Comparing Neighborhoods for a young, newly married couple (heating, boat)

[Torkey]

Actually if you're commuting from Alamo heights to Stone Oak during normal work hours it may not be so terrible. I currently do the reverse (stone oak to Hildebrand) and I have to say, it SUCKS in the morning during rush hour. And if theres an accident, you're going to wish you drove a monster truck haha. We're kind of in your same situation, Getting married next month, young couple, shes working, I'm in school, and we were kinda looking for something a little laid back like you're looking for. IMO stone oak isnt really for us, there are some clubs and lounges out here, but we're really not into it too much. The traffic sucks, the only perk is everything you would really need is within close range. We are currently building a house in the Cibolo/Schertz area, which we like, traffic on 35 I'm sure is going to be terrible in the mornings going towards downtown, but from the stats i've seen about the city its kind of what we're looking for. Although if he's working in stone oak, that would be a good 22 mile hike for you to work..Alamo Heights to Stone Oak I'd say is at least a good 18. All depends what you're looking for I guess Best of Luck. (we're also from Florida. Moved here last June, and we LOVE it here..don't think we're ever going back hahaha)

[guerosincero]

welcome to san antonio; i think you are going to really love it here if for no other reason then how friendly people are as evidenced by the responses to your questions thus far.

if your husband has a job in stone oak, then that would seem to be a pretty big reason to focus on that area. even though you would be going against the traffic if you were to live somewhere inside the loop, it would still seem that the congestion around that area is going to be pretty intense just trying to get off of one major arterial to another, but as one poster suggested, perhaps you should look to rent a place for a few months inside loop 410 and see for yourself what it is like. be forewarned that there is bound to be a lot of construction in that area in the not-too-distant future to alleviate some of the traffic problems, but that will probably increase traffic congestion in the meantime.

insofar as the amenities you are interested in, i have to plug our neighborhood, mahncke park, which is the most "transitional" of the neighborhoods mentioned thus far but if you could find something north of the actual mahncke park (i.e., corner of parland/broadway), you are living right next to alamo heights/terrell hills area and paying a lot less for it. essentially, it is the neighborhood between alamo heights/terrell hills and downtown on broadway, and named after the linear park that runs from broadway up to the botanical gardens.

but realize you aren't in ah school district. if you don't have kids yet and won't have school age children for at least another six to seven years, then take the savings achieved by buying outside of heights (in terms of purchase price and property taxes) and invest it. you could then send your kids to private school or move into heights later. personally, i am kind of impressed by the elementary school in our neighborhood (lamar), but i am probably in the distinct minority on that given how most people react to san antonio independent school district schools.

mahncke park is surrounded by a lot of outstanding neighboring properties/installations all within walking/biking distance, including: botanical gardens (currently expanding their presence even more); fort sam houston (major expansion of operations bringing 10,000+ folks to our area with decent chance of that fostering more revitalization; civilians are allowed on base to bike/run/etc); brackenridge golf course (recently renovated); brackenridge park (kind of the heart of our city's parks system); museum reach of san antonio river expansion project; the witte museum; pearl brewery restoration; trinity university (great lecture circuit only a 15 minute walk away); incarnate word university; and central market grocery (great place for foodies, but pricey for everyday groceries).

if you have any questions, don't hesitate to message me. i am always excited to hear that young couples are coming to san antonio.

[dendox]

The waters are custom homes priced from about 600k to 2-3 million. I have been to two of them for functions and thought the neighborhood was ideal. There was home diversity, large lots, but yet still a nice neighborhood (community) feel.

I personally like Inwood and would buy there tomorrow if my wife would let me.

I can appreciate you wanting to live in AH - I used to when I worked downtown. Having been a "commuter" for the last 5 years has changed my mind tremendously. Now, I am all about living near where you work. You may be a fan of 45 minute drives to go 18 miles, but I am not. As someone with experience sitting in traffic (not the only one mind you), I would suggest generally the neighborhoods I mentioned above.

I am personally more a fan of a 20 minute drive for entertainment - to go to AH for the restaurants (which are great), the museums, or other functions when it is an off hour (not rush hour) than living somewhere that forces you to do 45minutes each way twice a day. That type of commute cuts years off your life in stress, keeps you away from your family and means you are more likely to be in an accident (more time on the road in general increases your potential for accidents).

[dvlpr]

Originally Posted by dendox

The waters are custom homes priced from about 600k to 2-3 million. I have been to two of them for functions and thought the neighborhood was ideal. There was home diversity, large lots, but yet still a nice neighborhood (community) feel.

I personally like Inwood and would buy there tomorrow if my wife would let me.

I can appreciate you wanting to live in AH - I used to when I worked downtown. Having been a "commuter" for the last 5 years has changed my mind tremendously. Now, I am all about living near where you work. You may be a fan of 45 minute drives to go 18 miles, but I am not. As someone with experience sitting in traffic (not the only one mind you), I would suggest generally the neighborhoods I mentioned above.

I am personally more a fan of a 20 minute drive for entertainment - to go to AH for the restaurants (which are great), the museums, or other functions when it is an off hour (not rush hour) than living somewhere that forces you to do 45minutes each way twice a day. That type of commute cuts years off your life in stress, keeps you away from your family and means you are more likely to be in an accident (more time on the road in general increases your potential for accidents).

I agree that a 45 minute commute causes stress, keeps you away from your family, etc. (and I can't understand why people choose that sort of arrangement).

But it doesn't take 45 minutes to go from the near-downtown neighborhoods to Stone Oak. Not even close. These commuters aren't following the herds of commuter traffic (the majority of which comes from the outlying suburban housing pods to employment centers).

Also, I'm a bigger fan of a 5-minute drive (or taking the bus, or even a walk!) for entertainment. And that's not possible in Stone Oak. I've said it before and I'll say it again.......our suburban friends are literally driving themselves crazy!!!

[BenjaminNicholas]

Stone Oak is a mess and won't get any better anytime soon. Show me a solid plan of action on the city's part of fix that traffic nightmare and I'll stop harping on the area. Not gonna happen.

Aside from the attitude of Stone Oak, I'd say that Alamo Heights isn't necessarily the fix. AH can be just as bad from some angles. It's a beautiful neighborhood, but it's not without flaws.

Have you looked into other places that cater to young professionals, but aren't yet overrun with suburban assault vehicles, jaded Central Mexican money, soccer moms with bad highlights and the 'old money' of San Antonio bitching about everything not being the way it 'used to be.' I can't recommend a real estate agent here on the board, but if you PM me, I can give you some names of people who would be glad to show you some really fantastic up-and-coming places, as well as a few hidden gems.



BN

[dendox]

Originally Posted by dvlpr

I agree that a 45 minute commute causes stress, keeps you away from your family, etc. (and I can't understand why people choose that sort of arrangement).

But it doesn't take 45 minutes to go from the near-downtown neighborhoods to Stone Oak. Not even close. These commuters aren't following the herds of commuter traffic (the majority of which comes from the outlying suburban housing pods to employment centers).

Also, I'm a bigger fan of a 5-minute drive (or taking the bus, or even a walk!) for entertainment. And that's not possible in Stone Oak. I've said it before and I'll say it again.......our suburban friends are literally driving themselves crazy!!!

Don't disagree with you about being able to walk/drive 5 minutes to entertainment. I want to be able to do that.

The areas I recommended are not stone oak.

I am just offering solutions around the area that may be a good compromise.

[pr57001]

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas

Have you looked into other places that cater to young professionals, but aren't yet overrun with suburban assault vehicles, jaded Central Mexican money, soccer moms with bad highlights and the 'old money' of San Antonio bitching about everything not being the way it 'used to be.' I can't recommend a real estate agent here on the board, but if you PM me, I can give you some names of people who would be glad to show you some really fantastic up-and-coming places, as well as a few hidden gems.


BN

Isn't your desire to broadly characterize these people, the majority of whom you couldn't possibly know, a far worse trait to have than any of those you have described above??

[BenjaminNicholas]

Originally Posted by pr57001

Isn't your desire to broadly characterize these people, the majority of whom you couldn't possibly know, a far worse trait to have than any of those you have described above??

Broadly characterize? I think not.

I lived in Stone Oak for far too long: What I saw and what I said above is spot-on. I feel (and I'm entitled to my opinion as a former resident) that most of Stone Oak is plastic, nouveau riche and turning quickly into a parking lot. Sure it's a strong opinion, but it's mine. That's why I moved.

Making broad assumptions would be saying that ALL of Stone Oak is this way. I know it's not. Good people live everywhere, but unfortunately it only takes ONE bad egg to spoil things. I ran into way too many bad eggs when I lived there.



BN

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas

Broadly characterize? I think not.

I lived in Stone Oak for far too long: What I saw and what I said above is spot-on. I feel (and I'm entitled to my opinion as a former resident) that most of Stone Oak is plastic, nouveau riche and turning quickly into a parking lot. Sure it's a strong opinion, but it's mine. That's why I moved.

Making broad assumptions would be saying that ALL of Stone Oak is this way. I know it's not. Good people live everywhere, but unfortunately it only takes ONE bad egg to spoil things. I ran into way too many bad eggs when I lived there.



BN

Were you the victim of discrimination or something? What constitutes a "bad egg" in your book? I don't reside in Stone Oak...just curious.
Also, when you state " attitude of Stone Oak" and "Stone Oak is a mess", what are folks supposed to think? Of course they'll think that you mean all of Stone Oak. That's only natural.

[MegWood]

I just read through this thread and found the info to be very helpful. My fiance is being relocated from Tampa to SAT next month so I am in the EXACT same boat, sounds like looking for the same thing. I agree this is a great site and thanks for letting me cheat off these posts :-)