Kid friendly and fun (San Antonio, Austin: 2014, apartments, houses)

[JulesGee]

Hi folks. My husband, son and I just returned from a wonderful visit to Austin/San Antonio. We've been considering a move to Tx for some time and were finally able to see lots of Austin and not as much, unfortunately, of SA. My husband's cousins live in SA, outside the city center, in a gated suburban community. I liked their home and the price (we live in NY), but it felt a little too suburban to me. We currently live in Astoria, Queens and it's an extremely walkable city with lots of restaurants, parks, museums and kid friendly stuff to do. Is there a comparable area in SA? We spent a day downtown, on the Riverwalk. I really loved how beautiful that area was. Is this area family friendly? Thanks in advance.

[NeedCoffee]

San Antonio overall is a pretty suburban city, but there are some pockets with better walkability than others.

Southtown: This is a vaguely defined area that is south of downtown with art galleries, restaurants, etc. Probably the most walkable area in the city. This area includes two historic districts (King William and Lavaca) with the former having closer proximity to the river and generally larger, more ornate houses. Schools can be an issue in that area; however many find they are a good fit as long as the parents are engaged. Unfortunately the schools are generally not very highly rated if you're concerned about that.

Tobin Hill/Pearl: The Pearl Brewery area (north of downtown and between Broadway and the river) has undergone a massive transformation in the past 10 years and now is full of relatively expensive apartments, many nice restaurants, and farmer's markets on the weekends. The areas around it are gentrifying quickly but things are still hit and miss. Tobin Hill is a historic neighborhood to the west of the Pearl that has benefited greatly from all of these changes, but is still spotty in some areas. Public schools aren't great.

Alamo Heights/Olmos Park/Terrell Hills: Not nearly as walkable as the two above, but the school district is highly rated and you're in relatively close proximity to several museums (Witte, SA Children's Museum, McNay Art Museum) and quite a few good restaurants and many families with kids. You'll need a car to get around to most of this stuff though, as these areas were developed as suburbs in the 1920s-40s. The houses are significantly more expensive, in large part because of the desirability of the schools.

Regarding whether or not downtown is family-friendly, I would say that it depends. Probably not by most people's definition. It isn't particularly unsafe (lots of police on bikes) but it is geared toward tourism. There are people that live in downtown, but the population is still relatively small and it seems to be mostly people without kids. Only working on anecdotal evidence here though, so take it with a grain of salt. You'll find more families in King William and Lavaca. Both neighborhoods are expensive by SA standards, but $320k can get you a small updated house in Lavaca while it'll probably cost another 100k for something slightly bigger in King William.

Hope this helps!

[JulesGee]

Thanks so much for the very thoughtful reply. I'm going to check out those areas. Another, longer trip is definitely a good idea.

[CoachBForThree]

I'm a NYC resident and have spent plenty of time in Astoria, but I also lived in San Antonio for nine years (~2005-2014).

The areas NeedCoffee mentioned are probably your best bets. One word of warning though is that not only should you have lower expectations for "walkable" relative to Astoria, you need to have FAAAAAAAAAR lower expectations. As you know, in Astoria (or most areas of NYC) it's practically impossible to know everything on your own street, and there's far more to walk to than you could ever dream of going to.

That won't be the case at all in SA. For example, my ex-girlfriend has lived in Southtown for six months and has gone to virtually every restaurant and bar already. And not only that, while walkable, the places are fairly spread out. S Alamo St between S St. Marys and Pereida is probably the most compact stretch of activity in the area, and if you look on Google street view, you'll see it's not exactly bustling (except for the first Friday of every month, when it gets ultra-packed). It's downright quiet on weekdays.

This isn't meant to scare you off, there's a lot to love about San Antonio and I kind of miss it. But when it come to walkable neighborhoods, be ready to VASTLY lower your expectations.

[Clnconcpts]

If you live in that type of city, why would you consider San Antonio? I love the fact that this city doesn't feel like a hustling city. I enjoy being able to drive a few blocks and feel like I'm in suburbia.

Sounds like you might want to look at Seattle. That place has what you want .

I'm not sure of they types of housing In downtown Austin, but that place could give you that city feel

[Chaka]

The above posts are mostly spot on. I also agree with the need to lower your expectations about walkability. The neighborhoods mentioned *are* very walkable, there's stuff to do, but it's not going to be anything like Astoria. We're simply not that urban. Most of the area was a dead zone for a very long time. It's come back to life, but alas, most of that has focused on the bar/restaurant industry. This is great, but we lack in other amenities.

re: family-friendly - the Southtown area is BURSTING with kids. When I first moved here ~15 years ago, there were very few kids. Now, there are a gazillion, and more young families moving in all the time. There is a neighborhood kids' group which used to organize events, but just got so big and there's always a lot going on in town there's less need. It is extremely family friendly. The local hang-outs are all very accustomed to kids.

I can't speak that well to the other areas, though my kids love hanging out at the Pearl.

re: Schools, this area is SAISD - a large, urban, poor district with a lot of problems. That said, there are a few gems and a lot of hope for improvement. My kids go to our neighborhood public school, a dual language internal charter, and overall, we're very happy with it and they're doing very well. SAISD just opened the Advanced Learning Academy nearby - grades 4-8 are at Fox Tech which is downtown, and K-3 is at Austin Academy which is in Five Points, just north of downtown. Hawthorn Academy which is in the Pearl area is another well regarded gem.

To the Southtown area I'd add the Lone Star neighborhood, which is now generally considered part of Southtown. It's less expensive, in part because it's still earlier in its revitalization (15 years ago Lavaca was dirt cheap. Housing prices have increased 400% in Lavaca). It's also slightly farther away from the action, but the South Flores arts district is hopping, with more places opening. But don't expect a 2000SF house in great condition with a yard and all amenities for a low price.

It's not *urban* living exactly, as I don't believe we have all the elements of daily living within a short walk, but it's "semi-urban." Not suburban, we have more amenities and its walkable. One thing I love about the area is that it's very possible to have a house and yard (albeit smaller, though our yard happens to be very big) and still be in walking distance to many activities. In a couple of weeks, for example, is Chalk it Up, one of my favorite events.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by CoachBForThree

That won't be the case at all in SA. For example, my ex-girlfriend has lived in Southtown for six months and has gone to virtually every restaurant and bar already. And not only that, while walkable, the places are fairly spread out. S Alamo St between S St. Marys and Pereida is probably the most compact stretch of activity in the area, and if you look on Google street view, you'll see it's not exactly bustling (except for the first Friday of every month, when it gets ultra-packed). It's downright quiet on weekdays.
.

This is the only part I'll disagree with. Try finding a table on a Wed or Thurs night at Feast or Stella or any of the popular places. It's packed. Sun/Mon nights tend to be quieter because a lot of places are closed.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Clnconcpts

If you live in that type of city, why would you consider San Antonio? I love the fact that this city doesn't feel like a hustling city. I enjoy being able to drive a few blocks and feel like I'm in suburbia.

Sounds like you might want to look at Seattle. That place has what you want .

I'm not sure of they types of housing In downtown Austin, but that place could give you that city feel

The OP has family in San Antonio and would like to be closer to them, they mentioned it in their first post. Downtown Austin isn't uber family friendly but for walkable and kid friendly I would look into Mueller and the surrounding areas. Children's museum, grocery store, several parks, neighborhood pool, close to downtown and it takes an hour and a half almost exactly to get to the northwest side of SA...


All the San Antonio advice is spot on so far. I don't have anything else to add. Goof luck with your search!

[CoachBForThree]

Originally Posted by Chaka

This is the only part I'll disagree with. Try finding a table on a Wed or Thurs night at Feast or Stella or any of the popular places. It's packed. Sun/Mon nights tend to be quieter because a lot of places are closed.

I actually ate at Feast this past Wednesday at 7:30 pm and when I arrived there was me, a group of two near the door, some folks at the bar, and that was it. A couple more groups arrived as we ate but there wasn't much.

The streets were super quiet as well. I didn't really see anyone.

But admittedly that's the first time I've been on a weeknight. Might have just been an off night. On the positive side it was a fantastic dinner regardless so crowd or not probably doesn't even matter.

[TXEX06]

Originally Posted by Chaka

To the Southtown area I'd add the Lone Star neighborhood, which is now generally considered part of Southtown. It's less expensive, in part because it's still earlier in its revitalization (15 years ago Lavaca was dirt cheap. Housing prices have increased 400% in Lavaca). It's also slightly farther away from the action, but the South Flores arts district is hopping, with more places opening. But don't expect a 2000SF house in great condition with a yard and all amenities for a low price.

Just imagine what Lone Star and Roosevelt Park will look like in a few years when Lone Star Brewery opens.