Where's My San Antonio? Disappointed with the 1604/90/Pue Rd. area. (Alamo: houses, neighborhoods)

[GarveySanAntonio]

I am so happy I have found this site and that maybe some of you can help me.

I am 24 hispanic male who was born in San Antonio, but moved to Chicago when I was just ten years old to live with my dad. Last month, I moved back to San Antonio because my mother was out of work and not doing so well. I have a great education from Northwestern and I have been blessed with wealth in my life, so It was not a problem to come down.

What Is getting me is how crummy everything seems here in San Antonio. My mother lives off an area where 1604 and 90 meet called Pue Rd. People all seem somewhat depressed and sad. There are children running everywhere with out any supervision. There seems to be teenage mothers everywhere and I can tell they don't go to school. Graffiti is written on my street signs and nobody cares?

What happenend to the good natured San Antonio I remember as a child or has it always been this way?

[perticusrex]

Pue & 90 is an area that has seen some downward trend, but its not a completely hopeless area (im not sure how you know everyone is sad and depressed) and certainly not ALL of San Antonio is this way. Have you explored anywhere else besides that immediate area? Are you planning on living with Mom there?

[dvlpr]

That's a pretty sad part of town. Lots of relatively-new low-end production houses mixed with older low-end production houses....without long-term, multi-generational residents that care about the neighborhood and the people in it.

A favorite writer (who writes about urban issues) believes that when you build places not worth caring about, it's inevitable that you'll have places that aren't worth defending. I think that's unfortunately true in the case of this neighborhood.

That said, there are plenty of great people in economically dismal neighborhoods in SA. This town had a very sluggish economy from WWII until the mid-90's (compared to other major American cities). It's getting better, but it's going to take time for the standard-of-living to rise in many neighborhoods.

[Dube665]

Im sure things were the same here when you were 10 you may have just not noticed it.

[skeet09]

San Antonio has changed; some good stuff, some bad.
When the boonies was outside of 410 is now way past 1604.
Your niche is out there waiting for you. You may or may not find it in San Antonio, its just a matter of exploring the different neighborhoods with an open mind. Good luck!

[GarveySanAntonio]

I am not planning on staying in San Antonio past getting my mother on her feet and helping her with her many problems. She is a recovering Addict and is close to over three hundred pounds and hasn't work in a very long time. She has always been sort of trashy, and that is why my father took me and divorced her years ago. She has been married a couple of times and has other kids, who I don't even know and I think one or two of them are in Jail in San Antonio or maybe just outside.

Before I got here, her nurse, a woman who I really don't like now that I know her, told me this was a great area and had the most culture.

Let me ask? Where do the upper class live in the city? Downtown?

Also, I remember as a kid going to a mall that was really fun and nice ( my thoughts as a kid). I thouught it was Westlakes near Marbach, but I drove by that area today and Its is so trashy and I don't see a Mall. Just strip malls. What happenend?

[skeet09]

Originally Posted by GarveySanAntonio

I am not planning on staying in San Antonio past getting my mother on her feet and helping her with her many problems. She is a recovering Addict and is close to over three hundred pounds and hasn't work in a very long time. She has always been sort of trashy, and that is why my father took me and divorced her years ago. She has been married a couple of times and has other kids, who I don't even know and I think one or two of them are in Jail in San Antonio or maybe just outside.

Before I got here, her nurse, a woman who I really don't like now that I know her, told me this was a great area and had the most culture.

Let me ask? Where do the upper class live in the city? Downtown?

Also, I remember as a kid going to a mall that was really fun and nice ( my thoughts as a kid). I thouught it was Westlakes near Marbach, but I drove by that area today and Its is so trashy and I don't see a Mall. Just strip malls. What happenend?

Westlakes Mall doesn't exist anymore. They tore it down and the rumor was HEB was going to make a bigger store to replace its older one next door but I haven't seen any progress. The last time I was in the area was a month ago so maybe something has changed since then.
Depends on what kind of upper class atmosphere you're looking for. There's Alamo Heights an established area, Stone Oak which is a suburban area in the 281/1604 area, Southtown/King William for its arts scene.
Are you looking for work? If so, what is your field? There will be a definite difference in cost of living and salaries compared to Chicago here.
Regardless, take some comfort in knowing that those who were born in San Antonio, grew up somewhere else and come back sometimes leave because of the adjustment. That can happen to anyone moving back to their city of birth too.

[Eleanor Rigby]

The nicest malls right now are North Star (which is a traditional enclosed mall) and the Shops at La Cantera (which is a new-style open air mall). Ingram is supposed to be fairly nice now that it's been redone, but I never go there.

Economically higher-end areas are scattered around town, but let's say that in broad terms, people with high incomes live either in the inner loop neighborhoods and bedroom cities like Olmos Park, Terrell Hills, Alamo Heights and Monte Vista, in neighborhoods and developments like Inverness, Elm Creek and Hill Country Village between 410 and 1604, and in neighborhoods and developments like Stone Oak, the Dominion and Rogers Ranch outside of 1604. Your more artsy/independent/bohemian people are also colonizing areas like King William, Lavaca and other areas that are either downtown or immediately next to downtown.

To elaborate a little bit - traditionally the inner-loop areas like Alamo Heights are established families with money who have lived in San Antonio a long time, and the outer ring developments are, obviously, new construction and tend to have a high percentage of people who aren't from San Antonio.

There are also several large pockets of town out in your direction that are heavily military and middle and upper-middle class like Westcreek and Alamo Ranch.

[tgannaway89]

Don't worry The Dominion on the North side still boasts multimillion dollar mansions for the elite and celebrities.

[GarveySanAntonio]

I really can do my job from anywhere and at first, I thought I might take a chance at San Antonio for the long run, but changed my mind when I got here. I am only 24 and have been very blessed in my life and make a great amount of money. My father, who was also born in San Antonio and will never return, works for the NFL and said that many of the people he knows that come here to scout the possiblities of a team down here, are turned off by the atmosphere.

I came with an open mind, but I feel so out of place. I am proud of my hispanic culture, but what I see here, is the worst of it. Like the bad areas in Chicago that give us a bad reputation.