SC RN needs your help! (San Antonio, Alamo: extended stay, real estate, apartment)

[DixieNCSU]

I accepted a position at Metropolitan Methodist and so I will be relocating very, very soon and need help trying to find a place to live. Now I know this subject has been beaten to death but I'm struggling right now. I am a single 29-yr old female looking for an apartment that is in a good location and relatively close to the hospital. Since I have never been there, I'm not familiar with zip codes or what people say when they talk about places like "the inner westside". I need it broken down in terms that I don't have to google! Would appreciate any help I can get, thanks. Also, I'm probably going to be staying in a extended stay or short-term lease until I can get my furniture out of storage, any suggestions?

[Eleanor Rigby]

If you're looking at the Metropolitan on McCullough, the closest nice area to live would be Monte Vista, Olmos Park or Alamo Heights. These are all a five-ten minute drive from the hospital. Zip codes are 78212 and 78209. Monte Vista is a historic district, and Alamo Heights and Olmos Park are bedroom cities within the boundaries of San Antonio that are upper-middle class and higher socioeconomically. Alamo Heights has a few giant complexes but mostly these three areas have individually owned fourplexes and sixplexes. These tend to not be advertised but are mostly found by driving around the areas and calling the numbers. Ridgemont Properties, though, has a website - they own a lot of complexes and buildings in the Alamo Heights area.

For Extended Stays, you'd have to look more towards the airport, though there might be a few downtown.

[DixieNCSU]

Thank you so much for responding, this is a big help!

[Eleanor Rigby]

Not a problem! When you narrow things down a little more to specific areas/streets, come back and post it here and you can get a good idea of if it's something you would like.

Also, I realized after I posted this that I should give you a little clarification about 78212 - this zipcode is extremely mixed economically. It covers everything from some of the most expensive real estate in San Antonio to condemned shacks on blocks you wouldn't feel comfortable on after dark. So, since you're working on a short time-frame and without the working knowledge of which bits of the zip are good bad or indifferent, running the streets/general areas past the eyes here can help you out quite a bit. This could make the difference between you finding yourself in a really terrific area in a great apartment that makes you feel good about your decision to move to San Antonio, or finding yourself really displeased and upset with your living arrangements.

[Torkey]

pm sent!

[adtobias]

tobin hill i snice and up and coming but i would stay in olmos park or monte vista

[jwebtx]

you could also look at a place like the cadillac lofts. they are on the north end of downtown and you could (if so inclined) walk to work in 15 minutes or so. you could also walk to the heart of the riverwalk in 10 minutes. Only neg is that they are small, but there were numerous nurses/doctors from the local hospitals.

Tobin is up & coming. Close to work. Transitional neighberhood in parts.

Monte Vista & Olmos are both great areas with easy access to your work. Roughly 2 miles +/- to work.

Alamo Heights - farthest of those mentioned, but not far. it offers the most retail & restaurants per sq/mi than the others.

[DixieNCSU]

Thanks again, everyone has been very helpful and have given me a better perspective of the area, now I'm looking for an apartment, any suggestions? Any I should run away from? I'm looking for a 1 bedroom with max rent at $800, I have found several so far on-line that look promising but you can photoshop anything these days!

[sapphire]

I always suggest craigslist as a place to start. There are lots of deals on there, and you can at least make a good start. Whenever I used to apartment shop, I always used a locator service........they know all the specials, are familiar with the properties, and can usually find a good fit for you.

Good luck, and welcome home!

[Chaka]

The hospital is essentially downtown (very near north), so anywhere downtown or in Southtown/King William is extremely convenient, good area, nice to live. I live in southtown (78210, but that's also a very mixed zip code - some high end and some very low end) and Met Methodist is almost the closest hospital to me (Christus is slightly closer just due to the lack of one-way streets)