Can Plant Residences at the Pearl-Info and advice (Vega: living, moving)

[Merovee]

You have Kiddie Park and Lions Park nearby. There is also the Witte with its H-E-B Science Treehouse Museum (unsure how many times you can go before it becomes old hat but I will find out soon enough) and the Summer Adventure Camp too.

All of those can be reached via bikes, and not down Broadway either, there is a nice trail that continues where the Museum Reach ends which snakes around under the expressway, by the golf course, and then runs a block east of Broadway.

Season passes to the Zoo are always a good idea!

There is also this: Welcome to the LOV!

Going the other direction into Downtown there is the San Antonio Museum of Art with First Sundays for Families as well as free admission that day before noon.

Artpace has art classes and camps for kids 6+

The Children's Museum is always ready for family visits.

There is much more for families in that area including it being the one area of San Antonio with the most libraries clustered in the general area including the Main Library which always has children's activities on their schedule.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by Mimi3000

We will have to check out Hawthorne School as well. We checked out Southtown but didn't really get a good sense of it. Are there particular areas within Southtown that we should look into?

Any other thoughts?

Thanks again! You guys are great!

Southtown also has those cute little houses where you need to actually be here physically to find. You might post of the Lavaca District's Facebook page about your interest or the My Southtown page. Apartment-wise, there is the St Benedict. We have a few friends with kids who live there and are quite happy (and it has a pool!). There are a number of new places along Flores St, but while I like them and the area I think I'd probably pick the Pearl over them, esp for just one year. There are also apartments at Blue Star which, while not "inappropriate" for kids, can be kind of noisy.

I am Southtown's biggest cheerleader, but I think in your shoes, for one year and given your work location, I'd choose the Pearl. Like I said, you can always join in all the kid-friendly activities in Southtown if you'd like. DM me when you move here and I'll hook you up

Oh - wait I know of a house that will become available in June in Lavaca. Nice little house, great street, lovely neighbors.

And I totally forgot about Refugio Place as well as the townhomes on Guenther, but I'd still choose the Pearl over those.

[Pancho-Villa]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Southtown also has those cute little houses where you need to actually be here physically to find. You might post of the Lavaca District's Facebook page about your interest or the My Southtown page. Apartment-wise, there is the St Benedict. We have a few friends with kids who live there and are quite happy (and it has a pool!). There are a number of new places along Flores St, but while I like them and the area I think I'd probably pick the Pearl over them, esp for just one year. There are also apartments at Blue Star which, while not "inappropriate" for kids, can be kind of noisy.

I am Southtown's biggest cheerleader, but I think in your shoes, for one year and given your work location, I'd choose the Pearl. Like I said, you can always join in all the kid-friendly activities in Southtown if you'd like. DM me when you move here and I'll hook you up

Oh - wait I know of a house that will become available in June in Lavaca. Nice little house, great street, lovely neighbors.

We know.

[JuneOf48]

I just got back from a meeting at the Pearl. It's a great area. Even though I live only a 10-minute walk away in a cute little Tobin Hill house, I do fantasize about living at the Can Plant. It's true that you don't see too many kids living there, but there are tons around. It'd be a fantasy-land for children, especially with the Riverwalk at your doorstop; the dog park; amazing treats and coffee at the CIA Bakery and Bakery Lorraine; the zoo, Brackenridge park, and the San Antonio Museum of Art right up the bike path/Riverwalk; and the Saturday morning farmers' market, with all sorts of goodies.

IntentionallyBlank knows a ton about Hawthorne Academy. I hear really good things about that school, and it's just blocks away.

Regarding the highway: yes, it is there, but it's also elevated about 40 feet above the ground, so the noise is a lot less, and you don't have to deal with it in most ways. It certainly doesn't bother me much.

It ain't Portland, but it's pretty cool as far as San Antonio goes. Without the ability to spend a good four or five days finding a house, I think you should go with a new, established apartment like the Can Plant. Two other new complexes are going up there, but one's on the other side of Broadway, and I wouldn't want to have to cross that street too often with a 5-year old in tow.

[samvp]

Originally Posted by dpantle

Hey, it's just my opinion.

That's why I prefaced my comment by saying "personally". I wouldn't raise children there, just like I wouldn't take a kid on a trip to Las Vegas. Obviously there are people who feel differently, but my opinion remains my own.

Yeah but that's like saying "I wouldn't give my children flintstone chewable vitamins, just like I wouldn't give a kid crack cocaine. Obviously there are people who feel differently.

What I'm saying is, those two are apples and oranges

[BenjaminNicholas]

Can Plant is friendly, kid friendly and more... BUT (and it's a big but) the whole Pearl area is becoming a shoe-horned mess with more construction and expansion on the way.

I love and support Peal, but feel they're building too much in too small a space. Look around midtown, downtown and Southtown before you settle on Can Plant. Lots of options.



BN

[iliveinsa]

We have two little kids and considered Pearl. I think there are a lot of good things. For me, there were practical issues- now we can let the kids play in our yard with minimal supervision, but I wouldn't let them walk down to play in the ampitheater or something by themselves.

That said, I don't think there is anything "inappropriate" or Vegas-like. I think if you had a teenager they would love it. And with one child, it would be easier to manage than two (including our little one).

[dpantle]

Originally Posted by samvp

Yeah but that's like saying "I wouldn't give my children flintstone chewable vitamins, just like I wouldn't give a kid crack cocaine. Obviously there are people who feel differently.

What I'm saying is, those two are apples and oranges

I respectfully disagree. IMO, both of my examples entail bringing your children into an environment designed for adults.

But I do respect your right to disagree with me on premise.

[samvp]

Originally Posted by dpantle

I respectfully disagree. IMO, both of my examples entail bringing your children into an environment designed for adults.

But I do respect your right to disagree with me on premise.

I respectfully disagree with you as well, on a number of things.

I take it, and I mean no disrespect, that you've never been to Las Vegas before.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by dpantle

I respectfully disagree. IMO, both of my examples entail bringing your children into an environment designed for adults.

But I do respect your right to disagree with me on premise.

I don't particularly like Vegas (for myself) but it's not kid-unfriendly Las Vegas Attractions For Kids | VEGAS.com

There's a difference between "designed for adults" and "not designed with kids in mind." The former indicates a place that would be unsafe/inappropriate (perhaps due to adult-only venues like strip bars) while the latter means it's not full of playgrounds but perfectly safe for kids.

If your premise is that kids do not belong near restaurants that serve fine food and alcohol, then your perception of the Pearl fits with your premise.

However, the place is packed with kids on Saturday mornings during the Farmer's Market, and the Twig Bookshop has kids' story time, and I've seen kids at most of the restaurant there and of course, there's the whole Riverwalk. While the apartments aren't designed around playscapes and the place isn't full of Chuck E Cheese themed restaurants, there's no reason kids can't enjoy the environment at the Pearl. You are definitely entitled to your opinion, but it does help to explain *what* about the Pearl is so inappropriate so that others might understand the basis for your opinion.