Might be moving to San Antonio this year... can anyone help?

I%26#39;m hoping I can get some feedback from people who live locally to San Antonio. My husband might be getting a transfer from Chicago to San Antonio through his job, and I%26#39;m looking for suggestions on which areas near the city would be really nice for both schools, new construction homes and proximity to the city. Most importantly are highly rated school districts, if that helps.

Any help or opinons are sincerely appreciated. I would say a drive within 1/2 hour from the city itself would be really helpful as well.

Thanks for your input !!!

Might be moving to San Antonio this year... can anyone help?

I%26#39;m a big fan of Boerne, Texas. (pronounced ';Burn-ee';!): http://www.boerne.org/

Boerne is 20 miles north of San Antonio up I-10. there are many other places to look, but this is a great place to start in my opinion.

it also depends on where your husband will be working.....if you know that information or any other preferences, then please let us know.

Might be moving to San Antonio this year... can anyone help?

Thanks for letting me know abour Boerne....I%26#39;ve heard that Boerne is a great place to live from someone else that I work with.... so thank for your input too.

As I get more information, I will let you know... so that you can let me know if you think of another locale that might work out even better for us if Boerne might be too far for some reason.

Again, thanks for the help!

san antonio is growing outward at a very rapid rate just about everywhere, which is why i suggest towns like Boerne that offer the small town feel and all the benefits that come with it such as the following: good school district, friendly people, quaint shops %26amp; restaurants, and beautiful parks with nature trails alongside cypress trees and Cibolo Creek.....just to name a few things that i like about Boerne. The commute from Boerne down I-10 to Loop 1604 (the outer loop of San Antonio) is 20 minutes.....from there it depends on where your husband works and what time it is. (i%26#39;m usually on the road by 6:30 to avoid much traffic.) by 7:30 the intersection at 1604 %26amp; I-10 is usually congested but it flows....the same is not true for the northeast and east sides of san antonio, where i hear daily radio reports about accidents and major delays on I-35, the north/south corridor for Texas...

I-35 = big trucks always + commuting traffic = forget about it.

all this while i drive easily down 281splitting san antonio in half....speaking of... here%26#39;s some other places to check out that you would have a shorter commute than Boerne down I-10 or 1604 (instead of I-35):

Fair Oaks Ranch

Helotes

Bergheim

see a map for this: http://maps.google.com/

type in Boerne, Tx and look at the roads/towns. i personally like the area from boerne down i-10 to 1604 and west over to 16 and east over to 281. there%26#39;s a lot of development in this area if you can find a deal....it%26#39;s pretty pricey (to me) in many areas. there%26#39;s La Canterra golf course and ';Shops';, Fiesta Texas, and they just opened an IMAX %26amp; more regular theaters, target, ross, jc penney, etc..etc...and a Bass pro shop (very fun...it%26#39;s huge!...full of all kinds of hunting, fishing, camping stuff with stuffed lions and live trout swimming around...it%26#39;s a fun diversion...anyway.).......about 10-20 miles east of there are also many great new gated communities (some with private golf courses) opening up 281 all the way to blanco, but the traffic on 281 is getting worse and worse every day, and when it gets close to san antonio, you go through stoplights....yes, a highway turns into stoplights and creates the biggest cluster f i%26#39;ve ever seen! anyway, the google map shows this by the orange road turning into the narrow yellow road (if you went north on 281 from downtown san antonio, it turns into stoplights just past 1604 through bulverde, where it turns back into a highway for the most part until Blanco) . construction is inevitable on 281 between 1604 to bulverde and there%26#39;s the talk of building a toll road up 281 and even on 1604.....on an existing road? i didn%26#39;t think it worked that way.......bottom line: stick with an orange road route and you would have a better commute in the future. notice that there%26#39;s a break in 1604 just southwest of helotes.....the map speaks a thousand words! EVERY time i%26#39;ve driven through this stretch of 1604 by seaworld, i get in the most horrible traffic...no matter what time of day! this is another example of a highway turning into stoplights! it%26#39;s ridiculous. but, hey, i%26#39;ve learned to avoid these trouble spots throughout san antonio like the plague and have learned the back roads... : - )

now, i haven%26#39;t spoken a word about school districts, because i don%26#39;t have kids and only know from what i heard. i%26#39;ve heard northside is good. i live in the northeast school district, which i%26#39;ve heard it is good as well, yet over-crowded at reagan high and bush middle school, named after the President and First Lady respectively. we%26#39;re not in a Republican district are we? ; - ) these two schools will bus new students to other schools until the fall of 2008, when two new schools are supposed to open in the 281 area. i%26#39;ve heard Alamo Heights schools are wonderful...also, you might consider looking there. some deals can still be found....Alamo Heights (see 281 area just north of downtown)....this is my top choice to live if i could find the right place. it%26#39;s got older, majestic homes in charming neighborhoods surrounded by the Quarry shops/restaurants/golf courses/parks/proximity to downtown...and the list goes on.... sometimes it%26#39;s hit-n-miss. i%26#39;ve seen one block with large mansions and two blocks over i%26#39;ve seen old wood frame houses from 1940 that need a major make-over...prices range all over the place....especially for the nice brick/stone old homes that i just drool over when i drive by.......try realtor.com and just type in the zip 78209 to see.... too much for me on my meager wages. ; -)

good luck on your searching.....hope you find what you%26#39;re looking for.....i always suggest a trip down here to look around. now is a good time. it%26#39;s not crowded, and the weather is generally nice in january.

Wow,

I couldn%26#39;t have asked for better advice and information. Thanks SO much for your input.... I am extremely appreciative!

I do plan on traveling down there from Chicago when the time comes and my husband says ';Ok, 6 months or less and we must be seriously looking for a place to live';, I will definitely take advantage of the trip down there. All of your input will make this all that much less difficult... so once again, a big thanks to you.

I know you%26#39;re a local expert thru TA, so if it%26#39;s ok with, as need be, I may post other topics if necessary, and hope you can reply to them as you have the time to do so.

Thanks again!

I am 32 years old and grew up in San Antonio. If you want to live ';in the city'; a great school district is Alamo Heights ISD. The neighborhoods that go to this school district are Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, and Olmos Park. Houses in these areas are expensive relative to other houses in San Antonio. Alamo Heights High School is a 4A public school but it the school size and quality of education is like a private school.

Reagan High School is another good school in Northeast ISD. The housing for this school is in north central San Antonio.

There are other good school districts outside the city like Comal ISD and Boerne ISD there are good too.

Thanks for your info too! My main goal is to find a great, top-notch school district, and knowing all of that about the Northeast section, etc... will help me quite a bit. I have a Kindergartner, so having this information is key to our success in moving to a place that I know will be great for us all. Thank you for your help!

I, too, greatly appreciate the responses posted. We just returned from a trip to San Antonio. Today we were at the Bass Pro shop. We hiked Friedrich Wilderness this week. Gorgeous! We are looking to relocate to that area in the summer. My husband will need to work very near UTSA. We have college age sons and younger sons, as well.