In my new job, I am out and about all over town. On any given day, I might be in Stone Oak or in downtown San Antonio, the south side, or out near Sea World or Fiesta Texas.
All of these areas of town have their own distinctions. I know most people choose where they want to live based upon the location of their job or the schools they want their child to attend.
(The patio at Restaurant Gwendolyn on the River Walk)
When my husband and I moved to San Antonio over fourteen years ago, we had no idea where to move. The most important thing on our list was that it be close to his work. I was nine-months pregnant and looking at houses in a record heat wave in August. There was a shortage of houses in the neighborhoods that we loved the most and we kept losing out on contracts. We finally decided on one after my husband sent me pictures to approve from the air- conditioned comfort in our then house in Plano. Yes, I finally realized the zaniness of this decision when we rolled up to our new house with our four- month old son. I was seeing our house for the very first time. I guess pregnancy hormones, impending motherhood, 100- degree heat and my new career as a stay at home mom caused me to make some quick decisions.
(New lofts going up right off of Broadway near the Pearl)
All in all, we have loved living in our neighborhood. It is close to everything and we can easily zip on Interstate 10 and be anywhere in as little as 20 minutes. Our neighbors are more like family and I think we might have the best neighborhood pool and swim team in town! It isn’t really practical for us to move anytime soon. We still have kids in elementary school and we don’t want to go to the huge expense of moving. As easy as it would be to sell our house right now, we need to wait.
(Part of the meal at Restaurant Gwendolyn when I went with the Junior League of SA’s dinner group)
Although the timing for us might be off, it apparently isn’t for a large group of the population. There is a shortage of listings not only San Antonio, but in other parts of the country that are starting to see growth. We have a friend that sold their house in one day and another friend sold theirs in eleven days. They both live in different parts of San Antonio.
One of the couples decided to move to downtown SA. They are empty nesters and thought it was the perfect time to down size. I think my husband might be a little jealous because they will be near one of his favorite coffee shops. I am pretty sure that when the time is right, it might be our choice to move downtown as well.
(The coffee brewing at Restaurant Gwendolyn)
I never expected to an urban dweller after growing up in such a small town. The tallest buildings when I was growing up in Kilgore, Texas were the girl’s dormitory at Kilgore College and two of the banks in town. I think the tallest one is five stories high! I still remember riding in an elevator for the very first time. It was big excitement in our family when we went to the safety deposit box at our bank. It would mean that when our mom was done conducting business, we could take turns pushing the buttons on the elevator!
Fast forward a few decades and I can find myself actually being a full time urban dweller. And my children are growing up with a very different experience than my own childhood. When I loaded the pictures off of my camera this morning, most of the things that I photographed were all located downtown.
(The interior of a loft being built near the Pearl)
I think my love affair with downtown San Antonio began when I started training for my first half marathon. All those early Saturday morning sessions would take me places that I had never seen before and now some of those locations look very different. There is a definite urban renewal happening in San Antonio.
There is just something about being downtown that makes me feel alive. It fuels my soul.
And for this small town girl that lives in the suburbs, that’s pretty exciting indeed.
Stay Sassy Y’all.
(The interior of the new Brown Coffee location near the Pearl)
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