City of San Antonio

 

2

12

Clinton L.

San Antonio, TX

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:

http://www.biersuppe.c...

(the review is longer than Yelp will allow)

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Elite '08

19

85

Stacey P.

Austin, TX

I lived in San Antonio for 16 years and I am thankful everyday that I left.  The ONLY reason I would ever go back to live is if I absolutely had too because of a family matter.  There are so many things that San Antonio lacks I won't even get into it all.  But here are a few, culture, outdoor life, restaurants that aren't chains, vintage shopping, I could seriously go on and on.  But honestly, San Antonio just isn't for me.  I'm sure some people love it because of the affordable cost of living and the ability to be able to buy a big house for cheap.  But all the houses look the same and all the neighborhoods look the same. I worked downtown for 5 years and that sucked because downtown S.A. is super lame and a huge touristy trap that I STILL don't understand why you would want to go on vacation to S.A. but I did grow up there so maybe that's why I feel so strongly.  Anyways, San Antonio gets one star...my family gets the other.

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Elite '08

42

164

Jamie B.

San Antonio, TX

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!

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0

40

ryan c.

Austin, TX

I lived in San Antonio for ten years, and the only reason I miss it is because I know my way around and I met some great people there.

I never thought it smelled bad, but I do think Austin stinks.

It is a tourist town and the fattest city in the world, so you're going to see a lot of that around. There's not really that much to do if you aren't a tourist. The live music scene is pretty slow, but they do have a lot of local bands playing frequently in smoky teen-filled clubs.

There are some museums that are nice.

The riverwalk is pretty much just for tourists, I think I only went down there once or twice. The river is gross and green, and everything is expensive down there.

They do have First Friday which is nice if you like art and live music, but it's pretty lame after the first time you go. It's pretty much just a bunch of annoying teens and sweaty people crowding around everywhere.

There's Seaworld and Six Flags...Seaworld being much cleaner and more fun in my opinion.

The touristy sites are terribly boring and not worth seeing more than once.

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Elite '08

48

178

Chris S.

CA

I had never in all my years of travel been to a place that smelled so bad, I felt like vomiting.

I had always wondered why San Antonio smelled so bad. After a trip in 2002 I came across the following article released by Proctor and Gamble:

__________________________________________________ _

San Antonio Named the Sweatiest City in America

After pouring over pages of data, Old Spice is announcing the First Annual Top-50 Sweatiest Summer City Ranking to mark the first day of summer on Friday, June 21. San Antonio, Texas is the nation's number-one perspiration producer, with the average resident losing more than one liter per hour during a typical summer day. San Antonio's neighbor, Dallas/ Fort Worth, ranked number-two, and New Orleans came in at a close number-three.

To help San Antonio stay sweat and odor-free this summer, Old Spice will be delivering a year's supply of Old Spice Red Zone, the strongest form of wetness protection ever made for guys, to San Antonio's mayor, Ed Garza.

______________________________________________

You know your city smells bad when the kind people at Old Spice have to personally deliver a year supply of antiperspirant to your smelly Mayor.

I often found myself wondering what there is to do in San Antonio, besides taking pictures of people with Stage 3 obesity. The Alamo sucks, that swamp of still water and mosquitoes they call a river is heinous. Other than attending a San Antonio Spurs game, is there anything to do? I sure as hell couldn't find anything to do and was afraid to get drunk in a city that made me feel like puking when I was sober.  

All I have to say is, "Smell ya later San Antonio"... or will I? I think not.

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Elite '08

134

314

terrell m.

Seattle, WA

Downtown San Antonio is quite charming. If you stay in the vicinity of the Riverwalk and the King William district, there are lots of photo opps, good food and galleries to make any tourist happy.

It's the rest of the city that sucks. I grew up on the North side, when it was relatively underdeveloped and there was nothing to do but walk the railroad tracks or ride my bike to the quarry. Now there's nothing but concrete, fast food and cheap retail. My parents have since moved to a smaller town, so I rarely make it back.

I have never had a problem with San Antonio being smelly. Have you ever been to Boston when the whole city smells like the sewer?

I will always love San Antonio because I was born and raised there, but I moved away 15 years ago for a reason.

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52

100

Roel C.

Santa Monica, CA

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!

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2

17

Jon S.

Eagle River, AK

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 that are mere extensions of the east and west sides of town.

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 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.

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