Help with AH, Shavano Park, Hill country village (San Antonio, Alamo: real estate, how much)

[crazysquirrel]

Hello,

We are considering a move to San Antonio and wanted to check out some of the neighborhoods next time we visit.
From what I gather, AH, Shavano Park and Hill country Village might be good fits for us.
We will be working at the San Antonio Medical Center. We would need to find a reputable, conservative catholic school for our 5 year old and 10 year old.
A 20-30 minute commute to both work and school is just fine.
Here are our main priorities:


1-Not too close to airport traffic or the Highway (need to avoid pollution)

2-Mature trees

3-Some walkability to restaurants would be great or at least restaurants and outdoor restaurant areas nearby.

4- Very safe. Prefer gated communities

5-Friendly, nice people, non pretentious people

6- Some ethnic diversity would be great

7-Great sense of community, neighborhood gatherings and events.

8-Close to work and schools

9-walking distance to playground and greenbelt.


We are looking at homes in the 5,000-7,000 sq/footage.

Thank you so much for your help. Looking forward to visiting

[TrapperL]

I would look at Atonement Academy which is north of 1604 out by Sonoma Ranch and UTSA. Most anything out there is semi-country living and a really nice area with lots of trees. You'd be in the desired Northside School District if wanting public schools. Homes are available in the area like what you are looking for. I'd strongly suggest a Realtor that works that area and knows how to find what is critical for your needs. Call Rey Maldonado at 210-772-0487. Rey is a very personable kinda guy and everybody that works with him falls in love with him. He'll treat you like family. Tell him his inspector told you to call and it will cost him 2 points if he doesn't make you happy. He'll get a laugh out of it- guaranteed.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/&#39...2!2d29.5875451

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by crazysquirrel

Hello,

We are considering a move to San Antonio and wanted to check out some of the neighborhoods next time we visit.
From what I gather, AH, Shavano Park and Hill country Village might be good fits for us.
We will be working at the San Antonio Medical Center. We would need to find a reputable, conservative catholic school for our 5 year old and 10 year old. Can't comment on schools but if you go the public route I have insight on the Shavano Park schools)
A 20-30 minute commute to both work and school is just fine.
Here are our main priorities:


1-Not too close to airport traffic or the Highway (need to avoid pollution)

I'd cross off Hill Country Village if being near the airpport is a concern. Some areas in AH may also be a bit close to the airport

2-Mature trees All have that

3-Some walkability to restaurants would be great or at least restaurants and outdoor restaurant areas nearby. Alamo Heights is going to be the most walkable, but as in like walkable in the sense that it's close. It's not always the safest to walk.

4- Very safe. Prefer gated communities NOt sure how gated and walkable go together. Those are usually the opposite. I believe ALamo Heights might have one or two neighborhoods that are gated. I don't believe any part of Hill COuntry Village is gated. There are newer neighborhoods in Shavano Park that are gated.

5-Friendly, nice people, non pretentious people Alamo Heights is known to be one of the richest parts of the city. I don't know many people from there, but I haven't heard the best about their long time residents. Hill Country Village still seems a bit secluded and less affluent. I grew up surrounded by Shavano Park. It can go either way.

6- Some ethnic diversity would be greatIf you mean non-Hispanic and Non-white then it's going to be hard to come by in many of those areas.

7-Great sense of community, neighborhood gatherings and events.Can't really comment on that outside of saying I know many of the people I grew up with still have their parents living in Shavano Park (I am in my 30s)

8-Close to work and schools Shavano Park will be the closest to the Medical Center

9-walking distance to playground and greenbelt. I don't think any of these are within walking distance of a green belt or park. They are all very close to them. Shavano Park is very close to Hardberger (and if you look into Summerfield goes right to the green belt). Hill Country Vilage is probably the closest to McAlister Park and Alamo Heights (the northern part) is close to the southern end of Salado Creek.


We are looking at homes in the 5,000-7,000 sq/footage. Any of those will have those size houses.

Thank you so much for your help. Looking forward to visiting

Answers in bold. Good luck.

[thenewtexan]

American FactFinder - Results

According to the US Census, Hill Country Village is by far the most affluent of the three. It's just much smaller and less pretentious than the other two. Shavano would be second with AH a distant third. AH has the most amenities. Shavano is technically the closest to the Med Center but by just a hair. Commuting will not vary much between the three.

[GEM-Texas]

If you want upscale ethnic diversity (meaning affluent folks) that is not a strong point in those neighborhoods.
Walking to the parks - You can stroll around the neighborhoods in all of them. If you want to go to a nice part, you probably drive there.

San Antonio and associated areas is a car town - better get used to it.

[SolaireSolstice]

AH, for that square footage, you will pay $$$ and you are paying for their school district, which you won't even be taking part in. I don't know of any gated communities in AH. Commute time will be right in your 30 minute max (and I live right adjacent in Terrell Hills, and used to work in Med Center), depending on time of day you are commuting. At least one catholic school is in area for your children's age, a girls only for High School age. Close to downtown, about 5 minutes from highway, many restaurants I'd consider to be in walkable distance. Veery walkable, but no sidewalks generally.

Shavano Park is closer to Med Center, has larger houses, and is close to several private catholic schools. Walkability to restaurants? Not unless you are willing to walk along a pretty busy street (Northwest Military). Neighborhoods within that area are walkable. Close to greenbelt (Salado Creek).

I know very little about Hill Country Village. It's right off two major highways though (1604 & 281). I work near there and say it is NOT walkable to restaurants. It within a 2 minute drive to restaurants. If you learn the back streets, it's probably a 20 minute commute to Med Center.

Look into Elm Creek subdivision. Also Oak Hills. You will be trading off certain criteria to meet others, but they may fit your needs.

[Inventurous]

Might also add Inwood to your list.

[Bo]

Hill Country Village would have the square footage you're looking for, along with very large lot sizes. Many of the homes are gated, but none of the neighborhoods are. My understanding is that HCV is fairly insular, especially compared to Hollywood Park, to its immediate north. But you'd have more trouble finding the square footage you're looking for in HP.

Both are municipalities unto themselves, with their own local governments. Although you're not using them, the public schools for both are good and close by. FWIW, maybe when you realize how much of your property tax bill is going to fund schools, you'll have a different view of sending your kids to public schools? My wife and I are both Catholic school grads and we came to that realization fairly quickly.

If walkability is especially important, you'd probably be best off in Alamo Heights. I can't think of any place that's gated and walkable.

[TXEX06]

Originally Posted by crazysquirrel

Hello,

We are considering a move to San Antonio and wanted to check out some of the neighborhoods next time we visit.
From what I gather, AH, Shavano Park and Hill country Village might be good fits for us.
We will be working at the San Antonio Medical Center. We would need to find a reputable, conservative catholic school for our 5 year old and 10 year old.
A 20-30 minute commute to both work and school is just fine.
Here are our main priorities:


1-Not too close to airport traffic or the Highway (need to avoid pollution)

2-Mature trees

3-Some walkability to restaurants would be great or at least restaurants and outdoor restaurant areas nearby.

4- Very safe. Prefer gated communities

5-Friendly, nice people, non pretentious people

6- Some ethnic diversity would be great

7-Great sense of community, neighborhood gatherings and events.

8-Close to work and schools

9-walking distance to playground and greenbelt.


We are looking at homes in the 5,000-7,000 sq/footage.

Thank you so much for your help. Looking forward to visiting

King William and Lavaca check off everything you want but gated and 5,000-7,000 sqft (unless you got a lot of cash).

[NeedCoffee]

I don't really have much experience with Hill Country Village, but maybe I can shed some light on the other two:

Alamo Heights: Older neighborhood, great sense of community with a lot of family events nearby. Mature trees, but smaller lots than you can find in the other two choices. By far the most walkable of the three. There aren't any gated communities in the city of Alamo Heights. Prices are usually $250-300/sq ft, so a 5-7k sq ft house would be $1.3M+. There are more large houses in Olmos Park and Terrell Hills, which border Alamo Heights and are often lumped together when considering real estate. (You might want to consider those two places if you are thinking about AH) It has a reputation from the rest of SA for being pretentious, but I've found everyone to be quite friendly. Lots of people move there for the schools so you'll see a lot of families with kids. Being its own city it has its own police force which does an excellent job, but you're less isolated than in Shavano Park or HCV. Close enough to the airport to be a short cab ride but far enough away that I've never noticed the airplane noise. The main highway nearby (281) runs above a flood plain so aside from a few houses in Olmos Park you'll be sufficiently far from a freeway.

Shavano Park - Large lots (usually 0.5 - 3 acres) with many of the houses being built in the 70-80s. Still being developed, so you can find some homes (Bentley Manor and others) that were built recently. Some areas are gated and others are not, and only the newest areas are close to a freeway (1604). You'll hear some air traffic, but it is still relatively high above you at that point. Not really walkable, but Hardberger park is a short drive. In my anecdotal experience, people are more likely to keep to themselves and make friends based on shared interests/work/hobbies/etc rather than their neighborhood.

Hill Country Village - Don't know much about this area. Large lots and quite a few very very expensive houses are mixed in here.

Regarding diversity: these areas are all affluent and will generally reflect the ethnic diversity of affluent people in America. Which is to say they will be whiter than the city of San Antonio.

Given the areas that interest you (and the size of the house), you might also look at the Dominion and Elm Creek. None of these areas really has all of the things you're looking for, but it's worth spending a weekend exploring and seeing what matches your taste.