but I would consider this to be more suburb like even though it is very close to downtown. It is, however, close to the Bijou Theater at Crossroads mall, which is probably our favorite arthouse, though perhaps not going to be what you are used to if you are coming from San Fran or even Austin.

Mahncke Park (insert conflict of interest disclaimer here since this is our neighborhood): North part of the park is getting pricey, but still a good buy given that you can get a bungalow of the same type that you could easily spend twice as much for in Alamo Heights, and pay very high property taxes. South part of park is getting better, but still sketchy in some areas, which is something we are working on as this is where we live.

As for what surrounds MP, I think there are a lot of exciting things going on immediately around the neighborhood and it is only a couple of miles from downtown, which is filling out with mixed use development and urban centers for gathering.

If you take a look at a map, you see that we have surrounding MP, which is already very stable, or on the way to being stable. You have Brackenridge Golf Course (about to undergo renovations), Brackenridge Park (recently beautified), Japanese Tea Gardens (which is currently being renovated), Sunken Gardens Theater, San Antonio Zoo, Trinity University (lecture series and beautiful campus), University of the Incarnate Word (also beautiful campus, the San Antonio river starts from the springs in the back of the campus), Central Market, Alamo Heights Neighborhood, Terrell Hills Neighborhood, San Antonio Country Club, Botanical Gardens, and Fort Sam Houston. St. Mary's Street, which is right across 281 from us has a good number of bars and a really awesome coffee house.

And best of all, the Museum Reach of the SA River, that is currently slated to go as far north as Josephine Street a mile south of us, and may end up going as far north as Witte Museum, which is currently undergoing expansion. Other neighborhoods that are in the vicinity are Government Hill, which has undergone a lot of positive change in the fiver or so years we have been living here, and River Road, which is extremely nice and quiet, but pretty expensive and hard to find a house there.

Hope this helps.

[MPinSC]

There was a good article in the NY Times on the SouthTown area.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/12/29...ican.html?8dpc

As newbies to SA,hubby and I want the same sort of thing as you, but are stuck leasing in the dreaded suburbs for another 2 years till kiddo graduates high school. We're looking around, though, and will be out of McMansionland as soon as we can! My sister flew in to visit from Charleston, SC today, and we plan to head down to Southtown tomorrow for a little bohemian-ness and local color that is not pre-packaged, no matter how prettily.