Best places to live near Ingram Park Mall (moving to SA soon) (San Antonio: apartments, rental)

[S.Width]

Hi Everyone,

This a great forum, which has given me a good outlook on what SA is like. However, I do have a few questions.

I was recently offered an excellent IT job in San Antonio. I will be moving here from South Florida, so I think the dry weather won’t be much of problem.

The location of the job is near the Ingram Park Mall. I will stay in a hotel for the 1st few weeks, until I can find an apartment and settle down.

What are the best & safest places to live, within a 20-25 minute driving radius of this location? What locations should I stay away from, which have lower class folks residing in & increasing crime rates? Are there any large Russian communities in San Antonio? My budget is between $1000 and $1500, though the rent in San Antonio is cheap throughout, which is great & very surprising.

I have been looking online at places such as Elm Creek, Shavano Park, Leon Valley, Olmos Park and Alamo Heights. Are these areas affordable?

Best Regards,
Andrew

[mrsb057]

Leon Valley is a great area but can get quite congested when it comes traffic hours. You may want to look into the 151 area or 78251/78250 zip code. We love the area. Will you be renting an apartment or a home? This can also make a huge difference. I cant think of the website but if you are planning to rent an apartment you can actually check and see how many times the Police Dept has responded to that address. You may also want to search this forum as relocation always comes up...a few great threads out there.

Good Luck to you and hope everything works well...btw WELCOME TO SAN ANTONIO!

[rd2007]

Some of the areas you listed are pretty far from Ingram Park Mall and are far from affordable. I personally would not want to live too close to that mall. If you want a house in that general area, look more to the west like Alamo Ranch, Westover Hills, and the many other neighborhoods between Military and Potranco heading out to 1604 and further west.
BTW, what do you call affordable and what good IT job is near the mall? I didn't know there was anything but retail and fast food in that area.

[firstclassflyer]

There is an office park across the way, RD. Alamo Downs. That maybe where he'll be working.
To the OP..I don't know of any large contingent of Russians anywhere in SA..I could be wrong though.

[Primo]

I think you will want to stay away from Ingram area if you want to stay away from low class and crime(and if I am offending anyone, I apologize in advance).
If your rental budget goes up to $1500...you will naturally find a nice apartment in a nice area (such as the ones you described). Since you plan on hotelling it for a few weeks, you will easily get a feel for the right area for you once you are are here. I think someplaces on IH-10 on the northside will be closer than the Alamo Heights/Olmos Park areas.

There is a decent size Russian community in San Antonio:
Start by going to mass here:
Saint Anthony the Great Orthodox Church - Home

Good Luck

[rd2007]

how did I totally miss the budget and Russian part? I would still head west of the mall and there are some Russians, but not many. I hear it every now and then while out and about, though.

[S.Width]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the great responses – I didn’t expect so many.

I’ll go ahead and answer some combined questions in this post:

1) I will be renting an apartment, either a Studio or 1 Bedroom. It will only be me and no-one else. A house isn’t in my plans, since I don’t need several bedrooms, or the price.
Thanks for the suggestions in regards to the police website – very useful.
I have been going through many posts in the forum, where I found several good & bad locations, in addition to other info.

2) By affordable, I meant that compared to Miami & NY (where I lived many years ago), San Antonio apartments are in the range of 600-1500, whereas in Miami, you’ll be lucky to find a good apartment in a nice area for that price range.

3) I can’t specify the company name of where I will be working in such a public forum, but it is a very large international company. “firstclassflyer” is correct on the location. If you're really interested in the company came, PM me.

4) I won’t be going to mass, since I’m Jewish. However, it’s good to know that San Antonio has some semblance of a Russian community.

What are opinions like on Olmos Park, Elm Creek, Shavano Park, Alamo Heights – all of which are within 20 minutes driving (not-including traffic)? Once I get to SA, I’ll take a better look at driving distances, since these estimates are from Google Maps.

Are there any other specific areas that are closer? Some of you have mentioned those on the IH-10, as well as neighborhoods to the west.

Are the areas in San Antonio mixed when it comes to poor/wealthy or are they generally separated by east, west, north, and south? What parts should I stay away from?

Thanks again.

[mrsb057]

You may want to check into the Westover Hills area. Its right off of 151 and not very far from alamo downs.

I will dm you a link to a new apartment community not to far that may be to your liking.

[S.Width]

Thanks mrsb057. The apartments look really nice. I'll take a better look at the pricing and area. If I have any questions, I'll get back to you.

[mrsb057]

Anytime.