Now officially winter Texans (San Antonio, Mission: mattress, appliances, mobile home)

[terryandgerry]

After about a year and a half of lurking around on this board and asking a few questions, we took the plunge in February and came down from Alberta, Canada with the goal of finding a place in the San Antonio area to start spending our winters in. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! After a few days of driving around looking at the different areas outside of the city, we found exactly what we had hoped for and at even a better price than we expected. We have made an offer on a 3 bedroom mobile home on 1/2 acre lot in the Spring Branch area. The closing date is set for March 27, and we will be doing it by long distance. The house buying process is very different from what we are used to in Canada, so hopefully all will go smoothly.
We hardly did any of the regular sightseeing things while we are down here, so it will be exciting to come back next winter and spend some time being tourists. This time we had our dog with us and were pretty limited with what we could do with him. Driving in strange big cities terrifies both of us, so we didn't go into San Antonio at all accept for a few trips to the realtor's office just off of 1604 and 128. Can't wait to see the Alamo and Riverwalk in January. First thing when we get down, our priority has to be to get out and get some furniture and everything else needed to turn an empty shell into a livable home. Since we are going to need everything at once, thrift stores and second hand will probably be the way we will go for a lot of it. Does anyone know of any good places to shop for furniture, small appliances, household linens, etc either in the area we are, or not too far into the city?

[ShaneSA]

There is a great Salvation Army, but it is in the city...just south of downtown. It's on the corner of South Alamo just off I 35.
There are others but all I know is in the city. And I would think that the city stores will give you better odds for finding used and not abused furniture.
I also cruise pawn shops for stuff. Electronics are a hit and miss in a pawn shop unless you know your stuff.
I'm sure once you get here and become more Texan it will not be so scary.
It's actually easy to get around town and Saturday shopping in junk stores is great.

[terryandgerry]

Just off I35 sounds pretty easy. I know we'll be fine with the driving once we get used to it. I think part of the problem this time is we were so exhausted and stressed out after 4 long days driving (often through some pretty ugly weather) to get down. The first thing we will need is some good road map books, maybe we can order some online before we leave home. Our absolute first stop will be for some beds (mattress & box springs) and this will have to be new, I absolutely draw the line at a used mattress. We are getting too old to sleep on the floor. We haven't had to start from scratch and set up house for over 40 years, and even then we started with a lot of wedding presents and borrowed furniture, so this is going to be a challenge. I'm going to start making a list of essentials.

[Steel Man]

terryandgerry,

Welcome to Texas! I hope you stay a little past the winter as the early spring is VERY nice down here. Everything turns green and the wildflowers along many of the roads are most welcome. Spring has already sprung here in this area even though it is still snowing up north.

[ShaneSA]

It's illegal to sell used bedding in Texas. If you buy a bed(frame or headboard) at Salvation Army or Goodwill, they will give you a mattress and spring if you want. But I'm with you, go buy new that only you have ever used.
Mapquest will give you better detail when searching for locations. Ferguson's makes a map book that covers the county. It's about 25.00, last time I saw one.
Electronic stores also sell GPS units now. My plumber got one and uses it all the time....he just follows directions. It cost him $400.00 but covers the entire US and Canada. Not that he needs that but for someone like you it will tell you where you are and how to get to where your going.
It may well be worth the investment.
It sounds like a fun adventure, I'm sure you will have fun with it.
Welcome to Texas. You may well become permanent when you experience the Texas lifestyle.

[terryandgerry]

I don't know if this year was exceptional, but we were down February 18th-28th and things were already starting to turn green and a few wildflowers and bushes starting to open up. It felt like a combination of Spring/Summer to us even then. A few days were even verging on being uncomfortably hot! We are planning to be down from the beginning of January till the end of March. There are limits to how long we can be in the US without having to pay taxes to both countries. I think this will change when we are on pension income only, but right now I am self employed. It was so hard to come home to the cold and snow! We can expect snow and cold for at least another month up here. 9 months to wait and we can come back. I think I'm going to start living for my 3 months a year in Texas.