Relocating to San Antonio from NJ (South Asians?) (Center: 2015, apartments)

[aptsearcher]

Hi everyone,

My family is thinking about relocating to San Antonio due to a job opportunity in USAA.
We currently live in NJ and love the diversity here but dislike the cost of living. We are of Pakistani/South Asian background and want to know if there is a south Asian community in and around San Antonio. I made a quick search on the forum but couldn't find anything about South Asians and Pakistani's in SA.

We have three little kids (a Preschooler, a toddler and an 8 month old) so schools are one of our top priorities when looking for a house. Our budget will be around 300k and we ideally want a 4 bedroom, single family house in a nice, friendly and family oriented suburb.

I would love to get suggestions on good suburbs for young families and, if there are any Pakistani/Indian/South Asian communities in and around San Antonio.

Thanks a bunch

[CyVaquero]

There is a decent sized South Asian presence in SA largely due to the medical and IT presences. That said, there is no where near the size of South Asian communities you are probably used to in Jersey. I would say the commuiities are mostly concentrated near the Medical Center but I'll ask some of my co-workers if they know of any other areas (they live near Medical but our offices are also located near there) - I'll get back to you tomorrow. As chance would have it this is also near the USAA campus so that could work out for you as commute times to work become a priority (you'll get spoiled here with the times it takes to around the city outside of the morning/afternoon commute times - which still aren't bad compared to NYC/Philly/DC times).

[aptsearcher]

Originally Posted by CyVaquero

There is a decent sized South Asian presence in SA largely due to the medical and IT presences. That said, there is no where near the size of South Asian communities you are probably used to in Jersey. I would say the commuiities are mostly concentrated near the Medical Center but I'll ask some of my co-workers if they know of any other areas (they live near Medical but our offices are also located near there) - I'll get back to you tomorrow. As chance would have it this is also near the USAA campus so that could work out for you as commute times to work become a priority (you'll get spoiled here with the times it takes to around the city outside of the morning/afternoon commute times - which still aren't bad compared to NYC/Philly/DC times).

Thank you so much! Looking forward to your reply

We love diversity and understand that it might not be as diverse as NJ, which is totally ok. Right now we live in a town with a small Pakistani/South Asian community, so we're not too picky about moving to a larger South Asian community at all ... but at the same time we'd love to meet people of the same ethnic background as ours.

[smehra2016]

i am looking for apartments near medical center. Do let me know if you come across any good ones..

[ShadoAngel]

Racial dot map

If you zoom in on San Antonio, it looks like 'Asians' (and in the case of San Antonio, this is going to be predominately South Asians) are more common on the NW side of town, especially near the Medical Center and UTSA.

That said, Asians only make up about ~3% of the population of Bexar county. But 3% of almost 2 million is still tens of thousands of individuals. I have done work for many South Asians (again, mostly on the far North and Northwest sides) when I worked in the service industry several years ago and there used to be several student groups living in a few of the apartments in my complex on the far north side. As to the South Asian community as a whole, I couldn't tell you anything about how well they are networked, other than from than from the outside at least, there appears to be at least some demand for South Asian culture, given the number of restaurants, grocery stores, etc. popping up over the past decade or two.

The India Association of San Antonio might be able to help you out with more specific questions regarding the South Asian community in and around SA. I know the Texas Institute of Cultures puts on an annual Asian Festival, supported by many local groups and associations from south, southeast, and east Asia - those groups would also be a great resource for you in getting in touch with the local communities.

[CyVaquero]

Sorry it took me thing long to reply. I asked a couple of my South Asian co-workers (Indian, Iranian, Nepalese, etc.) and they all said pretty much the same thing. The only real concentration is on Huebner near USAA. That said, my one friend said that he would not live there as it can be kind of shady and that for the most part folks are pretty spread out throughout the city and they maintain cultural connections via community groups.