Howdy SA Board. The fam and I may be moving to your great city if I can land a gig at USAA. Still up in the air, but wanted to get everyone's thoughts on good locations to live. Got a small, but growing family as well.

I've checked out the "Where to live" thread, but wanted to check out the specific area near the NW part of town. Any and all perspective is greatly appreciated!

You'll have to give us more than that. Like what you're willing to spend.

Also the boundaries for "northwest" vary greatly depending on who you talk to. There are plenty of icky areas settled within and around some good spots, so that's something else to consider...just can't expound until we know more about what you're looking for and willing to spend.

I live off Kyle Seale but my office is within a mile of usaa off Huebner. I can get to my office in 10 minutes with no traffic and around 15 with traffic. I'm up in the hills so it's nice having a house on land that is not flat and has views. Reminds me of living in the hill country or Austin area. I'm so glad we didn't build in the stone oak area when we moved here 4 years ago. No way could I handle 1604 (east of I 10) traffic every afternoon. I love being in this part of town. Got one kid in little league and another is very involved with dance. Schools are excellent outside 1604.

Feel free to ask me anything specific. I grew up in Houston, lived there after graduation. Then spent 7 years in Austin before moving here for the last 4 years. San Antonio has been a very good place for my family of four to live.

I lived there for 9 years and work at USAA.

Stay away from the immediate area around UTSA. As UTSA is growing, it's getting steadily rougher. Areas outside 1604 are fine. Further out you go, the more money it takes.

Many USAAers commute 45-60 mins, so don't be afraid of a commute. Boerne and Comal schools are very good. And you get a more "Hill Country" experience out there. Boerne is growing but expensive. Bulverde isn't as nice but more affordable. New Braunfels is farther away but really booming (west side).

Also, this is the where to live thread: http://texags.com/forums/62/topics/2006777

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Still not too sure about how much we're willing to spend on a home yet. I can easily tell you it won't be over 300k so that may limit our options.

I also would like to keep the commute under 30, but I may be singing a different tune when we start looking around.

Thanks again everyone!

I like North central SA quite a bit - this is the square in between 1604 and 410 which is bordered by 281 to the east and 1604 to the west. You can get anywhere in town pretty quickly and don't have to deal with Stone Oak traffic. Lots of restaurants out this way and NEISD is a good school district. You can find homes in the millions over here, but plenty at 200-250 as well in gated neighborhoods. Good luck with the job and home search!

Thanks Doc! I'll check out that area today!

Thanks Kramer, I checked out Boerne last night and it looks like a beautiful area. Couple of questions for you and the board:
1. Do you know what the traffic is like coming down I-10 to the area near USAA?
2. I checked out Boerne's Chamber of Commerce website, but wanted to see if the town has all of the typical American creature comforts for shopping (i.e. HEB, Kroger, Retail stores for the Bride.) ? I assume so, but we don't want to have to drive 30-45 minutes in order to do the "big city" shopping.

Thanks again all and happy Father's Day!

Check out Leon Springs as well. Not as far as out as boerne.

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Thanks Kramer, I checked out Boerne last night and it looks like a beautiful area. Couple of questions for you and the board:
1. Do you know what the traffic is like coming down I-10 to the area near USAA?
2. I checked out Boerne's Chamber of Commerce website, but wanted to see if the town has all of the typical American creature comforts for shopping (i.e. HEB, Kroger, Retail stores for the Bride.) ? I assume so, but we don't want to have to drive 30-45 minutes in order to do the "big city" shopping.

Thanks again all and happy Father's Day!

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Boerne is just 10-15 minutes from La Cantera for shopping, depending on where in Boerne and how far off 10 you live. Lots of good restaraunts around La Cantera as well. I 10 traffic isn't bad from the Rim further south (construction just finished a couple months ago). They are currently redoing 10 from the rim to boerne stage road which should help the congestion there. It backs up in the evening rush hour, but I'm not too sure what the mornings look like. Whoever designed the 10/1604 interchange should be shot.

Like Ted, I also live off Kyle Seale Parkway in Hills of Sonoma Ranch. I work in the Medical Center just beyond USAA and it's an easy commute. You're lucky you just missed the IH10 expansion project but there's always more on the way. Good luck in your search.

Boerne is struggling mightily with growth vs small town feel. Plans for an Academy and other retail have caused a stir but will go forward. Lots of construction projects; long term will make traffic better, short term will be a PITA for us who live past the Dominion.

You didn't define family, but assuming you have kids, Boerne is one of the best school districts in the SA area. If schools are a concern, be sure to check into capping policies of whatever schools are in the immediate area if in the NISD. I know when we moved in 2009, the most desirable schools in NISD had certain grades that were full, meaning that your child would be bused to the next closest school. I didn't explore the issue any further because we decided on Boerne isd.

There are no Krogers in San Antonio, HEB is pretty much it. There are 2 Trader Joes, 2 Whole Foods, a Central Market and a Sprouts - not listing the ones that are close; rather I'm listing ALL of the stores in North(ish) SA. Walmarts, Costco, Sams Club also. Super Targets - there are 3. Except for Walmart and HEB, none of the above grocery type stores are anywhere close to Boerne - gotta go further than the Rim to get to them.

Live near huebner and lockhill Selma

Under 300k is easy to do on the NW side. We live in the Westover hills area (off of 151 between 1604 and 410) and my wife and I both worked in the medical center, commutes range between 10-30 min based on what time of day you leave (after 830 and before 5 gets you in the low end of commute times, if you're job allows for it. ) We have our house on the market now, new job is relocating us to the New Braunfels area. It's 3/2 2000 Sq ft for 210k, just to give you a reference. The Westover hills/Westover valley/Alamo ranch area is nice. We would stay here longer if we could.

Agree with lockhill and Huebner. Hunters Creek subdivision or surrounding areas. Commute wouldn't be bad, it's in your price range - although might be a little high depending on size needs - close to best HEB in town,etc). The local school in that area is Oak meadow elementary (NEISD), which is good; however, you might have to move as kids gets older. Agree with IH-10 and Boerne comments as well.

Helotes area is pretty nice. Good elementary, middle and high schools. Can get a good house for under 300k.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1906-Lake-Peipsi-San-Antonio-TX-78251/83977047_zpid/
If interested, I know the owner who is selling. Let me know.

My wife has worked at USAA for the past 20 years. We live in Hidden Creek. Great neighborhood with easy access to 410 and 10. Her commute is 5 minutes.

Inwood, Deerfield, etc.

Live in one of the Inwood subdivisions. Really like the area, easy access in/out, traffic not bad. Don't have kids, so no worries about schools. but from what I understand public high schools are Churchill and Clark, depending on whether one lives on east side of Bitters or west side of Bitters. Not a fan of HOA's in general, but have yet to cross ways, though it is likely an eventuality.

Came from Thousand Oaks/Jones Maltsberger area, which is not bad, either.

Live near Bandera/1604 and like this area. I would just avoid Alamo Ranch.

you could come be my neighbor...

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12227-Stable-Fork-Dr-San-Antonio-TX-78249/26321703_zpid/

Decent enough house, but it looks like they should have ordered just a *little* more tile for that kitchen backsplash...

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Decent enough house, but it looks like they should have ordered just a *little* more tile for that kitchen backsplash...

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That may be the most bizarre backsplash I've ever seen

Depending on where you work traffic can be an absolute *****. Not Austin insane or Houston crazy but 1604 and 281 can be nightmarishly slow at rush hour.

The Lockhill Selma/Huebner rec is a good one. In fact inside 1604 is what I'd recommend.

I work at the Medical Center and commute 45 minutes from La Vernia every day. People freak out that I'm south of town, but I'd rather have a long drive where I am constantly moving than stuck in traffic on 281, I-10, or Bandera Road. The options are 1-hour drive to go 45 miles, or 1-hour drive to go 15.

that backsplash is probably why it hasn't sold yet.

but I'm easily 10 mins from med center.

traffic all depends on when you are driving. get up 10 minutes earlier and you can miss a lot of it. unless you take Bandera rd or 281 outside 1604 which are both charlie foxtrots.

i-10 corridor is the place to be. I'd live nw military/huebner/bitters/blanco if I could afford it.

We recently moved to the Hills at Sonoma Ranch after living in Alamo Ranch for 6 years. It is a wonderful neighborhood and we continue to hear great things about the area schools. I definitely don't miss the traffic from Alamo Ranch.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone! Definitely helped us narrow down some areas to look at. Finally got the call and will be coming in for an on site interview next week so we'll see how it goes.