some questions (San Antonio, Austin, Kerrville: HOA, new home, neighborhoods)

[Duane Coakes]

hi,
I'm new to this forum so a short introduction is in order,I guess.
I'm Duane and currently live in the Netherlands,45 years old,biker by lifestyle and tattoo artist for a living.My fiancee currently lives in CA.
We are thinking about starting a life together in or close to San Antonio and I would like to hear some opinions and/or advice on the following matters:
1. how's the tattoo and biker scene in San Antonio?
2.do you think bikers and tattooed people are accepted by the SA people?
3. I heard something about police harassement towards bikers in SA,what do you know about that?
4.we want to start a tattooshop from our new home and we don't want to live downtown and don't want a commercial build.What do you know about zoning and do you have suggestions on a good area to work from?

I hope some of you can come up with some good answers to make it a bit easier for us to start a new life......

[johnrex62]

Hi Duane,

I am not part of either scene (biker or tattoo) but I can offer some casual 'outsider' observation for what it is worth.

I have a few friends that are on the fringe of the biker scene and they have never had any problems with police or public harassement. There are certainly people on the road that are discourteous or careless and there are the "looks" from people that clearly show that not everyone approves of the lifestyle, but never much in the way of physical action or verbal harrassement. That type of reaction generally seems to require much more provocation than the mere presence of a biker.

As far as acceptance over tolerance, that will vary by neighborhood and person to person. I guess there are areas that are more likely to be accepting than others, but I would be engaging in stereotyping to guess which those are as I have little recent knowledge of the neighborhoods anylonger. I moved out of SA in '96 to go to Austin. I still have friends and family in SA, but I don't prowl the neighborhoods much any more.

A tat shop in a residence is not uncommon, but ususally in the lower economically blessed neighborhoods. Businesses in residences is something ususally seen in historic areas close to the urban center that have converted from residential to business districts and in the near surburban areas that are in the process of becoming urban avenues and traffic has increased to the point that residential living is uncomfortable in these traffic lanes.

I can't suggest a good location or area to look at for a shop. Zoning can be an issue if the area is still zoned R1 (Residential only) but many of the heavily trafficed roads have been rezoned over the years. If there are other shops nearby the odds are very good that the area has been rezoned for General Business or perhaps even Light Industrial. Simple to ask the landlord or realtor about zoning.

[SA78228]

IMO there seems to be a huge biker presence in this area. Bandera, Kerrville, Fredericksburg, and Lost Maples Area are just a few of the great places to ride a bike in the area.

I'm not sure about the Tattoo business?

[little_thirsty]

Also check out Gruene....this place "The Deck" seems to always have a bike scene. Awesome little town.... MySpace.com - Bubba's Big Deck - 100 - Male - Gruene, Texas - www.myspace.com/bubbasbigdeck

[rd2007]

I'm into tattoos and one day will own a Harley. There are quite a few shops around here, but I personally only go to one. Many people are into the ink and I personally think it's becoming more popular. You need to be careful running a studio out of your house, though. There is plenty of ignorance out there and not all neighbors will appreciate it. It may also be against HOA rules, so do some research.
Do you have a site that displays some of your work? I love checking out new artists.

as far as the cops, I'm not impressed by the local ones at all and hope my life never depends on their choice of whether or not they want to take action..

[Duane Coakes]

oh,I will do some research for sure and I wouldn't risk having nasty,complaining neighbors.Just wondered if there were areas who would allow mixed properties.....

[gwrober]

I think you'll be fine here! SA is very welcoming to all. rd is right, definitely make sure the neighborhood you choose is ok with having a shop at home.

[SilverCreek78250]

To clarify, when you say biker, do you mean Vespa or Harley? We do have both, and I think both are accepted.

[Duane Coakes]

I have a tricycle and a Schwinn my daddy bought me for my birthday,and one day I will hope to get me a totally awesome Vespa ........hehehehehehe

no seriously,are there any other but harley-davidson?

[Sweetie Pie]

There's Beamers, Ducattis, Triumph, and a bunch of rice burners!!!

But Harleys are the loudest!!!