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Thread summary:

SA: corporate housing, relocation agency, healthcare professional, socially progressive, affluent surroundings

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Old 05-05-2008, 05:34 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
3 posts, read 5,665 times
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Hi there everyone,

I've been trolling here for the last 4-5 days and have found a wealth of great information on life in SA. Wish I found this sooner!

I'll be moving to SA next month from Sydney by way of SF. Although I'll be in corporate housing for a while and will have the services of a relocation agency, I haven't found those services to be too reliable in the past and would appreciate some input from forum members regarding neighborhoods to target.

A little about me:
- mid 30s Asian-American, recently de-engaged
- healthcare professional with graduate degree
- socially progressive (live and let live)
- partial to affluent surroundings
- in the past 10 years, have lived in Sydney, Brussels, Geneva, Singapore, San Francisco and Aix-en-Provence

I'm looking for an upscale, progressive neighborhood of young professionals, nearby to interesting restaurants, shops and cultural attractions. I'm not in the market to buy at the moment, since I'm not sure how long the company will keep me in HQ before shipping me out to Europe or Asia. As a result, I'm targeting renovated rentals (either house, apartment or condo) and have a flexible budget. I've read a great deal about Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills (sp?) and others, although as a single I wonder how good a fit those would actually be. My office is off I-10 northwest of downtown within the 1604 loop.

Any input very appreciated, and I would also welcome any unsolicited advice for someone with my background settling into life in San Antonio. Thanks in advance!
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Old 05-05-2008, 07:42 PM
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Location: Ohio
17,107 posts, read 38,101,062 times
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What I know about Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills is not granular enough to answer your question, but I do want to compliment you on providing such a thorough description of what you are looking for in your destination! You've zeroed in on areas that would have come to my mind to recommend more generally. I'm sure that there are folks here who will have the details you seek.

Best of luck with your move.
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Old 05-05-2008, 08:06 PM
 
1,425 posts, read 3,314,742 times
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Probably Alamo Hts in a condo or rental off of Broadway would be the best place for you. There is not a particular place or area that singles seem to congregate to in SA but I would say that the Alamo Hts area is central and upscale enough to suit your taste plus close to the downtown area and other trendy areas. SA is spread out all over the place but I think you can find most everything you are looking for in this area of town.
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Old 05-05-2008, 08:12 PM
 
824 posts, read 1,815,701 times
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AH and TH sound like they will fit your criterea. I live in Monte Vista, and the makeup tends to be a bit more bohemian than those other places (but we have better architecture!!!). AH & TH are in a preferred school district, so you'll find more families there and more non-traditional types in MV.

Both have great residential architecture, and are close (even walking distance in some cases) to restaurants/bars/shops.

You ought to be able to find a nice rent house in any of these neighborhoods.

Weclome
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Old 05-06-2008, 12:08 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
944 posts, read 3,062,688 times
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Given your self-description, and your financial flexibility, I would guess that living in Alamo Heights would possibly help you to avoid as much culture shock as possible (San Antonio is like no other US city. You can read about it all you want, but until you see it...). In my picky opinion as a transplant from L.A., and Portland before that, there are no walkable, vibrant neighborhoods here, and no concentrated singles scene really. I know that one assumes that with a metro pop of over a million that that would exist, but I don't believe it does. Well, locals will say that it does, but they will likely not be using Sydney, SF, and Geneva as bases of comparison. I think that there are a handful of good restaurants here, so that will be nice. The thing that is slightly worrying about your preferences is that you are partial to affluent surroundings. There are nooks of affluence here, but you have to drive through pretty rough and unattractive areas to get to most of the ones inside of the 410 loop. If you are only going to be here temporarily, San Antonio might prove to be a fun little adventure, and the negatives may be easier to take in stride. Good luck, and please do revisit this forum after you have relocated so that we may get an idea of what you think of San Antonio.
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Old 05-06-2008, 08:23 AM
 
4,307 posts, read 9,553,541 times
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Your description sounds a lot like my own when I moved to SA, except I'm not Asian and my previous expat living experiences were UK, Kenya, Costa Rica and Thailand (well, I moved to SA because I'd be working in Thailand...) as well as other US cities (West Coast, East Coast, Midwest).

I would highly recommend you live downtown in one of the new condos or the King William or Lavaca neighborhoods, collectively known as Southtown. All walkable neighborhoods, walking distance to excellent restaurants (including the best in the city, IMO), vibrant arts and cultural scene. I'm not sure I'd really classify any one area as a 'singles' area, but it's a good mix of singles (straight and gay), young families, married couples (straight and gay) and old timers. You can easily walk downtown, walk to clubs, walk to art galleries and museums and the theatre. And it's an easy commute up I-10, against traffic for the most part.

The medical area (I-10 between loop 410 and 1604) does have a high concentration of singles and lots of bars, but it's not very walkable, and a lot of the restaurants are chains (tho there are some great Asian restaurants in the area). It's perhaps a little more international given the health science center than other parts of the city, but unless you have a connection to that crowd, it's a little hard to meet people in the area IME. That said, many of my friends are international (incl. my husband, whom I met in Southtown), many from the health science center and other research/academic institutions. Many of them I met while being out and about in Southtown.

I honestly don't think Alamo Heights or Terrell Hills would be that appealing. Though affluent, there's not a lot of 'young hip atmosphere.' It's a bit more family and old money oriented. There is some activity along Broadway (the main thoroughfare of Alamo Heights), and some great homes to live in, but I just don't find it as active of an area as Southtown.

FWIW - I wouldn't say San Antonio is anywhere near as cosmopolitan and international as the other cities you've lived in. And at first, it was the first time for me in 15 years where I knew more Americans than non-Americans (not a bad thing, just different) and I felt a bit out of place. Over time, however, I began meeting more people from a wide variety of places and backgrounds, and I also moved downtown (I lived in the medical center at first and then the NW side for a few months), which expanded my horizons substantially. It also helped that I played soccer, bringing me into contact with a lot of international folks. It's the great common denominator

one more thing - Lavaca is a 'transitional neighborhood', so there are a lot of not so great houses and a number of great houses. Many trying to sell (flippers) but may be very happy to rent by now. King William is more affluent, and of course the downtown condos are all high end luxury places.

Oh yeah, I'm not a local. I was raised in Los Angeles, left California in 1992 and have lived all over the globe since. Have been in SA full-time since 2004 and will be here a few more years, then we'll be moving to Geneva or Luasanne most likely.

Last edited by Chaka; 05-06-2008 at 08:50 AM..
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Old 05-06-2008, 09:03 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
944 posts, read 3,062,688 times
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That's good advice, Chaka. I now agree that Southtown might be a better option for the OP. Chaka, you do sound like a very interesting person.
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Old 05-06-2008, 09:09 AM
 
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I'd suggest downtown or some of the neighborhoods surrounding downtown, those would include Southtown and King William. Monte Vista as well, just north of downtown. FYI, the metro population is over 2 million.
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Old 05-06-2008, 09:10 AM
 
4,307 posts, read 9,553,541 times
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I'd agree Monte Vista is a good bet too. More upscale than Southtown, and most within walking distance to some great places. It's a little more suburban than Southtown, and also more diverse than AH.
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Old 05-06-2008, 09:19 AM
 
39 posts, read 39,088 times
Reputation: 17
Monte Vista in pictures:

http://riddick-rental-properties.com...sta-2-full.gif
http://z.about.com/d/sanantonio/1/8/...ontevista3.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/sanantonio/1/8/...ontevista1.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/sanantonio/1/8/...ontevista2.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/144/3...1d94f1a9_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/3...dda43d8c_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/150/3...fa16dc45_o.jpg


Informational websites:

Monte Vista - Midtown San Antonio - Monte Vista Historic District (http://sanantonio.about.com/od/neighborhoods/p/montevista.htm - broken link)
What's Shakin in San Antonio?: South Monte Vista (http://gointosanantonio.blogspot.com/2007/05/blog-post.html - broken link)


You should be able to find a nice rental in Monte Vista.
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