things for a transplant to know (Dallas, San Antonio: transplants, HOA, insurance)

[noplacelikeWA]

In the 10 months since moving to SA we have come to learn a few things about the city we didn't think of or expect. You might disagree with what we have concluded about the city but either way I am sure others have also come to learn things and I thought it could be helpful to share....

The layout of the highways and side streets are unlike anywhere else, get a map before you get here and study it carefully, when you get here if your car is not equipped with a computerized compass get one as there will be no major land mark to identify with (example: mountains.)

Beware that nearly every major innersection along the highways will have pedestrians in the street either begging, handing out flyers or selling newspapers or candied apples, especially on the weekends. (Keep your windows up!) Oh and there is construction everywhere.

Customer service is not a priority and there is a general sense of distrust, businesses have strict return policies and the banks will carefully screen every dollar you deposit or withdrawl for atleast the first 6months of your new account.

The cost of living is not as cheap as you would expect, auto insurance is higher and 60% of SA drivers don't have it for one reason or another. Home insurance is more and the property taxes are higher to feed the schools.

Computer literacy appears to be below average for the country? My husband has been labeled a "genius" at work because he can type with out using hunt and peck and after hounding his employer for 3 months to get secure access on the company server with no response he discovered no one else has access either because they don't know how to use the computer. This also explains the general lack of sophistication you sense everywhere and plays into the simple more relaxed way of life for SA.

I could go on but I am more curious about what others have experienced that might be eye opening to a new transplant.

[LongHornGuy86]

It's no secret how I feel about San Antonio. Coming from Dallas it was definitely a culture shock for me. I do notice here that customer service is not a priority. I took my car in for service to a particular highline Japanese dealership today and it took them 5 minutes to even acknowledge me.

There were service techs in the service bay, yet no one bothered to come up to me until I got out of my car. This particular dealership even has the audicity to charge $51 for a freaking oil change. Irritated, I just drove off. No way I'm paying for that sort of service.

I notice this about SA a lot. The work mentality is lacking, and people seem to have a sort of "I'll get to you when I can" attitude that drives me nuts. It's a general laziness that makes me need to get out of here!

And yeah, the cost of living, while slightly lower than most places, is quickly increasing. Overall, I see it as a good thing--there needs to be more transplants coming in here to shake things up, and help SA advance to the next level.

[n0vemberHAWK]

Agreed.

SA is full of lazy people.

[sapphire]

Damn, I never knew how bad it sucked to live here till all these outsiders moved in and let me know. So we are a bunch of lazy, good-for-nothing, illiterate, (although I can spell intersection and know it's not innersection), rip-off artists that drive without insurance. Nice to know.

UTSASTUD, you will never in a million years convince me that Dallas is a haven for awesome customer service. I lived there for a year and a half in the nineties and I could not get out quick enough.

San Antonio is and has been a great place to live and raise a family. If it was so wonderful everywhere else, why is everyone coming here?

[noplacelikeWA]

Originally Posted by sapphire

Damn, I never knew how bad it sucked to live here till all these outsiders moved in and let me know. ..... San Antonio is and has been a great place to live and raise a family. If it was so wonderful everywhere else, why is everyone coming here?

SA is a good city to raise a family and it doesn't suck in my opinion. I was not trying to suggest people should be aware of what sucks about SA I just thought it could be helpful for transplants to share what they discovered about SA that they may not have expected like...

There is only one major grocery chain HEB, unless you like buying produce and meat at a Walmart Supercenter.

The cable company doesn't line up the local channels with the actual cable channel, (example WOAI channel 4 airs on cable channel 3.)

The city has regulations on who can buy spray paint to curb the epidemic problem of graffiti but they don't bother to go around and clean it up.

There is no helmet law for anyone under 18, it was really weird to see so many people on motorcyles without a helmet.

Even though we are in a HOA and pay annual dues because we live outside 1604 we do not have curbside recycling. We have to collect and store everything in our garage and run it to the recycle center ourselves every 2 weeks.

The slower pace of SA is not a bad thing, I came here to relax and be less stressed and I think that is also a big part of what is drawing people to move here. I do not mean to offend the natives but if you have never lived anywhere except SA then you won't get why some of these things stood out for us.

[hello13685]

I think people are coming here because they think it's cheaper, and it was, until just recently.

[AnthonySA]

What I don't understand is why isnt UTSAStud in Dallas if it is so much better than San Antonio in every category. I happen to be a transplant to San Antonio and I have had 0 negative comments to say or even think about the city until I ran into the SA bashers on this forum.

For those of you who are thinking about moving to San Antonio -- it truly is a great city to live in. The people down here are very friendly (never had a confrontation -- and always felt customer service here has been helpful), I have yet once felt threatened, cost of living is much lower than along the east and west coast. For some strange reason, despite what some of these people on the forum says, every other report I have read says that our economy is experiencing a long term boom!

[AnthonySA]

Originally Posted by noplacelikeWA

There is only one major grocery chain HEB, unless you like buying produce and meat at a Walmart Supercenter.

The city has regulations on who can buy spray paint to curb the epidemic problem of graffiti but they don't bother to go around and clean it up.

1 - I have no complaints with HEB being the only major grocery chain here - from other places I've been too, they offer a pretty good service.

2 - I agree that the city ought to do more about the graffiti problem than just regulate the sell of spray paint bottles.

[LongHornGuy86]

Yeah HEB and Time Warner. My Accounting prof. was telling us how HEB ran out all other store chains in the '90's. I didn't know that was legal.

Whoever owns HEB must make a ton of money.

[Steel Man]

Originally Posted by noplacelikeWA

...Computer literacy appears to be below average for the country? My husband has been labeled a "genius" at work because he can type with out using hunt and peck and after hounding his employer for 3 months to get secure access on the company server with no response he discovered no one else has access either because they don't know how to use the computer. This also explains the general lack of sophistication you sense everywhere and plays into the simple more relaxed way of life for SA...

You have to be careful with generalizations. I believe your husband's work may be the exception. Children are taught early how to use a computer and most schools here have computers (many with at least one computer in each classroom). I work in the automotive manufacturing business here in San Antonio, and everyone in the office use computers. All of us are very savvy with MS Windows and Office (including Word, Access and Excel). I also use AS400 and Sequel (to write queries), and an internet based shipping database. And most people in our office can type though I am probably one of the slower ones at 50 WPM. Also, don't forget all the call centers here in San Antonio. They all use computers. There is sophistication here, you just have to look beyond the first layer sometimes. BTW, my two daughters are also very proficient with computers.