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Let’s talk about living in San Antonio

Patricio Swayze

By Patricio Swayze
in Food and Travel

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Dilligas

Dilligas 666

Posted
Posted
On 5/6/2018 at 5:37 PM, F250 said:

It's getting crowded up here. I would discourage anyone else from moving into the area.

 

As someone who has lived near the 281/306 intersection for 12 years I second this. Horrible area, and it smells funny. Stay away.

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Mitch Cumsteen

Mitch Cumsteen 18601

Posted
Posted
On 5/11/2018 at 6:40 PM, midtown said:

I generally agree but lets not pretend as if every neighborhood inside the loop is a paradise sans the ones you mentioned.   And a lot of those homes are old and tiny and out of a lot peoples price range.   There are some pretty rough areas right outside all of those hoods you mentioned.  There is still some character around.  Drive through castle hills sans the nazi cops and you'd get every bit of feel of AH and its cheaper for non-school person because of the affiliated middle and high school but then you just go to a magnet school like ISA which is on the same campus.  Problem solved. 

Not to be a stickler, but Castle Hills (or at least the best parts of it) are inside 410. You're right, though, it's a great neighborhood with really cool older homes.

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C-Man

C-Man 27293

Posted
Posted
37 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Not to be a stickler, but Castle Hills (or at least the best parts of it) are inside 410. You're right, though, it's a great neighborhood with really cool older homes.

Huh. The Castle Hills I know of is Military Highway just outside Loop 410.

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thrillhammer

thrillhammer 684

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Huh. The Castle Hills I know of is Military Highway just outside Loop 410.

we used to go to a restaurant called mario's around that area.  just outside the loop.  great mexican food, superb service.  I'm thinking babcock exit, but it could have been fredericksburg.

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C-Man

C-Man 27293

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, relapse98 said:

Google Castle Hills, he's right, at least about part of it being in 410. The parts I've seen that are outside 410 aren't too shabby, so inside must be really nice.

Interesting. Not sure I went into the area inside the loop very much if at all. Might've gone to a few Lee parties back in there, I guess. I usually was always merging onto 410 from there to go towards North Star Mall. The cops in CH are fuckin' pricks though. Better not drive 1 MPH over the posted limit or you were in for a painful traffic stop.

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Ghost of LL

Ghost of LL 15558

Posted
Posted

I can only speak to my personal experience as a young lawyer there, so take it for what it's worth.  If you have a job and are well-established in your career, this probably won't affect you.

As a young professional, you quickly realize that the universe of young professionals in San Antonio is very, very small.  And it is peopled almost entirely with natives.  That leads to a certain provincialism.  I can't tell you how many parties I was at in San Antonio at which I was asked "so what high school did you go to?".  And if the answer wasn't "Alamo Heights," you weren't shit, and they let you know it.

The cost of living is low, but so are the salaries as a result of there not being a high number of corporate headquarters or other large white-collar employers.  The result is that there isn't much competition out there for high-skilled labor.  If you find a job that you like in San Antonio, then great--but don't expect to move easily to another company, because there just aren't that many there.

And if you decide that San Antonio isn't for you, then it's tough to find a job elsewhere because there's an inherent snobbery in Austin/Dallas/Houston that people in San Antonio aren't as skilled/talented/motivated--if they were, they'd already be in Austin/Dallas/Houston.  I can't say that that's right or wrong; I'll just say that it's definitely a thing.

So--there are definitely things to like in San Antonio.  But as a professional environment, it leaves a lot to be desired.

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C-Man

C-Man 27293

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

As a young professional, you quickly realize that the universe of young professionals in San Antonio is very, very small.  And it is peopled almost entirely with natives.  That leads to a certain provincialism.  I can't tell you how many parties I was at in San Antonio at which I was asked "so what high school did you go to?".  And if the answer wasn't "Alamo Heights," you weren't shit, and they let you know it.

This is 100% accurate. It's my experience that AH is more insular and snobbish than Highland Park IMO.

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  • 2 months later...
Dertyberd

Dertyberd 394

Posted
Posted

Didn't see another San Antonio thread.

Taking my 9 yr old daughter on an extended weekend this week.  Last minute trip and something different as I have never been to SA either. Only plan I have so far is 

Alamo/Riverwalk

Schlitterbahn on Monday

Looking for food, Tex Mex obvi, but she's an adventurous eater and will try anything.  It doesn't have to be kid oriented, but I'm not taking her to high end steak house. Is there a farmers market worth checking out? Best tamales or local specialty? Anything that will be a memorable/unique experience for a little girl?

Bi-lingual family, her first language is Spanish if that helps get her somewhere cool.  We are both blonde haired blue eyed aryans, but mama is the Latina.  She's dying to go to Mexico, but I'm not taking her to Laredo.  

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7788

Posted
Posted
On 5/3/2018 at 7:44 AM, Bert Orange said:

1) hot, dry weather with sustained drought

2) a six flags theme park

3) Miller lite / bud light

4) two good schools

5) Multitude of cheap furniture stores at every exit

 

Maybe I need to take a harder look at SA

 

What's the second good school in SA?

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7788

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, relapse98 said:

Be a tourist - go to Mi Tierra. She'll love it. Walk around Market Square.

Riverwalk - ride the boats. Its hokey, but I promise she'll never forget it. Maybe eat at some place on the river like Casa Rio.

Why go to Mi Tierra when Rosario's isn't very far away?

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Eastwood

Eastwood 4394

Posted
Posted

Take her to Kimura or Hot Joy. There are usually some cool things for kids to do in the Pearl Area on the weekends. You could also do the Zoo, Witte, and Japanese Tea Garden combo. The zoo train will take you to all three places for the cost of one ticket.

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miguelito

miguelito 11333

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, relapse98 said:

Be a tourist - go to Mi Tierra. She'll love it. Walk around Market Square.

Riverwalk - ride the boats. Its hokey, but I promise she'll never forget it. Maybe eat at some place on the river like Casa Rio.

This is a good answer.  If you haven't done these things, you need to.  You don't have to think it's the most amazing food or experience evar, but you have to do it.

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Chico_SA

Chico_SA 521

Posted
Posted
On 5/15/2018 at 12:12 PM, relapse98 said:

Google Castle Hills, he's right, at least about part of it being in 410. The parts I've seen that are outside 410 aren't too shabby, so inside must be really nice.

That is where the really great houses are.  That was one of the neighborhoods ( plus Monte Vista, King William, etc) that I used to drive around dreaming about when I was a college student. 

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Aqua Buddha

Aqua Buddha 14634

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 5/15/2018 at 1:31 PM, Ghost of LL said:

I can only speak to my personal experience as a young lawyer there, so take it for what it's worth.  If you have a job and are well-established in your career, this probably won't affect you.

As a young professional, you quickly realize that the universe of young professionals in San Antonio is very, very small.  And it is peopled almost entirely with natives.  That leads to a certain provincialism.  I can't tell you how many parties I was at in San Antonio at which I was asked "so what high school did you go to?".  And if the answer wasn't "Alamo Heights," you weren't shit, and they let you know it.

The cost of living is low, but so are the salaries as a result of there not being a high number of corporate headquarters or other large white-collar employers.  The result is that there isn't much competition out there for high-skilled labor.  If you find a job that you like in San Antonio, then great--but don't expect to move easily to another company, because there just aren't that many there.

And if you decide that San Antonio isn't for you, then it's tough to find a job elsewhere because there's an inherent snobbery in Austin/Dallas/Houston that people in San Antonio aren't as skilled/talented/motivated--if they were, they'd already be in Austin/Dallas/Houston.  I can't say that that's right or wrong; I'll just say that it's definitely a thing.

So--there are definitely things to like in San Antonio.  But as a professional environment, it leaves a lot to be desired.

Catching up with this thread but the bolded part is the truth.  We lived in AH but the wife (no pics) worked at one of the large corporations in SA so we didn't care about the whole AH/09er bullshit.  We just liked AH because it was a cool neighborhood close to downtown.  However, we were surprised how many people asked us the bolded question above.  We've lived everywhere and no one has ever asked about high school except in SA.  We knew two other very A-list couples (names you'd see in bolded print in the newspaper) and both of them said "AH is friendly but not welcoming."  I thought that was a great way to put it.

If you're just living there and don't give a shit about making connections like we were, it doesn't matter.  It matters if connections matter but it's a very insular city and some of those Powers That Be types really aren't that impressive.  They just like the people they know.

The second bolded part is equally important.  By historical accident, SA has a major corporation in every industry.  Not many cities can say that.  They have banking (USAA), retail (HEB), tech (Rackspace), etc., etc.  They also have a lot of medical.  However, if you work at a company in that industry and want to go somewhere else, you're screwed.  There is nothing else locally.  Period.  You're hosed.  If you're at Rackspace and don't like it, good luck finding another tech job.  Same applies for the other companies in the other industries.

Last sentence sums it up.  We loved living in SA but from a professional environment, it does leave a lot to be desired.  You're basically hitching your wagon to one horse and if you're in a profession where you're having to drum up business, good luck if you weren't born there.

Edited by Aqua Buddha
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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

I’m here tonight for a conference.  I will say San Antonio is not getting any worse.  It’s getting bigger, several aspects of life are improving and some are lagging.  I’d say it’s a net win.  Anyway, nothing groundbreaking in my ramble. 

But I will say, and yes Austin is fucking horriblE in this respect,  but the homeless/vagrant situation on downtown San Antonio is getting demonstrably worse.  

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South Austin

South Austin 52658

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Lobo said:

I’m here tonight for a conference.  I will say San Antonio is not getting any worse.  It’s getting bigger, several aspects of life are improving and some are lagging.  I’d say it’s a net win.  Anyway, nothing groundbreaking in my ramble. 

But I will say, and yes Austin is fucking horriblE in this respect,  but the homeless/vagrant situation on downtown San Antonio is getting demonstrably worse.  

I’ve been down here the past three days for work and this is a fair general assessment. Agree on the visible increase of homeless folks downtown. Also, there are a whole lot of old shitty dilapidated buildings downtown, making the area a combination of old South Texas charm and incredible eyesore.

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ChiTownDoc

ChiTownDoc 21181

Posted
Posted
On 5/2/2018 at 8:53 AM, Patricio Swayze said:

Fortunately for me, I don’t care for basketball.

If this happened, I would probably want to live in the northern suburbs  chances are my wife would have to work in the city (hospitals).  I am sure there are plenty of good schools and neighborhoods out that way.

Sooooooooooo you are saying it is heaven?

There’s lots of options for your wife in hospitals in the city and burbs.  They pay as well as much more expensive cities.   We have some business there   

 

TexMex is fire.  People seem nice.  I may get roasted but reminds me of OKC much more than Austin, Dallas or Houston.  

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midtown

midtown 3348

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, South Austin said:

Also, there are a whole lot of old shitty dilapidated buildings downtown, making the area a combination of old South Texas charm and incredible eyesore

SA is about 20 years behind cities like Houston as far as downtown development.  I worked in downtown Houston from 95-99.  NO ONE other than a few stragglers were downtown past 6pm and no one lived downtown or in the midtown area.  Most restaurants served lunch.  There were plenty of old boarded up 3 and 4 story bldgs.     At least that's how I remembered it.  Companies are moving back downtown as we speak as they do more and more of those bldgs will convert.  There are actually a ton of places to live downtown SA now and plenty of restaurants and bars open at night largely due to the tourist business along the river walk. 

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MaybeACoordinator

MaybeACoordinator 8350

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Catching up with this thread but the bolded part is the truth.  We lived in AH but the wife (no pics) worked at one of the large corporations in SA so we didn't care about the whole AH/09er bullshit.  We just liked AH because it was a cool neighborhood close to downtown.  However, we were surprised how many people asked us the bolded question above.  We've lived everywhere and no one has ever asked about high school except in SA.  We knew two other very A-list couples (names you'd see in bolded print in the newspaper) and both of them said "AH is friendly but not welcoming."  I thought that was a great way to put it.

If you're just living there and don't give a shit about making connections like we were, it doesn't matter.  It matters if connections matter but it's a very insular city and some of those Powers That Be types really aren't that impressive.  They just like the people they know.

The second bolded part is equally important.  By historical accident, SA has a major corporation in every industry.  Not many cities can say that.  They have banking (USAA), retail (HEB), tech (Rackspace), etc., etc.  They also have a lot of medical.  However, if you work at a company in that industry and want to go somewhere else, you're screwed.  There is nothing else locally.  Period.  You're hosed.  If you're at Rackspace and don't like it, good luck finding another tech job.  Same applies for the other companies in the other industries.

Last sentence sums it up.  We loved living in SA but from a professional environment, it does leave a lot to be desired.  You're basically hitching your wagon to one horse and if you're in a profession where you're having to drum up business, good luck if you weren't born there.

My grandmother went to UT in the 1940s and she sad that by far the biggest snobs on campus were the Isleno descendants from SA. Highland Park, River Oaks, none of that shit could hold a candle to the Canary Island Antonians. 

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midtown

midtown 3348

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said:

However, if you work at a company in that industry and want to go somewhere else, you're screwed.  There is nothing else locally.  Period.  You're hosed.  If you're at Rackspace and don't like it, good luck finding another tech job.  Same applies for the other companies in the other industries.

I disagree.  Unless you are very in very narrow job with narrow qualifications in a very narrow industry then perhaps  But if you are decent employee and you can't find a job in one of the fastest growing cities in the US then your probably a just a marginal worker who needs 5000 positions because you are the 5000th candidate. 

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midtown

midtown 3348

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, miguelito said:

It's funny the difference in *scenery* if you head towards OP Schnabel vs towards campus. 

Or if you are like me who goes all the way to Ingram.  They find at least one dead body a year in that area.  I just assumed it was a skunk or dear.

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