Moving to San Antonio (New Braunfels: buy, living, cost of living)

[HtownLove]

that area is fastly growing, but it is kinda out there and traffic is becoming increasingly worse in SA


do you really want to move to SA? Do you have time to come see the city before you decide? SA is nice to visit but living there is something else

[metromansa]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

SA is nice to visit but living there is something else

Living in any city is different for everyone. So please don't juxtapose your feelings with the OP's.

You like Houston, maybe love it, my aunt hates the ever loving **** out of it.

[majormadmax]

Agreed, it is something to live here...something great!

But it never hurts to visit a place before moving there! That way you'll know for sure if it fits your needs, wants and desires.

For one, you don't mention where you currently live. Are you up in the frozen north? (well, usually frozen; last week it was hotter in the NE part of the country than it was down here!). We do have pretty hot summers here, are you OK with that?

But I have always said SA is a very family-oriented city! It has a lot of fun things to do for your kids (SeaWorld, Six Flags, Schlitterbahn, loads of city parks, a great downtown, etc) and you'd be hard pressed to find a better place to raise kids.

The Northeast and Northside ISDs are great, and there are plenty of great neighborhoods in your price range. Speaking of which, SA is one place where your housing dollar actually gets you something; especially now as it's a buyer's market!

So the bottom line is most likely SA will work for you, and probably better than most cities in Texas or across the nation. But it is worth a visit just to confirm that.

And all that comes from someone who actually lives here. I am beginning to believe SA's popularity is causing people from other cities to frequent this forum in an attempt to steer folks away from this great city. I don't go on the Houston forum and rave about how bad the crime, traffic and humidity is there (despite all that being true!), but I will defend San Antonio from falsehoods about how it is to live here; especially when the accused doesn't even reside in this city!

Cheers! M2

[sawatchdog]

Good luck on your possible move to San Antonio it is a beautiful city and the perfect place to raise little ones...I know you said you will be considering moving to the Northern Part of 1604 but that is a long stretch....any "Northside" Area in particular?

[mayalevi]

Ok, so I am by no means an expert, as I moved here from Los Angeles(and before that move, Hawaii, and I am originally from Boston) a year and a half ago. I am actually moving back to Los Angeles next year after I am done with my this year of teaching special ed here--not because I don't like it here--I do--but because I am getting married, and so will be teaching special education in Los Angeles instead(where the fiance is).
It sounds to me like where you will be working is in the Stone Oak area, if it is in the NorthCentral part of S.A. and off 1604. I live in the medical area(Northwest side), but I go there to tutor children on the side a few times a week. It is a nice area, and if you will be working there, then it probably would make sense to buy/rent a house in that area. If you were not working there, I'd say no way--as it is I HATE driving there to tutor. The traffic in that area is a nightmare--especially on Stone Oak Parkway--its only about a fifteen minute drive from where I live, but still, add in traffic and the wrong time of day and it can easily take thirty minutes or more. On the plus side, there's a ton of cool nightclubs and/or wine bars in the area--for example, Cielito, Chicago Bar, Dolce, Swig, etc., so there's plenty of 'adult' oriented stuff to do. There's also some family oriented stuff---it's a relatively short drive to Canyon Lake for boating and swimming--and there's kid oriented activities in the area going on all the time, as well as a really good school system.

As far as buying a house in your price range--you can get a really nice house for the amount of money that you were talking about. Things are amazingly cheap here. 250,000 where I am originally from would get you a shack with a few hobos living in there and a dumpster out back with a suspicious odor. Here, 250,000 will get you perhaps a 3-4,000 sq foot home--depending on the area, yes, you could have a pool--99 percent of subdivisions/apartment complexes have them--and it would probably be gated.

I don't know where your'e coming from, but as far as proximity to parks and such--you will realize that it is necessary to do some driving. Things are really spread out here, there is a lot to do here--but you do have to drive.
That's pretty much the best I can offer..(with the little I know) hope that helped!

[mayalevi]

Its funny...I've only heard bad things about Houston--including someone from Houston who lives here now--like there's high crime, and the weather is horrible. I've never been there though, so IDK...

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by mayalevi

Its funny...I've only heard bad things about Houston--including someone from Houston who lives here now--like there's high crime, and the weather is horrible. I've never been there though, so IDK...

Yeah the San Antonio people are always putting it down. SA is right up there with Houston on crime, and the weather is just about the same.

SA is on average 3 degrees hotter than Houston while Houston has on average 1 percent more humidity so the weather is not that different.

[tc1414]

Thanks for the replies so far!
Majormadmax, I currently live in northwest Arkansas, so the weather in the summer wouldn't be that big of a stretch. Winters, I think, would be a different story, but that would be just fine with me. And yes, I will definitely be visiting at least once before we make a final decision on the move. I just wanted to get a good idea of the areas that I need to check out for possible places to live when I do visit.
Sawatchdog, I'm not sure which area I'd be looking in. I've been browsing some real estate sites online, and a lot of the areas that are coming up are located just East of Camp Bullis on the map. It doesn't look like it would be too far of a drive to the N Loop of 1604, but I could be mistaken due to what sounds like a lot of traffic in that area.
Mayalevi, thank you very much for the info! I'm finding a lot of places, like you mentioned, for reasonable prices. I'm not coming from LA, so the difference isn't that great for me, but I can still see that housing in that particular area looks very reasonable. It's good to know that there is a healthy mix of family, kid, and adult things to do, too!
Htownlove, I've got no bones with Houston, just doesn't happen to be where the job is right now. I actually have family that is moving there soon, though!

[bgrn198]

Originally Posted by tc1414

Thanks for the replies so far!
Majormadmax, I currently live in northwest Arkansas, so the weather in the summer wouldn't be that big of a stretch. Winters, I think, would be a different story, but that would be just fine with me. And yes, I will definitely be visiting at least once before we make a final decision on the move. I just wanted to get a good idea of the areas that I need to check out for possible places to live when I do visit.
Sawatchdog, I'm not sure which area I'd be looking in. I've been browsing some real estate sites online, and a lot of the areas that are coming up are located just East of Camp Bullis on the map. It doesn't look like it would be too far of a drive to the N Loop of 1604, but I could be mistaken due to what sounds like a lot of traffic in that area.
Mayalevi, thank you very much for the info! I'm finding a lot of places, like you mentioned, for reasonable prices. I'm not coming from LA, so the difference isn't that great for me, but I can still see that housing in that particular area looks very reasonable. It's good to know that there is a healthy mix of family, kid, and adult things to do, too!
Htownlove, I've got no bones with Houston, just doesn't happen to be where the job is right now. I actually have family that is moving there soon, though!

Might check out the north Central neighborhoods like Deerfield,Blufview Estates or Hidden Forest i'm not shure about Bluffview or Deerfield but Hidden Forest has a neighborhood clubhouse and pool plus tennis courts my Aunt and Uncle live in there not gated though.

Hidden Forest | Home Owner's Association

[tc1414]

Thanks, bgrn198! I'll definitely check more into those areas when visiting.