Leaving military moving to San Antonio (West, Howe: for sale, real estate market, car insurance)

[lamaha]

Hello

We will be leaving the military May 09 and moving to San Antonio ( that's the plan) We are wondering how the job and real estate market is now? We lived there for 2.5 years in 2001-2003 and we loved it. We want to be able to get good paying jobs enough to cover about 2,000 a month for mortage and expenses. Hubby would have 8 years military experience, and we both will only have associate degrees completed at the time lol Do you think it would be possible to make it there in SA?

[Bowie]

To give you the best possible answer, it would help if we had some idea of the type of work you and he will be looking for or what your degrees are in. Just like in most parts of the country, there are some fields in SA where positions are abundant and others where positions are scarce to non-existent.

[mtdave2]

sa has one of the cheapest cost of living. i wouldnt think you would have a problem finding a job here.

[sapphire]

I think our cost of living has gone way up this year. CPS has gotten absurd, groceries are through the roof, the water bills are doubling, property values have "risen" so the taxes have gone up. Where is this low cost of living I keep hearing about?

Not to mention car insurance!!

[SilverCreek78250]

Originally Posted by lamaha

Hello

We will be leaving the military May 09 and moving to San Antonio ( that's the plan) We are wondering how the job and real estate market is now? We lived there for 2.5 years in 2001-2003 and we loved it. We want to be able to get good paying jobs enough to cover about 2,000 a month for mortage and expenses. Hubby would have 8 years military experience, and we both will only have associate degrees completed at the time lol Do you think it would be possible to make it there in SA?

Do you intend to work in the same basic career field as your military specialties? Or is the plan to come here and just look for something/anything that you can find? That might help to help you get a better idea. Also, yes, the cost of living is increasing, but still, SA is (in my mind anyway) a much cheaper place to live. I just assume prices are going up everywhere.

[lamaha]

Thank you for the replies everyone! My husband is in the Intelligence field with a Top secret security clearance, His degree is in communications. We both would like to do anything to get the bills paid he is interested in a government/civillian job if he is able to get his foot in the door once out of the military. I will have an associate of art & Human services certificate I do alot of volunteer work we both plan to continue to Bach. degrees when we get there. I did in home care work when I stayed there in 2001-2003 and wouldn't mind that again as long as I have work. I work as a customer service rep now. We are interested in buying a house with a mortgage at around 800 a month so we would like to make atleast 1,800 a month to cover.

[saboyz]

Google Westover Hills

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by sapphire

I think our cost of living has gone way up this year. CPS has gotten absurd, groceries are through the roof, the water bills are doubling, property values have "risen" so the taxes have gone up. Where is this low cost of living I keep hearing about?

Not to mention car insurance!!

Obviously you haven't been anywhere else in this country lately, as comparitively, San Antonio still is one of the cheapest places to live! Sure, out property taxes are somewhat higher than some places; but housing, gas and most things are still cheaper than most places I have been to lately.

To the OP, your husband's TS will help, as there are a lot of government agencies here that require them. Has he tried USAjobs.com? It is a good place to start. I am a retired USAF intel officer now working as a contractor, and several companies (MacB, SAIC, NG, L3, etc) have contractors in my organization. However, it is still somewhat competitive as a lot of folks retire here and have degrees and in many cases like myself, advance degrees. He should really consider getting a bachelors degree as soon as possible.

As for housing, right now the market is in your favor. Plenty of places for sale and lots of builders willing to deal. We haven't been hit as bad as some places in the country; but this area was still affected.

We were stationed here prior as well (99-02), then left to go overseas again and when it came time to return and pick a place to retire, we knew we wanted to come back. San Antonio is a great place to live, and I am pretty sure you will love it as much as most people do!

Cheers! M2

[sapphire]

You would be correct--I haven't lived anywhere else for 23 years. I was talking about the cost of living HERE. Which is what I know. Have a great day.

Cheers

[rd2007]

make sure your husband takes advantage of all the programs prior to getting out. I went to both TAP and ACAP and also attended another overview of benefits. There is a lot out there, but you have to know about it and figure out how to get it all. I'm making pretty good money just on the benefits and they're all tax free.
The TS/SCI will help him out a lot, but make sure it's up to date. My employer cared most about the clearance, the job they can train you for..