What do you love/hate most about San Antonio? (Houston: credit rating, law)

[JuneOf48]

Originally Posted by hermitcrab

I moved here 4 years ago and my thinking on San Antonio has evolved over the years. I'm from Canada originally...

I'll mix up my likes and dislikes as I think of them...

Like: I used to be fat. I haven't lost any weight but I'm "San Antonio Skinny" now.

Dislike: It is a city of pavement, big boxes and commercialized crap. Most of the city is just a carbon copy of every other part. People here (both ethnic groups) seem to take pride in making things as ugly as possible.

Like: I can walk from 1604 to Bandera Rd. along the Leon Creek. There are lots of nice little spots in the city greenbelts to wander through. Nice and safe. Wish there was more public land but I make do.

Like: The insects. Not much here enjoys the taste of northern blood. In addition the size and variety of the invert wildlife here is awesome. Between the 2 inch paper wasps, the walking sticks and the massive rhino beetles I'm in bug dork heaven.

Used to hate but now love: the land here I used to find damn ugly. Brown and dead. My homeland is green & wet but I've started to find great beauty in the flora and fauna of south Texas. My new favorite tree is the Mesquite. I even love the the ashe juniper. The aquifer is a wonder of the natural world and the Guadalupe is a damn sexy river.

Dislike: 100 degrees being here in June. Don' it know it's supposed to hang out in July and August?

Like: when it rains I love to watch it rain. It rains angry - for around 12 minutes I love those thunderstorms that roll in and barely stay for a cup of tea.

Like: the lack of hipster doofi

Dislike: we could use more hipster doofi

Brings me to the rest of the people...

Like: Neighborly and polite, but they leave me alone and mind their own business. Most important thing in my books. Wish people cared more about / thought about making this a more livable city but whatever.

Culture wise I'm pretty "meh". Even after four years I'm still not used to the chest thumping nationalism, militarism and the public nature of religion but that is not something that is a San Antonio thing. I'm just from a different culture and the red-state American way will always be a little weird to me. I'm a hick, but I ain't a redneck. I won't say much about the Mexican culture here other than the fact that I don't partake that often.

I'm not big on downtown. Dirty, smelly & crowded. I do like some of what I would call "uptown" areas - near UIW for example. I've seen quite a few good acts at the White Rabbit (a hole of a dive, but my kind of dive) and a few others. If I were to try to describe more, I'd do nothing but show my ignorance since I'm not much of a socialite.

I read a lot of this thread (no where near all of it) and thought I'd share. San Antonio - It ain't the ****, but it ain't ****.

Interesting perspective! (Just planted a mesquite in my backyard, too.)

[usernameunknown]

I hate the smell of urine downtown and I hate the bums asking me for money.

[The Black Irish]

How is that not on a t-shirt yet? "San Antonio- It aint the s**t, but it aint s**t." Awesome! And yes interesting perspective.

[The Black Irish]

I usually make the bums dance for 45 seconds to a minute before I give them money. Outside Durty Nelly's is a popular bum dancing hoedown. Hell, you are going to earn that 50 cent buddy

[hermitcrab]

Originally Posted by The Black Irish

How is that not on a t-shirt yet? "San Antonio- It aint the s**t, but it aint s**t." Awesome! And yes interesting perspective.

Donate my share of the the t-shirt royalties to charity k'?

Thanks for the welcome all.

[xsa210tx]

Originally Posted by hermitcrab

...I'm still not used to the chest thumping nationalism, militarism and the public nature of religion but that is not something that is a San Antonio thing.

Yeah, it's also pretty common throughout Texas. But you live with it. It's manageable.

[Lovely95]

Originally Posted by hermitcrab

Dislike: It is a city of pavement, big boxes and commercialized crap. Most of the city is just a carbon copy of every other part. People here (both ethnic groups) seem to take pride in making things as ugly as possible.

Yep, I don't completely hate sprawl or anything, but the endless strip malls are a pain.

[kendsley]

Originally Posted by hermitcrab

Culture wise I'm pretty "meh". Even after four years I'm still not used to the chest thumping nationalism, militarism and the public nature of religion but that is not something that is a San Antonio thing. I'm just from a different culture and the red-state American way will always be a little weird to me. I'm a hick, but I ain't a redneck. I won't say much about the Mexican culture here other than the fact that I don't partake that often.

I don't understand what is wrong with loving our country? Are we suppose to hate it? Are we suppose to hate our military that protects us? As far as public display of religion...do we not have the right to express our freedom on religion? Is someone forcing you to be religious?

[Mulu2065]

Well, I lived in San Antonio for most of my life, I'm 13, and I just came back from my 3 week vacation in Charlotte, NC. Big tall tree's, nice style of building, nice friendly people, not many drunk driving accidents or wanna' be gangsta's. So coming back to San Antonio, most kids would love to return home, I already missed Charlotte, not home. I realized that I did not like San Antonio anymore. The trees looked like bushes, the roads were too big and run down, on the middle class side of town? The houses were ugly for middle middle class and below, and the style of building was hideous. Not to mention, there is no competition here. No Bojangles, Cook Out, they stopped building Popeye's, Wendy's, and KFC, not many good grocery stores but a big hideous Wal-Mart and HEB. I just hate it here. We're in a drought, we get a storm, then a drought! I miss Charlotte and there nice people and beautiful tall pine trees, not shorter than a telephone poll dying oak trees and mountain ceder. In the fall, the leaves turn brown and fall off. I will never come back here again when I leave to Charlotte, NC. SA's not really hilly. They say they have nice hills, but those looked so tiny after I came back from Charlotte.

Now here is what I love about about San Antonio

The classic downtown. On thing Charlotte doesn't have in their downtown is old buildings, at least not many. The downtown is beautiful, I love the missions. The Military history there is pretty interesting there too, since that's how we came to San Antonio, by the military.

Pretty much, there is not much I like about San Antonio. NISD is good and I am pretty smart, but the kids at those schools are annoying, and I go to school at NISD.

[zhugeliang1]

mulu2065, my teen kids are with you on that one about how the trees look like bushes, the roads run down, cookie cutter houses/stores/restaurants etc this was after we lived in Austin for two years.