Relocating to N-NW area from Houston - young retirees (San Antonio: 2015, new home)

[SunRunnerKel]

Hi,

When we retire in December 2015, we plan to relocate to a home in the north-northwest area of SA. We are moving from suburban Houston (NASA-Clear Lake area). We are an active, 55 y/o couple, who want the following characteristics in our next home:
1. Price range = up to 550K
2. Lot size = 0.5 to 1.00 acre
3. Bedrooms = 4
4. Baths = 3
5. House size = minimum 3000 sq ft
6. Garage = 3
7. Located in gated community
8. No young children/school considerations
9. No RV/boat/horses to worry about

Nice to haves:
Proximity to hiking/nature/running trails
Proximity to Lupe Tortilla restaurant (don't laugh - we are totally addicted to their food)
Built in last 10 years

Thank you for any suggestions which might fit our preferences.

[ashbeeigh]

If you want to be close to that restaurant (never heard of it) you'll want to be the Stone Oak area or just north of that. I do not know the names of the gated communities in the area but the size of home and budget fits what you need. I am not sure on the lot sizes either, but they should be rather large within that budget. The only thing I see that will be tough is being near trails. I see many people running on and around Stone Oak Parkway but there are no trails right there. The closest would probably be Hardberger park of McAllister Park.

Someone will chime in with more details for you, I am sure.

[Penquin927]

There are some new homes being built in the Far North ... yes Stone Oak/Timberwood Park area that are half acre lot communites that are gated. They are located on Borgfeld Road. These are outside the city limits so no city taxes.

We do have a the Stone Oak park that has some paved trails and they are also currently building/working on a new park on Wilderness Oak.

entrances to the various trail heads for the greenways are not far. My running group in Stone Oak gets on the trail from Phil Hardberger park.

City of San Antonio | Official Web Site - Parks & Recreation Department

The Canyon Springs area would also be good in the larger communities on the golf course. The other communities have smaller lots. Safe area for running with sidewalks when needed for oncoming traffic. I am running this area all the time.

[Penquin927]

I also recommend if you like running to check out the running store I Run Texas. They have training programs, social runs, etc. Great place.

iRun Texas - Running Specialty Store in San Antonio

[davi78239]

Originally Posted by SunRunnerKel

Hi,

When we retire in December 2015, we plan to relocate to a home in the north-northwest area of SA. We are moving from suburban Houston (NASA-Clear Lake area). We are an active, 55 y/o couple, who want the following characteristics in our next home:
1. Price range = up to 550K
2. Lot size = 0.5 to 1.00 acre
3. Bedrooms = 4
4. Baths = 3
5. House size = minimum 3000 sq ft
6. Garage = 3
7. Located in gated community
8. No young children/school considerations
9. No RV/boat/horses to worry about

Nice to haves:
Proximity to hiking/nature/running trails
Proximity to Lupe Tortilla restaurant (don't laugh - we are totally addicted to their food)
Built in last 10 years

Thank you for any suggestions which might fit our preferences.

Lupe tortilla is great!! It's on the deep north side off 281. Nice area out there.

[Labamigo]

Congrats on being able to retire at 55.

[steve807]

Ate at Lupe tortilla at lunch yesterday, remembering all my visits to their Houston locations around 15 years ago.
It was gooood.

Your budget will easily get what you want in North S.A. / Bexar Co - from country to suburban living. Plan for a week or so stay before deciding and connect with a good realtor (one that will email you videos of candidate properties). I can recommend the one that helped me find the right place to retire to in N SA from Atlanta, GA.

[nanannjen]

Your situation/requirements are virtually identical to what ours were when we retired here 2 years ago (except for the Lupe Tortilla part!) We found that getting the lot size was a big stumbling block, unless you want to go pretty far out of town. We ended up in Canyon Springs, where we compromised on a 1999 house on 1/3 of an acre. However, we back up to a meadow surrounded by trees, so our back yard feels much larger (and it's very private). Also, no city taxes (for now at least).

Regarding trails, etc - we just drive wherever we want to go - it's not that far to plenty of beautiful areas. Plus, as a previous poster mentioned, we're getting a brand new park this spring (off Wilderness Oak) that should be great.

After 2 years, I'm glad that we didn't end up further out of town. It turns out that we spend a lot of time downtown (ushering at the Majestic) and doing other things in town - our next move will be closer in. So you have to decide how far out of town you feel comfortable, considering traffic and distances.

We tried Lupe Tortilla once fairly soon after we moved here, and were underwhelmed - I guess we need to give it another try?!

I can also recommend our realtor if you're interested - she was very patient and helpful working with us for the 2 years it took us to sell our house in California!

[SunRunnerKel]

Originally Posted by nanannjen

Your situation/requirements are virtually identical to what ours were when we retired here 2 years ago (except for the Lupe Tortilla part!) We found that getting the lot size was a big stumbling block, unless you want to go pretty far out of town. We ended up in Canyon Springs, where we compromised on a 1999 house on 1/3 of an acre. However, we back up to a meadow surrounded by trees, so our back yard feels much larger (and it's very private). Also, no city taxes (for now at least).

Regarding trails, etc - we just drive wherever we want to go - it's not that far to plenty of beautiful areas. Plus, as a previous poster mentioned, we're getting a brand new park this spring (off Wilderness Oak) that should be great.

After 2 years, I'm glad that we didn't end up further out of town. It turns out that we spend a lot of time downtown (ushering at the Majestic) and doing other things in town - our next move will be closer in. So you have to decide how far out of town you feel comfortable, considering traffic and distances.

We tried Lupe Tortilla once fairly soon after we moved here, and were underwhelmed - I guess we need to give it another try?!

I can also recommend our realtor if you're interested - she was very patient and helpful working with us for the 2 years it took us to sell our house in California!

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. We are accustomed to driving (as we live 25 miles from downtown Houston and 46 miles to the airport IAH), so no issues there.

Thanks again,
Kelly

[SunRunnerKel]

Originally Posted by Penquin927

I also recommend if you like running to check out the running store I Run Texas. They have training programs, social runs, etc. Great place.

iRun Texas - Running Specialty Store in San Antonio

Thank you for the helpful link!

Kelly