Relocating to San Antonio Area in September (Austin, Edinburg: mortgage broker, brokers)

[the_scotsman]

Hi Everyone

My wife has just accepted a transfer within her company to work at their Schertz location, so we will be looking at moving from KY to one of the neighborhoods around Schertz. So far we have shortlisted this down to either Schertz itself, with other options being Universal City, Cibolo or New Braunfels.

We have School age children and all of these areas seem to have extremely good school systems.

Can anyone offer any personal references for good Realtors, Mortgage Brokers etc., that would be helpful for us to contact to assist us in our relocation experience.

[BoerneMan]

These are all great communities, but I would lean toward New Braunfels. Very nice town with two rivers, fun festivals, German heritage, a very nice children's museum for a town its size and many recreational opportunities. It's near both San Antonio and Austin, which gives you great access to many different things. I'm not a big fan of I-35, but your wife wouldn't have to drive a very long stretch of it.

I'm assuming your wife works for Amazon - welcome to Texas!

[the_scotsman]

Thanks for the information.

We definitely like the sound of New Braunfels as this was also recommended by some of my fellow employees working out of the San Antonio office in my company.

[Labamigo]

I'd recommend living in Schertz and driving to New Braunfels on the half a dozen occasions a year when you will want to go. Stay off I 35 as much as you possibly can.

[the_scotsman]

So just how bad is I-35.

Several of these posts say the same thing "Stay off I-35". Is this just a really bad road or just congested during the rush hour peak times (what are the rush hour peak times).

What effect does it have on a commute between New Braunfels and Schertz considering it's only for an 11mile stretch.

To give you an example of the commutes we are used to, my wife currently has an hour commute to work (30mile one way trip) and I commute nearly 2hrs (80mile one-way trip), so cutting the commute to 20miles one way seems like a way commute to what we are used to.

Luckily I will be working from home no matter where we live so I am very happy with my commute change!!

[samvp]

It's a heavy congested road, esp between San Antonio and New Braunfels.

[CoachBForThree]

Schertz and New Braunfels are both nice, but have some distinct differences. New Braunfels is very much its own insulated little town, while Schertz feels more like part of the sprawling San Antonio area. The area around Schertz has blown up in the last 4 or so years -- lots of development.

That's not to say one is better than the other -- if you prefer to be closer to more things to do, Schertz may be best, but if you prefer a small town feel, New Braunfels may be best.

I agree with everyone else re: I-35. It's as bad as it gets around here... very congested, especially during rush hour, but even during off-peak times you'll run into some problems. That being said, it doesn't sound worse than what you're used to... it's probably even a little better. So maybe it wouldn't be a big deal to you. For what it's worth, a good way to tell who's from the area is someone who thinks the traffic jams around here are bad. SA's traffic jams are about as mild as you'll ever find in a big city.

[BoerneMan]

I wouldn't be overly concerned about traffic congestion based on what you are currently experiencing in Kentucky. As another poster said, New Braunsfels is its own town and has a great feel and history. Schertz is nice, but full of sprawling cookie cutter developments and chain restaurants.

Visit New Braunfels and take your wife to a nice dinner at Myron's and also go to Gruene (pronounced "Green") to the Grist Mill and to enjoy some Texas music at Gruene Hall. It's a very nice town and simply can't be compared to the other areas you mentioned. Additionally, the other areas you mentioned are very solidly middle income communities, while New Braunfels has a great mix of middle income to high income areas. It's just more diverse, which speaks to the attractiveness of the community to a wide range of people.

[Slowpoke_TX]

Originally Posted by the_scotsman

So just how bad is I-35.

Bad enough to warrant learning how to use FM 78, as a detour, and also FM 2252 / FM 472.

[the_scotsman]

Thanks for all your responses.

The commute traffic doesn't really have me all that concerned (not that I will be the one driving in it daily ), especially as there are always alternative routes one can find if you don't want to be stuck in traffic.

New Braunfels does sound like the kind of place we would prefer living in. At the moment we live in a very rural area (to imagine how rural, just picture an area where all the closest neighbors are Amish Farms) and we enjoy the more rural lifestyle.... we just want somewhere that still has the small town feel but is within close proximity to good amenities (the nearest major outlet stores such as Walmart, Walgreens etc are a 45min drive) which we really miss where we are now.

We have both lived in large Cities in the past ( I have lived in Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland and London in the UK) and while it was fun when I was younger now that I have turned 40 with a family I find that it no longer holds the appeal and that's why we are not looking at living in San Antonio itself.