What do you think of Schertz Cibolo area?? (San Antonio, Austin: insurance, crime)

[motown mary]

What is the general perception of this area? Are there a lot of trees? Great schools? Access to shopping (how far to Quarry Mall, etc.) Be honest, is this considered a good area? Up & coming? How is crime there? Would it be an awful commute to USAA? There is a new neighborhood there that looked nice. Charleston Parke or something like that???
We have one preschooler & two younger, looking for good, safe neighborhood.
I have been trolling these boards looking for input on our upcoming relocation & want to get all the inside info.

[joe123456]

Originally Posted by motown mary

What is the general perception of this area? Are there a lot of trees? Great schools? Access to shopping (how far to Quarry Mall, etc.) Be honest, is this considered a good area? Up & coming? How is crime there? Would it be an awful commute to USAA? There is a new neighborhood there that looked nice. Charleston Parke or something like that???
We have one preschooler & two younger, looking for good, safe neighborhood.
I have been trolling these boards looking for input on our upcoming relocation & want to get all the inside info.

I am having a home built in Cibolo right now. I haven't heard of anything negative about Cibolo/Schertz. In fact when I called USAA to get an auto quote for the area I was told by the USAA insurance rep that her cubicle buddy just purchased a house there. Cibolo is a nice small town 5 square miles with good schools and lower taxes (Guadalupe County).

Wherever you purchase just make sure you get an idea of what flood zone it is in. USAA flood insurance dept told me that the home I am building is in flood zone C (low threat), and that the flood maps were not changing soon. There are some high risk flood zone areas in Cibolo, Schertz and throughout the San Antonio region.

The past year San Antonio got hammered with rain, and there was a lot of flooding in certain areas.

Back to your questions...trees? I don't have any in my subdivision Springtree. It was built on farm land. I also don't want trees next to my home. There is expansive clay. Therefore vegetation next the home has to be kept at least 10 feet away. There is expansive clay soil throughout Texas. Although, there are some areas in Stone Oak and the hill country where the homes are built on solid rock.

Crime - Low.

Shopping - Costco, Superwalmart, Rolling Oaks Mall, Lowes under construction, HomeDepot, The Forum. Everthing is very close.

Small School District - only two High Schools.

Up and comming area? Schertz ranked as one of the top small cities in America. Commuter rail on the way Austin to San Antonio.

What do you get for the money? 205K bought me a 3266sf, Energy Star rated, 5 bedroom, 3 full bathrooms, culdesac, 65x120 lot, 700sf of tile, 10x14 covered patio, 9ft 1st floor ceilings, ALL BRICK Exterior to include second floor, raised maple cabinets 42" with modling, and all faucets and lighting fixtures upgraded. Elementary school and to be built middle school .50 miles away.

Although, 205K is turning more into more like 220K. Top of the line fleck water softener to be installed 1K, interior paint to suite our tastes 500, belt driven garage door opener 350, HVAC Zoning 1500, home inspector cost $1500, crown molding, ceiling medallions, ceiling fans, GE profile appliances, Silestone counters etc. It adds up quick. I could have got most of these upgrades through the builder, but it would cost considerably more. Other than the kitchen cabinets, water faucets, and light fixtures I put most of my 30K in upgrades into the structure of the home.

Commute? I don't know. My commute from Cibolo to work is only going to be 6 miles.

Hope this is helpful.

[hamjeepr]

I replied in your other post but will elaborate here. We moved into the Northcliffe subdivision. It is a golf course community and the price of the house was great. It is not uncommon to see families out walking in the evening without concern. We have sidewalks in most areas but the traffic is not fast or reckless so walking on the street is ok also. Schertz is beginning a program of updating and improving its city parks and many have pools where daily admission is under a buck.

It is very easy to hop up on I-35 and get into SA or go north to New Braunfels or San Marcos. New Braunfels has wading and floating on the Guadalupe River as well as Landa Park which is perfect for young children. Just south of San Marcos is the largest outlet mall complex I have ever seen. It includes both Prime Outlets and Tanger Outlets. Loop 1604 is just south and is usually a quick run over to Six Flags and Sea World for the kids providing both amusement type fun as well as water parks to beat the summer heat.

I hope this helps.