Moving to Texas
Hi all!
My husband and I are moving down to San Antonio from CT in July with our 3 month old little boy. We don't know a soul in SA and are looking for a rental from up here. Are there any "family friendly" neighborhoods around the city? I'm looking for an area that I can safely walk around with my little guy that's close to restaurants, shops, etc. I've heard that King William and Lavaca are great for that but it seems like finding a rental down there is impossible. My husband is going to be working at Incarnate Word so we would love to be in Mahncke Park but again finding an affordable place there seems impossible! Does anyone have an opinions about Beacon Hill, Alta Vista and Monte Vista? I would love any input from other mommies!
Thanks!
Re: Moving to Texas
sorry my computer went crazy! obviously! sorry!
San Antonio (and most Texas towns) are not walkable per se, like what you picture in the north and/or New England. We usually drive everywhere... however, in addition to the neighborhoods you mentioned, also look at Terrell Hills, Alamo Heights, Northwood... zip is 78209.
I have no idea about the price of rentals.. nor what your definition of affordable is. GL! I hope you like San Antonio. You will probably be able to find more rentals a bit further out, but San Antonio is pretty small and your husband still shouldn't have to drive too far if you stay on the north central side, especially inside 1604 along 281. (another zip to consider is 78232.) It's also a VERY family friendly town- you won't have any problems finding a neighborhood full of kids. You'll just probably have to drive to the grocery store
I agree with Lauren&Matt, Texas is not very walkable. We are living in the Quarry area (https://www.quarrymarket.com/directory_category.html), I am moving there in two weeks. I picked that area because I felt like I could go out with DD in a stroller and would be safe, also, my husband is working at Fort Sam Houston, and I have a 1 month old so I wanted to be close to him.We are living in an apartment (a three story townhome actually) for a while until we can find something else. I don't think it is very far from Incarnate word. I don't know anyone in SA either, so I am looking forward to meeting some new friends. Good luck moving!
Boerne Texas is right outside of San Antonio. It is beautiful here and everyone in Boerne loves to walk up and down the town. It is very quiet and the schools are amazing!! My son just finished kindergarten and already knows over 200 words in spanish and is already reading at a mid 1st grade level! The school system in Boerne is one of the best in Texas. It only takes me about 20 min. to drive into San Antonio. Boerne has everything you could need, the grocery store, Wal-mart, Home Depot and like 8 or nine fast food restaruants and a YMCA!! We moved here from Virginia about 4 years ago and I would not trade living in Boerne for anywhere else!! We also have an amazing Boerne Moms group that does stuff all the time. Boerne is a frindly middle to high class little city, but I am neither and everyone is still so friendly and cares nothing about financial status. I hope I have encouraged you to choose Boerne Tx, because it is an awesome place to raise children.
We moved here from Washington, DC back in December and really like the area so far. I think the areas some folks have already mentioned - Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, etc - are probably some of the more walkable that you'll find. Monte Vista is also walkable, but I don't think there are many restaurant and shop options around there? When we got around to buying a house, we opted for Alamo Heights pretty close to the Quarry Market. We can walk to a couple restaurants and shops if we want, which is great.
That said, as previous posters mentioned, it's not necessarily walkable like cities in the Northeast are walkable. Things are definitely more spread out here, which has taken some getting used to. To get more info on specific neighborhoods, you might also want to take a look at another forum - https://www.city-data.com/forum/san-antonio/. I used this prior to our move and there is a ton of info.
I hope this is somewhat helpful... As I said, we've really liked it here. The people are friendly, it's laid back, way better traffic - it's been a good change for us so far. Best of luck!
Incarnate Word is just down the street from my house, and we live in Terrell Hills. Not sure what your budget is, but if you can afford it, I'd try to live in Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, or Monte Vista. LOVE King William if you manage to find a rental there.
Sadly, this is a car town, big time.
We moved here from MD and I honestly hate to drive but even I have a car here. Especially this time of year, it gets HOT early in the day and will stay that way for the majority of the day. My daughter looooves stroller walks but if we're not out there before 9:30 or so, we don't take her out til after 7.
I live over by Sea World, which is NW San Antonio. It's a nice neighborhood and our development is off a main road with lots of stuff to walk to. There are lots of rentals out here because it's close to Lackland but it's probably a bit of a drive for your husband.
Hey!
I lived in CT from 94-03 then moved around a bit and have landed here in SA. It is very different then the NE but it is great. I am sure you will enjoy it. Each part of town has a little walkable section but overall, you will need to drive most everywhere. We live next to Stone Oak, and we rent. Rents are relatively cheap compared to the NE, but that also depends is you were near Ma or in like Fairfield Ct....
The neighborhood I live in is full of kids of all ages... I think most are.
Good Luck!!
It's probably too late for my reply but we just moved to SA about a month ago and we found a 2-brm house for rent close to Alamo Heights, on Pershing Ave (off of Broadway). If you're still looking, this area is great for families and is 5 minutes walking distance to Brackenridge Park and Incarnate Word. The park has a zoo, museum and lots of nature trails, I go almost every day.
My husband spent about a month driving around different areas and Castle Hill, Terrell Hills, Alamo Heights and surrounding neighborhoods were the best places. He just looked for rental signs. You probably found a place by now but welcome! I just found this board so I'll be checking it often, it seems like people here offer great advice! GL!