My family and I will be relocating to San Antonio from Houston in a few months. I wanted to see if we could get a little help where to look as we are not overly familiar with the area. We have made several short trips to check things out so we're starting to get some ideas.

Our children will be attending The Atonement Academy off of 1604 and Kyle Seale Parkway. As it stands now we have a pretty long commute to their school here in Houston so we're looking at this as an opportunity to cut down on that and move somewhere with a shorter commute. We'd ideally like to be in an older neighborhood but one that is safe. We have looked into Braun Heights/Braun Station West and like what we see. Our budget (depending on whether or not we do a remodel) is 240k - 300k.

We're trying to gauge whether or not this is where we should be looking and if there is another place. I've heard that Helotes is nice but the traffic would be awful because the infrastructure has not been put in place to support all the new construction. Boerne would be nice but it sounds like that would rule out an older home in our price range.

Any and all advice/help on places to look, safe neighborhoods and traffic trends would be much appreciated.

Lots of homes in the Kyle Seale area north of 1604.

We live off Kyle seale north of 1604 and love our location.

Your kids could walk to school from my house.

What about Shavano Park, really nice older homes on huge lots and not far from the school.

Great parish and school. Supposedly some very big news for the parish Tuesday evening.

If you like the Atonement, I'd recommend the Hills and Dales neighborhood itself (where the school is) unless you're working farther away in a different direction. Nothing better approximates a Norma childhood than letting your kids bike or walk to school.

Also. Answer to your question depends a lot on where work is. If you have to head east on 1604 in the morning and west again in the evening, T&Ps. If you're down I-10 though it's not too bad unless you're going all the way downtown. Use Google Maps' Traffic feature which lets you see commute times throughout the day. We studies those like crazy before buying any house anywhere in SA and haven't been disappointed. Even innocuous things like an elementary school with poor drop-off or pick-up logistics will be visible as a random dark red line on the map. Ten minutes here and there every day add up. Don't waste the opportunity to leave Tine traffic back in Houston.

Welcome to SA.

Also as to safety, there are no really problematic areas where you'd be looking. You have to get pretty far west/south on 1604 or farther in on I-10 to get into even remotely sketchy areas. Just get on Streetview when you see a house you like: cars with aftermarket rims parked in the streets/driveway all day (ie no taste and no job) = probably not a great hood.

Thank you guys for all the info. It is very much appreciated!!

Jason C. said:

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Great parish and school. Supposedly some very big news for the parish Tuesday evening.

If you like the Atonement, I'd recommend the Hills and Dales neighborhood itself (where the school is) unless you're working farther away in a different direction. Nothing better approximates a Norma childhood than letting your kids bike or walk to school.

Also. Answer to your question depends a lot on where work is. If you have to head east on 1604 in the morning and west again in the evening, T&Ps. If you're down I-10 though it's not too bad unless you're going all the way downtown. Use Google Maps' Traffic feature which lets you see commute times throughout the day. We studies those like crazy before buying any house anywhere in SA and haven't been disappointed. Even innocuous things like an elementary school with poor drop-off or pick-up logistics will be visible as a random dark red line on the map. Ten minutes here and there every day add up. Don't waste the opportunity to leave Tine traffic back in Houston.

Welcome to SA.

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Thank you. I'm more worried about my wife having a short commute to get the kids to school. My office will be near Stone Oak but I will spend at most two days a week there. The rest of the time will be mobile.

edit: nvm misread post about location

I'm gonna piggy-back the OP for a minute..

I'm looking to move to somewhere else here in SA (or NB). I live just south of Timberwood Park, and I'm not too keen to live so close to the new, elevated 281 that will be built (I'm the first subdivision from the highway, not gated).

I work just south of 281 and 1604, so as long as I don't go further north, my commute is pretty forgiving. What would be some good, safe, preferably (but not 100% required) gated neighborhoods/areas? Sidewalks and safe running areas are a must as I run solo most days. Also, good school districts. No kids and none in the distant future, but for resale value, I recognize that a strong school district plays into my favor.

Any tips or help is appreciated.

Have you looked at Belterra? It is a nice smallish gated community near Indian Springs Elementary back.far away enough from 281 to not be an issue with ttaffic.

Budget?

Probably $250-$325...maybe a little higher for something that knocked it out of the park.

And bonfarr - I did and loved the neighborhood when I bought my house 4 years ago, but I was just barely priced out of it. I'll take another look at it this time around. If I remember correctly, you can take Bulverde down to 1604 from that one?

Yes it is on Wilderness Oak just off Bulverde. Bulverde is way better in the AM than 281 once you get past the light at Bulverde Oaks. They have new homes going up now, perhaps you can build in the price range you want to stay in.

You could buy my house for sale in Oaks at Sonterra, but it is just a bit out of your price range. Other houses in the neighborhood may be within your price range, though, and there are plenty that change hands. Lots of younger families moving in.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely look into that because I was close to doing whatever I needed last time around to be in Belterra haha.