Any Opinions On Retiring in Fredricksburg? (San Antonio, Austin: real estate, to rent, homes)

[rodtod11]

I havent been there, only read about it online. I plan to visit, but I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on Fredricksburg?

[Texas Ag 93]

Fredericksburg is my favorite town in my favorite part of the State. It might be one of my favorite places on earth thanks to a lot of wonderful memories I've made there.

It's the largest of the Hill Country towns (what I think of as the Hill Country, anyway), but it's still a sleepy, small town. Seems like the sidewalks roll up after dark. Weekends during nice weather are crowded with people on the Main Street shopping. Has a good sized HEB, a hospital, several decent restaurants, and a host of tourist traps as you might expect. Enchanted Rock is nearby and offers great hiking, as does Perdenales Falls, which is not too far away.

In terms of housing, I have no idea what the inventory is like, but would think good options for full time residents are highly sought after.

[ChristieP]

Real estate there is very expensive. Anything cute and historic gets snapped up to rent out. All that's left are the fixer uppers and expensive homes. The town's economy is based on tourism, so there are a lot of retirees and few workers.

[rodtod11]

I would be there for retirement. What about cities nearby?

[ImOnFiya]

Austin would be an hour fifteen minutes (1:15). San Antonio 2:15. San Angelo probably 50 minutes.

[spursfan]

Originally Posted by ImOnFiya

Austin would be an hour fifteen minutes (1:15). San Antonio 2:15. San Angelo probably 50 minutes.

Looks like you switched San Angelo and San Antonio.

[Trainwreck20]

My folks retired out there some 20 years ago, bought a little 'ranchette' (25 acres) and raised sheep and trained herding dogs. They were about 15 miles north of FB, which kept the price reasonable and they had an ag. exemption on most of the acreage (23 of the 25) plus age exemptions to keep taxes down. As my dads health declined, they moved in closer to town onto about 3 acres and kept a handful of sheep and a couple of dogs. After my dad passed away, my mom moved into a '50+' community on the east end of town. Prices are somewhat high per sq ft., but manageable, and very easy to live as a retiree there.

Medical care is excellent for a town that size, it is a cottage industry with the number of middle class (and above) retirees moving out there. Kerrville is fairly close for serious medical care that can't be handled in-town. Restaurants are limited compared to a big town, and the good ones are expensive. Traffic is bad on the weekends (in town), but almost non-existent during the week. It is also more than just a tourist town (although that is big) - ranching, hunting, and the wine industry support quite a few workers. All-in-all, they had an excellent experience as retirees there.

[rodtod11]

I like the idea of 50+ neighborhood. I live in one here. If we make the move that's one thing I want to find. There are a lot of advantages.

[Joejoeskitten]

Here is the opinion:

Don't eat BBQ too late
Make sure to visit enchanted rock often
Ensure that the locals know you're local to get a discount
The Xmas fest is awesome
It gets very cold
It snows and ices
Don't eat the spicy map peppers from Hondo's unless you can take huge heat
Don't speed, cops
The allergies are hnorrid
Crafts!!!!!

[joqua]

Originally Posted by spursfan

Looks like you switched San Angelo and San Antonio.

Not only that, San Antonio is accessed mostly via IH-10 from the Comfort intersection with US-87 which makes it just over an hour drive according to Google Maps. San Angelo and Austin are both accessed via slower hiways.

If I were looking to retire in that region, the Canyon Lake area would be my first choice, with it's positioning providing fairly easy access to other popular places such as Fredericksburg, New Braunels/Gruen, Kerrville, San Marcos, and of course, San Antonio.