Relocating to SA area...Helotes Pros and Cons??? (San Antonio, Spring: 2014, to rent)

[NSwensen]

Hi there I posted a thread a while back considering Helotes, Leon Valley, and the NW side of San Antonio in general to move to from Iowa. I wondered if you could help us a little again. We will be transfering for my husband's job Spring 2014. He would be working in the Wiseman Blvd area and we are strongly considering Helotes to rent a home. We want to rent for awhile before committing to anything..budget is about $1300 or less (preferably less!). We like Helotes based on the highly rated schools (we have a 5 yr old and 2 year old), and the closeness of San Antonio but still with the option of having outdoor recreations.

The problem is, we have been to SA many times but have not been to Helotes. We will most likely have to have a realtor help us with lots of pictures/videos of potential properties because we won't be able to afford to come down to see properties to rent before we commit. SO, my question is what are the Pros and Cons to Helotes? Any insider help is very appreciated as I don't know that area of SA at all. Helotes sounds and looks so great online but I know that every place has its ups and downs and would love to hear them! Thanks so much for your help, we are really eager to move to the SA area

[majormadmax]

The NW/Helotes area is great but is also the fasting growing part of town. Development is rampant and the infrastructure (read: roads and schools) are scrambling to keep up. Traffic can be bad during certain time of rush hour, but Wiseman shouldn't be too bad of a commute.

That said, Helotes sits on the foot of the Texas Hill Country and it only takes minutes to get away from the urban sprawl. It's a nice little town with a monthly market day and some nice shops. We've lived in this part of town twice and I would recommend it over every other part of SA.

Cheers! M2

[NSwensen]

Thank you so much majormadmax! I had wondered about the traffic..I know it says roughly 15 minutes on MapQuest but that doesn't allow for traffic or road construction.

[majormadmax]

It's a straight show down 1604 so depending on where in Helotes you will be it could be even less. I drive twice that far to work on Lackland and I get to work in about 25 minutes leaving at 5:30am.