In 2024, readers took us all over the city, inviting us out to places like Laurel Hills, Alamo Ranch, Eastwood Village and Sunset Vista. Beyond the city limits, we visited Cibolo, Converse, Floresville and Von Ormy.
As we ring in the new year, we look back at the neighborhoods we got to know in 2024.
Michelle Vasquez sits in her favorite chair at Bohanan’s downtown where she makes conversation with the bartenders who know her on a first-name basis. Credit: Bria Woods / San Antonio Report 
Daniel Paul Rivera (left) and his partner Piotr Cholodecki enjoy going for walks along the museum reach of the San Antonio River. Credit: Bria Woods / San Antonio Report 
Stacy Ybarra enjoys the view from the rooftop lounge at TinTop apartments in the Creamery District. Credit: Bria Woods / San Antonio Report
Residents of downtown and the surrounding area made a case for a revival in San Antonio’s urban core.
Michelle Vasquez has been a been a faithful guest at downtown bar Bohanan’s for eight years. “Vidal, Rupert and Giselle know how to make the best, ice-cold, skating martinis,” she wrote.
Amid the rapid change in Daniel Paul Rivera’s River North neighborhood, the San Antonio Museum of Art has been a constant.
“Attending the occasional lecture there rekindles my curiosity about the world and makes me feel connected to my fellow San Antonians — or my idea of what they can be at their best,” he wrote. “This is a city with apparent potential, the fulfillment of which is far from guaranteed.”
A short walk up the river takes you to the Creamery District. From the rooftop of her apartment building, Stacy Ybarra has a view of downtown and the Pearl — and a front-row seat to the revitalization of what was once the site of the historic Borden Creamery.
“The revitalization of the Creamery District is not just about food and entertainment; it’s a story of community revitalization and historical preservation,” she wrote.
Toni Nelson continues to renovate her childhood home after moving back to the Willowwood Estates neighborhood. Her parents built this house in 1969, when she was 4 years old. Credit: Bria Woods / San Antonio Report 
Stephanie Smith reminisces about growing up on Randolph Air Force Base, where she now works as a clinical social worker. Credit: Bria Woods / San Antonio Report 
Rachel Wang, 11, holds her cat, Finn. Wang moved to the Woodbridge neighborhood with her family four years ago. Credit: Bria Woods / San Antonio Report
In other parts of San Antonio, residents were rediscovering childhood neighborhoods, unearthing memories and seeing their communities through fresh eyes.
Toni Nelson has fond memories of growing up in Willowwood Estates. She remembers playing with the neighborhood kids, some of whom remain friends to this day. Even when she moved out, Nelson continued to visit the her mother and the neighborhood, impressed by the pride residents had in their community.
When her mother died in November of 2023, many of her neighbors attended her memorial service.
“Because this neighborhood and home meant so much to my mother, I decided to make my childhood home my retirement home,” Nelson wrote.
Some of Stephanie Smith’s best memories are from growing up on Randolph Air Force Base and then later in a military community in Universal City. So decades later, when her parents’ neighbors and lifelong friends put their house up for sale, she and her husband had to buy it.
“Much of the neighborhood is just like I remember it, with a tight-knit military community where everyone knows each other and looks out for their neighbors,” she wrote. “One of my neighbors has been here since I was in high school and has seen my kids grow up. Now he gets to see my grandkids.”
And our youngest contributor to date, Rachel Wang, was busy making childhood memories of her own. She wrote about befriending her older Woodridge neighbors and attending the nearby First Chinese Baptist Church.
“I love my neighborhood and will always remember it, no matter how old I get,” she wrote.
Browse more neighborhood stories using our Where I Live map and, if you’re feeling inspired, get in touch to share your own story.
