SA neighborhood with military housing feel (Howe, Bandera: buying a home, safe neighborhood, buying)

[liby]

Hi All,
We will be PCS'ing from Hanscom in about 6 months to Lackland. I am interested in buying a home in an area that has LOTS of military families. Something that would feel similar to base housing, with kids playing outside, friendly neighbors who look out for each other. My children ages 14 and 6 have lived on base all of their lives and we are trying to make moving to a home off base as easy as possible. I am also interested in knowing what school district near Lackland, has the most military children attending. We want a new home in a nice development, but with a price cap of $250 for the home.
Please help
Liby

[Turtle_Mom]

Would a neighborhood with kids playing outside and friendly neighbors be enough? Just wondering if large military percentage was a necessity? I know our neighborhood fits that bill - but I don't know how many military families there are. There are some, just not a large population.

I know nothing about Lackland area, and I know there are others who can answer this question who have more experience. Was just curious about your specifications.

[buffy888]

Would you consider having them attend school at Lackland? School there is quite good...

[liby]

Yes, we would consider having them attend school on Lackland, but I didn't the children could attend if they lived off base. We were allowed to do that at Travis AFB in CA, but heard that Lackland didn't offer that to non base residents. Have you heard anything different? I guess I was a little vague about "kids playing outside". We just want a safe neighborhood for my boys to play and not have to be inside playing videos and friendly neighbors.

[Gooseysmom]

No, unfortunately you have to actually live at Lackland housing in order to be eligible for attendance at Lackland schools. We just PCS'd here ourselves and found that out.

However, about 15 minutes away is a subdivision called Amhurst, with all new DR Horton homes and there are lots of military families. Practically all the families on our street are military.

Good luck with your PCS and home search!

[TexandCajun]

I think any neighborhood designed for families might fit your bill? If you do a search for homes using the map you can see the areas near base that have subdivisions.

There is a false sense of security with 'military' neighborhoods. Keep in mind you won't have military police patrolling and the base can't get involved in disputes.

Keep an open mind about it and you may find a wonderful neighborhood with people just as nice, if not nicer than base neighbors.

[Julie1226]

Children of Active Duty living off base CAN attend a school at Lackland. You can only petition from May-August, so I don't think you would make it for this school year. You can read all about at this link, under announcements.

Lackland Indep School District - District Home

As for military housing feel, no, IMO, there is nothing comparable. We just PSC'd from Dover and lived on base. I loved every minute of it and miss it terribly. That being said, we found a very nice neighborhood 15 minutes from Lackland with wonderful families and a ton of kids. There are three military families on my street alone. SA is WAY to big and spread out to have one neighborhood completely saturated with military families. I have a friend that lives off Bandera, she isn't military, but she raves how close and friendly her neighborhood is. They have block parties all the time. So, if you are looking for friendly neighbors, there is plenty of neighborhoods out there where you can find it.

[fierce_flawless]

I know it's just one person's opinion, but for what it's worth, my best friend drove her kids to a charter school across town specifically to AVOID the Lackland schools when they were living on base. She had big issues with the schools there, for both her younger child and her teen.

Prior to Lackland they lived on Randolph AFB and loved the schools there, but those are DOD schools and my understanding is that Lackland schools are not... they're TEA run.

Anyway, I can't recall all her issues but one that sticks out is when the elementary school LOST her son.. he was around 7 if i recall and they went on some outside activity and lost him and didn't realize it for over an hour.

[SilverCreek78250]

Originally Posted by fierce_flawless

I know it's just one person's opinion, but for what it's worth, my best friend drove her kids to a charter school across town specifically to AVOID the Lackland schools when they were living on base. She had big issues with the schools there, for both her younger child and her teen.

Prior to Lackland they lived on Randolph AFB and loved the schools there, but those are DOD schools and my understanding is that Lackland schools are not... they're TEA run.

Anyway, I can't recall all her issues but one that sticks out is when the elementary school LOST her son.. he was around 7 if i recall and they went on some outside activity and lost him and didn't realize it for over an hour.

That sounds really odd. My kids didn't attend Lackland but I am told that the Lackland ISD is like the highest rated system in the state (not sure of the exact rating). Course, if someone lost my kid, I'd probably be pretty upset too.

To the OP - you will find lots of military folks living in the Great Northwest area - numerous subdivisions in the area. But, doubt you will find any with "mostly" military. Keep in mind, SA is very military friendly, so no matter where you live (within reason) should be very welcoming.

[fierce_flawless]

Originally Posted by SilverCreek78250

That sounds really odd. My kids didn't attend Lackland but I am told that the Lackland ISD is like the highest rated system in the state (not sure of the exact rating). Course, if someone lost my kid, I'd probably be pretty upset too.

To the OP - you will find lots of military folks living in the Great Northwest area - numerous subdivisions in the area. But, doubt you will find any with "mostly" military. Keep in mind, SA is very military friendly, so no matter where you live (within reason) should be very welcoming.

It was quite a few years ago. Maybe things are much better now. My friend is very particular about schools though, and this is was the only time I'd ever seen her go off and pull the kids out midway through the year.