I'm confused:Is SA nice or not? (San Antonio, Austin: neighborhoods, universities)

[slaleman]

Originally Posted by trnmeon

I'm sorry but many on this site give a very inaccurate picture of what San Antonio is really like. First off, San Antonio is a poor, working class, and largely uneducated city. A lot of the sentiments expressed on that site - about the lack of decent paying jobs, lack of importance of education among a large number of the population, and high crime rate are just the way things are here.

Statistics? I remember not too long ago, someone else posted something about SA being working class and uneducated and someone else posted a stat that the majority of the jobs in SA were white collar. I don't have time to find that post at the moment, but I really wish that if ya'll were going to bash or sign the praises of our city, you'd quote some actual numbers with it.

The OP was looking for facts, not opinions.

[rd2007]

but facts can be so overrated slaleman..

[Midorigreen]

GIACakes,

What makes a city feel like home is a personal thing. All of the opinions you'll read on this site are based on someone's world view and personal experiences. The only way you can truly get a feel for the city is to make up your own mind about it.

I've travelled the world and lived in various parts of Canada and U.S. and happen to love it here. Sure, there are things that drive me crazy about it ( can you say PERPETUAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION!!!) but, at this time and station of my life, it suits me and my family. I am really happy here.

Come down and spend a bit of time so you can decide for yourself. Good luck with everything!

[ryneone]

Originally Posted by Bowie

It's not fair to compare San Antonio with the other cities in the US top 10 because its metropolitan area is so much smaller than the others. The media market (Nielsen DMA) is a better reflection of the reality here, since San Antonio is the 37th largest media market. Take a look at the rankings below to get a better idea of San Antonio's true peers.

31 - Kansas City, MO
32 - Columbus, OH
33 - Cincinnati
34 - Milwaukee
35 - Salt Lake City
36 - Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville
37 - San Antonio / Del Rio
38 - West Palm Beach
39 - Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek
40 - Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa
41- Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York
42 - Hampton Roads, VA

I know where you are what you are trying to point out but media markets are not a very good tool to use to see the size of a city. or instance look at the map Pheonix has MOST of Arizona. Salt Lake has the entire state of Utah some of Nevada and Colorado.

http://http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/TvDMAmap.gif (broken link)

We are the 29th largest metro and the 10th fastest growing in numerical terms adding over 106,000 in two years.

[dvlpr]

Originally Posted by trnmeon

What is your problem? You discount fact because of the age of the person it came from? Pathetic. You're angry because you know what I posted is true, so in an attempt to compensate, you try to insult me because I'm 22.

Instead, why don't you counter the points I made.

I'll take a crack at this.

First, as a young urbanist, I understand your frustration. And I'll agree with you that there are a number of areas where SA could stand to improve (education, in paticular). But you ought to keep in mind that this is a smaller city (to call it the 7th largest isn't really accurate) and a growing city. When I moved here in 2000 (as a single 23-year old), it was quite a sleepy place (and I complained about it much in the same way you did). That's changed signifiancantly, and is still changing, probably with more momentum than any other time here.

To speak directly to your criticisms:

No light rail. Not yet. But we've also not had the population densities (and still don't) for it to be feasible. But don't worry; it's coming, sooner rather than later.

Poorly planned/executed road system. Sorry, but you're wrong. SA has some of the highest quantity of highways/thoroughfares anywhere (notice our lack of traffic relative to other large auto-centric cities). Anyone who's ever lived in Houston, Atlanta, SF/SJ/Oakland, D.C./Baltimore can speak to this. Besides, highways/thoroughfares don't make cities more "cosmopolitan" which seems to be your major complaint.

Virtually no culture. Uh, in the past month, I've been to 3 live theater performances, 2 lectures (both free), 8 art gallery installations (all free), 2 live music shows (touring bands), and countless Fiesta parties/events. I'm not sure what you're looking for in the way of "culture", but most people who complain have no idea how much is going on in this city.

Very little diversity. This might be true if you only stay on the North or South sides. But if you live/work/hang near the city center, it's just a foolish thing to say.

Poor/uneducated people. I'll agree. SA has work to do here. Population growth will help with this.

Provincial mindset. SA can be guilty of this. But there's great city leaders (Hardberger, Sculley) and lots of developers/entreprenuers working hard to change that (big ideas and big projects). And for the record - I'd rather be "provincial" than a faceless megalopolis like DFW, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta, etc.

Lack of single life. This can also be true. But it will improve as more and more young people move to SA (which is happening, and will probably continue to happen).

Lack of restaurants. Again, just completely wrong. We have the best restaurant in the state according to Gourmet, Zagats, and Texas Monthly (Le Reve), ambitious restauranteurs (Andrew Weissman, Jason Dady, Cappy Lawton, Damien Vatel, Lisa Wong, etc.), almost all of whom are opening new places, and, yes, tons of great Tex-Mex and Burger joints. And before you dismess Tex-Mex, talk to someone who's lived in Texas and then left............and see if they don't miss Tex-Mex! Again, I have to wonder.........are you in a part of town where your only options are chain restaurants?

In conclusion.........if you think SA ought to be more like Seattle, or Boston, or Miami, or SF...........why not work to make it happen? Get out to the galleries and performance spaces! Go spend money at the bars & restaurants that are doing great things! Live near the city center!

There's more happening than you might think. And with the significant population growth coming our way in the next 10 years...........by the time you're 32..........this city could be a really cool place to live........maybe even cool enough to keep young, educated people like yourself from leaving!

[gwrober]

dvlpr, that is an excellent post!

We like living here. Sure there are areas that don't 'feel' safe, but there are plenty that are fine. We see plenty of diversity and culture.

[bigthirsty]

Originally Posted by GIAcakes

I have been researching SA for a while now for a future move. This site has had so many postive things about the city. I have been very excited for our upcoming trip to check things out. I was on another site recently which has info on all the best cities. The message board there was terrible! Almost all negatives, very few positives. These posts portrayed SA as a garbage-ridden cesspool with tons of crime and very few nice areas to live. More than one poster said they are always scared and have to always be looking over their shoulder. What gives? Why such different potrayals? Thanks for your input!

Its a big city.. big cities have lots of crime. Don't know what to tell you.

I don't see it as a "garbage-ridden cesspool" at all. I'm not originally from San Antonio. Every city has its ups and downs.. just depends on if you prefer to focus on the negatives or not.

With all that said.. I like San Antonio. Good weather.. good food... good people (except on the roads).

[da jammer]

Now that several posts have been removed or edited, let's keep the conversation on topic and cease and desist from the personal sniping please. Thank you.

[majormadmax]

OK, the OP should be thoroughly confused by now...

I'll just make two quick comments pertaining to my outlook on S.A.:

1) When we finally got a chance to chose where we live (25 years in the military meant going where we were told), we chose San Antonio. We were stationed here before, and realized it is one of the best places to live in the US. Inexpensive, great housing for your dollar, the downtown (Alamo, Riverwalk, etc), the Hill Country, great schools, restaurants, and tons of fun things to see and do like SeaWorld, Six Flags, etc. It's been three years and we're still happy with our choice.

2) If you can't find something fun to do in San Antonio, maybe you should look in the mirror for who's to blame. We are busy almost every weekend, and have tons of fun. Cornyval is going on this weekend in Helotes, and I missed Fiesta due to traveling because of work.

Sure, it's not for everyone; but a heck of a lot of people love San Antonio (us included). Just look at how fast this city is growing, there has to be something that is drawing all those people here!

Cheers! M2

[winst0n]

choosing where to live is like choosing who to marry...
you don't marry someone because he/she is nice... there are tons of nice men and women out there but who you pick?... you pick the one that you match, connect, and you have a chemistry with ... right?

NY or LA is "nice", but i will not choose to live there because it does not fit the lifestyle i'm looking for...

are u still confused?