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The one thing that really bothers me about SA is the military driven community (either you are or your not and wait to be asked why you aren't military when you say you aren't) and the hospitality centered-ness of the city
I am a lot like ashbeeigh. I lived in San Antonio for 15 years and finally got a job in Austin now. The military culture of San Antonio was a very severe situation, even in my teaching job there in San Antonio had a military lock-march culture with bullying and harassment for those who couldn't march in line. The public transportation in San Antonio is so bad that many of my blind clients in Austin tell me that the VIA was the driving force in them moving to Austin where CapMetro is great. Making friends though is not my top priority right now because my new job takes me up 24/7.
I am a lot like ashbeeigh. I lived in San Antonio for 15 years and finally got a job in Austin now. The military culture of San Antonio was a very severe situation, even in my teaching job there in San Antonio had a military lock-march culture with bullying and harassment for those who couldn't march in line. The public transportation in San Antonio is so bad that many of my blind clients in Austin tell me that the VIA was the driving force in them moving to Austin where CapMetro is great. Making friends though is not my top priority right now because my new job takes me up 24/7.
Neither city is in the top 25 for public transit.... we simply do not do well in that in area yet...
Depends on how you define top 25 in public transit. When my blind clients and I look at public transit we look for things that may not be what everyone else is looking for and VIA was not meeting our needs.
I am a lot like ashbeeigh. I lived in San Antonio for 15 years and finally got a job in Austin now. The military culture of San Antonio was a very severe situation, even in my teaching job there in San Antonio had a military lock-march culture with bullying and harassment for those who couldn't march in line. The public transportation in San Antonio is so bad that many of my blind clients in Austin tell me that the VIA was the driving force in them moving to Austin where CapMetro is great. Making friends though is not my top priority right now because my new job takes me up 24/7.
I've heard A COUPLE people say this on this forum on more than one occasion. But, just a couple. One of them I trust for their balanced perspective. My response: Where in this city are you confronted by an overwhelming military culture? I'm sure the bases are like that, as is USAA. But where else? I've never seen it myself, except for the noticeable minority of military or veteran students at UTSA, the great majority of whom are great, and most of whom, in my experience, are quite liberal. So where do you see it? That's an honest question. It reminds me of the people on here who claim that every single person they meet in SA asks them what church they frequent. In eight years, I've never been asked that question. I think many people here live in specific little spaces and don't have a true feel for the majority of the city and its residents.
That....and many tend to LOOK for a reason to be offended, it would appear. Want to know what church I attend? Maybe because they're looking for a new one themselves, and trust my own judgement - that's a compliment. Military influence, "lock step"? Maybe because some folks prefer structure rather than an anarchist environment, or one in which there's no rules, no right and wrong - just do whatever you want, and to h*** with everyone else. Sorry.....I still hold doors for the elderly and ladies, still say "m'am" and "sir" - still defer to mothers with small children in tow. So (in my experience) does a vast majority of SA natives and those that have been there a while. If that bothers or somehow offends you......meh.
Like others, I'm SO over the "this or that is wrong, SOMEONE ELSE fix it!" mentality. We didn't like the political/financial direction of SA, so yeah - we moved. Still love the city and the people in it - when they have a party, they PARTY - it's NOT a prelude to a riot. In most areas, a smile will be returned, a small kindness repaid 100-fold. Our family goes back almost 200 years in the SA area - so we have a long-term appreciation for what it is, has been, and can be. Like any other family, it ain't perfect, and we have our black sheep we'd rather not talk about - but cut one of us, don't be surprised if the rest of us jump on you!
I now return you to the usual whiners, cryers and complainers.........you KNOW who you are!
San Antonio is just like any other major city. There are some pockets of good, and some pockets of bad. People need to stop dreaming "romantic" ideals of what a city can do as far as providing fulfillment in their everyday life. Yes, there are farmer's markets, coffee culture opportunities, and public transportation options in SA. Are any of these perfect, offering the best of the best in an amazing way? Absolutely not! Can you find a one bedroom place for about $650? Probably. Will it be in an ideal location with all the amenities of "hipsterness" one can imagine? Probably not.
Forgive my cynical viewpoint.... maybe it's age (I am over 40!), but a city is what you make of it. I've moved around a bit in my life (California, Florida, and International), but have come to realize that no place is perfect.... you get out of an experience what you put in to it. Sounds like the OP is young and looking for his/her piece of paradise. They might find it in SA, but I have a hunch that being disillusioned in one location, won't necessarily change in a different one.
I have never been asked what church I go to and I have been here for a long time. The only city where people tried to get me to go to church was when I lived in Waco for two years. That city is seriously more bible belt than San Antonio.
The one thing that the "whiners and complainers" that I somewhat agree on is the military aspect. A lot of people here are VERY sensitive about that.
As a civilian who works with several ex-military employees, my opinion is that they are not always the best employees and can be too rigid to adapt to the civilian workplace. Some of them seem to always expect some kind of standing ovation whenever they walk into the room as well and that gets old VERY QUICK.
.....I still hold doors for the elderly and ladies, still say "m'am" and "sir" - still defer to mothers with small children in tow. So (in my experience) does a vast majority of SA natives and those that have been there a while. If that bothers or somehow offends you......meh.
I do that too say ma am and sir, and I am also a mom with kids, so that attitude is fine with me, but that wasn't what I was referring to in the military culture of the city in San Antonio. It's really apparent in some of the school districts in the northern most San Antonio near the military bases like Camp Bullis. The rigidity and conformity in the schools there got to the point where central office would bully and harass teachers, therapists, etc if they were deemed "out of step" and the work environment was very march in step or you're going to get a note in your file. Also rules and regulations were military-rigid and we were always in fear of making a mistake to the point where we could hardly function. It's very different in Austin where we can think outside of the box without feeling fearful all the time.
I've heard A COUPLE people say this on this forum on more than one occasion. But, just a couple. One of them I trust for their balanced perspective. My response: Where in this city are you confronted by an overwhelming military culture? I'm sure the bases are like that, as is USAA. But where else? I've never seen it myself, except for the noticeable minority of military or veteran students at UTSA, the great majority of whom are great, and most of whom, in my experience, are quite liberal. So where do you see it? That's an honest question. It reminds me of the people on here who claim that every single person they meet in SA asks them what church they frequent. In eight years, I've never been asked that question. I think many people here live in specific little spaces and don't have a true feel for the majority of the city and its residents.
I agree with this believe it or not. I would go on to add that most of the places I worked or had experience with were more of a traditional corporate environment than a military culture... with the exception of USAA. I worked at USAA for a couple of years and they do have a military culture by design. I was also in the military for 5 years so I feel like I had the requisite experience to make this observation.
OP, you mentioned having lived in Phoenix, I think San Antonio's culture is similar in a lot of ways to Tucson, if you ever visited Tucson. Having spent time in Arizona, I think you will like the scenery and natural, rustic beauty of the San Antonio area... San Antonio being more lush and green than Arizona. You also won't have monsoons in the summer or dust storms so that's a bonus.
San Antonio is, in a lot of ways, a gray collar town. When I say that I mean, there are more jobs that are service level - requiring professionalism more than getting your hands dirty yet not so much on the high end technical or executive level. I don't say that for it to sound insulting. I just mean that the majority of the jobs in San Antonio are decent paying call center type jobs. These aren't blue collar, but they're not white collar either if that makes sense. Sure, there are high end tech jobs and plenty of executive positions here just like there are plenty of construction and skilled trade jobs. In my opinion, it just seems as though there are more low to mid level office jobs then there are highly skilled technical, executive or blue collar skilled trade.
You will have more than enough options available with regard to farmer's markets or healthy food grocery stores.
You will also find plenty of culture although not the same variety as you would expect to find in a city the size of San Antonio. The culture is predominantly Mexican but there are certainly other cultural identities around the area if you look for them.
Traffic is not so good but I don't think you can find any city with over 1 million residents that isn't complaining about their traffic. San Antonio is no where near as bad as Austin when it comes to traffic.
Public transit options aren't great as others have said but, services like uber and Lyft are good alternatives to taxis.
I think you will particularly enjoy the cost of living because I don't think you will have trouble finding a good place to live at that price point.
What I really liked about San Antonio when I lived there were the friends I made. That was the hardest part about leaving the city. There is a lot to do in San Antonio and for a city of its size, it still feels like a small town in a lot of ways. Compared to a lot of cities its size, San Antonio also always feels relatively safe to me. There weren't really any places in town where I would genuinely fear for my safety. Sure, like any big city, there are areas where you need to be on guard but not place I felt genuinely threatened.
San Antonio is on the upswing with several of the things I would consider detractors. There is work to do but the city seems to be moving in the right direction. There are plenty of threads out there that discuss those detractors.
If you liked Arizona and, in particular, if you ever visited Tucson and liked it, I would say you will love San Antonio even more because it is a more attractive city visually... at least in my opinion.
I do that too say ma am and sir, and I am also a mom with kids, so that attitude is fine with me, but that wasn't what I was referring to in the military culture of the city in San Antonio. It's really apparent in some of the school districts in the northern most San Antonio near the military bases like Camp Bullis. The rigidity and conformity in the schools there got to the point where central office would bully and harass teachers, therapists, etc if they were deemed "out of step" and the work environment was very march in step or you're going to get a note in your file. Also rules and regulations were military-rigid and we were always in fear of making a mistake to the point where we could hardly function. It's very different in Austin where we can think outside of the box without feeling fearful all the time.
So it already went from:
"The military culture of San Antonio was a very severe situation, even in my teaching job there in San Antonio had a military lock-march culture with bullying and harassment for those who couldn't march in line."
To your experience within in the most northern school districts , near military bases and there mainly (actually all since that is the only example you have provided) within the schools itself.
Now that does sound like an unfortunate experience but to conclude from that, that San Antonio as a city has that same issue seems a bit of a stretch.
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