Need help deciding:Austin, San Antonio or somewhere in between (New Braunfels: homes, property)

[adtobias]

boerne or bulverde

[paragon]

I was basing my 175k on a search of realtor.com as well as a third party realtor website.(of homes in and around san antonio)
Both showed a large number of 4 bed 2 bath homes in the 140s and 150s, and that is where my numbers came from.
The more I look toward New Braunfels, the better it seems to fit. It certainly appears to offer a commutable distance to both cities without the problems associated with any city.
In general, does Comal County have a problem with home based businesses?

[NOTAM]

i like BLANCO...if i were to live in the greater San Antonio area

[michelangelosa]

San Antonio has the highest salary for teachers. The average starting salary is 42,000 for a teacher.

San Antonio does have tech jobs and a strong tech sector that continues to grow. However the largest industries in San Antonio are health care and bioscince, finance, military, tourism and manufacturing. However, if you are planning on working from home, you should be fine.

Actually, the ideal location for you would be the Schertz/Cibolo area in far northeast San Antonio. Schertz has been ranked as one of the best places to live in Texas and both and Cibolo is home to many entrepreneurs and home based workers. The Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District is one of the best in the SA metro area.

Give this Cibolo article a read:

"Cibolo Growth Boom" by Creighton A.*Welch - Main Page - Cibolo Planning, Development, & Community Information

Some quotes from said article:

Cibolo ‘s property taxes are also less than San Antonio’s, at 32 cents per $100 versus 58 cents per $100.

Stacey Lisius is an agent with Realty Executives who lives and works in Cibolo. When she started selling real estate in the Cibolo area three years ago, the starting home price was about $110,000. Now it’s in the $160,000s.

Like many growing areas around San Antonio, Cibolo has an expanding school system. The city has three new elementary schools going up and a 2-year-old high school.

But who are these people moving into a town that has sprouted much like the crops that grew there before it?

“Many in our community are recent military retirees in a second career or are entrepreneurs,” said Nancy McBeth, the city’s assistant city manager. “Cibolo has a higher-than-average level of people working from their home, for a corporation, business or for themselves.”

[michelangelosa]

Homes in Cibolo.



All homes 175,000 or less.

[hamjeepr]

Ok. If Cibolo is going to be pushed so hard. Lets keep Schertz in mind, after all, CNNMoney did rank it #1 in best places to live in Texas and #40 in the nation. Not only that, but you can live in Schertz and still be in Comal ISD schools which rank higher than schools in Cibolo/Schertz/Universal City ISD. Take a look at Northcliff/Scenic Hills area which is right off I-35 just north of 1103. It is a golf course community where the houses still have a decent sized lot and the prices are not out of control (Should easily be able to find the 4br/2ba for $175).

The only problem you may have in either Schertz or Cibolo is that most of these communities have restrictions that will prevent you from running a home based business.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schertz,_Texas
http://schoolperformancemaps.com/tx/

[hamjeepr]

If you stay away from the metro areas (Bexar County - SA, Travis/Williamson Counties-Austin) your property taxes will be lower. I pay property tax to Comal County and City of Schertz (In Northcliff). With my homestead exemption in place, I pay approx $2000 a year.

Being away from the cities also will benefit your home owners and car insurance.

[paragon]

My plan for myself is two fold: I plan to operate a business nights weekends and work a 9 to 5 tech job as well.
I'm less concerned with my own commute time as I am that my wife can have a reasonable chance to get a job. Pay is obviously important, but if here making a few thousand less is necessary for better job security, I have no problem working harder to make up the difference.
I looked at the homes listed in the post above. As a frame of reference, one or two of them would be below 325k to 350k here, and before the reassessment that is coming through town by town(its started in several already) taxes would be atleast 10k to 12 a year, and jump around 30% to 50% after reassessment. That's in addition to the 15% yearly increase they get already.
Add to that the highest car insurance in the nation and largely endless gridlock, especially as you head toward the center and northern parts of the state and you can see why I'm more than ready to leave.

[hamjeepr]

First, I'm not a realtor, just a believer that my neighborhood is one of the best in the SA area.

Here's an example of Schertz. Down the street from me is a 3195 sq ft, 10yo 2-story 4-2.5 that is for sale. It is brick face w/siding on the other 3 and a 2 car garage. And it sits on a 75' x 120' lot. The asking price is $183,900 and the taxes with homestead exemption are $2365 ($3064 w no exemptions). The MLS is 695076. Here is the link.

MySA.com: San Antonio real estate, new and resale home listings, MLS listings, and apartments l MySA.com Real Estate Online

Also, I work for a company in Florida and base from a home office. As long as your home based operation isn't obvious, you won't be bothered. However, if you plan on having a trailer out front, pulling equipment out on the driveway everyday, or anything else that brings attention it probably won't work.

[hound 109]

My 3 cents.

Home based businesses wouldn't be a problem in any of the areas mentioned. (but agree with hamjeepr - no trailer out front or a sign in the yard.)

Regarding NB vrs. S/C:

New Braunfels is an old historic town (& county seat) whose outskirts are admittedly being paved over (but is a very cool town)..... where as Shertz/Cibolo (5-8 miles down the road) is more of a cluster/collection of subdivisions (i know they were "towns", but blink & you would've miss them) .

They're both nice & represent a good home value for the quality of life (& i think both would meet your criteria). Me...I'd rather live in NB (& did) than Shertz/Cibolo, but I know some prefer suburbia & new strip mall newness over old town quaintness.

Someone else mentioned Bulverde & Boerne. Bulverde is really nice but has alot of McRanches being built & i doubt 175K will get you much. Boerne also is very nice, but same problem.

Another place to consider is near Canyon Lake. Funky older homes (in the 100-200K range) mixed in with newly built McMansions 400K & up....with views of the hills & the lake. I don't like it because there's no "there" there. But some love it out there.

Also check out Seguin. (a further drive, but a neat town.)

Good luck on your search.