Allergies in San Antonio? (Houston, Austin: new home, buy, living in)

[singingnettle]

Hello...I want to relocate from Seattle to someplace warmer. We considered Austin but have heard that allergies there are terrible. My husband has asthma, so this is a concern. I see that San Antonio is actually rated as having more spring allergies than Austin, but I don't seem to hear people complaining about them as bitterly. How do you find allergy problems in San Antonio?

Any other recommendations you have are welcome. We are looking for a place that is warm in the winter but not totally unbearable in summer (or at least has air conditioning), where we can buy a 3bdrm house for under $350K, and where two liberal hippy types with pretty strong community values will be able to make friends.

Thank you!

[neddy]

Well SA is allergy central it seems to me. DH has asthma and is allergic to everything that the allergist test for but with his rhinocort,singular that seems to have everything under control. Ds1 has asthma also and he is the same way but he takes 5 or 6 meds a day. There is no down time for him, every season is always something and he is also iga def so he gets everything also. Son2 and I are just fine. Everyone I know takes something at sometime of the year but its not a big deal here we are all just used to it. $350 will get ya about 3000 sf plus with a/c in the house so I would not worry about that. Come down and take a look. We have some other friends from that area and said it was nice to go back and visit but they missed all the sun that we have!

[singingnettle]

Thanks for the respone, Neddy!

[bb5745]

Originally Posted by singingnettle

Hello...I want to relocate from Seattle to someplace warmer. We considered Austin but have heard that allergies there are terrible. My husband has asthma, so this is a concern. I see that San Antonio is actually rated as having more spring allergies than Austin, but I don't seem to hear people complaining about them as bitterly. How do you find allergy problems in San Antonio?

Any other recommendations you have are welcome. We are looking for a place that is warm in the winter but not totally unbearable in summer (or at least has air conditioning), where we can buy a 3bdrm house for under $350K, and where two liberal hippy types with pretty strong community values will be able to make friends.

Thank you!

I lived in Austin area for 7 years and being there did aggravate my allergies and asthma. I visited San Antonio and the hill country areas many times during that time and it wasn't any better - it was bad everywhere, so I don't think you should choose your relocation entirely based on the allergy conditions. I took dimetap/benadryl for many years and got tired of being tired all the time from the medicine. I then found a friend who practiced homeopathy, and gave me a 'remedy' and it worked great! NO side-effects and my allergies were non-existent. I took several doses of these little sugar pellets over a couple years, and it's probably been 4 years, since I've taken ANYTHING for allergies. Being 'hippy types' you should check this stuff out.

Back to the relocation thing, Austin and San Antonio are very nice areas, but summers get VERY HOT. Winter are very nice and mild. Maybe once or twice while living in Austin I remember getting an inch of snow, but of course it melted in 6 hours. Otherwise lows in the 40's and 50's and some nice winter days in the 70's. My perception is that Austin is the more liberal of the two towns, but both are very nice towns. Of course I'm biased towards Austin, and had more time to explore it than SA, but I think there's more to do recreationally, more nice people/communities/and more chances to see a wide variety of music and great LOCAL eateries. You might also want to consider either South Padre Island or Corpus Christi. Even though South Padre is 350 miles SOUTH of Austin summers are actually cooler due to the prevailing breeze off the gulf of Mexico, which makes summers very nice (For example, according to Yahoo weather today: high in Austin: 100; South Padre Island: 90). And, because it is so much farther south, winters are even more mild - it rarely gets down to 55 in the winter, and that's when there's a cold front. Then in two days after the front blows through, it will be back in the 70's again. Nice small community with nice locals who live on the island year-round; however the two biggest cons are that it's an island that revolves entirely around tourism, and it's very isolated as the nearest 'city' is San Antonio, which is 300 miles away.

[omanyasha]

Please forgive a tangential question:
I moved to Austin a few years ago, and I like it here, but I've never had allergies before, and now my whole family is suffering from them. I have been looking for a homeopath or homeopathic remedy to address this. Would you mind sharing your friend's practice info or the name of the remedy? Was the remedy generic for Austin hay fever allergies, or hand-picked specifically for you?

An Allergenic Austinite

[Cathy4017]

I see that San Antonio is actually rated as having more spring allergies than Austin, but I don't seem to hear people complaining about them as bitterly. How do you find allergy problems in San Antonio?

I have relatives in Austin...and had friends in San Antonio--and both areas are very hard on my allergies, though I do not have asthma.

You also have to remember that Texas gets allergens from both coasts because of its south-central location in the US. That means spring, summer and fall.

I still have relatives and friends in Austin, some with severe asthma...and it's very difficult at times for them. I stay out of the area other than in the dead of winter. I would not recommend Austin, San Antonio or any of central Texas for someone who has severe allergies--and especially potentially life-threatening asthma.

I live in West Texas...my allergies rarely ever bother me here....but it is also dang near unbearably hot in the summer...and I'm a native who grew up with same.

[hello13685]

Hello there,

I moved here two and a half years ago from the west coast. In general, people here are extremely nice and welcoming, but not at all liberal in general (there are of course exceptions, but the overall vibe is very conservative). I never had any allergies before moving here, and only had a few days of problems this past spring, but I've heard these things take time to develop. Finally, the weather in SA is my absolute favorite thing about this place. I LOVE the relative humidity and balmy, breezy, sultry nights. You can actually sit out on the patio and enjoy a glass of wine at 11:00 p.m. and feel a nice breeze flowing through your shirt. In California, you need a sweatshirt in July ten minutes after sunset. I've never ever been too hot here, but I like warm weather.

[MichelleSG]

We just moved here and yes, there are allergens here. My husband has asthma, I have allergies and when it rains here something blooms and we need our Zyrtec. I hear people have problems with the cedar especially. I have lived in Maryland though and my allergies were so bad there I needed a rescue inhaler. The only place I don't have problems is in San Diego where we're from. Downside, there's nothing under $350k unless you're looking for a shed and it doesn't include the land it's sitting on. If you want someplace allergy free pick someplace with out trees and greenery. San Antonio is hill counry, it is covered in trees. Maryland, again, covered in trees, horrible allergies. West Texas, desert, no trees, probably not so bad for allergies, pretty darn hot though. As for liberal I've heard Austin is more liberal but I've had no problems being a liberal so cal native here in San Antonio. Heck our animal doctor is even a homepathic accupuncture using, herb prescribing, chiropractic vet from Oklahoma. If I can find her office 10 minutes from my house in San Antonio I figure I'm good on the liberal front! Oh and the upside, many of the new homes in San Antonio have incredible a/c and sir filtration systems. You can't open your doors and window without having allergy problems but the air in your house is seriously filtered.

[CATRN]

Check out www.onlineallergycenter.com
Russell Roby, M.D.
Roby Institute, Austin and San Antonio

Also:
www.drhotze.com (broken link)
Dr. Steven Hotze, M.D.
Former President of the Pan American Allergy Society and Founder of the American Academy of Biologically Identical Hormone Therapy.
Hotze Health & Wellness Center, Houston

I am an RN and either one of these M.D.'s, in my opinion understand and know how to treat allergies. Also, for any women who are considering the traditional therapies/medications prescribed for hormonal imbalances related to infertility, peri-menopause, menopause and many other conditions that cause hormonal imbalances, I encourage you to consider exploring the options offered by either one of these M.D.'s before making a decision.

[googie2525]

Allergies here are the worst, terrible, terrible, terrible. I pop Claritons like candies...Liberal hippies in San Antonio? Well, SA is a very conservative town, Austin is far more suited for liberal hippie types (me being left-leaning, I feel pretty isolated here). On that note though, there are a few areas I'd recommend in San Antonio for hippies. "River Road," is number one, a small enclave of very serious hippiedom, very artsy and still very obscure/off-the-radar. Houses well under 350K. Next would be "Manhke Park," nice urban area, still semi-seedy though, but definately up-and-coming (as are the prices, ugh, but still well under 350k). That's where most of my "hippie" friends seem to live...before they move off to Austin that is. We also have the "King William" area, pretty pricey for dumpy pads. Anything less than 350K is a nightmare in my opinion. That's pretty much where every single artist in San Antonio seems to live...Too bad San Francisco is so dang expensive, that's where I'd recommend you.