Moving to San Antonio
 

My sister just found out that she has to move from Dallas to San Antonio with her job. We both love visiting the area, but what is it like to live there? I would love someone's opinion on this. Also what are the safe areas to live in, as all citys have good and bad areas. She will be living alone and is looking for a safe, yet reasonably priced apartment. She will travel all around the city with her position, so doesn't have to live in a certain area.

Lucky sister! I live in San Antonio and think it's a wonderful place to live. Sure it gets hot here in the summer but it doesn't get so cold in the winter and snow is rare.

People are great. We have a very casual, friendly city. As far as where to live, the fastest growing area is the North side but it is not the least expensive area. Having an idea of what she considers "reasonable priced" could lead to a better answer.

She may want to ask her co-workers for recommendations. San Antonio is very much spread out. Even if she travels "all around the city", does she have a base of operations for her work or will she work out of her home? What parts of the city will she travel around.

Carroll, I have some more specific information. My sister is looking at the $500-700 range, but would like to stay on the lower end of that to save money. She doesn't mind older apartments as long as they are in a safe area and are not a dump. She is a sales rep and does not have other co-workers in the San Antonio area.

She has contacted a realtor and the realtor suggest the following:

Almonte-1474 Starcrest
Canyon Oaks/Canyon Point-16500 Henderson Pass
Countryside-950 E. Bitters
Estates of Northwoods-17635 Henderson Pass
Sedona Ranch-17655 Henderson Pass
The View at Encino(?)Commons-21303 Encino Commons Blvd

Some realtors are truthful, and some have other motives so she would really like second opinions and suggestions.

She wants to stay on the north side of town since she will be covering other towns to the north of San Antonio.

My sister is driving down to San Antonio tomorrow so I would greatly appreciate any information you could provide.


THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

I think the locations mentioned are all good locations -- all are not too far off of 281/San Pedro.

Encino Commons is fairly new, I think less than a year -- it's very near to where I live in one of the faster growing areas of town. I don't know for sure but honestly, I'd be surprised if it's in the $500-700 range but it's been years since I've rented an apartment so I may not have a good idea of what they go for. This is a very good area and must be very desirable due to the growth! (I can't believe how many houses have gone up since I moved in 4 1/2 years ago.) Of course, the roads and traffic are also very congested but you can say that for all of the areas listed. It's at the corner of Evans Road and 281.

Henderson Pass is only about 2 miles south of the Encino Commons location. Good area, probably most convenient to shopping of those listed. The other two are a couple miles further south off of 281 (Bitters turns into Starcrest so are really on same road). I would probably check these two first as they are closest to my favorite restaurant, El Jarro's, at 281 an Bitters. But again, this is a fairly congested area, especially during rush hour.

I don't think any of these problems would be a problem from the safety point of view. None are in a "Bad" part of town. Biggest issue in all would be traffic congestion but that's hard to get away from....you're going to have to face it one way or another.

And since she'll have to eat while she's here, if she likes Mexican food, tell her to try El Jarro's. Tell her to ask for Joey or one of the other Martinez brothers to wait on her. They're all great waiters and real sweethearts. And, IMO, this is the best Mexican food in town. Hmmmm....maybe I shouldn't live any closer than I do now. I'd be tempted to be there every day instead of once or twice or three times a week. :)

The area around 281North is without a doubt the fastest growing part of town - in fact, the intersection of 281 and Loop 1604 is the busiest in the county and, unfortunately, the worst designed. As Carroll notes, traffic in this area is a problem. Waiting lines are long and accidents are frequent. Realtors /apartment locators will recommend this area because there are so many complexes. IMHO, there's not a lot to recommend this part of town - it has rapidly become just one more cookie cutter suburban sprawl, could be any of a numer of cities. Your sister may want to look at the Lincoln Heights area - very accessible to all the major highways but much nicer, less congested and more "authentic" part of town. In the same general area are Alamo Heights / Terrell Hills which are, again, much more human in scale and less strip mall oriented, though not as close to the highways (but not far away, either.)

Seamus -- I live in Encino Park! This is a wonderful area.

Well, it's supposed to be a great area for kids (which I don't have any of) with the best schools (well, they tell us that's why the taxes are so high) and the reason it's so congested is because the road construction can't keep up with the growth. And we do have WalMart, Costco, HEB, Sun Harvest, Office Max, Barnes & Noble, Kohl's, Academy, movie theater, Krispy Kreme, many major fast food chains, etc., etc., all pretty much at the single intersection of 281/1604 -- I'm sure they don't contribute to the congestion but the intersection will be re-done in the next few years. And there wouldn't be as many traffic accidents if folks wouldn't get so darned impatient -- I'm not sure who is worse, the ones who run the red lights on 281 or the ones on the side streets who jump out the second the lights turn green (knowing how bad the light runners are).

Lincoln Hights is a nice area (I'd love to live there but those apartments look more expensive than my house) but may be more expensive than the suggested price range. I would expect it to be even higher than Encino Commons.

Carolldf -
nothing personal, I'm sure your neighborhood is fine.
In the Lincoln Heights area there are indeed some pretty pricey apartmetns, but there are also several other places in the general vicinity that are much more reasonable. On Broadway, Nacogdoches and even North New Braunfels there are some very cool "older" (i.e., better constructed and usually large spaces) apartments.

Seems like there has been an increase in posters from the SA area lately. Maybe we should have our own little Fodorite get together... I'll bring the guacamole!

It has been many years since living in San Antonio, but I used to rent an apartment in Northwest SA. off I-10 and Fredericksburg Rd. It is close to the medical center and it is a nice area. I am not sure what apartment rates are in SA right now, but I'm sure your sister can find something in that price range.

Thanks to everyone for their input, this will help my sister alot! And also me as I plan to visit as soon as possible. She has already turned off her internet, but I will have her post new questions when she get hooked back up. It's always nicer when you can get information on your new location, and she dosesn't know anyone living in San Antonio yet.

Semus do you know any specific names of apartments in the Lincoln Heights area that I can tell her to check out? Also, not fair eating all the guacomole without me! It's my favorite.

Carol, thanks for the very detailed information. It is really helpful!

Also, when is Fiesta, & is it warm enough to get in a pool during spring break in San Antonio? That will probably be my first opportunity to visit.

ski4me -- Fiesta this year is 4/16 - 4/25. Info can be found here: http://www.fiesta-sa.org/.

Seamus, an SA Fodor's get together is probably in order before long. I think I saw somethign about the Dallas Group is also planning one -- maybe we could have one concurrently. (Maybe bill it as a Texas GTG held in multiple locations.)

ttt for Carla

Thanks everyone for your help. Carla found a great apartment, nicer than her apartment in Irving, with a garage and still cheaper!!

Carrolldf & Seamus I will have her check this site with you for further information on local hotspots if you don't mind.

I'm looking forward to visiting SA soon!