San Antonio of tomorrow (Houston, Dallas: construction, moving, train)

[tgannaway89]

You dispute my ideas and that is fine with me. Your vision of the San Antonio of tomorrow is obviously not the same as mine. It seems you envision a wealthy upscale community or a prime retirement community. I'm looking for a fun community full of people from all walks of life. A variety of jobs (not just corporate offices) and a mass of pride (not just wealth).

[210]

Originally Posted by Ron G

1. Education: I read an article a while back in the Express News when I was last in town - something boasting about college enrollment and the like. I about fell out of my chair reading it. San Antonio has one of the very worst high school graduate rates of any major American metro area. Additionally, this article had the audacity to include Community College students as "college students" - a stretch to say the least. The bottom line is that the educational backbone of Texas is FAR from San Antonio, and that is not changing. Having a large regional school of the UT system is NOT the same as having the flagship. When you are that close to Austin, most of academia will live in - Austin! Don't fool yourself and think San Antonio will be anything more than the fourth banana in Texas higher education.

So you only matter in the field of education if you are home to a flagship university? Give me a break.

3. Tourism: Always a nice thing to have, but when it is the prime mover of your economy, you have problems. Tourism provides primarily middle-range services jobs, at best. And if tourism is your motive for building a light rail, stop. I thought the city council in DC was naive....

Prime mover of the economy? Tourism is the fourth largest industry in SA. Funny enough it is larger than New Orleans (pre-Katrina as well as post) something like 8 billion for SA to 5 billion for New Orleans.

I hate to sound pessimistic, but if San Antonio really wants to grow and change its dynamic, it needs to embrace business - and lots of it. That means tax breaks, sweatheart deals, and more nice golf courses.

Tax breaks? You mean the ones we've dished out for Toyota, Microsoft, SBC (back in 92), etc.

And more nice golf courses? lol, ok.

[210]

I have a few ideas.

[jules07]

Originally Posted by 210

I have a few ideas.

Are you going to share???????

[210]

Yes. I meant to say I'd post them later but I was in a rush when I posted that.

They're coming up.

[tgannaway89]

Ok I thought maybe you were trying to be symbolic or something. I look forward to reading your ideas!

[Ron G]

Originally Posted by 210

So you only matter in the field of education if you are home to a flagship university? Give me a break.




Prime mover of the economy? Tourism is the fourth largest industry in SA. Funny enough it is larger than New Orleans (pre-Katrina as well as post) something like 8 billion for SA to 5 billion for New Orleans.




Tax breaks? You mean the ones we've dished out for Toyota, Microsoft, SBC (back in 92), etc.

And more nice golf courses? lol, ok.

Mr. 210,

If you screen name and record of 1,217 posts in less than a year are any indication, San Antonio's prosperity and public face is an obsession of yours. We all need our outlets, but I could go without the cyber-rudeness. Regardless, I stick by my assertions, and your vague "I have ideas" never really panned out in this thread. I really like San Antonio, and I hope that the "San Antonio of tomorrow" is a place that brings wealth, jobs and prosperity while preserving the uniqueness and good qualities of the city.

I speak from a small bit of experience: I do a lot of consulting and development projects in Texas, and have for the better part of 9 years. Business typically takes me to San Antonio several times a year. Additionally, I was born in this city, and spent much of my childhood here. I still have family here. So perhaps I too share a small bit of your obsessive bias, tempered with actually trying to make money in this town - not as easy a proposition as utopians like yourself might assert.

San Antonio is, relatively speaking, a very poor town. Travel around a bit, and you would see that too. It has a vastly undereducated work force, a poorly situated middle class, and has an odd economic segregation given the dirt-cheap cost of living. And yes, while it may be close to your heart, San Antonio is an educational backwater in Texas - with the notable exception of a robust medical complex (still miniscule compared to those in Houston and Dallas). Only now is a legitimate manufacturing presence arriving to San Antonio - something that happened to Dallas and Houston in the 1960s. Simply put, there are structural and demographic impedences in San Antonio that do not exist in comparable cities, and account for your relatively slower population and economic growth. That is why most of my work is in Dallas.

If you want my opinion as someone who helps fund the buildings you boast about, San Antonio is somewhat hostile to development. You have, arguably, the WORST city government in Texas as far as development is concerned. The legal wrangling over every small thing (my specialty) is prohibitive. Worse still, you have few suburbs or outside counties to develop - something immensely valuable in America's true major cities. The city is also somewhat "out of the way" - difficult to reach by air compared with its neighbors. Perhaps it is just a spate of bad luck - Dallas and Houston are economic supernovas, and Austin seems to suck up local talent. Anyways, these are just the ramblings I have had with clients over many glasses of scotch.

It is very telling to me, your reply. I have always noticed that San Antonians carry far more civic pride then their Texas neighbors - there seems a tangible desire out there to be a "big time" city (or in your case, pretend that you are one already). My advice is enjoy what you have. I would rather live in San Antonio than any other city in Texas - I have lived in the "big cities" and currently live in the Los Angeles conurbation. There is a charm, a feel in San Antonio sorely missing in other cities. If that comes at the expense of a skyscrapper or an NFL team, who cares? I have noticed people in San Diego never try and keep up with Los Angeles - they just enjoy their city. Perhaps you should do the same.

[adtobias]

does anyone have picture of what san antonio will look like tomm

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by tgannaway89

The city, being 289 years old, is one of the most mature cities in the state (compare to Houston at 170 years old)

Funny you mention Houston. Out of curiousity, is it the second oldest city in Texas?

[adtobias]

does any one have picture of what sa will look like in 20 yrs