Marylander relocating to San Antonio??- NEED ADVICE (Houston, Fort Worth: camper, live)

[els565]

I must address the issue of your parents. I'm an only child as well and my son is my parents only grandchild. They moved to Florida from California when my son was 8 mos old but then moved to Austin when he was 3 1/2.

The seperation was really tough on both my parents and my son. He cried for his grandma and grandpa. So then we were stuck flying to visit on holidays and such. My parents were very upset that they had to move away.

My husband and I jumped at an opportunity to move to SA and now my parents moved here from Austin, too.

I just want you to really think about the impact to your kids if they're really close to your parents.

Also, San Antonio isn't really that hot 6-8 months out of the year. It only gets really bad in July/August but the humidity didn't impress me being from Florida.

Anyway, that's my two cents...good luck with your decision!

[trying2moveup]

Thanks for the insight from your only-child perspective. What you said is what I figure what will happen; it will be emotionally very rough for my parents, less so for the kids since they are young but they will still miss their grandparents. But I almost think it is better to do it now - while they are young and adaptable as most children are at this age (under 5) - then later. I am really, really torn.

I appreciate all the advice and PMs I've received. I don't have a lot of time inthe day to check the forum or email every day so I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to some of you.

Any Marylander's that haven't responded that have thoughts to share on moving to S.A. would be appreciated. I've only heard positive things - and that's good - but the devil's advocate in me says there has to be a naysayer around somewhere. . .

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by els565

Also, San Antonio isn't really that hot 6-8 months out of the year. It only gets really bad in July/August

That's a crock! Anyone coming from MD is going to think it's hot from the end of April...all the way through Halloween.

[majormadmax]

They've had temperatures hotter than ours this past summer, they just don't have them as long as we do. Here it is October and we are still in the 90s...

Cheers! M2

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

They've had temperatures hotter than ours this past summer, they just don't have them as long as we do. Here it is October and we are still in the 90s...

Cheers! M2

Exactly what I was getting at.

[lemonfresh]

Originally Posted by firstclassflyer

Exactly what I was getting at.

It's 90 but the humidity is very low and there's always a breeze so it feels, really good.

[follie]

I just moved down here from Silver Spring Memorial Day.

The cost of living is great- gas is ~3.25 here! I haven't seen that since....I don't remember when.

I didn't buy a house when I came- I rented at 1604 and Bandera- but I moved down here because I will be able to eventually. My apartment is considerably less for a much nicer community. My utilities have gone down significantly, but that is probably because I moved from an older building in SS to a newer one here.

Since I'm still pretty new here, I can only talk about the areas I've seen. I live near Helotes, which I think is a great place. I would love to buy a house there.

I work for the State, so work is good here. I know as a nurse you would be able to get state employment easily.

The heat! The actual summer isn't bad- very similar to DC summer, IMHO. The only difference I've seen is that it is staying hot longer. Now in MD it would be in the 60-70s. Here is was in the 90s today. But I haven't been unbearably hot this summer.

But! The sun won't go down at 4:30 in the afternoon this winter, and for that, I am so grateful!

I'm glad I moved here.

[trying2moveup]

Follie,
We are in Silver Spring right now - still contemplating what to do.
Thanks to everyone again for the responses-

I was wondering. .

1) what ARE the average utilities a month down there (given that it IS hot for much of the year - is my a/c going to run $500 a month??)
2) what do closing costs run on a home purchase - up here it can be up to 2% of the purchase price, like property taxes!!

My hubby has resumes out in San An and up here so I guess it's up to the higher power which way the wind will end up blowing -

And thanks to "Noo Yawker" (a.k.a. firstclassflyer) for typing that comment about the heat in straight up English!! I hear you loud and clear!

[lemonfresh]

The weather FYI is considerably better since Follie post and even my last post here and the cold fronts are now moving in and the first one dropped temperatures to the mid 80's during the day with low humidity and very chilly at night (in the 50s).

[LilZ_098]

Originally Posted by trying2moveup

Situation in brief:
Married, 2 kids under 4, stay-at-home mom. Born and raised and spent whole live (except undergrad) in Maryland suburbs of D.C. Just sold townhome in Maryland with intent of buying a SFH in this market. Staying in a relatives' condo during transition. Only child of parents entering 70s, my kids are their only grandkids.

Husband - born in L.A., raised in San Antonio, whole family is still there, left at age 18 to join US Navy. 2 sisters and their children/families live within 1 hr. of S.A. Mother is entering 70s, hubby is feeling itch to return "home." Has good job here, could likely get a good job there. IN the consulting/engineering construction field.

In sum, we don't have a house to sell right now, our children are not in school, and if we want to move, now is the time to do it. My biggest issue - and his too - is being so far from MY parents at this stage of their lives and taking the grandkids "away." They are not open at this time to moving to Texas with us, which doesn't surprise me. Even though it can get dang nasty here in Maryland in the summer, they are most definitely NOT heat people and would not be able to tolerate the heat in Texas for 6- 8 months out of the year. Beyond these issues, I'd like to hear from those in the know -

1) pros and cons of living in S.A.
2) my hubby is Mexican, I am white. We do not speak spanish. Is this going to be a daily issue. When we visit, it doesn't seem to be a problem, but I've read that is can be a problem on this forum.
3) Job market -- the fed govt is the biggest employer in THIS area (and despite the current criss, it will never allow itself to go out of business) - I'm worried about moving there and the lack of sustainable work. I heard Toyota already laid off it's plant after just opening it??
4) cost - of - living.

We are used to sky high property taxes up here but what about the cost of the actual house? What are good neighborhoods for new construction and schools? know Northwest ISD is the way to go, I'm told. . .
But what about outside S.A> city limits - does that help with taxes? Cibolo, Bourne, any suggestions?
Sure the Dominion would be my first choice ( ha ha ha. . .)

5) I am currently a public school teacher on leave to stay home. I'm thinking of transitioning to a nursing career. what are the opportunities for a) study down there (I already have my bachelors and Masters so I only need abou 5 required science classes before applyingn to any RN clinical program) and b) work opportunities post-graduation.

6) anything else you can think of that would be good to know before making a possible transcontinental (basically) move.

Thanks for all the advice!

Well, I've been here four years now. Originally from Waldorf, MD and came her courtesy of the Air Force. From your questions:

1) pros and cons of living in S.A. - Weather LOL. I miss the four seasons. Someone mentioned about us not being used to the heat and they are right! I live for my AC LOL.

2) my hubby is Mexican, I am white. We do not speak spanish. Is this going to be a daily issue. When we visit, it doesn't seem to be a problem, but I've read that is can be a problem on this forum. - Won't be a problem.

3) Job market -- the fed govt is the biggest employer in THIS area (and despite the current criss, it will never allow itself to go out of business) - I'm worried about moving there and the lack of sustainable work. I heard Toyota already laid off it's plant after just opening it?? -- Toyota plant is on hiatus currently - sales dropped when gas prices shot up. San Antonio is Military City and lots of federal govt jobs; there is Lackland AFB, Randolph AFB, Brooks City Base, Kelly USA, Fort Sam Houston - which also means lots of Defense Contractors (companies like Lockheed Martin, ManTech, etc).

4) cost - of - living.

We are used to sky high property taxes up here but what about the cost of the actual house? What are good neighborhoods for new construction and schools? know Northwest ISD is the way to go, I'm told. . .
But what about outside S.A> city limits - does that help with taxes? Cibolo, Bourne, any suggestions?
Sure the Dominion would be my first choice ( ha ha ha. . .) - cost of living is MUCH lower than up there. North and Northwest sides are the hotspots. If you are looking outside city limits your taxes are definitely going to be lower. Comal County is supposed to be nice too (where Cibolo is); San Antonio is part of Bexar county. Helotes is nice and just outside city limits and they are constantly building new homes. My friend is buying a home (she's from MD to and heading here by way of Guam due to Air Force lOL) just outside 1604 by Alamo Ranch. The neighborhood is called Kallison Ranch and it's in a nice locale. Rural, but only 10 minutes away from the highway and shopping!

5) I am currently a public school teacher on leave to stay home. I'm thinking of transitioning to a nursing career. what are the opportunities for a) study down there (I already have my bachelors and Masters so I only need abou 5 required science classes before applyingn to any RN clinical program) and b) work opportunities post-graduation. - Schools I'm not sure about but sur it would be easy to find. TONS of hospitals here. Christus Santa Rosa, University, even the military hospitals contract nurses (look for agencies like Choctaw, Terra Health)

6) anything else you can think of that would be good to know before making a possible transcontinental (basically) move.

Hopefully your parents will want to visit. I hate being so far away from my family as they are my support system. My hubby is from here and his family is here and yet we see my family more. But because it's so far away to fly gets expensive. If you love four seasons, you'll be in for a mess here LOL! But it is nice to be able to get out and about without being bundled up all the time. Oh, good comparison, what heat costs in the winter up there is what AC is for summers here. So basically high utilities are in the summer.

Speaking about museums and stuff there are plenty here for the kids. But if you've gone to all the museums in DC and Baltimore you've been spoiled cause they are much smaller here and you have to pay to get in everywhere (I miss the free smithsonian and zoo). From here though you can visit Austin, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, etc.

Hope that helps a little!