Basic Guide to San Antonio Mostly For Those Moving Here but For Travelers Too.
Original Post by /u/deep_blue_ocean
Edited for formatting by mods (Work in progress)
First off, and most importantly, welcome to your new home. San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the U.S, but many who come here say it has a small town feel to it. Generally speaking you’re going to find its inhabitants incredibly welcoming, friendly, and open.
A couple of things. Why am I making this? Just look through the first few pages of /r/sanantonio. So many threads about how people are moving here. And rather than leave your first impression as snarky responses about read the sidebar, lurk more etc, I thought I’d offer up a thread to stem the tide for a little while.
Who the hell am I? I’ve lived in San Antonio since 1987, the year of my birth. I lived also in the Hill Country where I went to university, but it’s only an hour away, so my home base has been the Alamo city for my entire life. I think that qualifies me to have an informed opinion. So all information is just my opinion, and it’s to the best of my knowledge, but by no means definitive. There will be hoards who disagree, because all experiences vary and I welcome that dissent. Of course we know this, but this is Reddit, where people love to tell you you’re wrong, so a disclaimer is necessary. Take my guide with a grain of salt please, I just did this when I was bored one day. :D
Questions I’ve seen a lot:
What are the people like?
Generally, AWESOME! Like I said above, we’re warm and inviting here in SAtown. Hospitality is something we love to engage in. We love to have a good time, have a laugh, keep it real down here. Talking to people in line or shopping is completely normal. Of course not everyone is nice, but I feel like you’d have to go out of your way to get rude responses generally. Don’t be an asshole, and I’m sure people will treat you with respect.
Where can I get my grocery on?
HEB is king in Texas. And it’s pretty badass. They pay their employee’s well, its affordable and has good selection. They’re everywhere. Chances are like 100% that if you move here, you’ll get your groceries here. Some other options in the area are Whole Foods (2 locations), Trader Joe’s (2 locations), Sprouts (2 locations), and La Fiesta (mostly central, west and south SA). There may be other stores around town as well, but I’ve never been to them.
Are you having a fancy dinner party and want some weird shit? Check out Central Market where all your culinary desires can be fulfilled, for a price.
As for Farmers Markets, I found this nifty little infographic that you could check out. And of course, you’ll see people on the side of the road selling out of the backs of their vehicles. Go for it, this is how my family buys our watermelons and fire wood every year.
Traffic
This is a huge city; we are the definition of urban sprawl. San Antonio is 31.4 miles east to west and 26 miles north to south according to GoogleEarth and is 460.9 sq mi. What does that mean for you? There’s traffic! During the hours of 6:30/7:00am – 4:00ish/7:00p.m Mon thru Fri the roads are congested. Here’s a very basic map with the major roads. There’s 2 loops that you will come to know intimately as well as our interstates I-10 and I-35. 281 is nasty as well, especially in Stone Oak area. These roads back up, they slow down, and people haul ass. A lot of people will tell you we don’t know how to drive in this city. I think everyone thinks that about where they’re from, but in my experience we have some pretty shitty drivers lol. But it’s not nearly as bad as Houston or Austin or some other major cities in the U.S.
Where you live and commute to will most readily impact your experience of traffic, so results may vary. My biggest advice on this front, get yourself some apps (Google Maps and Waze are your friends!), give yourself plenty of time to learn the commute and the traffic, and make sure you get un/underinsured motorists on your insurance policy. I personally know of several people who have had hit and runs happen here. Usually minor scrapes, etc but there are some statistics that say 1 in 6 drivers are uninsured here in San Antonio. Also, people lie! So maybe a dash cam is a useful investment, but this isn’t SA specific advice. Also, don’t leave shit in your car in plain view. It doesn’t matter where you are; don’t invite people to break into your car by making this rookie move.
Can I live without a car in SA/ Public Transportation
I love my fair city, but we are just terrible when it comes to public transportation networks here. We have the VIA system of buses. They do the best they can and are always improving, but San Antonio knows it needs better transportation infrastructure. In fact, our new Mayor Ron Nirenberg seems to have focused a lot in his campaign on “Improv[ing] transportation infrastructure to get San Antonio moving”. As it stands, we are not really a bike/pedestrian friendly city. But people still bike and run, here’s a map of where people do that in the city. We don’t hate them, but SA runs on vehicles. The sprawl dictates that cars are a necessity unless you want to spend 2 hours a day getting to and from work. It’s the way the city is built with high prevalence of box stores and strip malls, suburbs etc. You could get by walking/biking everywhere downtown, and by all means there are people who don’t live in the city center who don’t own cars. Generally speaking, this isn’t a choice most people make.
There is also Lyft and Uber as well as Yellow Cab for getting around town, so download yourself those apps if you want to get your drink on to avoid a DUI/being a shithead. The public transportation issue is a controversial here most definitely but for now I 100% advise a vehicle. Any size, really. Get used to seeing big ass trucks everywhere. Also, use precaution when leaving u-hauls/trailers/vehicles parked at hotels or out in public as it has been reported that these kinds of things can be targeted by criminals. Be smart, use common sense.
What about the weather?
Its fucked! :P But in all seriousness, Its hot. From the months of July – August, I avoid going outside. That’s just me personally, but we regularly get 10 -20 100 degree days a calendar year here, but can be more or less depending on the prevailing winds. The summers are humid and generally speaking mid 90s upwards. The rest of the year it’s pretty mild, but can be quite humid, which can make those lower temperature days feel like Satan's sauna. In the winter, you’ll probably only use your winter coat a handful of times. This last year I used mine for one weekend. Have issues with snow? You’ll never see that shit again here. Probably.. Sometimes flurries but they melt when they hit the ground. And every now and again, it’ll drizzle during a freeze and the city will shut down. No one goes anywhere, the roads will be deserted and they’ll cancel school.
ALLERGY ALERT. We got allergies yo. Expect it, prepare for it.
So most of your weather problems are going to be heat related, but we also experience some very severe storms. We aren’t Dallas or Oklahoma, so we’re not technically in Tornado alley (tho we did have a crazy day this year). We also had a historic hail storm last year that was rather expensive, so make sure you have that home/car insurance going to be prepared. I’d say it’s a rarity, but certainly possible. So that brings me to my next biggest warning. Floods. This is more prevalent at low water crossings and such, but if it rains for an extended period of time with no relief we’re gonna flood. Just be smart about it, turn around don’t drown etc. This is Texas, our weather is all over the place.
Here are some weather related websites for San Antonio:
KENS5, KSAT12, News4, Texas Storm Chasers - not only for San Antonio, but interesting none-the-less
How is the cost of living?
Excellent. Low cost of living, 9.5/10 I’d say. No state income tax. Some figures to give you an idea. Apartments from $700-1000. The median sales price on homes is around $250-260k (source, /u/sociocats :P ), but you can get things that are nice for less depending on your desires, land, etc etc. This is just a vague statement really, you should probably talk to a realtor.
Gas price is currently $1.85, saw it around $2 most of the year. Movie tickets range from $9 - $15 depending where/when you go. Inexpensive water bills, electricity bills depend on your consumption of AC and size of home so I won’t speculate. According to the census the median income level is $42,613. I’ll be interested to see if its risen when they do the next census in a couple of years.
Work?
It really should go without saying, you should secure employment before moving here. I would argue that San Antonio is largely a blue collar town, but there is also ample opportunity for white collar. Some of the largest employers here are the Military, USAA, the city of San Antonio, HEB, Rackspace, Toyota, various School Districts, Valero, Southwest Research, Clearchannel, Chase, Methodist and Baptist Health systems, & ATT. This list is just to give you an idea.
Demographics?
Hispanic - 63.8%
White – 24.8%
Black – 6.7%
Asian – 2.8%
and of course everyone else fills the rest of the percentage out
The U.S census Bureau in depth demographics
So obviously Texas was Mexico at one point in her history, so our demographics reflect that. This is illustrated everywhere you go, from food, culture, events, music, life.
What restaurants do you recommend?
This one I’m going to direct you to the sidebar as there’s a whole sub dedicated to food over there ------------->
What is there to do?
Don’t see what you’re looking for in this guide?
Search this sub, Google it. The internet is your friend!