On Oct. 8, 2021, I posted a photo of the sun setting on the Alamo Quarry Market smokestacks on Instagram with the caption, “Moved to San Antonio. Don’t know anything or anyone.”
Within three years of being in San Antonio as a Dallas-born and raised former New Yorker, I’ve come to enjoy this city more than I ever expected. By no means is it perfect, but it possesses a few superior qualities other cities in this state cannot claim.
We moved for my husband’s job with the Spurs in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, unable to see houses in person or spend much time exploring the city. But both my husband and I knew there was something special to San Antonio that we had not considered before.
After endless Facetime house tours with our real estate agent, we decided to make a 24-hour turnaround trip to see this house in person. This house was the layout we needed as two creatives who spend a good amount of time working from home — and the yard has plenty of space for both the garden and our dog.
With much credit to Travis, my husband, for seeing the bones and convincing me character could be developed with our touch and this house could work for us. Our house is now a fully formed home that reflects who we’ve become after a decade of living in New York City and returning to our home state.
Travis loves a DIY house project and with his creative vision renovated the bathroom and entryway space to add some character back into this 1965 Texas ranch-style home. Our landscaping and garden areas are also thanks to his green thumb.
In the summer of 2022, when I learned the local school district would be banning books, I set out to create a book box for our street where local students could access books they may not find in their library anymore. After researching the district’s list of banned books, consulting with some teacher connections and through donations from my worldwide community of friends, our corner is now home to Books On The Block.
My hope with this project is for kids who feel alienated or different from their peers to find a book here where they may find a resonating character or story.
One of the first things we fell in love with about the city and our neighborhood was the city parks nearby with the numerous and impressive hiking trails. As former Brooklyn residents, we crave walkability, and being able to walk amongst nature in Phil Hardberger and Walker Ranch makes for quite special places to unwind. San Antonio’s approach to parks and trail systems with the purpose to nurture the natural environment while also providing recreation to residents is remarkable. All cities should be taking notes.
Even just in our neighborhood, walking at dusk you can see the bats and deer roam with an occasional fox or owl sighting. In the fall, when the monarchs come through we have the ingenious SAWS WaterSaver coupons to thank for giving us the opportunity to nurture the monarchs on their journey. It’s the perfect balance of city and Hill Country and the breath of fresh air we needed after spending the height of quarantine in our small Brooklyn apartment.
Three years later, while not as socially connected as we would like, we are still learning where to meet people. Travis plays in a regular pick-up basketball game at the park three times a week, and I frequent the free, weekly outdoor yoga through Free Community Yoga and MobilOm. The sessions have been a safe haven and another item on the list where other cities should be taking notes. More recently, I found friendship with an intelligent and welcoming group through a book club called The Sunday Nighters.
We have slowly made this city our home with our weekly habits of errand running and go-to spots. When we are craving a good margarita with chips and queso we head to El Mirasol because there’s little a Chispa can’t fix. On the weekends we get coffee from Medina River Coffee Roasters and breakfast tacos from Losoya’s Taqueria or maybe we go to Wild Barley, a dog-friendly brewery restaurant off Broadway. Wild Barley is possibly the best in town from morning to night because the bread is fresh and the beer is crafted on-site. The team there also recognizes us when we visit, and it’s important to have that in a community.
Even if we are still learning our neighbors names, our dog, Colette, has befriended a dog three doors down named Brisket. After she begs to go out when he walks past, they’ll chase one another around our yard until they are both tired. The blocks around us go big for Halloween and I could not love the spooky camaraderie more. It’s the type of neighborhood where neighbors wave as they pass by and occasionally even introduce themselves.
The excitement we had with San Antonio when we decided to move remains. This city is special with its unique culture and lengthy history and we sensed it would be the next underrated city to rise in the ranks of notoriety. And everything I’ve seen come after us makes our initial instincts feel true even if the growth is a slow, Texas pace.
