I'm confused:Is SA nice or not? (Houston, Dallas: house, buy)

[rd2007]

I have been a resident of SA since June 2001 and I feel it is important for the OP to understand a few things about this city. It is a big city and it does have murders, rapes, burglaries, gangs etc. However, it also has a small city feel to it and that is something most people can't understand. I think they should visit the place and see if it is for them. It is definitely not a Houston, Dallas, Miami, LA, or even Salt Lake City. It is San Antonio and it is something that is hard to describe..

BTW, my wife called a little while ago while driving through Houston to visit her sister and she was complaining that it definintely isn't like San Antonio over there with all their construction... I found that pretty ironic

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by da jammer

I'm not really sure what all the numbers and rankings etc have to do with the concerns of the OP

Please understand folks that both the positive and negative facts, thoughts and opinions of the city and surrounding communities are welcome here in the forum...all we ask is that everyone keeps it civil and we stay close to the original topic. Thanks folks.

I can explain that one, since I started the rankings tangent.

Most of the criticisms posted in response to the OP's query were about how SA seems to be lacking in some way, compared to other cities with similar populations. The rankings provide an illustration of how that argument is flawed, since SA is more similar to metropolitan areas of similar size than it is to cities of similar size.

I can only speak for myself, so from my perspective, this is all offered in an attempt to provide the OP with some context for understanding the criticism s/he's reading about San Antonio here and other places. It may feel like its derailing the thread, but it's related!

BTW, thanks to TexHwyMan for replying with the SMSA ranking.

[PopsGuysRule]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Believe it all. Everything you read on the Internet is true.

Cheers! M2

LOLOLOL.... get over here right now and let me slap you.....

[da jammer]

Originally Posted by Bowie

I can explain that one, since I started the rankings tangent.

Most of the criticisms posted in response to the OP's query were about how SA seems to be lacking in some way, compared to other cities with similar populations. The rankings provide an illustration of how that argument is flawed, since SA is more similar to metropolitan areas of similar size than it is to cities of similar size.

I can only speak for myself, so from my perspective, this is all offered in an attempt to provide the OP with some context for understanding the criticism s/he's reading about San Antonio here and other places. It may feel like its derailing the thread, but it's related!

BTW, thanks to TexHwyMan for replying with the SMSA ranking.

Understood carry on please....

[TexHwyMan]

Originally Posted by trnmeon

Again, if you've traveled (something a majority of San Antonians have not done, I'm sorry to say

That's a silly thing to say, given the large active-duty and retired military population here, not to mention all the folks that have moved here from all over the country, especially recently.

This city just is not a true cosmopolitan mecca in the least bit.

Where I work, about 1/3rd of the employees come from overseas. I can walk down the hallways and hear all kinds of languages spoken: Chinese, German, Russian, Vietnamese, etc. My officemate is from Venezuela. The neighborhood I live in is heavily populated by Indians, and a neighborhood down the road is heavy in Muslims. A neighborhood near where I lived when I was younger is heavily Korean.

To keep on topic, San Antonio, like every other city, has its plusses and minuses. We're not perfect, and you won't find a city on this planet that is. Education is improving and needs to keep on improving. Wages are a little lower here, but so is the cost of living. Housing is incredibly inexpensive. Crime is no worse than in any other major city (and in several categories is better). Traffic is getting worse, but is still better than most cities our size (define "city" however you want). There's lots to do here, plenty of cultural attractions, museums, performing arts, festivals, etc. People here are generally nicer than most big cities. So all in all, this is a pretty good town to live in, and it's getting better every day.

[jules07]

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!

GIAcakes ~ with all the bickering on this thread, are you even considering SA anymore?

It's a good thing that you're making a trip to check things out! The things that you've mentioned will be able to be observed first hand, by you, to see if they exist. But I'm curious as to why you'd consider to move here if that's what you've heard about the city? I sure wouldn't.

From my personal opinion ~ it is not a "garbage-ridden cesspool". There are areas that have litter/junk/etc., but that label is emotionally charged and offensive. (Not saying that you're the one who labeled it.)

"Tons of crime" ~ like everyone else said, it's a pretty large city. Every large city has it's crime. "Very few nice places to live" ~ I've seen TONS of nice places to live! However, maybe what I see as a nice place to live you wouldn't. Don't know.

"Always scared and always have to look over your shoulder"? HA! That's ridiculous. Seriously. Nonsense.

Now, that all said, if you love Minneapolis and are looking for a "Twin City" (yes, pun intended ) to it ~ San Antonio is not it! My daughter was "talking" to somebody who lives there. One of the biggest hinderances to them taking it to a "relationship" level was that he'd never move here cause he loves Minneapolis. She'd never move there 'cause she likes the laid back mentality here. Different strokes...........

AND ~ lest anyone think otherwise, I'm NOT a San Antonio RA RA RA cheerleader. I seriously miss living on the West Coast. But it's also no help to exaggerate the way things actually are. Life's too short for that.

[hello13685]

Hi Giacakes,

To answer your question, PM me and I'll tell you precisely why you don't see consistent negative comments on this forum.

[Paka]

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!

YES! SA is WONDERFUL....and those of us that LIVE here know it! Those on the other boards that were so negative obviously don't, or they would be HAPPY too!!!

Glad that you are planning a trip, think you will LOVE it...especially given where you are living now. Winters here will be a cake-walk for you!

[CelesteDF]

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!

Hi GIAcakes - I'm guessing there are different opinions because people tend to feel very strongly about where they live and on the internet people feel very free about expressing those opinions quite vociferously. I have been in SA for a little over a year now after having moved here from a large east coast city that I really LOVED! My experience here has been mostly positive, although I do experience occasional frustration about things that could be better in SA. Here are some of my previous comments about a variety of things that may be helpful to you:

• My view on big city life vs. life in SA http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...tml#post247050
• My view on safety for a single woman in SA http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...ml#post1939008
• My opinion on SA for young/single folk http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...ml#post2505897
• My view on life in SA vs life in other major cities http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...ml#post2701806
• Just for fun... a little background/history on my favorite time of year in SA http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...ml#post2828954

Hope that is of some help in trying to get a balanced view of what life in SA can be like.

[buffy888]

To the OP, I would first like to say that I love the Minneapolis area. My husband and I just moved back to San Antonio this summer after several years away in Omaha. The corporate offices for my employer were in Minneapolis, so I visited the area often for training, consulting trips, etc. If only they could fix the weather, I could really picture us living there! :-)

Regarding San Antonio... I am not of the belief that it is a cesspool of any type. I have never felt the need to constantly look over my shoulder. Like many posters on this forum, I have lived in several other cities and have visited a plethora more. Maybe this experience has helped me choose an appropriate area in which to live and also guides me to be aware of my surroundings/behave reasonably and responsibly when I am anywhere with which I am not as familiar. For example, I currently teach in a very impoverished neighborhood in an equally impoverished district. I do not feel unsafe as I drive through the neighborhood, as my colleagues and I go to lunch on the few days we have more than about 22 minutes for lunch, as we make home visits to talk to parents or check on students who have been absent for several days, etc. I would not choose to live in the neighborhood, but when I am there I feel safe if I mind my own business, am friendly and polite as normal...

Like any big city, there is crime, a variety of citizens, traffic woes, and other problems we desire to be corrected. I would hope that those who complain are making an effort to do something about it (for example, those who speak of the uneducated people could be actively seeking a volunteering opportunity to tutor, teach ESL, etc.).

Some of the pros for me:
-Weather overall (yes, it does get HOT, but I have never been able to get acclimated anytime I live where it gets truly cold, so I welcome the heat)
-Close to so many other towns and cities for day trips and long weekends
-While there are areas which are not diverse, you can easily find neighborhoods/school districts that are
-Variety of restaurants (yes, there are a lot of Mexican and Tex-Mex places, which I love - although I didn't when I was younger - but there are certainly many other options as well)
-People are friendly overall
-It's nice to know that if you were so inclined, you could call in sick to work and pop over to SeaWorld for the day :-) (I have not actually done this, but just to know it's a possibility is nice.)
-The city is growing and changing. Would I like it to be exactly the same as it was when I was a kid growing up here off and on? Maybe, but it's still exciting to see the changes as well.

A few cons for me are
-Traffic/construction - Not close to the worst I have experienced, but of course I still wish it was better. Plus I don't like having to go so high up at 281/410. Some drivers are absolute idiots and seem to feel they are the only people in vehicles on the entire road, but I have encountered that elsewhere as well.
-Lack of quality public transportation (kind of goes with traffic, I guess)
-Salaries in some industries are low (I am a teacher and salaries in that field are quite decent here, but my husband was a retail manager for years making a nice salary, yet was offered only $12 - $14 an hour for similar responsibilities when we moved here - he has obviously changed career fields since then)

There will always be "rah rahs" and naysayers about pretty much any city, but I do hope you will come and make an informed decision for yourself. Look around the city, not just in the tourist areas, so you can get a more accurate portrayal of the area. If you know where your job prospects might be, that can help pinpoint possible areas to live; if so, try to visit the area during several different times of day.

Good luck with your decision.