Input on living in San Antonio area

[tracymac]

I don't post much here but I get so much useful information via lurking that I thought this would be the perfect place to ask for some information about San Antonio Texas. My DH and I are planning ahead a few years to where we would like to live/retire/semi retire and he is interested in San Antonio. We were both born and raised in Southern California but it is becoming so populated that we have decided that eventually we will move. I'm looking for suggestions/info on the various cities in the San Antonio area so I can start to research Real Estate information and narrow my search. We both like the outdoors and would probably have a pool and he loves to golf. We are not into horses or a ton of land just more than we currently have (basically none) here in CA.
Thank you to anyone who provide information/suggestions.
~Tracy~

 

[libra01971]

I'm in Austin which is about 1 hour and 15 min from SA. I don't know a whole lot about SA other than the fact that we go there for short weekend trips occasionally.

Austin is a really laid-back city although I think it is growing WAY TOO FAST. The traffic is getting pretty horrible and there is always construction at the worst time of day. (probably typical anywhere, though)

I think the cost of living is pretty reasonable here and there are plenty of things to do. Town Lake is really nice for jogging/walking, Barton Springs has canoeing, swimming, etc. There's always some sort of "festival" here and people are extremely friendly (the majority of the time.) Due to the overcrowding issue, you probably won't have a ton of land but that's probably dependent on what area you live in. Unfortunately, I don't know much about South Austin but if there are plenty of nice areas in north Austin as well as suburbs like Pflugerville, Round Rock, and Cedar Park where you will get a nice, large home for a VERY affordable price. Tarrytown is a REALLY nice area in central Austin with older, beautiful homes but it can be quite costly.

 

[MarleysMom]

SA is great. I lived there for 2 years (orig from So Cal and now in Houston) and I loved it. You will get a lot of bang for your buck and being from California it will be quite a change. One major warning, it is hot, very hot in the summer and being from Cali you might not be used to that. I lived in Northern SA off of the 410 loop and 1604 Freeway. It was beautiful. My Mom lives in Wimberely, TX which is about 30 mins from Austin and it is incredible. I love to go and visit her. Real Estate is not that expensive there and it is great for the outdoors. Anywhere on the north side of SA or no of SA is a great place.

 

[tracymac]

Thanks Laura and Marley's Mom for the great information. This gives me some good reference points when I'm searching for information on the various cities, etc.
Thanks,
~Tracy~