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Anyone at Lackland?
I am moving to San Antonio in the summer, anyone else live there or have lived there? Looking for any tips!
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Re: Anyone at Lackland?
HI! I'm here! We're leaving in June though. So...my tips to you.....base housing is nice from the outside (haven't seen inside), the youth center and elementary school on base is amazing. The base always seems busy, from Thurs-Sun especially. Commissary is always packed. It seems like there is always something going on either on base or in town so you won't be bored.
Traffic in San Antonio is awful, but there are some really good areas to live off base. If off base, you'll want to stay in Northside ISD and live North of 90. A great area is North of 90 and just west of 1604, but there are nice houses inside 1604 too (we live inside 1604). If you look on a map, you'll see Sea World...a ton of military people live in that area. Hwy 151 is a nice shortcut if you or hubby can take that.
Wilford Hall isn't a major hospital anymore, a lot of major services have moved to Brooke Army Medical Center, about 40 mins away from Lackland. BAMC is really nice and that is where L&D is, no longer on Lackland.
Ask away if you have any more questions...I am PCSing to Eglin and have 50 million things to ask, I'm sure you do too!!
dee & bee
mom & dad to 3 boys!
My husband is at Ft. Sam Houston which is in San Antonio too. We are Army but I was actually born and raised in San Antonio. What is your skill set? There are lots and lots of hospitals in San Antonio. Any questions feel free to ask!
Melissa
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Good luck with your move! I think San Antonio is great.
I agree 100% with the poster who recommends Northside ISD and staying north of Hwy 90. Like she said, the Sea World area is very heavily military, and the commute to Lackland is an easy 15 min or so if you're close to one of the major highways. If you're a little farther out, such as if you live outside of 1604, then you might have a tougher drive until you hit the highway. Traffic does tend to get backed up along 1604 at peak times. Other than that, I really don't think SA traffic is bad! I would avoid rush hour whenever possible, but you can get around the city very easily any other time.
What is your skill set? If you're on the clinical side of things, then are are lots of hospitals you could apply to; there's no need to stick with University or the medical center area (which is roughly Loop 1604 & IH-10). If you're a researcher, there are probably fewer options, although in addition to the University system, you might try looking at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, which is in the area of Sea World at 151 and 410. I'm not sure, but you might also be able to apply for a contractor job through the military.
If you do end up working in the medical center area, you'll find lots of nice neighborhoods all along the swath between the loops (or just outside 1604) from Hwy 90 to IH 10. I know several people who work at Lackland and live closer to the med center than to Lackland. They all seem very happy with where they live, but I'm not sure what the commute time is to Lackland. I'm guessing 30-35 min w/o traffic. At rush hour, it could easily be an hour or more. Living as close to the middle of Lackland and the med center would be your best bet, probably.
Will your DH be at Lackland exclusively? San Antonio is very joint base, so the Air Force folks often end up on the Army bases and vice versa. That could definitely affect your decision where to live, as the bases are pretty spread out.
Thanks so much for all of your feedback, I need all I can get! I am a biostatistician so I am on the research sides of things. I really don't want an awful commute, I am leaving a place where I had an hour commute and I don't want to do it again!
I am interested to see what other opportunities there are for data analysts in the area.