As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
I'm moving To San Antonio, TX! Any advice?
BlueThiefZero
Denver, CORegistered User regular
Denver, CORegistered User regular
Hey all you crazy Texans, specifically those who have lived\live\or been to San Antonio! I have been looking to move to a different city for a while now and my work has allowed me to move to San Antonio, TX. I'm moving from Denver, CO (no hate for CO, I'm just about to turn 26 and want to live some more places before settling down) and have never been to San Antonio. I have spent some time in Austin since I have family there though, not that that counts or anything just thought I'd share.
The office I am going to be in is about 5 miles East of Freetail Brewing (I helped man their booth at the Great American Beer Fest) and wouldn't mind sticking close to those guys because I love their beer... and I guess not having a long commute to work wouldn't be bad either.
So I'm looking for some input on:
1. Places to live (I'm looking to rent either a small apartment or house if not too expensive. If you know a good spot that has some fun things going on, or you really like where you live, or knowledge of a place with a good front office... or anything really. That would be great.)
2. Places\Groups\Activities to check out once I move there (I'm into video games, nerdy stuff in general, microbreweries\craft breweries, playing Lacrosse, playing other sports non-competitively)
3. Places to meet people (I'm not going to know anyone once I get there so if you know people who are cool with strangers coming and meeting up, or if you and your friends want to go play putt-putt with someone new to the area, let's do it.)
I'm going to be moving there around mid-June and will probably be very out-of-sorts for a while until I get settled in. But I'm going to be attending RTX so we can meet up there if that works.
The office I am going to be in is about 5 miles East of Freetail Brewing (I helped man their booth at the Great American Beer Fest) and wouldn't mind sticking close to those guys because I love their beer... and I guess not having a long commute to work wouldn't be bad either.
So I'm looking for some input on:
1. Places to live (I'm looking to rent either a small apartment or house if not too expensive. If you know a good spot that has some fun things going on, or you really like where you live, or knowledge of a place with a good front office... or anything really. That would be great.)
2. Places\Groups\Activities to check out once I move there (I'm into video games, nerdy stuff in general, microbreweries\craft breweries, playing Lacrosse, playing other sports non-competitively)
3. Places to meet people (I'm not going to know anyone once I get there so if you know people who are cool with strangers coming and meeting up, or if you and your friends want to go play putt-putt with someone new to the area, let's do it.)
I'm going to be moving there around mid-June and will probably be very out-of-sorts for a while until I get settled in. But I'm going to be attending RTX so we can meet up there if that works.
BlueThiefZero on
0
Posts
They opened a whole bunch of new apartments along the 1604 loop in the last couple years; last I'd heard, they had a bit of a bug problem (having just cut down the forest there), but by now its probably been worked out. Might also want to check the apartment complexes around UTSA - some are complete crap, but others are quite good. I lived in Broadstone Ranch, and the apartment was well taken care of. The only problem there was noise from friday night party fraternities. (I've heard they changed management again, so it might be even better or a lot worse)
One thing to note is that 1604 regularly turns into a parking lot. 7AM to 10AM, and about 3PM to 6PM, every day like clockwork. Its the only major route to cross from east to west along the north, and it clogs like a fat man's arteries. So when you look for a place to live, keep in mind when you're going to and from work, and how you're gonna traverse the north. The huge housing expansion up there in the last 10 years really stressed out the roads. (281 North does the same thing; the 1604/281 interchange can take 30 or 40 minutes by itself at 5PM). I would gladly pay 50$ more for an apartment in Shavano Park or close to work if it meant dodging that car goosery every day.
I was a college kid while I was there, so I'm not really familiar with too much non-university social stuff. If you want DnD style gaming, there's the Dragon's Lair; for comics, Heroes and Fantasies. I never went to bars, so I'm completely clueless there.
Every year they have a Beer festival called....well, it used to be "The Fest", but apparently now its San Antonio Beer Festival. Not very creative. Still, its down by the city zoo and my boozehound friends tell me its entertaining. Next one is in October.
The riverwalk is awesome for eating/drinking, but it gets expensive. My g/f would've moved to SA just to spend more time there, as it was we went there 3-4 times a week. It's a good time.
I'd advise you to learn some Spanish if you don't know any. Tons of small Mexican restaurants that are fucking awesome even though they looked like bombed out shitholes.
It's a place with tons of shit to do and if you look around I guarantee there'll always be shit for you to do.
Ha! Thanks man. I grew up in New Mexico so I know the rule about the sketchier the place looks the better food it has. I'll keep that in mind!
People are nice. You don't need to speak Spanish, but it can help a lot. The worse a mexican restaurant looks the better the food (as long as you see cars outside). Hopefully that's helpful.
For food, you will not find better Tex-Mex anywhere else. I've actually become so spoiled by the Mexican food in San Antonio that it's hard for me to eat it anywhere else. Taco Cabana is the local fast food taco place, and it's pretty good, but the hole-in-the-walls are the best. Other places to consider are Rosarios, Chacos, Panchitos ($2 margaritas on Thursdays!), and Taco Garage. Be careful, because Tex-Mex is also some of the least healthy food you can eat. It's pretty much the cause of San Antonio's Type 2 diabetes problem.
Also, if you can head out for a visit sometime between April 19th and the 29th, you can experience Fiesta, which is a two week long party that includes food, parades, food, drinking and eating food. Also, cascarones. It's a lot of fun, although some of the events like NIOSA can get pretty crowded and drunk.
In the summers you can head to the Guadalupe river and go tubing, which involves getting drunk on a river in an inner tube. Wear sunscreen! Also, you'll be really close to Schlitterbahn (sp?) in New Braunfels, which is the best water park ever. You'll want to be near water, because it gets hot as hell in the summers.
For nerdy stuff, I'm not too sure. There's a comic book store called Alien Worlds which is supposed to be pretty good. I would think Austin would have better comic and game stores, and it's only an hour north on I-35.
Overall, it's not a bad place to live.
Awesome, thanks dude! I learned a little Spanish growing up in New Mexico, but I'll have to work the rust off when I get there.
Yeah, I've got an uncle in Austin and when I would go visit him we got to experiences an eating tradition at those tex-mex places that was basically drinking melted cheese. I really appreciate those comments about living near strip malls. Google Maps doesn't really show off a places character. I don't get paid too much, but for a bit I would rather live somewhere that isn't fake.
No hate if you live if suburbia, I just grew up in it and after living in downtown Denver for 3 years I would like to keep that sort of feel up.
I was looking on the San Antonio website and saw advertisements for the Fiesta, thanks for filling me in on what that is.
Can't thank you enough for your help. Moving is always stressful and this really helps!
Neat, where in NM are you from?
Personally, if you have the option, I would move to Austin instead of San Antonio. It's just a cool town with a lot to do, especially if you enjoyed doing a lot of outdoorsy things back in CO.
From what I understand, the Riverwalk gets old pretty quick. Supposedly the NW end of town is where you want to be now...but that's just conjecture. Either way, good luck with the move!
Check out the Drafthouse for cool crap to do. I think there's an anime night, according to the flyers I glanced over at Dragon's Lair--and speaking of which, there are a couple good Dragon's Lair locations around town, not to mention Heroes & Fantasies, plus a store at the Rivercenter called Seventh Dimension that sells everything from old GI Joes to Death Note jewelry and Gundam models; Game Over is a Texas chain that sells every kind of game in existence, from any era (we recently bought a mouse for Mario Paint)...all sorts of awesome shit.
Our apartment is pretty cool, with some caveats. I can give you more detail if you want to PM me.
Albuquerque (You can tell I'm not lying because I spelled it correctly), moved there when I was 1 and stuck around until after Undergrad.
I too would like to move to Austin. I have heard that San Antonio is a pretty interesting place, but I've been visiting Austin since I was young (My Dad is from there and my Uncle... well not it would be 2 Uncles, my Dad, and and handful of cousins live there), but sadly no one took my advice to have our new office open up there instead of San Antonio. Oh well, Austin is close and trying out new things is exciting! (If a little scary).
Thanks for the good wishes! And PS, love your picture. "This is a tale, of Captain Jack Sparrow..."
Ha! Awesome. Maybe I'll have the same luck.
Yeah, Gavindel above you mentioned Dragon's Lair so I have been going through their calendar saying "I'll go to you, and you and you..." Sounds like a really cool shop.
The other shops you mentioned I haven't heard about and will defiantly be marking them down on my epic exploration of San Antonio that will take place once I get down there.
I'll shoot you a message in just a few seconds. Thanks for all your help!