Moving to Texas soon. What to expect ? SA area

[pissed_American]

Moving to Texas from LA, Cali around the first of `06. I can`t take it here anymore!!! The traffic - The housing (median price just hit $500,000 this month)- The people, etc,etc,etc.

Thinking of the San Antonio area - New Braunfels, Canyon Lake or something like that. I need to be close to water. I love the Texas hospitality - something that is missing from LA.

What can I expect from the area(s) ?

My g/f is from Dallas (20 tears out) so she can`t even be sure as to what the atmosphere/TRAFFIC will be like. Her relatives have said "Not too sure you`ll like it here. You have all that stuff in LA ( Hollywood, beaches, etc) I said " That is all great IF YOU CAN GET TO IT !" Plus, only 18% of So Cal people can afford to buy a house here. I will be coming soon, but not soon enough.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

[jedicord]

1. New Braunfels area is beautiful...

But you'll be repulsed every day by the sheeple Republicans all over the place, all spewing Limbaugh lines.

Hope you have a strong backbone and a tough tongue.

[pissed_American]

3. Maybe too strong. I don`t take ANY shit. Thanx

[DUgosh]

2. Kerrville, Bandera, Tarpley, Utopia,

Best kept little secrets in Texas.

[cdb]

4. You are in a heap of trouble...

Major culture shock, IMHO. Be careful, there are some real retro attitudes frimly entrenched in the culture. My sister live in TX and it just kills me everytime I visit her.

[Longhorn]

6. Funny how I don't experience any culture shock when I visit other states.

Perhaps we Texans are more cosmopolitan than other folks? ;)

[cdb]

13. Maybe Texans are used to it...

but the other states I visit are NJ,NY, and California...which fit in with my sheltered little myopic world view.
I was in Texas in March. Lots of stuff shocked me...Incident # 465:
At San Antonio Sea World, I actually heard a guy in a cowboy hat say the word "nigra" while I was standing in a line...that threw me for a bit of a loop.. but what the hell do I know, I am an effete northeastern liberal.

[fleabert]

21. first time I heard someone use the word was in Buffalo NY.

grew up in Texas. in cali now.

[SammyWinstonJack]

29. I moved from Cali, to San Antonio

Born and raised in Cali. I didn't experience a "major culture shock". I like living in San Antonio. Close to Canyon Lake and Lake Travis, couple hrs drive to the coast, thirty minutes to float the Comal river, Austin right up the road. Housing is affordable, very, especially compared to Cali. Yep! I like it here just fine. :-)

[jandrok]

5. Anywhere in the Hill Country is good.

Lots of fine water to be had in the form of rivers and natural spring swimming holes. New Braunfels has the mighty Schlitterbahn.

San Marcos is nice, as is Lockhart, where I live. Awwwstin is just down the road. Boerne, Greune, Schertz....all of those are cool little towns.

You'll like South-Central Tejas. I've been to SoCal, and I loved it there, but you're right about the housing and the access issues. MUCH cheaper to live out here.

[pissed_American]

8. That`s what I heard. Everybody I`ve talked to says that...

San Antonio is beautiful. Not to dis any other parts, but some are nicer than others - depending on what you`re looking for. I`m looking for a non heavy conservative influence.

I`ve seen some weird portrayals in the media.x(

[jandrok]

9. SA is pretty nice....

My sister and her family live in one of the suburb towns, Converse. The area to the north side of town is really picturesque. You get a feel for the rolling Hill Country to the north and west of town.

SA is a big city without the big city feel. Lots of great Tex-Mex food, too, but it's a lot different from the Mexican food in Cali.

As Lyle Lovett sings.... "You're not from Texas, that's right, you're not from Texas....Texas wants you anyway."

Welcome aboard. Don't believe the media hype. We're good folks out here.

[Longhorn]

11. San Antonio is one of my favorite places ever!

So much to do and such cool people and culture. We've never had a bad time in San Antonio and will often drive down just to visit our favorite jazz club, Jim Cullum's The Landing, on the Riverwalk.

[jandrok]

14. Right you are, Longhorn.

SA is indeed a cool place. We almost moved there once, but decided against it. As it happened, we moved to the Austin area just a couple of months after making that decision. Lockhart isn't far from SA, and we do get there once in a while. We'll be heading through on our way to Corpus Christi in a few weeks. Gotta get a few days on the beach.

San Antonio is a very friendly town.

[fudge stripe cookays]

30. I lived in SA for 3 years...

and parts of it are very nice. You should be able to get some decent real estate for a median price.

HOWEVER, that being said, keep this fact in mind. San Antonio is the home of 5, count em 5 military bases: Brooks (which is on the government chop list right now), Lackland, Kelly, Randolph, and Fort Sam Houston.

It is a heavy duty military locale, and that attitude can prevail in many areas of town. There are some great things to do, and the whole state is pretty accessible (Texans think nothing of driving 200-300 miles for a weekend), and Latinos can usually be counted on for their Democratic vote, but things are starting to change. They are not as reliable as they once were.

For "non heavy conservative influence", Austin is your best bet. It's closest to California in attitude and feel, and is only 100 miles or so from SA. And has lots of water-based activities because of all the lakes, Barton Springs, etc.

FSC

[Longhorn]

7. There are good liberals all over this state.

Of course, as in most states, some congregate more in some places than others. I have a friend who lives in New Braunfels and she loves it and she's a good Dem. Prices can be high out by the lakes and rivers but probably nothing like what you're used to in California.

Welcome to Texas! :hi:

[pissed_American]

15. I`m sure you are right about that !...

Gas in My part of So Cal is $2.35 at ARCO. ARCO is always the cheapest.


1br 1ba apartment is only $800-1000 a month. I don`t know why I would want to leave.

[Longhorn]

16. My daughter pays $695 for a one-bedroom apartment in Austin.

Another daughter pays about $1200 a month to rent a three-bedroom house. I've always heard that housing tends a little higher in Austin than Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, though.

I pay almost as much as you do for gas but I have to put premium in my car. I was in So Cal several times last year -- San Diego for my son's graduation from Marine bootcamp, two trips to visit him when he was stationed at 29 Palms, and the Rose Bowl game in January -- and the biggest shock for me was the population density. I live somewhat in the country on 1.5 acres but I'm only 15 minutes from the Austin city limits. After it took me 2.5 hours to drive from Long Beach to Ontario one Sunday afternoon last April, I realized that I could never live in So. Cal! :D

On the other hand, the people were friendly everywhere we went! My husband and I were sitting in a little restaurant near the Berkeley airport on a Sunday morning examining a map to see how to drive up the coast to Santa Barbara for the day. Before we were done, the server and two customers had all come by to see if we needed help with directions! :D

[pissed_American]

18. I`ve heard Austin was pretty expensive compared to SA.

The politics of an area really don`t matter to me too much. I do what I want ! If someone doesn`t agree, I`ll gladly debate them.

I would love to live on 1.5 - hell, I`ll take .25

I currently live about 15 minutes from the Rose Bowl, so you can get the gist of the area. Pasadena is wealthier than where I live - but they way things are going not for long.

"fter it took me 2.5 hours to drive from Long Beach to Ontario one Sunday afternoon last April"

You must have hit one of the easy days. :crazy:

[Devils Advocate-TX]

10. SA Areas

I grew up in San Antonio. It's a beautiful town. For locations to live, I would suggest the North/Northwest side as they are set more in the Hill Country. I don't know what price range you're looking for, but I know there are a lot of new neighborhoods along 1604. New Braunfuls is an absolutely beautiful town, and I would highly recommend it. The Travel time is a bit more, but it does allow you to enjoy more of a small town atmosphere.

[Gato Moteado]

12. i was so happy to leave texas......

....and i lived in austin.

yeah there are about 8 or 10 democrats in the state outside of the ones in austin. it's hot as hell in the summer. you'll get bored of that place pretty quickly.

just my opinion.

[fudge stripe cookays]

31. This is

patent bullshit.

Dallas County went for Kerry. And there are plenty of Democratic areas in this state (Angelina and Galveston Counties, for instance).

Yes, it gets FREAKING HOT in the summer. It's Texas. But everything else in this post is blatant exaggeration.

How can we begin changing the makeup of this state without more transplants? Yes, discourage people from moving here. That's such a great idea. Just because YOU didn't like it doesn't mean anything.

FSC

[bluestateguy]

33. reply

Dallas County was 50%-49% for Bush, but that was an improvement over Al Gore's numbers in 2000. From the US Election Atlas:

Kerry 49.0% 336,641
Bush 50.3% 346,246
Other 0.7% 4,822

[carpetbagger]

17. What to expect as a blue-region transplant to San Antonio

The good side: cheap housing. The roads aren't too bad at all. they will probably get gradually worse over the coming years, especially in the northern approaches, but you can reasonably commute from the country to the city every day right now.

There's water. The place is pretty dry, but the streams are clear, and like Los Angeles, the beach is only 2 1/2 hours away by car.

If you're planning on living in the Hill Country, just remember that places like Canyon Lake are overwhelmingly republican. Here's some results from last fall...

Comal: Bush 31,574 77% Kerry 9,153 22%
Kendall: Bush 11,434 81% Kerry 2,532 18%
Bandera: Bush 6,933 79%Kerry 1,738 20%

That means Kerry pulled 30% fewer votes in Comal County, even including some ethnically diverse precincts near the Bexar County (San Antonio) line, than he did in Idaho. It's 1/3 purer than Idaho.

That might not be prohibitive for you. We Texas democrats have backbone, and there is a vibrant libertarian counterculture in the Hill Country. But, if you have children and raise them in the exurbs of San Antonio, they will be either republicans or outcasts (the "kickers and freaks" mentality).

[pissed_American]

19. I could go for the Libertarian counterculture....

Yes, I do have a 14 yr old son. He would/will be an outcast anyway : He`s one of them evil, guitar playin` rock and rollers. He`ll find his niche. He came home one day talking about how "cool" it would be to go to jail for being a CO

As long as I don`t have someone livin` right up my arse I`ll be OK



"There's water. The place is pretty dry, but the streams are clear, and like Los Angeles, the beach is only 2 1/2 hours away by car. "

And our beach is only 35/40 miles away...Isn`t that sad ?!!

Thanks for the numbers !!

[fleabert]

22. love your 'keep san antonio lame' sig...

puro, san antonio!

[fleabert]

20. traffic sucks in San Antonio, constant construction.

but not nearly as bad as LA.

I love SA, I recommend living downtown, King william district if you can afford it.

Canyone lake is nice, but developing like crazy. new braunsfels is right on 35, so expect bad traffic pretty much all the time. smack betweeen sa and austin is rough. Beautiful though...

sa is where I grew up, if you have any specific questions, pm me sometime.

[Longhorn]

23. Austin is rough?

What does that mean?

[fleabert]

24. I meant being smack between sa and austin is rough, traffic wise,

I avoided 35 like the plague.

[Longhorn]

25. Oh, I gotta agree with you there!

We usually take U.S. 281 to San Antonio since we live in Dripping Springs, southwest of Austin. When I was going to grad school at Texas State at San Marcos, I took RR 12 through Wimberley. And later, when I taught an Austin Community College class at San Marcos High School, I would take country roads to Kyle and then only be on 35 for about ten minutes. When we go to Dallas, we also usually take U.S. 281. And certainly traveling about Austin, we'll avoid 35 as much as possible!

Thanks for the clarification! :D

[TheCentepedeShoes]

26. We checked out the area

a few years ago when we lived in Florida. Went to a family do at Lake Travis and hubby fell in love with the place. Went back a few months later to check out property in Austin/Lake Travis area, Marble Falls, Wimberley, San Marcos and New Braunfels. One place I wanted to go but didn't was Bastrop, east of Austin. Really liked Wimberley alot. Found a very nice single family home in a lovely area at $125K and some townhomes in the same general location at $80 to $90K. Easy drive into San Marcos on 12, convenient to Canyon Lake. One problem though in Wimberley: the real estate folks don't, or at least at that time didn't, put their listings on the MLS. So we only saw what was listed with a particular agency. Wasted a lot of time going from one agency to another. In the end, didn't move until we came to the Panhandle for family reasons, but I still think the Hill Country is the best area of Texas. Take some time and drive around. And Good Luck and Welcome to Texas ! :hi:

[CitySky]

27. hey! I was there this weekend!

If you poke around this forum some you'll see a good sampling of active TX Dems - as tough as you say you are, you'll do fine here!

This weekend some friends & I camped at Breuscher State Park, then Sunday afternoon drove out to Canyon Lake. It was my first time there -- gorgeous spot for open-water swimming, which I adore! Beautiful. We had a blast. Still eating the roadside peaches we bought on the way home. slurp. :P

And you are right: the lower housing costs DO make life somewhat less stressful than living on the coasts. My house smack-dab in the middle of the coolest part of Houston (IMO) cost me less than half of what my sister's house in my home town Oakland, CA would sell for, and I have twice the square footage.

Come on down! :hi:

[Zen Democrat]

28. My son lives in NW San Antonio -- the Northwest Crossing area.

It is really beautiful and just minutes away from the rolling hills. Not much traffic (compared to Houston and Dallas and especially LA). Minutes away from Scenic Loop off Bandera Road. Take 151 to Westover Hills and start looking around. (Close to Sea World.)

I recommend highly.

Edited to mention the wildflowers. My God the Bluebonnets and Indian Paint Brushes were just incredible back in March/April. The esplanades in NW San Antonio were GORGEOUS.

[pmbryant]

32. I like it here quite a bit

But the growth is crazy and a bit head-spinning. But that is probably the case in many, many places.

I've lived here well over six years now and am still enjoying it.

--Peter

[bookman]

34. Come on down.

We liberals are slowly infiltrating the state. :)

Actually, Neo-cons aside. I enjoy Texas. Moved here from NJ