What can you tell me ...?

OK, I have to answer this coming from a military perspective. I come from 2 generations of military, grew up as an Air Force brat and joined the Air Force myself. As you can tell I got to see many MANY places.

When I came to San Antonio (Kelly AFB) I was absolutely floored. Not only is the cost of living cheap but there is so much to do out here. Just in the city of SA you have major attractions like Sea World, Shlitterbahn, Splash Town and Six Flags only 30min away from each other . Downtown SA is incredible! I never saw anything like the RiverWalk. There are so many different types of restaurants to choose from. Lets not forget about the night life. The city literally transforms in the evening. Your choice of music, bars and even food is limitless!

Lets talk about real world expenses. Home ownership and the general cost of living is very cheap. Although there is a lull in home buying across the country it's quite the opposite here in SA. Even the cost of owning a vehicle is cheap. Gas at the pump and yearly registration is VERY inexpensive.

I won't lie about the weather. Spring and Fall is awesome and winter is laughable. But the summers can be brutal at times. It's not unusual for the heat to peak well over 100 but what makes it really bad is the humidity. This really doesn't bother me too much because I spend the majority of my time indoors.

One last note, if you do plan on buying a home. You might want to lean on purchasing a home in the NW, NC and NE part of town.

I've never lived there, but both my sisters do. They love it and I certainly enjoy my visits there. They live on the northwest side of town and it is very nice and very affordable. One sister rents and the other one owns a home. It's about 2200 square feet, has a nice (if kind of small yard) and is around 15 years old. She paid somewhere around $85,000 for it. Very reasonable compared to most other parts of the country. Gas is cheaper there than it is here in central Illinois. Summers are VERY hot and humid, especially late June through mid September, that's what swimming pools and air conditioners are for, though, right? The rest of the year is pretty nice, though.

Lots and lots to do, too: Riverwalk, lots of really nice, reasonably priced restaurants, the Spurs (NBA), the Missions (class AA baseball with a really nice park), just up the road about an hour or so you can catch the UT Longhorns football games. Schlitterbahn, which the Travel Channel named the best waterpark is just north of town, as well. And you can always make nice little day trips into Mexico for shopping. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive each way.

If it weren't for me being tied to central Illinois due to some family obligations, I would be there, too.

I moved here last October. With a good real estate agent, you can find a nice home at virtually an price range. The most often heard advice I received was to buy a home in the Northside of the city and NOT the South side.

Property taxes are high but you don't pay state income taxes.

Initialy, registering a vehicle is like rape in this state.

The cost of living is very affordable. Gas is cheaper here versus northeastern states. A bit higher than some south eastern states. I also find groceries to be reasonable.

There is always something to do here. Great affordable entertainment.

I think SA is a great place to live. Houses are affordable. The weather is great except for the summer months (too hot)--but October thru May is really nice.

Northeast, NorthCentral and Northwest are the nicer areas of town. The Northeast school district is very good.

The people are nice. You'll learn some Spanish!

The food is GREAT!

Good Luck!