Stone Oak vs Alamo Ranch - Help Us Choose (San Antonio: rentals, insurance)

[Bradford72]

Hi All,

My wife and will be moving to San Antonio from Northern California later this year and we need some help from the locals. We’ve browsed many of the threads and have gotten some good information, but we still disagree a little on where we want to live. Basically…she likes the idea of having a BRAND NEW home in Alamo Ranch so we can choose the floorplan, fixtures, flooring, paint, etc…and make it “ours”. I, on the other hand, think we should look for the right home in a proven, established, safe, yet still somewhat newer neighborhood like Stone Oak. My stance is that we really don’t know how Alamo Ranch will evolve (shopping, restaurants, roads, schools) whereas Stone Oak is a proven area with some of the best schools and seems to be convenient to good shopping, restaurants, etc. We would like some input from the locals to help us decide what’s best for us. We will also be visiting in June of this year to narrow things down a bit.

About us: We will both probably be seeking work with USAA, so the commute is important (bear in mind, we deal with Bay Area traffic daily...19 miles takes us over an hour, even in the carpool lane…so anything less will be a blessing). We have a nine year old daughter, so good schools are important. We would like to have access to a community pool. We of course would like to be near quality shopping (will there ultimately be a Whole Foods or similar in Alamo Ranch?). My wife loves Target, but those seem to be plentiful there LOL.

Okay...your (constructive and informative) thoughts, please

[Me007gold]

Stone oak seems like i would be a good fit, although I would look in Shavano Park as well. Very close proxmity to USAA(good luck getting in, its very tough. It took me 3 interviews over a period of 5 years), all the same shopping, decent school.

[Bradford72]

Thanks...yeah I've heard that about USAA. Are you on the insurance or bank side?

[TXsurburbanmom]

Have you actually visited the areas? I think that is very important. If not please drive around outside of the neighborhood itself and see if it fits your needs. Check the schools up to HS even if your kids aren't at that age yet. Find out info on how many homes are on the market and how many are rentals as that can affect the neighborhood in the future. I'd also check home values of existing homes. SA is seeing a slow upswing so I'd want to see that reflected in home prices to give me an idea about future value.

I have to put up with some road construction right now but I love that I know my schools are great and I'm very comfortable with all the surrounding areas.

[Bradford72]

We haven't visited the particular neighborhoods yet, but we will be there for a few days in June. At that point, we are hoping to narrow things down a bit using input from others along with our own instincts from the visit.

Out of curiosity...where are you located?

Thanks for the input!

[Buffyfan]

Not a fan of the area surrounding Alamo Ranch, personally. The schools in Stone Oak are top notch.

[TXsurburbanmom]

I'm in Stone Oak. Yes traffic can be a pain-although you could take a straight shot up Huebner and avoid 1604 altogether. Love the schools, shopping, activities for the kids...

There are some new areas toward the back although only 5 minutes from me and I'm right off Stone Oak Pkwy down from Huebner. I'm from SA and I chose SO out of all the areas-husband worked on East side when we moved here but opted for the drive to get the neighborhood. I do know some of the people around C-D live out Alamo Ranch area and love it. I prefer the NC side of town.

I'm glad you'll have a chance to visit. We moved to NC a few years back and didn't do enough research. Fortunately my husband was able to get a job back here when we realized we weren't happy. AND we moved right back into Stone Oak-same school too.

[Bradford72]

Good info...thank you!

@Buffyfan...what specifically about the surrounding area do you find unappealing?

Thanks again,
Brad

[dpantle]

Alamo Ranch is not in what I would consider an "upscale" area. If you're considering new builds, there are many in and around Stone Oak as well. Stone Oak also has better schools.

[pobre]

I can't speak about Alamo Ranch, but I have heard good things.

But I do live in SO, and dh is at USAA. Commute from our house is 15-40 minutes depending on time of day AND time of year. School vacations and summer are quickest. Therefore, when you come in June you will find it to be a breeze.

I'm pretty biased about schools in SO, I think they are top notch. But NISD is very good as well. As another poster mentioned, look at the high school, then the feeder middle and elementary schools. NISD is experiencing much more growth than we are, so schools and boundaries could change.