Moving to San Antonio- thinking about Schertz?? (New Braunfels, Alamo: apartment complex, rentals)

[kimmer468]

Hi all! My husband and I are moving to the San Antonio area in a couple months. He suggested Schertz as a possible location to live in. Can anyone tell me if it is a relatively safe area? Will we be able to find a nice apartment there? Does anyone have any suggestions for apartments there?

Also we are open for suggestions for areas to live in that are safe and somewhat nice (my husband's job is in the southern San Antonio area, and we've been told not to look there).

Thank you in advance!!

[LeilaBug]

Schertz is a long commute to the south side if you ask me. Especially with traffic. I live in Live Oak & love it, but its the other side of town from the South side too. IDK what other area. maybe 1604 & Potranco or 410 & Military. My cousin moved into a really nice neighborhood off 410 & Ray Ellison.
But yes Schertz is a nice area. Lots of growth going on.

[ashbeeigh]

//www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...etro-info.html

It will give you an idea of San Antonio and how things work a bit better. It really depends on where on the southside your husband will be working. If it's close to say 410/10 then Schertz wouldn't be bad at all, but if it's like 410 and Zarzamora Schertz would probably not be the best choice. Search areas by zipcode. City Data has a pretty accurate search and set of data on zip codes. The 410/Military area, though, is probably an area I would avoid safety wise (There are several threads discussing that zip of 78227).

[dihappy]

OMG, the traffic on 35 will make you crazy!!

Maybe somewhere on Military Drive, or closer to downtown?

[caliv0608]

I live in Converse and work on the south side of town. The commute is long and annoying, but I leave early enough that I often miss the worst of it. Schertz will add mileage and time to what I drive, but if that doesn't bother you at all, then yes Schertz is a nice place. Schools are decent, the neighborhoods are nice, and there have been a lot of improvements over the last few years. If you're looking to buy, the town is gaining in popularity, so housing costs are going up a little but still excellent compared to Stone Oak, Alamo Heights, and some of the other desirable areas.

There are a couple of apartment complexes there. A friend of mine lived at Waterford and she said they were nice, but expensive. I don't know if you have kids but ABCD Pediatrics is a wonderful clinic, and the Schertz Library, park, and YMCA are very nice. A lot of the housing is pretty old, as the town definitely has a "local" population that's been there a long time with the newer areas just built around them. I have not found many rentals partly because it's so close to Randolph AFB, rentals go quick.

If you want to live in a nice area that's a little closer to the south side, Westover Hills, Alamo Ranch and Helotes are nice, but Helotes is pretty far as well. I've heard Alamo Ranch has some petty crime, but I don't know specifics. Outside of 1604 on the west side has some nice areas, but not many apartments. Depending on your budget, there are quite a few rental houses, though. Another popular area is between Marbach and Potranco. There is bad traffic, but to be honest until you get to know the back roads, you'll have to deal with traffic no matter which part of town you move to. The only way to avoid it is to live as close to work as possible but you definitely don't want to move to the southside.

[fritos56]

There is an apartment complex by Schertz Parkway and the IH35 Access road and also one on FM3009 by Fm78. Not sure of the prices as far as that goes.A co-worker takes his kids to ABCD Pediatrics and also thinks they are wonderful. We have a city pool and a big park.There is also a big library and the YMCA. As Caliv0608 says the schools are good,,and we are building a new elementary which should open next year. We have Walmart and H.E.B.Grocery store.H.E.B. is turning it into a Plus store which is their version of Walmart so to speak. There are various youth groups like soccer etc. Various churches here and Good Shepherd the catholic church I go to is looking to build a new one. You are near the Forum Shopping Center with Home Depot,,Target,red Robin TJMAXX etc. It's only about 12 miles or so to New Braunfels where you can go to Schlitterbahn which is voted one of the best water parks in the country. Haven't seen too many rentals in the old part of town where I live. You might check Zillow or Trulia or Randolph Realtors as far as home prices go.Randolph is local and my parents bought their home from them in 1978. The suggestions for places closer to that part of town hubby would work in is good.Yeah south side isn't that great.

[fritos56]

Forgot to mention that there is a Lowe's in Schertz. lots of local mom and pop places to eat as well as chains.The movie theatre is in Live Oak which is not far its the Regal Cinemas Live Oak 18. Some co-workers also like the Creekside Theatre in New Braunfels which also has plenty of shopping .There is also an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema there. If you are into crafts the Forum has Hobby Lobby and Michaels.New Braunfels also has JoAnn Fabric and Crafts as well as Hobby Lobby.

[ShadoAngel]

OP, Where exactly is your husband going to commute to? That's going to matter a lot when deciding where to live in the greater San Antonio area. San Antonio is a huge (geographically speaking) city and commute times, even with no traffic, can be long if you live on the opposite side of town.

I grew up in Schertz. My folks still live there and my brother and his family have lived in several apartment complexes in the Schertz area. It's very nice out there, but very typically suburban. Safe, tons of typical subdivisions, and chain restaurants. Plenty of shopping. My mom rarely leaves the Schertz area anymore unless meeting someone in San Antonio for some reason, as almost everything can be found in Schertz or the Forum.

The thing is, I would *never* chose to live in Schertz if I commuted to the south side of San Antonio. And for most of my life I've been making 30-45 minute commutes. Unless you live right on I-35 or in one of the first subdivisions off the interstate, it can takes 10-15 minutes just to get on 35 during rush hour. Once you're on 35, it could easily take more than half an hour to get through San Antonio to where ever he's going. My folks live not too far from 35 and Google Maps says it would take half an hour to get to the south side - at 10:00 at night. It wouldn't surprise me if it was over an hour during the morning/evening commutes.

The best thing to do would be to test drive it one day (not in the summer, but while school is in session) and see how everyone handles it.

If all you're looking for is safe, you can find safer communities that are little bit older but closer to the city that probably have faster commute times. Or if you were open to a bit more rural living, a lot of San Antonio south of 410 is pretty safe and would be close to work and not too far to get into the city for concerts, games, dining, etc.

[ashbeeigh]

OP posted once and never came back.

[kimmer468]

Thank you everyone for your replies and input! They've been very helpful!
Doing a test run is a great idea ShadoAngel! I think we'll have to do that soon.
We have a few months before we move so we can do the homework.
Thank you all, we appreciate it!!