Moved to San Antonio (from Arizona) 1 Year Ago (Fredericksburg, Chandler: transplants, renting) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

DaveSA · 12-24-2008, 09:23 AM

I moved to San Antonio from Chandler, Arizona one year ago and I used this site before making my decision to move so I thought I should provide some feedback. I lived in the Phoenix area for almost 20 years and I moved with my wife and 3 year old.

First, San Antonio is a wonderful city to live in. While I enjoyed living in the Phoenix area, I enjoy SA more. The people are friendly, the city has a small town feel to it, and the Hill Country is beautiful.

I purchased my home in the Dominion. I read many things about the Dominion and I've found some of the feedback on this site (mostly from people that have not lived in that community) to be wrong, in my opinion. My wife and I really enjoy the Dominion. There are more and more younger couples moving in but there are still many people that have lived there 20+ years. The home are beautiful and most of the lots are quite large. Because of this, there is less density in neighborhoods so you have fewer neighbors on each street. The people I have met in our area are very welcoming.

I have not seen a single scorpion since I have lived here and my wife has seen one small yard snake. I do, however, have deer (White Tail and Axis) in my backyard every night, which I really like. In addition, we have racoons, armadillos, possums, and skunks but we rarely see those.

I always pictured Texas flat and dry but the Dominion area (NW San Antonio) is nestled in the the hills of the Hill Country so it is quite green and very pretty. If you like riding motorcycles, there are endless rides to take. Within one hour, there are many small cities/towns that have their own culture. The Hill Country has a heavy German influence so you will find many towns with German names (I expected them to be Spanish names). Fredericksburg is one of my favorites. It's a very small town with shops and several brewhaus'. You almost feel like you are in a small Wisconsin town while in Fredericksburg.

Within 10 minutes of this area, you will find The Rim Shops (just about every shop and restaurant you need), the Shops at La Cantera (high end shops), and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. You don't have to drive far to find everything you need.

Overall, we have very much enjoyed living in San Antonio and I would recommend this city to anyone considering a move. I hope this helps!

Dave

mtdave2 · 12-24-2008, 09:50 AM

There are lots worse places to live, that is for sure. San Antonio has a nice verity of everything. Most anyone can find an area that fits their needs. There is lots to do, and there has been more and more great restaurants opening every month!

There are some problems here as with all places, but if you just dwell on the negatives things NO PLACE will make you happy.

im with you dave, i like it here, its been 7 years now and im still glad i made the move.

do you ride with a group or do you go alone? im trying to find some people to ride with. i enjoy the lone ranger thing usualy, but its more fun when there are 2 or 3 other bikes.

majormadmax · 12-24-2008, 10:35 AM

Great first post, Dave! The first time we moved here, it wasn't by choice (courtesy of the USAF); but when we finally had a chance to decide (courtesy of retirement), the decision was easy! We loved our time in San Antonio and although we had lived in other nice places, this was the one that appealed the most to us. We've been back for three-and-a-half years and have enjoyed every minute of it!

Cheers! M2

Okami · 12-25-2008, 10:13 PM

Sounds Beautiful!

dweej · 12-25-2008, 10:52 PM

Thanks for the post, Dave! It's great to hear from recent transplants about expectations vs. reality after relocation. Thanks for taking the time

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2DMaxx · 12-26-2008, 01:34 AM

I visited Phoenix in July 2005, I enjoyed it but I moved to San Antonio in 98 and I absolutely love it. I move from Columbia Missouri, great place but not San Antonio.

Paka · 12-26-2008, 06:13 AM

Glad to hear you enjoy your "new" home so much!!! We find that if you are LOOKING for the good things, there is always much to enjoy no matter where your locate to, but if you are negative and close minded, you can find something to complain about no matter where you live as well.

Life gives us so much to enjoy, different cultures, people, opportunities....too bad more folks don't share your enthusiasm for enjoying the "ride" called life vs always being wrapped up in the negatives about it.

Welcome to our warm, friendly, wonderful city!!!! Great first post!

JNA · 12-26-2008, 12:18 PM

DaveSA,

Glad you have enjoyed your first year here. We're coming up on one year here and we've also greatly enjoyed it. Having moved from CA, we heard all the misconceptions about Texas but we haven't looked back once. It's been a great move for us. Congrats on completing your first year!

SA08 · 12-26-2008, 01:52 PM

Great feedback! We are fairly new here & I've never heard of Dominion. I'll have to look it up! You sure make it sound lovely

Thanks for the information & glad that you are enjoying S.A. We really are happy with our choice to move here as well. We are renting our house & trying to figure out where to buy so we'll look over there in Dominion before we make the final choice.

KY Filly · 12-26-2008, 02:22 PM

Yes, Dave thanks for the nice post. It's hard to believe that in just three months we'll be celebrating one year in SA. We love it too (relocated from Louisville, KY)....the hardest adjustment for our relocation is the lack of "friends", but we've made some acquaintances and expect that, with time, good friends will abound. We plan to stick around permanently if circumstances will allow.

We've found so much to do here and love some of the same aspects as you do. We find the shopping to be convenient; traffic a minor inconvenience (not much different than where we lived before...for 38 years); people to be very friendly; weather to be awesome; lots activities...we haven't even gotten to most of them. Have had some visitors from KY and they have been impressed and had a wonderful time while here...they can't wait to return.

As far as the actual geography, it definitely is different from what we're used to. Not as lush and green, but we love the open spaces; the interesting shapes of the live oaks and having some sort of flowers in bloom all the time. We soooo glad we made the move and are enjoying our new life here!