San Antonio, TX

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ArroganceFan

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
521
Reaction score
1
Location
Central Ohio
I have a potential opportunity to move up within my company, but the promotion would mean a move to San Antonio, and I was wondering if anyone here would be able to tell me what life is like there. I am currently in central ohio, so it would be quite a change.

My company is located just north west of the airport near Woodstone. Anyone know anything about that area? What is housing like, hows the crime, what kind of stuff is there to do (other then brew :cross:), whats the culture like etc...

Any info is appreciated :mug:.
 
Overall, San Antonio is a nice place to live. The area you're referring to (north of the airport) is nice. Basically, anything north of 410 is guaranteed to be at least decent. Crime is really only a problem on the southside (primarily) and eastside of town. We get random teenagers occasionally vandalizing stuff but that's about it. My girlfriend works at KENS5 so I get hear all about it. :D

A couple of things to keep in mind - it's hot (95+F) 9 months out of the year (but not as humid as Houston), the culture is Hispanic dominated (may be good or bad depending on your preference), traffic on 1604 (outer loop) gets pretty damn bad around rush hour, and we're heavy on the restaurant chains (not quite as eclectic as some would like). The inner loop (410) usually flows much better during rush hour.

That said, the traffic is usually quite reasonable (compared to other large cities), the housing is well priced, the people are generally friendly (somewhat small town attitude), lots of good tex-mex to choose from, and we haven't been affected too much by the ongoing recession.

As far as things to do, there are tons of sport leagues (if you're into that), 3 IMAX theatres and one independent movie theater, gaming places like Dave and Busters, Bexar Brewers :), a reasonable mix of good-to-high-end restaurants, and, of course, the downtown scene. My friends and I rarely find ourselves downtown, it's basically a tourist trap. But they do have a couple of good bars (Pat O'Briens, Howl at the Moon, etc.). We normally end up at good beer bars like Freetail, Flying Saucer, Blue Star, Stonewerks, etc.

Let me know if you have anymore questions...I've only lived here for ~5 years, but I've lived in Texas my whole life...
 
I live on the NE side of SA now but lived over by the airport for years. I love SA and never want to have to leave. Crime is not bad in the area, homes will be good priced and apartments go from cheap to high depending on what you want. Only 2 or 3 brew pubs and the LHBS is lacking, so I got to Austin for that. If you need someone to get you prices or pics on an area I am up for it. I do that for the new Military guys coming to the base and would help you out, just hit me up with what you would like.
 
Thanks for the reply Iamarguy! Thats good to hear and makes me feel a lot better applying for the job.

You will love it there.san antonio is a great place to live much more mountainess than say houston which is totally flat.Hey say good bye to
your snow shovel and salt!
 
San Antonio is not bad. We will probably move before our children start school and it will be either Austin or SA. I wouldn't mind living in Olmos Park or Alamo Heights. Crime is probably worse but I like the old town features compared to living out 1604 where everything is new and spread out.

Need to perfect my Spanish though.
 
I grew up in Ohio in the Dayton area and got out as soon as I could. Career prospects are 500% better here than up there where the economy is at a real dead end. If you make the jump you won't be sorry you did. My only regret is that I didn't talk my family into moving down here with me so I still have to go visit them once a year during snow season. :D
 
I love San Antonio, about the only rude people here are the tourists :). I dont hate a thing about it except for the hot weather, but It can be quite enjoyable as well. I think San Antonio's got a little bit of everything for everyone. I am still amazed at how nice areas of San Antonio just keep popping up. It's been in boom for quite some time now.

Housing is really decent in terms of price and comfort. I've got 2 kids, so I don't get to do the club scene much, but there are decent bars and restaurants, 3 LHBS, 2 Theme parks, zoo, waterpark, good school districts to choose from, lots of historical building and culture, and a variety of city and state parks.

You're also pretty close to the hill country ( about 10 miles) , 2 lakes, and the coast is about 1.5 hours away. Even living in neighboring towns will get you to downtown San Antonio in about 30-60 minutes. Most business are not located in the downtown area , most seem to be scattered on the outskirts of 410 loop.

Good luck !
 
I've been near San Antonio for a few years now and love it. It is definitely a party city that knows how to celebrate life. My only knock is traffic. For the most part, merge means all four lanes of traffic stop to let cars in the far right lane. It's the damndest thing. Also, 40 MPH is acceptable in any lane. There should be a mandatory "Driving in Houston" course to get a license.
 
So I got the job and my RNLT date is 10 May! From what I have been hearing the North Central part of town is a good place to move to since work will be on the north east side (nacogdoches and o'connor). It seems like the area around there is kinda shady, but it is very hard to tell. One of the head guys in my company told me to stick to 281 north of 1604; it seems like there are some nice places up there, but its so hard to tell without being able to physically check them out. Is inside the 1604 loop pretty safe or is it better to stay outside the loop?

Edit: My wife is a Social Worker so if anyone knows of any MSW or Licensed MSW positions that are open in a good company that would be helpful too :mug:
 
So I got the job and my RNLT date is 10 May!

Congrats!

One of the head guys in my company told me to stick to 281 north of 1604

My advice, drive around the 281/1604 area anytime between 7 - 9 and 4 - 7. You might just change your mind about living outside the loop, at least in that area. I know several people that live north of 1604 and all they do is complain about traffic. In fact, TxDOT is proposing turning 281 (north of 1604) into a one-way street with right only turns to help with congestion.
 
My advice, drive around the 281/1604 area anytime between 7 - 9 and 4 - 7. You might just change your mind about living outside the loop, at least in that area. I know several people that live north of 1604 and all they do is complain about traffic. In fact, TxDOT is proposing turning 281 (north of 1604) into a one-way street with right only turns to help with congestion.

So you would recommend north central inside of 1604?
 
So you would recommend north central inside of 1604?

281/1604 (inside the loop) is nice. There is a mix of older established homes and newer neighborhoods. The area around I-35 and 1604 (northeast) is nice as well. I considered buying a home in that area when I moved here years ago, it's just too far from the places I frequent (e.g., Flying Saucer, Freetail, etc.).

My next home will probably be in the I-10/1604 area. It's centrally located and provides easy access to downtown and wherever else you'd like to go.
 
There are pockets inside even Loop 410 that are nice and not crime infested. Around the Alamo Heights area is very nice. Older, established neighborhoods closer to downtown.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top