Observations from first time visit to San Antonio. (Dallas, Memphis: live, restaurant)
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Um, no, my mom is not Roseanne--that's right, she called it a loose meat sandwich so maybe he shouldn't go watching her show in search of a pulled pork specimen. Or maybe loose meat in Illinois=pulled pork in North Carolina???? Anyone?
Last time I pulled pork I got a hernia. But I definitely need to get to Auggies Barbed Wire place.
To the OP - I also enjoyed your observations. Welcome to SA. Like M2, I got to choose where I wanted to live after life in the military, and this is the place for me - you'll like it too.
I seemed to pass most people going only about 70. You have to drive more defensively in Charlotte. People don't respect you.
I'm curious to know the hours you drove and what roads you took where people were only going 70? I take 3 different highways to work and usually do about 72-75 (speed limit is 65) and am consistently getting blown away by everyone else driving---this of course, is during rush hour in the morning and the evening.
I think there was a San Antonio drivers thread a week or so ago. The respectful drivers here are far and few.
BUT...I wanted to also add a big ol' welcome to San Antonio. Hope your move is smoothe and as stress-free as possible. Hmm...stress-free moving? That's funny.
In Charlotte, you don't really see Anglos and Hispanics socialize much. I didn't find that so true in SA. I am Anglo married to a Colombian so that is good for me.
My thoughts on this - though SA does have many recent immigrants, the hispanic population has been around as long as, if not longer than, the Anglo population. So though there have been issues in SA history and the two have not always gotten along, they've lived side by side for a long time and over time have intermingled socially and economically, such that any differences now are more related to socio-economics than ethnicity.
I could be wrong, but I suspect Charlotte's hispanic population is mainly newer immigrants (1st/2nd generation), which is whole different ballgame. Takes awhile for people to get adapted to newcomers, esp. if they're a bit different culturally....
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dollar
As far as being dirty and ghetto, that is what many people have written on here. That you need to go north of 1604 on something whatever that is.
bah. Some foolish people think so. Those are the people that want everywhere to be the same as everywhere else. I dare anyone to call King William ghetto today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dollar
And most importantly, where do I go for barbecue? Especially ribs or pulled pork?
Tough call. BBQ is just different here. I come from CA where BBQ = anything you put on the grill, like fish. Here's it's some weird meat thing . I actually love pulled pork....but not sure where to find it here. I stay away from Rudy's!
11. Anglos and Hispanics actually marry here. Can ya believe that?
That made me laugh out loud, literally. Are we really more open to this in San Antonio than other places or are we pretty on par with other cities? I have never really thought about it before. I am married to a hispanic, and my god-daughter who is from a small Texas town (a white island if you will), asked him why he was so tan. Ha ha!
I have thought for about the past 5 or so years that white people, or should I say Anglos, are the minority in San Antonio. I guess us white people should be thankful the hispanics intermingle with us as opposed to the other way around as has been expected in the U.S. since its birth. I really don't know why this is making me smile. Go inter-racial relationships!
Sorry, one more edit! I think this was published in 2007:
San Antonio Race and Ethnicity Demographics:
Hispanic: 58.66%
White Non-Hispanic: 31.83%
Other race: 19.34%
Black: 6.82%
Two or more races: 3.66%
Asian: 1.57%
American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0.84%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.09%
It is from the U.S. Census Bureau. It went on to say that the percentage of Hispanics is actually higher because many Hispanics chose other, because Hispanic wasn't an option. They got the percentage for Hispanic from another census. It means that roughly there were 700,000 Hispanics to 400,000 "white" people in 2007.
That made me laugh out loud, literally. Are we really more open to this in San Antonio than other places or are we pretty on par with other cities? I have never really thought about it before. I am married to a hispanic, and my god-daughter who is from a small Texas town, asked him why he was so tan. Ha ha!
I am from Los Angeles, and though plenty intermarry, my German-Mexican combination was a rarity. My german-ancestry father was the first non-hispanic in my mother's family despite being in the US a few generations, and my Mexican-ancestry mother was the first non-German in my father's family for 4 generations (of a VERY LARGE family).
I've had friends from Boston whose Irish-ancestry parents say they would have never considered bringing home someone not of Irish ancestry. The Italians all lived two blocks over, but you didn't mix!
Imagine my surprise when it seemed every other person I met in SA was mixed German-Mexican! I was no longer an oddity.
I am from Los Angeles, and though plenty intermarry, my German-Mexican combination was a rarity. My german-ancestry father was the first non-hispanic in my mother's family despite being in the US a few generations, and my Mexican-ancestry mother was the first non-German in my father's family for 4 generations (of a VERY LARGE family).
I've had friends from Boston whose Irish-ancestry parents say they would have never considered bringing home someone not of Irish ancestry. The Italians all lived two blocks over, but you didn't mix!
Imagine my surprise when it seemed every other person I met in SA was mixed German-Mexican! I was no longer an oddity.
Yeah that's what I was thinking! Wow. Everyone I know is German and Mexican!
All my friends growing up were "half Mexican / half White", as they would tell you. My oldest son (who is also half-Mexican, half caucasian mutt - German/Scottish/Choctaw) likes to say "I'm half Mexican, half White. Not sure whether I won or lost at the Alamo".
You should see us all together. None of us really look related!
Anyway, in response to the OP (taking out items I have no opinion on);
1. Taco Cabana is much better than Taco Bell. It was right on par with the best Mex restaurants we have back here. TC is okay... it's where I go when it's the middle of the night and nothing else is open. I remember when I visited Florida and my family there raved about Taco Bell as "good Mexican food". LOL. I do eat at TB sometimes when broke, and get the 1/2 pound beef and potato burrito, but it's for the same reason that I'll eat a $1 double cheeseburger at Mc Donald's; cheap and filling. Taco Cabana, IMO, is only a little bit above.... but I do like TC's tortillas. I'm easy there though and will eat any fresh tortillas pretty much because I'm too lazy to make them.
3. SA is not as ghetto and dirty as people have said. Like every city it has its "parts". My neighborhood has ghetto looking streets, then the next block over will be lovely. Weird.
4. Roads suck. If you mean rough and full of potholes I agree.
8. There are more hills and trees than I expected. LOL, I am one to complain about the flatness and lack of trees... then I go "home" (well, to my hometown, where I grew up for half of my life) to Portland, which is near Corpus Christi, TX. Then I stop complaining about SA's "flatness" for a while. CC is SUPER FLAT.
9. 100 degrees is not that hot. Not like Florida. I don't agree with this one. There is no breeze here. I'll admit I've mainly been to the Florida coast, because that's where my family lives, and it was HOT, but there was some breeze. We used to go and spend the entire summer so I think I have had a decent amount of time there to compare. Here it's still and hot. I was outside a little while ago, hauling some trash out to the alley, and I was dripping sweat.. at midnight! I am biased though as I've spent much of the past 2 days in my car out of necessity with no a/c and IMO it's MISERABLE already. I remember it being hot in Florida too but not any worse than here..?
11. Anglos and hispanics seem to get along well and not hate each other. I think I already touched on this... but I will say that sometimes, at least where I live, while there isn't any outright hostility there is a certain "coolness" towards the "white girl" in the area (me) and my neighbor has flat out told me, when we were discussing another neighbor "Oh, she's not going to be real friendly with you, because you're white!" My neighbor that told me this, interestingly, is not Mexican but was adopted by Mexican parents and raised here in this heavily Hispanic neighborhood... BUT she's been here forever and she is of some other darker skinned ethnic background (cannot remember right now what exactly)... so she blends in better. So anyway I have experienced some negativity.
13. You can't look at someone in SA and know if they speak Spanish or English. True! My partner is from Iowa, and grew up there.. but is of Hispanic origin. She's not really sure... Mexican or Spanish and Native American, with a white mom. At any rate, dark hair, dark eyes, medium complected. People ALWAYS assume she speaks Spanish. In reality (while I don't know much) I probably know more Spanish here, having grown up in South Texas. Funny.
I have been reading quite a bit here on city data about SA since I had never been there and am relocating to SA from Charlotte, NC (by way of Pensacola, FL). Here are just a few things I want to mention and see if anyone has an feedback.
1. Taco Cabana is much better than Taco Bell. It was right on par with the best Mex restaurants we have back here.
2. Texas barbecue really isn't that good. NC style all the way.
3. SA is not as ghetto and dirty as people have said.
4. Roads suck.
5. Downtown is awesome compared to Charlotte's. While "uptown" Charlotte is very clean and safe, it just doesn't have the restaurants, bars, and vibe that DT SA has. Uptown Charlotte only has expensive places that rule the average person out from regularly enjoying. 6. Traffic isn't bad. Not bad at all. 7. People aren't that fat. The barbecue joints were the exception. I can't believe one person actually ordered the family meal. You guys love Chicken/Country Fried Steak. You don't have trouble finding that.
8. There are more hills and trees than I expected. 9. 100 degrees is not that hot. Not like Florida.
10. People are friendly. I had a guy come up and make conversation with me at North Star mall. That NEVER happens in Charlotte.
11. Anglos and hispanics seem to get along well and not hate each other. 12. Texans drive slowly. And carefully.
13. You can't look at someone in SA and know if they speak Spanish or English.
Just keep in mind these are just comparisons to NC. Oh, just to mention it, I loved SA. I think it blows Charlotte away. Thanks everybody.
6 - It's not too dense from what I've seen, just completely random. You're going along and 'hey, let's all slow down and then speed up for no apparent reason!'
7 and 12 - You're kidding, right?
9 - *note to self... don't go to Florida during the summer months*
Last edited by scuba steve; 06-19-2008 at 05:19 AM..
We love Rudy's! It's Bill Miller's that should be avoided!
But I would go for a Pulled Pig Platter for Red, Hot and Blue up in the DC area before anything else. I was TDY (military business trip) up there once for a day and a half, and ate at RH&B three times!
The best place to find really good bbq? Your own backyard with a cold brew in hand I NEVER eat bbq when we are out, if we go to a bbq place I usually order the chicken strips . Same goes for steaks, I have a hard time going out to eat at a steakhouse when they are sooooo much better off my own grill.
I have a good friend from NC who now lives in Texas. Everytime she goes home to visit she brings me back a bottle of Maurice's BBQ sauce. I LOVE that stuff. It seems that NC bbq is made with a mustard based sauce much different than the sauce in Texas.
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. I actually love pulled pork....but not sure where to find it here. I stay away from Rudy's!
We love Rudy's! It's Bill Miller's that should be avoided! 
. Same goes for steaks, I have a hard time going out to eat at a steakhouse when they are sooooo much better off my own grill.
