help in finding a neighborhood (San Antonio, Spring: houses, transfer, neighborhoods)

[Pauldaly]

The company I work for may transfer me to San Antonio soon. The office is located near the NE corner of the 410 Loop and the San Antonio Airport. So, we need to find a home - we, meaning me, my wife, the dog and the bird. School districts are not a factor because we have no kids. Important components are safety, quietness, less than 30 minute commute, newer, well-constructed home with a yard for the dog and gardening, places to walk nearby, a 10 to 15 minute drive to shopping, with the home price as inexpensive as possable. Please help us zero in on a neighborhood.
Thanks so much.

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by Pauldaly

The company I work for may transfer me to San Antonio soon. The office is located near the NE corner of the 410 Loop and the San Antonio Airport. So, we need to find a home - we, meaning me, my wife, the dog and the bird. School districts are not a factor because we have no kids. Important components are safety, quietness, less than 30 minute commute, newer, well-constructed home with a yard for the dog and gardening, places to walk nearby, a 10 to 15 minute drive to shopping, with the home price as inexpensive as possable. Please help us zero in on a neighborhood.
Thanks so much.

You can start here:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...index-san.html

Good luck.

[Bowie]

Define "as inexpensive as possable" with a range and we can be more helpful. San Antonio has much less expensive home prices than the average large US city. You could get a house for $40,000 in San Antonio, but I'm guessing you wouldn't like the neighborhood and can pay more, since you have a job that your employer is transferring you here to do.

[Pauldaly]

Thanks, Bowie. Okay, the range is $140,000 - $175,000, with the things I stated above as the most important factors. My wife has other things she will add to the list which will be more specific to each individual home, but we need to impose on your good graces and learn of the areas to scour first for the right property for us.
firstclassflyer, actually there have been more than a few interesting links and threads we've studied in recent days and weeks from that very same <relocation information index> you referred me to, but it doesn't seem to do the job of replacing the considered insight of local people in the know, as excellent as it is.

[rerockstar]

In that price range, finding a "newer" home (if you can define that a bit better it would be a big help), with a short commute, is a little hard. I looked in some neighborhoods that popped immediately into mind because of their commute, but many of them are slightly older neighborhoods in that price range, with newer developments starting close to the $200Ks.

Your commute is the hardest part of your criteria as with your desire for newer and your price range, you're probably going to want to think "outside the loop" (the areas northward of 1604), but then your commute becomes longer as they are very popular areas with more traffic (and some specific traffic problems).

Most of the newer building takes place outside (or very close to) the 1604, but not all of it. Depending on you get to work, there are some nice communities NE of 281 and 1604 that if in the right place, you can use backroads to get to work to avoid the traffic snarls on 281.

Give us some more info and I'll try to narrow down some names of communities for you.

[Pauldaly]

By "newer", I meant less than 5 or 10 years old, with updated heating or cooling systems (more efficient, less likely to need to be replaced for some years), and maybe better windows, or greener-type building materials used, though I don't hold my breath on that one. Also, "newer" floorplans are usually open-concept, kitchen-to-living-family-room areas, or have bathroom plans with separate tub and showers, low-flush toilets, etc. Gains are constantly being made to prevent termite damage with new materials/finishes, too, right? And, we don't want to have to remove layers of old wallpaper or do much updating if we don't have to, or worry about lead paint from houses built before 1978.
We probably would like to think "further out", provided there are good grocery stores and such nearby. So, 45 minutes from work I could live with, but not 45 minutes from other things we need. We are in our forties and healthy, but in our current home (rural maine) we live an hour from a hospital in any direction, and that bothers me for if there were ever an emergency event, like cardiac or something. What about just north of Bexar county, is it Comar or something like that? I did see the photos of "north of 1604" in the stickies section, under official photos, and it's very pretty terrain. Knowing the backroads would be something we could look at as a shared adventure to find them, but a total disadvantage for us right now. What are those places NE of 281 and 1604 where backroads could be utilized?
I will sheepishly admit that cookie-cutter is not neccessarily a dirty word here. I think it's possible to make a place like that your own, with a built-in here, crown-moulding there, but know that it will not be like the beautiful older homes out there. What does bother me is that there is often not one mature tree left in a yard by a builder, or even on a whole street!

[ashbeeigh]

I would check out Cibolo and Schertz to begin with if your job is on the northeast side. There are many new developments in that area and it should not be hard to find what you want in that area. It's very family friendly (even though that wasn't a must for you) so it is quiet. Depending on the size of yard you need for the dog you should be able to find one the size you want (maybe Olympia as a subdivision...even though that's Universal City).

Shopping is abundant in that area, so worries about that.

The Medical Center area is a bit of a drive (talking like 30 minutes here...nothing is too much of a drive in San Antonio) because they are on the northwest side versus the northeast side. However, there are hospitals on that side of town so finding a doctor isn't a problem at all.

I would stay away from the 281/1604 area just because of traffic concerns and getting to work would be horrible if you go too far up 281 (..Comal County...although the back roads are beautiful). Just a little story...my family is thinking about moving out this way to be closer to work (they work in San Marcos) and I work in downtown SA. I joked that it would be easier to take Highway 46 and come back down 35 (easily an hour and a half) then it would be to take 281 all the way downtown. That's how bad it is on some days.

[Pauldaly]

Oh my gosh, Ashbeeigh, I should have thanked you *before* I started checking the online listings in Cibolo and Schertz you guided us to! Thank you very much. I was a little bleary-eyed this morning from reading through their many home descriptions in our price range last night. Also received a suggestion to check out Castle HIlls, did a google street view, and liked the admittedly older homes there, so we are off with a good roar regarding these three areas. I very much appreciate all the things you said, and just wanted to at least get that in now. Will come back with specific thoughts and concerns later on.
Oh, we have a courageous pug, Hoss, and an extremely tame 8 year ol lovebird, el Guapo, who both like being outside (bird in his carrier, dog cannot be too hot or cold).
The story you told certainly drives home a point, but I will look up some map reference points to understand it even better. Traffic is a large concern..

[rerockstar]

Some other suggestions that aren't quite as far out - Cedar Grove, Steubing Ranch (NE) and Shaenfield Place, Hills Of Shaenfield, Sagewood, Wildhorse Vista, Bluffs Of Westchase, Rivermist, Wildhorse, Silver Creek, Oak Grove, Cripple Creek, Hills Of Rivermist, Enclave at Laurel Canyon, Mainland Crossing, Village In The Woods, Laurel Canyon, Braun Oaks, Coral Springs (NW). The last group (NW side of town) are not terrible on the drive to the airport (in my opinion). My wife works right next to the airport (Vidor Drive) and it takes us about 30 minutes in the morning to make it to her office (we live in the neighborhood next to Coral Springs - an older neighborhood, Quail Creek). Some of the further out ones (Wildhorse, Shaenfield) will take a little longer. The NW side has plenty of shopping and restaurants, so you wouldn't have a problem there. Some of the subdivisions I mentioned are still building as well, so there are opportunities there for builder incentives and price reductions (some of the builders have been offering quite a bit to take inventory homes off their hands).

Castle Hills is a nice area with lots to choose from as well, but there are less of the "newer" option there than some of the other areas.

Hope that helps some more.