Well, my dh is accepting a job in San Antonio, TX. Now the fun begins. I've always loved TX and I'm excited about moving back there. We're looking for about 10 unrestricted acres within an hour's drive and/or 60 miles of SA. We want chickens, (dd MUST have a horse!) and a few goats. Does anyone out there know of available land that fits our needs? Does anyone out there know of someone that can point us in the right direction? We would like to begin looking at properties ASAP ... within the next month, at least. Thanks!

-- Sabrina (scsabrina@sc.rr.com), June 18, 2001

Answers

Hello Sabrina. A big Texas welcome to you and your husband. I live in San Antonio and have a place north of here about an hours drive. Bandera County is on the edge of the Hill Country and is usually about 5-10 degrees cooler than SA and other places south of SA. There is a lot of diversity in the terrain. Counties north to look for land would be Bandera, Kendall and Medina for starters. Also in those areas you will find lots of creeks, lakes and rivers and the best Sunday drives ever. Our local paper is online - San Antonio Express News- so you might get some ideas looking in the classified section. It does make a difference traffic-wise, as to where your husbands office/job will be, which side of San Antonio. You can email me privately if you'd like about those particulars and see if other areas would be more convenient for commuting. Carole

-- Carole in Texas (carle@earthlink.net), June 18, 2001.

There are loads of places in the hill country for you to choose from. To search out Bandera, Medina and Kendall counties, go to:

http://www.google.com/

and type in 'Bandera county Texas' as well as the others. You'll get all kinds of info including realtors, and many of them have websites and e-mail addies to write to. I'm also looking in those areas, and have done a lot of e-mailing before driving up to check places out. Cheaper than phone calls! -G- Be sure to tell them you want unrestricted property due to your critters. Having fowl (many males!) and a pet hog, I have to do the same.

-- ~Rogo -Texas- (rogo2020@yahoo.com), June 19, 2001.

How exciting , I remember the feeling for looking for aour farm .Then the feeling of finally moving to it .It was so exciting and fun .Now I remember all the aches and pains from daily work and of recent siding it !

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), June 20, 2001.

My parents and sister live 32 miles S. of S.A. in Floresville, it's pretty and green down there, some rolling hills etc. My sister is a teacher at the elementary school. I doubt there are any restrictions outside of the city limits, my parents had goats, and a horse at one time, and they lived in a really nice subdivision north of town. Carol

-- Carol in Tx (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), June 20, 2001.

One has to be careful about some 'subdivisions.' They usually have a Home Owners group with restrictions.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), June 21, 2001.

Howdy, Sabrina. Well, I'm an ex-Texican; lived in the Hill Country west & south of Austin for about 12 years, always loved it (but watch out for deer on that early morning/late evening commute!). Land is high as a cat's back now in some places. Everyone wants to move there and be next door to Willie, Waylon and the boys, drink Lone Star and eat good BBQ! (I actually did live near Willie at one time..) If you can live a ways out, do it. I think the corridor between SA and Austin will be high; San Marcos was beautiful when I lived around that area; lots of folks moving to New Braunfels, Lytton Springs, Bandera, etc. I lived in 'Lively' Lockhart for a while when it was still a small town, loved it (a MUST is Kreuz' BBQ!!! I'm a reformed meat-eater now, but I can still taste that mesquite smoked brisket in my mind). Sadly, it's now a bedroom community for Austin & SA, right in between the two. Seguin has possibilities... and if you get a horse, run, don't walk, to D&D for all your equine needs! It's the WalMart for horses. I think you can get less expensive land south and west of SA, but your rainfall will be less. Just thinking about it makes me remember fondly tubing down the cold spring-fed creeks, limestone grottos, great Mezkin food & bbq, trips to Fredericksburg, funky antique shops, German food, people still speaking Czech in New Braunfels... Love it here, but I do get homesick. Check out realtor.com. Good luck to you! Yeeee-haw, and welcome to God's Country! dh in nm

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), June 25, 2001.

Congratulations on the new job.

I lived in San Antonio for about a year and one half in 1990 - 91 when I was attending U.T.S.A.. Wonderful town if you aren't really a homebody; something is always going on there.

The advice to find a home as close as possible to work is very relevant in this case. San Antonio is a big town (over one million, number eight in the country!), and weekday commutes over two hours aren't unheard of. Highway construction is ALWAYS going on. The highways are great; the city has two loops (410 and 1604), which allow you to get around the city pretty efficiently. The city is built on rolling hills, so in times of heavy rain, you can get cut off from your usual route very easily. A regular feature of the newscasts is videos of people driving into flooded crossings - dumb.

If you have children, schools are so-so (watch out for some gang violence), Sea World and Fiesta Texas on the west side of town, the River Walk shopping area in downtown, should keep you occupied. One of the best features of San Antonio is having the Hill Country just northwest of the city. BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, especially during the springtime, huge amounts of flowers. Debra described the area very well with the attractions. If you like camping, Garner Park, Lost Maples, will demand some attention.

The town of Boerne, about 20 miles northwest of San Antonio, has lots of property fitting your ideal property, but I don't know what land prices are there. I kind of assume your husband's job will be on the north side of town; that area was going great guns last time I was there. In town, look around Loop 1604, the west side was still pretty rural, but again, land prices unknown.

Enjoy your stay in Texas!

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), June 28, 2001.