City of San Antonio

I don’t think it helped that I lived in massively better cities before I moved here (.and yes, Cleveland and Mexico City are significantly better) but I dread it whenever I have visitors come to this great city of mine where I run out of tourist traps to take them to after 2 hours and the first reaction of the alamo is that’s it? It doesn’t help that San Antonio is one of the fattest cities in the states I feel like I gain 3 kilos every time I come home from vacation, maybe it’s because it’s impossible to walk anywhere because there are no sidewalks. Save yourself and visit Austin instead.

As I read the reviews of my dear city, I was certainly surprised at all the negative reviews! A little about me:
I was born in Brooklyn and my family moved here when I was 3. Aside from a short stint in Michigan (less than a year), I grew up in San Antonio my entire youth. I attended Northern Hills Elementary, Garner Middle School, and the International School of the Americas for High School. See my entire youth I was looking for a way out… I had to get away from past family issues, this town, my old life. So I joined the Marine Corps and literally ran away from home.
Its amazing what perspective will do for you. I lived in many places after leaving San Antonio and the entire time I was wondering, hoping, grasping at the idea that one day I’d finally be able to come home to good ‘olé San Antonio. From the Arizona desert (Yuma) to inside the beltway nightmare (Wash, DC), I have seen one extreme to the other in terms of living conditions. I used to joke that my entire youth was spent trying to get out of San Antonio, but my entire adult life was spent trying to get back.
An injury put me out of the Corps earlier than anticipated. I packed my wife and newborn son into the car and we came home to San Antonio where we’ve now been living for almost 4 years. I bought a home, had a few jobs and have now started my own business here and can definitively say, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is no place I’d rather live, raise my family and own my business that San Antonio Texas.
The family-​friendly atmosphere, the reasonable cost of living, the wide array of educational opportunities as well as the several major employers here make San Antonio an ideal place to consider living. Like any city we have our less affluent areas, our higher crime areas and the areas where homes are empty because no one dares to live there. I would counter that point with saying you find me any other city that has this much to offer that doesnt have these problems, and I’ll buy you a drink.
I love this place. I couldnt imagine moving my family anywhere else. I make good money (well over the median income for this area), have a nice home (not a cookie cutter in a KB Home neighborhood) and my sons have access to good education. What more could I possibly ask for?
I love you SA!

I felt like a bear who got lost in massive city, and living on the riverwalk and hanging out with my equally alien British colleague hardly helped. I have been lucky enough to have the river flowing practically below my patio, and I lived in a hotel that cost $ 170 on a corporate discount, but I missed home the entire time.
Outside of the Riverwalk, San Antonio is your typical Texas urban sprawl. I take that back. If you don’t read any of the 5 billion billboards lining the highways, it would look like any urban sprawl in America. The southern hospitality is nowhere to be seen, possibly because they aren’t used to seeing my alien face. The food is downright unimpressive even for a non-​taster like me. Oftentimes the only salad entry is covered in cheese. Things are cheaper, but not as cheap as you might think — I would say for the price of a mediocre meal on the Riverwalk, you can get a very nice Indian cuisine in the Bay Area with a treat of froyo next door.
I did go to the Alamo. Nice little history lesson, but positively spoiled by an aging Texas man sitting outside preaching the harm of gun registration. I’m not your fervent anti-​gun activist, but having an unregistered gun in every house in America sounds borderline insane. Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to register the shoulder-​carried missile I bought off of a drunk Russian mafia in LA.
I can’t help but compare SA to its next door neighbor Austin. Austin is as hot and unpleasant, but it has a character. It has a top university in the city. More importantly, it knows how to have some light-​hearted, irreverent fun. In contrast, San Antonio is rigid, unremarkable and too eager to out-​Texas Texas.
I have no doubt that if you hang with the right crowd, this could be a friendly place. Problem is, there probably isn’t really a right crowd. Aside from being the sweatiest city in America, this is also the second dumbest city in America — which according to a friend means that the city is not even very good at being dumb.

It’s OK. There are things to see. The Riverwalk is beautiful. The Alamo is interesting. The city seems to be Conference Central. LOTS of business travelers. We only had one decent, friendly restaurant server the entire time we were there (at a Belgian bistro) — the city, in general, is not friendly. I was expecting Southern hospitality and there is no such thing in San Antonio. Just set your expectations at this level and you won’t be so disappointed.
Hotels and restaurants are pricey near the Riverwalk. We used the Riverwalk at night because the streets above seemed a little (or a lot) sketchy. The Riverwalk is much cleaner than the city above, as well.
Overall, I would say it’s worth 3 days of your vacation. I wouldn’t recommend going on vacation just to see San Antonio. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend going on vacation just to see the State of Texas. We did and we were disappointed.

There’s five major cities in Texas, each offering a completely different living experience. Dallas contains flavors of the Midwest. Houston offers a traditional Southern flare. El Paso is straight-​up Mexican. Austin is the artistic mecca of the state. San Antonio… well, San Antonio is — to me — the truest example of pure Texas. It’s a great example of diversity, too, with a majority of the city being Hispanic, and the Tex-​Mex lifestyle is a way of life.
Even though it’s the seventh-​largest city in the nation, San Antonio takes advantage of the surplus of open Texas space, providing many different distinct neighborhoods each with something to offer. From a food perspective, there’s plenty of good eats to partake, though the fine dining is lacking in comparison to what you might find in any off the other big cities in the state. The artistic stuff on the whole follows this trend, and while it’s not unavailable in San Antonio, it’s a lot easier to find an hour up the road in Austin.
The north part of the city is the part that’s expanding the fastest, and the cost of living in lower than some other big cities. Because everything’s spread out, you’re going to have to drive at least a little bit, and at most at lot, though the traffic flow is pretty quick, provided you’re not at a point where two major highways intersect during rush hour. The spaghetti nature of the Texas highway system has its benefits and disadvantages.
The city is fairly conservative, and is home to a large military population, but I can guarantee there’s something here for you no matter what you like. Personally, I would prefer a little more of an Austin influence to the city, but as it is, the past year I’ve spent in San Antonio has been a great experience, and I would definitely consider living here again, regardless of how ungodly hot it gets in the summer.
Oh, and to all those that claim the city smells — we didn’t smell until YOU showed up! Burn.

San Antonio was an amazing city to visit! The city literally has a culture all of its own — everything from the Riverwalk to the Missions makes it a truly memorable city to visit. If you’re looking for a great place to vacation to, consider San Antonio.

Just visited San Antonio for the holidays for a day and found it to be a very charming city. Enjoyed the River Walk the most, looks like a fun place to be for hanging out in the summer or on the weekends; the Alamo is something that everyone should see. Quiet city, slower pace, friendly people. Not nearly as many homeless people lurching around as Austin. Very clean by comparison as well.

I was born and raised in this city and now at 27 years old it is starting to get to me to live here. It is bearable at best. It’s not about the construction or boring tourist sites (who in their right mind would spend their vacation here?) and cookie cutter homes. There’s no uniqueness to me (I guess that’s a word?)
The one thing that has frustrated me to no end is the lack of career opportunities here. I was completing my Associates, then my bachelors and I make about mid-30k’s /​year for 5 years of experience with a degree in business. I’ll be starting my Masters in the Fall at UTSA and once I graduate, I’m getting outta here! Austin seems like a world away in terms of atmosphere, lifestyle. The other I was sitting here at home and thinking about there’s nothing to do that I’m interested in such as cultural events, outdoor activities. it’s very hard to stay in shape when everyone around you is overweight or battling a weight related issue.

After reading previous reviews of San Antonio. I felt surly San Antonio can’t be that bad. I have lived here for over 8 years, and I am sure other people on this website have lived here longer. I really like San Antonio. I have lived in many different places in Texas that were terrible compared to San Antonio. That being said I can’t just sit quite a let the bad reviews flow without putting my two sense in, and I hope I’m not alone here. I am sorry that certain visitors didn’t find enough places that offer more art, more nature, more smokeless environments, more history, more Upscale shops (for your $ 100 pairs of socks), real five star restaurants, and of course more GPS friendly roads. I never really had them problems here. Maybe I live less ritzier life; that San Antonio offers me. I can’t say what would drive people to make such bad remarks or reviews about San Antonio. The only 2 things I could come up with is Mexican Food always swims in grease, and other than looking for bootleg movies why would anyone go to the Eisenhauer Road Flea Market.

We toured San Antonio for five days. If you’re considering it, we offer nine reasons why you will be disappointed.
(1) SA has more freeway miles and lanes than any other city we’ve seen, even in the central states, where every city seems to have substantially more federal pavement (or payment?) than comparable cities on the West Coast. However, quantity is not quality. SA brags that its roads grew out of cow paths and its map resembles a skillet of snakes. Its freeways, too, were designed with the brains of cows and the appearance of snakes. They’re everywhere. They twist and turn. They widen abruptly from two or three lanes to six or eight, then narrow again and repeat, often through massive clusterf*ks («cloverleaves» doesn’t describe SA’s interchanges) which collectively occupy thousands of acres although most are stacked three levels high. Entries and exits are everywhere and about one-​third of them are on the left, which effectively destroys the idea that left lanes move faster. Navigation requires multiple lane changes at high speeds, from entries to exits within a mile of each other but on opposite sides of the freeway — sometimes, just to stay on I-​10! In addition, movements from, say, I-​10 to I-​35 and back to I-​10 are common, as are movements to and from frontage roads. Of course, a GPS cannot determine whether you are on the freeway or paralleling it; so, unless your GPS thinks faster than ours, you will repeatedly experience situations such as this: you will enter a crowded six-​lane section from the right with a left exit in one mile, but your GPS won’t advise you to move left for thirty seconds, by which time you’ll have traveled half of the distance that was too short to begin with. Your GPS will be further confused — as are SA’s residents — by the fact that the freeways are under constant construction. Entries and exits regularly disappear or are relocated. Yet, inadequate as your GPS may be, you’ll be road kill without it. Half of the city’s population lives on the freeways and too much of it is wannabe cowboys in crew-​cab manure trucks who think they’re driving Porsche 911’s. SA’s freeways are a chaotic and dangerous maze, but neither I nor our GPS knew how to avoid them. After three days, Lana complained that her stomach became upset every time we entered a freeway. After five days, happiness was SA from 10,000 feet.
(2) SA’s streets are, as advertised, a skillet of snakes, except that a snake is called a snake from head to tail. SA’s street names often change at intersections. Some have been renamed or have simply disappeared. Two restaurants recommended by fellow Unilocalers, both in established areas, were on streets that do not appear on the latest AAA map of SA. Another was on a street that had been converted into a pedestrian mall. Our GPS found them. It also frequently advised us to turn on street X when it was clearly labeled street Y. Most of the time, it was correct: we usually discovered that street X actually was, once had been or would become street Y. If you don’t have a GPS, burn your map and hire a cab.
(3) We drove for many miles through the city and never saw an area where we would consider living. Even the King William district, item 7, is only a dozen blocks long by two or three blocks deep, bordered by the noise of the city and poor commercial districts. We were told there are some very wealthy areas. If so, SA’s vast sea of poverty punctuated with occasional islands of prosperity is a third-​world model, flatly unAmerican.
(4) A five-​star restaurant in SA would rate two to four stars in most other cities.*
(5) The Alamo is an important historic site but it’s a rather plain building that was chosen for its defensibility — thick walls and a clear field of fire — not for its architectural or esthetic value. There isn’t much to see.*
(6) The River Walk would be nicer if the river was cleaner; if the river bed was not lined with beer cans; and if the walk was not under construction by the commercial enterprises that created it as a tourist attraction cum shopping mall, not as a civic improvement.*
(7) The only entirely free attraction is the King William residential district (even the parking is free), and it is worth the trip only if you have an intense interest in Victorian mansions.*
(8) Items 5, 6 and 7 are the best things to see in SA, collectively good for one day of leisurely activity, if you take a long lunch and quit for an early dinner.
(9) There are no natural attractions. SA is built on flat scrub land. Its trees and bushes are dry and stunted. Its only hills are its massive, ugly freeway interchanges. If you must go, try to arrive in late fall or early spring because, in every sense of the word, SA is a desert; and it’s not an interesting, grand or beautiful desert, either.
*See individual reviews.

I do enjoy living in this city. Granted, it is nothing like my home town of Bend, OR or the Northern California Sanfranciscosanjosesantacruzia that I love and am used to. But, this town does have a small town big city vibe to it. Unlike Austin, this city sprawles its resources, restaurants, and attractions over a bigger distance and isn’t so crowded or focused on the city center, unless of course you have yet to visit the Riverwalk, which I do recommend to first time travelers… but leave it before it breaks your wallet for overpriced ok food.
Restaurants in the city leave something to be desired. You can find most anything generic, but when you are looking for that flair of local cuisine that just makes you go… DAMN!!! … it is hard to find. The city itself has a long way to go in this department, unless you really REALLY love Mexican food.
Also, as is a general rule with Texas, the city is a bit on the heavy side. Very few Bike, Hiking, or Outdoor activities exist here. I laugh at all of the advertisements for healthier living riding a bike when I think of the obvious lack of any bike lanes on the roads… and who would be stupid enough to try to cross under and interstate (which also boasts NO sidewalk for pedestrians) on anything without four walls of steel to surround your poor fragile body.
And while this city is better than many cities in Texas about activities to enjoy besides bar hopping, it still falls into that Texas adage of «drive someplace, eat/​movie, go home and shut door». Unfortunate that with so much land that there is so little to do outside. Must have something to do with the heat, eh?
There is one hell of a Water park near the area. For those of you who have not been to Schlitterbahn (and hopefully you have been there on an OFF day :) you do need to go. Uphill, rollercoaster style, waterslide… 40 min continuous lazy river… added benefit of an actual river that is 2 miles in circumference that you can float on with beer. Hell yes. Also, there is a Seaworld and Sixflags here for those inclined.
All around, an ok city to be in, and one of the better, if you ever find yourself in the great state of Texas.

A year ago my wife and I were recently stuck in a little hell-​hole known as ‘The Victoria Area’, that is, the Victoria TX and the surrounding areas where the utility companies will cheat you just about as badly as the employers. We only moved to San Antonio to get a better paycheck and to find better sources of entertainment than long hours of driving. Long ago we used to live in the St. Louis metro area where besides the usual gripes I still find I missed living in a city, and thankfully San Antonio has been a very pleasant surprise:
[and the surprise is, the rest of this review ain’t there anymore…]

I am truly amazed how many people gave bad reviews of San Antonio. They are so worldly that they moved all the way to Austin? Since I have lived in several great cities (San Francisco, DC, Orlando) I feel I can give an accurate review of this city. Since I have not been out clubbing, my review is based solely on cost of living, dining experience, family activities and such.
First off the cost of living and quality of life is a GIANT LEAP from San Francisco and DC. We had a new home built in Live Oak-(3300 sq ft) with a mortgage of about $ 1000 cheaper than our flat in San Francisco (1100 sq ft). We actually know our neighbors down the street and spend time with them. In San Francisco we were the only family in our building that spoke English. We never met our neighbors in DC.
The dining and food options are not to par in my opinion. San Antonio (Texas in general) is severely over weight. I’m so sick of Tex-​Mex covered in cheese. What is up with these huge portions? Doesn’t anywhere provide organic options? San Antonio needs to go on a diet!
As far as things to do… I’m not much of a hunter or fisher… but I can say vacation accommodations are on point. If you say you would never vacation in San Antonio… then you ha vent been to Hyatt Hill County. With Sea World and 6 flags in the area… it offers almost the same attractions as Orlando… minus the guy with the big round ears.
I would give this place one more star if it were any closer to a beach… I really do miss the Florida beaches!

I grew up in Austin and have lived in this city for the past 10 years and really liked it at first, but this place is getting more and more pathetic every year.
The cons:
1. The highway system has ALWAYS had construction on it. For the past 10 years, there has ALWAYS been construction on Loop 410 or the northwest part of 1604 near Sea World. Hard to imagine that Austin Hwy, Fredericksburg Rd, and Commerce St used to be the main highways that went through town.
2. The suburban sprawl. 10 years ago, Loop 1604 was where the upper middle and upper class lived and was still on the outskirts. Now it has been overrun by chain restaurants, chain retail stores, and tract homes. The once middle class area around Windsor Park Mall (which has closed and boarded up like every other place) has turned into another east side ghetto and the classy Windcrest is surrounded by it.
3. The houses here. A rule of thumb is if you buy a KB, Centex, Choice, or other cookie cutter home, the neighborhood will be a ghetto in less than a decade, or even from the start. You want a nice established area that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket and hasn’t turned ghetto? Look in Live Oak, Universal City, Brookhollow, some neighborhoods off the north end of Thousand Oaks, and the Kings Highway area (yes, it’s nice there, old homes from the 1940’s and 1950’s that are well-​kept). Stay away from the areas around NW Loop 410, Hwy 151, Walzem, and FM 78 with seemingly nice middle-​class homes (mostly built by the cheap Rayco and KB Homes) that are mere extensions of the east and west sides of town. Many of those neighborhoods will have trash all over the place.
4. The Riverwalk is not all that, even during Christmas. It’s too commercialized and all the restaurants are mediocre. Read the reviews of the restaurants I rated and stick with them. And if you like Christmas lights, go to Windcrest or a night out in Johnson City or Fredericksburg.
5. People’s driving habits are abominable. Seriously, it is not unusual to see someone going 45 in the left lane and 80 in the right. Many drive at a very leisurely pace, even when there is no traffic
6. Weather is typical Texas. This has been the rainiest summer we’ve had in years, so that is a break from the heat, but otherwise, summer tends to go on forever and almost no winter. Humidity is actually very moderate, compared to Houston or New Orleans.
7. For this being one of the largest cities in America (it’s actually #30 considering the metropolitan area), the pace is pretty slow and much of the average populace have settled for complacent mediocrity. The economy is based mostly on tourism, the military, USAA, Toyota, and not much else.
Pros:
1. The cost of living here is very cheap, as if you were living in Iowa or Mississippi, but be careful where you buy a home. The city has a reputation of tract home neighborhoods turning into ghettos only a decade or two after being built, unlike neighboring Austin. Read #2 above.
2. People are overall friendly, compared to most big cities and despite the strong military presence of the Army and Chair Force.
3. Hispanic culture is nothing short of wonderful, with their Fiesta’s and excellent Mexican restaurants. But unfortunately, many other cultures are lacking.
4. There’s a lot to do for the younger crowd into the nightclub or other party scene.

If there was a city I would send all the lepers, homeless, my most hated enemies, and all the people who are on my ever evolving shit list, it would the city of San Antonio.
1. It smells like foot and ass.
2. While Florida is the penis of America and New Jersey is the armpit, San Antonio would be definitely the space between the balls and asshole of America.
3. Fuck the Alamo.
4. That river whatever it’s called smells like shit.
5. FUCK YOU, SAN ANTONIO. You and your cow-​tipping residents. And fuck the Spurs!