Ex-Californians...Do you regret the move to SA? (Houston, San Antonio: university, live)

[AT9]

Originally Posted by Bayag_Mo_Gago

JJuranko,

I was in SA for a little over a week so whatever I say, take it with a grain of salt.

Positives:
Restaurants everywhere you look.
Housing is affordable to out of staters.
Friendly people.
Gas is very cheap.

Negatives:
Roads and freeways are a complete joke and very dangerous. Yield signs on a freeway interchange. What the hell? One way roads along the freeways are always backed up with traffic.
Traffic is bad considering the area of the city.
Worst drivers you will ever encounter.
Stop lights that hang on cable. Blast from the past...thought I went in a time machine and ended up in 1945!
Weather is so crappy. It stormed every single day I was there. Roads were flooded and the scariest lightning you will ever see. Seeing a tornado watch everytime there is a thunderstorm is not a good feeling. Super humid. I had a hard time breathing.
Lacks sophistication in a big way.
It just looks old and ran down.
Definitely lacking in an educated/white collar workforce. Wages are half (compared to LA).

I agree with you that the freeways are messed up, but they are all over the U.S. as well.
Apparently you there there on a bad week, weather-wise. It is humid and hot most of the time but it usually doesn't storm that often, you had bad timing.
Having lived all over the U.S., I have determined that drivers suck, period.
I don't know how it lacks sophistication, what do you mean by that?
Old and run down What part of SA were you in?
And the stop lights........I would assume you have never been to Pensacola? 90% of the lights in this town are hanging from cables. It you thought SA was bad, you have no idea lol.

[JuneOf48]

Originally Posted by hello13685

Insomniac, not that it's important, but I was married and in the process of an amicable divorce. I am, and have been, seeking a better relationship.

Juneof48, at least as of a couple of years ago, staff in UTSA departments were REQUIRED to address all faculty by title. This was another cultural feature that I found to be odd--very regimented. Like you, I do want to be addressed on a first name basis, but it irks me when the men are addressed differently.

It's funny that the response to my pointing out an example of the sexist behaviors and attitudes that would NEVER happen in a California institution of higher learning, are met with personal attacks. I do suppose that's easier than admitting it.

Blanket condemnations and over-generalizations irk me. I'm the first to call out sexism when I see it. I almost felt like quitting at UTSA when I thought that sexual orientation was not a protected class in terms of non-discrimination. Then I saw that the university went above and beyond state law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. I just learned this yesterday during my "fun" compliance training. I was relieved, to say the least.

As I recall, you've written some pretty negative (nasty?) things about UTSA in general. Fair enough. I prefer to be excited by the change, the diversity, and the lack of attitude.

No personal attacks here. Your original post just reminded me of a general observation of a certain cultural feature of San Antonio: that a good number of people are extremely negative about this city, do little to change what they don't like, and feel the need to broadcast their opinion to anyone who will listen. I've seen such attitudes on this forum as well as at a couple of bars. People tend to stay away from these folks because of the "bad vibes," thus compounding the complaining, unfortunately.

[kdobie73]

I'm a native Texan (Killeen), but living in San Diego, and planning to move to SA next year. I'm really torn with whether or not to return to San Diego after I finish graduate school. IT'S WONDERFUL!!! The people are so friendly, there's so much to do, and the weather is absolutely amazing. The problem is, the thought of paying $450,000 for a 1,500 sq ft house is making my head ache.

Come on ex-So Cal folks... Is it really that bad? Serious question.

[hello13685]

Hi kdobie73. I know, the cost of living in CA is what made me consider SA, so if that's all that matters to you, you should be ok. There are positives about SA that I have mentioned in past posts, but people only remember the negative ones because they like to complain about complainers, I guess.

Juneof48, one has to be reductionistic when giving general impressions of a place. It goes with the territory. As for UTSA, I will admit that the sexism is not nearly as bad as the blatant homophobia. I believe, however, that the homophobia exists primarily at the top level of the university. Several gay Music Department professors have been denied tenure (arguably unfairly). And in the Spring of 2004, two openly gay English professors were denied tenure as well. One of them was unanimously supported at both the department and college levels, and then was UNANIMOUSLY voted down at the university level (that means that the person who supported him at the college level bowed to pressure to vote him down later!!). Read this knowing that 95% of UTSA professors make tenure. This was so blatant that it all made local SA network news at the time, and was quite the scandal. UTSA's reputation locally (at least from the ear-full I've gotten from the Chicana lesbian community) is one of acute homophobia and discrimination. But hey, I'm just a complainer and should choose to look on the bright side.

So the firing of gay people, the sexism, and staff being required to use formal address are all institutionally sanctioned, and at complete odds with anything a Californian would be comfortable with. These kinds of things should go into your decision making as you prepare to leave CA, along with the cheap housing factor.

[Legallyblondemel]

Actual ex-Californian (San Diegan) here, who has lived in SA for 2 years & is moving to Austin . . .

I definitely do not regret moving to SA, but we've decided that it isn't the right city for our family long-term. Just my personal take on things, but I miss having the younger, more educated, more outdoorsy/fit population and the more cultural (innovative restaurants, music, art, etc.) opportunities in San Diego. Austin, while not a Dallas or Houston in some of those regards, seems a better match to San Diego on those fronts - still a small-city, suburban feel as compared to a Dallas, but still more of a regard for education & culture than I perceive to be in SA. Not to say SA doesn't have it, I just see less of an emphasis on that in SA than I do back home or in Austin.

This being said, I've met any number of friendly, wonderful people in SA, far more so than back home, and it very much seems like a family-friendly town.

Also in favor of SA: Yes, the cost-of-living difference between coastal CA and SA is as good as you've heard; it will take your breath away in a good way. On the other hand, the traffic in SA isn't as bad as rumor would have it (no LA or even San Diego-comparable trainwrecks) . . . there's definitely a need to update freeways and roads here, as compared to what we're used to seeing in most of urban California, but that process is underway in SA.

Again, just my two cents! Good luck in whatever you decide.

[KimK]

I moved from California to Texas and then out of Texas largely because of property taxes and nothing more. But, one thing I noticed is that I moved from my home state which was almost like a country with a very unique culture of its own to another state that was a different country for a brief historical period and has its own distinct culture. This wasn't like I would envision moving from Vermont to New Hampshire. Texas is a brawny country where you can bedamned with your environmental hand wringing and btw I will get you a little cheese to go with that whine if somebody looks at you cross-eyed. On the other hand, Californian is open and diverse and welcoming and stuck on its own image to the point where most of its people have become caracicures of themselves. There is no one in California who is not bent on "making it big" because you have to or you have no quality of life. So keeping up with the Joneses is life-its not a choice. I am not touting one over the other but I do find the difference very fascinating on many levels. Oh, yes, these are generalizations I have made here just to be clear. I just think that all these places have something to offer but you have to have a mindset that makes you able to accept what comes your way. To move to Texas with one foot stuck in the California exit door leaves you sitting on the fence.

[kdobie73]

I agree about the difference in culture. Hailing from TX and living on the eastcoast, it took me a long time to get used to seeing people riding to work in suits on skateboards, but I learned to embrace it with lots of time.

One of the things I love most about the part of San Diego that I live (Northern), is that I can walk pretty much anywhere I need to go. Everything is easily accessible (grocery, shopping, restaurants, salons, etc).. Are there areas like that in San Antonio?

[tops]

The older neighborhoods right around downtown are relatively good for walking. They definitely were deisgned that way in the past, but it's just until recently that good businesses started returning to those streets.

[Chakapu]

Originally Posted by hello13685

I agree to a certain extent, Chakapu, but when I go to work and the staff call the female Ph.D's (myself included) by their first names, whereas the males are always addressed as "Dr. _____," when we all share similar rank and education, something tells me that it's not all just about my bad attitude. Some things, like sexism, are embedded in the culture, and embraced.

interesting. My husband, a PhD with male and female PhD colleagues, goes by first names at work as does everyone on staff, including the most senior people (more of whom are men than not, but that's not unusual for his field anywhere in the world).

I'm also a PhD, but work in health. I'm only bothered by not being called "Dr" if the MD I work with is ;-). I haven't found gender and respect to be an issue with regards to my work. I do think there's a certain level of 'little lady' attitude, but have found that more in social situations - e.g., when the bartender at a work party tried to steer me towards fruity umbrella drinks when I prefered a dark beer. I do get it from contractors as well (working on by house), but I've found that to be true in every place I've ever lived, including CA, and they usually back off when I pick up a hammer.

I think finding your 'dream' man will never happen, because no one can live up to a dream.

On that note, however, we spend a lot of time with 4 other couples. Between 2002-2003 when I met 1/2 of each of these couples, we were all very single (and except for one, in our 30s). At this point 3 of us are married, one will be married next week and the 5th in a few months. Of the 10 people total, only 2 are native San Antonians. none of us would fit in with the TX stereotype that's indicated here. Not that marriage was a goal for any of us, it just happened...It's possible in SA to be single and have fun. The people I see complaining about it are the ones not willing to do anything to make their situation different. It's easier to blame it on the city than on one's self.

[Chakapu]

Originally Posted by tops

The older neighborhoods right around downtown are relatively good for walking. They definitely were deisgned that way in the past, but it's just until recently that good businesses started returning to those streets.

This is partly true. We walk everywhere, but there are very few sidewalks in some of these neighborhoods. People usually walk on the streets. We did get new sidewalks near our house recently, but everyone is still walking in the middle of the street!