Considering a move to San Antonio. Is it a good fit for me?

[JuneOf48]

Same old voices coming out on this one. . . .

SA has a ton of gay people. And a lot of vegetarians. Is it a gay mecca? No, I don't think so. But, I just met a gay guy yesterday about the OP's age--who moved here from Montreal--and he told me how much he loves this city. There are probably about ten gay bars within walking distance of my house. From my perspective, that's a pretty decent number. (Most are right north of the city on Main Ave., in Tobin Hill, but there are also some farther out, as well as on San Pedro, Broadway, downtown, etc. There's a few specifically lesbian-oriented bars here, too.) Aside from Tobin Hill and Monte Vista, Southtown definitely has a lot of gay folks.

I'm a vegetarian, and I'm never lacking for dining options in this city--and Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Central Market, farmers' markets, and other stores have all the veggie items you could imagine. As Chaka mentioned, we have a good number of all-veggie restaurants: three vegan (Vegería, Señor Veggie, One Lucky Duck) and three vegetarian (Pavani Express and two locations of Green). There are also many Thai, Indian, Italian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Vietnamese places with tons of veggie options. Even regular ol' burger places have good options. One of my faves--The Cove--has a vegan bacon cheeseburger, if you can believe that. Some Mexican places are veggie-oriented, too, such as Adelante. And a number of food trucks are really heavy on the veggie options.

Some people will say San Antonio is conservative, but it depends where they live, I suppose. Most of this city is Hispanic-dominant and votes Democratic. Some people will tell you that everyone asks where you go to church. Maybe that's true on the outskirts, but I live close to downtown, and I've been here for seven years and have never heard that question. Not once.

As a general rule, the further north you go, the more conservative it gets, although even that is complicated. San Antonio changes slowly--that's true--but meeting vocal conservatives is a pretty rare occurrence, at least from my perspective. I'd say the number of Obama bumper stickers in the center city outnumbered the number of Romney ones by a factor of ten. Actually, maybe twenty.

As for the "desert," you'll see plenty of cactus, palms, and desert plants here, but it's also much greener than one would expect.

[tortuga29]

Originally Posted by veggiefox

Hi. I have been considering a move for awhile now. I currently live near Fort Smith, AR and this area has just become stagnant to me. I need a change and I have some distant family in San Antonio that I may be able to stay with until I get my own place.
The thing that's holding me back from moving anywhere is I run a small independent fox sanctuary. It is for captive bred and raised (pet) foxes which have been neglected or abused. I currently have four and will also take in any others that I come across in the future. I also have dogs, geese, and chickens. I will need to have a decent amount of land, at least two or three acres, and would likely live right outside of the city so it's quieter for the animals. I know it's legal to have them in the state of Texas, but not sure how they'll fit in in the city/county.
My main job is an optician. I also have experience with quality control in food processing factories and I would be fine with either field.
I'm a 32 year old single gay female and am curious about the LGBT community in SA. I'm a vegetarian. I also am working towards becoming a writer/animator. I know California would be the best place for that but the foxes keep me from moving there or to nearby Nevada.
One more thing I'm curious about is I love the desert. How close is a desert area to SA?
Thank you in advance for any help!

Optician and QC shouldn't be too hard to find here. Animation and writing may be a little more difficult. Might try Austin or even Dallas area but I'm not in an "art" field so I really wouldn't know.

My girlfriend and I, obviously both gay, enjoy the gay life here. I will admit, it can be a little small and 'clique'-ish but it's not horrible. We're both professionals, a Vet and PhD, and not into the party scene anymore but when we have gone, it's been a blast. We actually met two of our best friends, lesbian couple, while at a Buffalo Wild Wings when we were sitting at adjacent tables, so go figure. We haven't really encountered any negativity, at least to our faces, at any of the locations we lived at. We came from living downtown with a much more vibrant mix to living out in Schertz. I thought out here in suburbia ,with the retired folk and families with the 2.5 kids , that it would be a big change and a little less 'acceptance' but everyone has been nice and respectful as we try to be. My girlfriend has done housecalls for sick rabbits and puppies and I've talked war stories with neighbors/friends so consider me wrong. Live and let live, most definitely! But the further north you go, it can change with the force of the wind.

As far as desert, my girlfriend is from Arizona and grew up rising 4 wheelers in the desert and shooting guns and we've yet to find her desert here in Texas. And we've tried. There are some desert "like" areas but if you're looking for Nevada/California-esque, you'll have to go West Texas and on.

And both of us are meat eaters but my sister is a veggie and has never had an issue finding stuff to eat. Like Juneof48 stated, there are a good deal of resturants and vegetarian options. I do love Senor Veggie but not enough to give up my T-Bone steaks.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by JuneOf48

Some people will say San Antonio is conservative, but it depends where they live, I suppose. Most of this city is Hispanic-dominant and votes Democratic. Some people will tell you that everyone asks where you go to church. Maybe that's true on the outskirts, but I live close to downtown, and I've been here for seven years and have never heard that question. Not once.

As a general rule, the further north you go, the more conservative it gets, although even that is complicated. San Antonio changes slowly--that's true--but meeting vocal conservatives is a pretty rare occurrence, at least from my perspective. I'd say the number of Obama bumper stickers in the center city outnumbered the number of Romney ones by a factor of ten. Actually, maybe twenty.

The interesting thing about city politics is that turnout is much, much greater in the 3 northern city council districts, (2 of which dependably elect conservatives to the council and the other most recently elected a moderate) than it is in the other 7 blue districts. So while the city as a whole is more blue than red, when you ignore the districts and look at citywide vote totals, IMO the voting is surprisingly close to even.

That's why it's easy to have a skewed perception that favors your district.

IMO, the OP could be happy on the north side, where larger lots are more common, but might find more birds of a feather near the city center.

[staunchcharacter]

Everyone is welcome in my hood: Southtown/King William.

One of the oldest and most diverse neighborhoods in Texas, we've got a little something for everyone... I'd recommend you visiting San Antonio and checking it out. See if you like the energy of the city and go from there.