Can Plant Residences at the Pearl-Info and advice (San Antonio, Portland: apartments, to rent)

[Mimi3000]

We are planning on moving to San Antonio in June and we are thinking of living at the Can Plant residences at the Pearl. Just wondering if folks have information about that area and also if they would recommend living there. We have a five-year old. My husband is going to be at Fort Sam and I will be working from home.

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[dpantle]

Personally, I wouldn't bring a 5 year old there, not appropriate. This place is geared towards younger professional type singles and couples.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

For what they want for a 2 bedroom, you could rent a pretty nice house.

[TXEX06]

You will be fine with a little one there, just don't expect many kids around for him. I would look at Southtown if you want more interaction with young families.

[IntentionallyBlank]

I think it's appropriate for kids. Why not? I live across the river and take my kids to Pearl all the time. Great area, so much to do nearby. You'd be zoned for Hawthorne Academy, which is an awesome school.

[Azure110]

Originally Posted by dpantle

Personally, I wouldn't bring a 5 year old there, not appropriate. This place is geared towards younger professional type singles and couples.

The idea that kids only belong in the suburbs is a thing of the past, thankfully.

I see a lot of kids around downtown, I don't see why these people can't raise their 5 year old there as well.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by dpantle

Personally, I wouldn't bring a 5 year old there, not appropriate. This place is geared towards younger professional type singles and couples.

How is it not appropriate? It's not like there are strip bars there!

True, there are less families there than in suburbia, but there's nothing *inappropriate* about the area that should scare off families.

OP: The Pearl is an area which has undergone extensive revamping in the past few years. Lots of apartments, lots of restaurants, music events and the like. It's on the new(ish) Museum Reach of the Riverwalk which is great fun for families. I'm not sure in which school boundaries it lays, but Hawthorne is the closest school (just on the opposite side of the Pearl), and is well-regarded amongst the SAISD schools (SAISD itself is generally too large, too poor, too inner city, but it has a few standouts, Hawthorne is one).

Personally I am not that excited about the Can Plant because it's up against the highway and the overall building construction is a boring old box. So, from an overall perspective, I'd have preferred they designed it differently. But that doesn't detract from the interior of the units.

Houses in the vicinity (Government Hill, Tobin Hill, Alta Vista, Mahncke Park) can be had for a similar price or less than the Can Plant apartments, but you really have to look at them in person because quality varies and the neighborhoods vary block by block. I love the area, but like most inner city neighborhoods undergoing revitalization, there is good and bad. So, if you're renting without really knowing the area well, I'd say you're better off with a standard known entity like the Can Plant.

For long term I'd probably consider elsewhere - we have kids and LOVE living in Southtown. It's bursting with kids and has a strong sense of community. Houses to rent are getting harder to find though. But for short term: like a year, while you decide where you want to settle, it's probably a great option. FWIW, though, my kids would probably love living there because they love playing at the Pearl.

[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.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by TXEX06

You will be fine with a little one there, just don't expect many kids around for him. I would look at Southtown if you want more interaction with young families.

True, but even if you live there, there's no reason you can't become part of the Southtown network of families. Lots of Alta Vista and Tobin Hill and Government Hill families are Honorary Southtowners There's a local kids' group - KWAKs with many events, and we've just started up an area soccer league * * * * * * * * * * *Central Soccer Association - Home . There's a much older one at Ft Sam/Alamo Heights which may actually be closer, but this is a new league, very relaxed and focused on fun. As far as I know there are no specific residence boundaries to join, but they did have so many kids sign up for the inaugural season that they had to find more coaches.

[Mimi3000]

Wow. You are all awesome! Thanks for the quick responses!!

Yes, we don't know San Antonio very well and just took a weekend trip to scout it out before moving there in June. We are coming from Portland, OR. There were elements of the Pearl district that reminded us of Portland--the farmers market, the new vegetarian restaurant, and cafes as well as the walkability factor. I'm not a fan of the fact that it's by the highway either. We wanted to live in an urban environment since we currently live in a very "neighborhoodly" place in Portland. We are going to be in San Antonio for one year and we thought we'd try living in a more urban environment than we live now.

One thing that was also hard was finding places to rent online. So many places just have for-rent signs outside the buildings, which makes it hard to find that cute little house while we're still here Portland! Last weekend, we drove by the various neighborhoods, but because we aren't moving until June it was hard to actually set up appointments to see places.

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!