How can San Antonio move forward? (Houston, Dallas: condo, home, median income)

[infinity & beyond]

I was in Dallas over the weekend for the TX/OU game and I must say that is one amazing city. I've been there before but hadn't quite experienced it the way I did this weekend. It's extremely cosmopolitan, diverse, and "upscale" (atleast the area I stayed in was).

It has a walkable downtown with many bars, eateries, and shops. Downtown was very developed and has many different sections, my favorite in particular was the Arts District. Just north of downtown there's an area called Uptown which is beautiful and undergoing a ton of growth.

I felt like I was back in California, it really doesn't feel like the conventional Texas city at all. My favorite part about the city was that there were hardly any gas guzzling, environmentally unfriendly pickups!

This is how I'd like to see SA slowly start becoming. How can SA move forward and become more like a Dallas or Houston?

[adtobias]

get more investers more corporate headquarters more high paying jobs more highrise d/t condo life.......shall I cont

[MPinSC]

I'd hate to see SA become a copy of those places, because they have their own downside as well. Dallas can have a very exclusive and unfriendly vibe in places. I'd like SA to keep its more laid-back feel.

BUT, in an ideal world, I'd love to be able to pick and choose qualities to incorporate into SA in the future. I adore that urban feel, with walkable downtowns and locals (not just tourists) out on the streets popping into a multitude of cafes and bookshops and things.

I think some of the River North expansion is trying to aim in that direction. There have to be real jobs downtown, not just waiting tables, which takes corporate investment, which the city needs to actively pursue. When everyone lives in the suburbs, there is not the pressure to create things like shops and groceries, etc downtown.

You have to get people LIVING down there, and the demand for the rest will follow. Unfortunately, many people don't want to live there until those services are in place, so it's sort of a catch-22.

The city needs to make a concerted effort and comprehensive plan to make it easier for people to LIVE downtown. You can do all the development and tourism in the world, but until downtown is HOME to a large chunk of the population, you won't get that indefinable energy that comes with people living there. That's my opinion, anyway.

It's getting there, but sloooowly.

[smuboy86]

Living in Dallas, I would hate to see San Antonio become anything like it. Below the surface Dallas is filled with pretentious snobs, like in uptown, or overwhelming poverty like in south Dallas. Behind is a history of severe racial tension that I had never experienced in San Antonio. Most of the freeways here are named for men that had clear ties to the KKK and other racial hate groups. Downtown Dallas, normally is a void after dark, OU/UT weekend is different. Frankly I wish Dallas would become more like San Antonio!

[Paka]

Originally Posted by infinity & beyond

I was in Dallas over the weekend for the TX/OU game and I must say that is one amazing city. I've been there before but hadn't quite experienced it the way I did this weekend. It's extremely cosmopolitan, diverse, and "upscale" (atleast the area I stayed in was).

It has a walkable downtown with many bars, eateries, and shops. Downtown was very developed and has many different sections, my favorite in particular was the Arts District. Just north of downtown there's an area called Uptown which is beautiful and undergoing a ton of growth.

I felt like I was back in California, it really doesn't feel like the conventional Texas city at all. My favorite part about the city was that there were hardly any gas guzzling, environmentally unfriendly pickups!

This is how I'd like to see SA slowly start becoming. How can SA move forward and become more like a Dallas or Houston?

We have no desire to live in Dallas or Houston...or we would be bright enough to move there.

Each city has its own "flavor" and we do not want to become like Dallas...ESPECIALLY if it has become like California...for God sake, folks are moving out of CA left and right....if it were all that they would find a way to stay.

[oldmanshirt]

Dallas is a land of boob-jobs and Bimmers. I see Austin moving more in the direction of Dallas, while San Antonio is closer to becoming like Houston. Not that SA is or is anywhere close to being Houston, because Houston is a true world-class city on many levels, but SA seems to have more of the characteristics that defines Houston as a diverse, layered city and metropolitan area.

Houston, like SA, gets a bad rap for being rather unattractive on the surface, but the deeper you dig, the more you find to appreciate in both places that can't necessarily be seen from the interstate. Conversely, in the 2 plus years I spent living around and extensively exploring the Dallas area, I never really found anything that defined it as a city/metro, other then superficiality and excess cash. There are a few interesting buildings, and I applaud their light-rail system (which I would love to see SA develop if BRT takes off), but frankly, I wouldn't think twice if I was never able to go back. Conversely, I never get tired of being in SA or Houston, so even though SA is and always will be it's own city (love it or hate it), I'd much rather see us grow like Houston and not Dallas.

Granted, SA is in the very early stages of growing up to be like that, in terms of diverse living choices, transit, arts, and a thriving business and cultural center, but I do think SA is going that direction in spite of those who stubbornly try to keep it the same ol' podunk town. We already have a diverse economy, a rich history, and several top-tier corporations with HQs in the city (though far fewer than Houston). SA has more potential now than ever, its citizens just have to want what's best for it, and not necessarily what's most comfortable or most familiar.

[infinity & beyond]

I did notice that Dallas is extremely pretentious in some areas with a lot of flash and arguably too many people trying to be cool. However, this seems the rule rather than the exception when you start attracting a large number of people from different parts of the country and world to a particular area. Being cosmopolitan often entails being "upscale" and with that often comes pretense and superficiality.

Personally, I'd take that over a place where all people seem to want talk about is the Spurs or what their last meal was. But I think SA is moving in this direction in some places - just go to La Cantera on a Saturday to see what I'm talking about.

I don't think growing up and being progressive necessarily has to entail becoming fake either. As someone else pointed out, we need to establish a happy medium where SA's downtown can thrive AND also find ways to attract a new, more diverse population.

[oldmanshirt]

While I do appreciate that SA's demographics and median income can support a place like La Cantera, I would hope that SA is never defined by it's shopping areas, as it seems Dallas is.

To me, a truly cosmopolitan city has large shopping centers with fancy name brands as a bonus, and not as it's true identity. Truly rich cities base their identities both on where they've been and where they're going. Celebrating history while making history, in other words.

Oh, and if you're listening, you'll notice that SAians are much more likely to be talking about the Cowboys this time of year than the Spurs. This actually irritates me to death, and if SA really does exist in the shadow of Dallas, as you and others seem to feel, then it could be due at least in part to the fact that so many people from here shamelessly worship Dallas' football team.

[MPinSC]

Originally Posted by oldmanshirt

Oh, and if you're listening, you'll notice that SAians are much more likely to be talking about the Cowboys this time of year than the Spurs. This actually irritates me to death, and if SA really does exist in the shadow of Dallas, as you and others seem to feel, then it could be due at least in part to the fact that so many people from here shamelessly worship Dallas' football team.

Or it might just be that a lot of people like football more than they like basketball? *runs away before she gets smacked by rabid Spurs fans*

[oldmanshirt]

Originally Posted by MPinSC

Or it might just be that a lot of people like football more than they like basketball? *runs away before she gets smacked by rabid Spurs fans*

Well, duh, this is Texas after all I don't mind that people like football, but to live in a metro of 2 million and see a pro shop in your downtown devoted to another city's team is just depressing! I'd love to see SA get its own team (even though I do like basketball more than football), but one of my hidden selfish reasons is so people will shut up about the Cowboys!