The Where I Live series aims to showcase our diverse city and region by spotlighting its many vibrant neighborhoods. Each week a local resident invites us over and lets us in on what makes their neighborhood special. Have we been to your neighborhood yet? Get in touch to share your story. If your story is selected and published, you will receive a $250 stipend.
Since attending the University of Texas at San Antonio, I knew I wanted to live in the city center. I was experiencing downtown nightlife for the first time and a vibrant food scene that I didn’t get growing up on the city’s Northeast Side.
After graduation, I returned to my parents’ home for a year to help them get their house ready to sell. Then I moved to an apartment complex in the River North neighborhood, while my parents also made the move to the downtown area.
I chose the apartment complex because it had a reputation for being an active community of younger people and hosting events for residents, and it’s really lived up to that. My roommate and I like to attend wine tastings and cooking classes to mingle with our neighbors. We also like hosting friends and starting a night out at our apartment.
One of our favorite spots in the neighborhood is Elsewhere Garden Bar & Kitchen, a lovely outdoor space right along the river where you can enjoy drinks and conversation with friends. There are even swings facing the river where you can relax and people-watch. Another similar spot that is less well-known but just as welcoming is Backyard on Broadway. It’s my favorite place to end the night. They have karaoke on Wednesdays, live music on the weekends, and late-night tacos and pizza.
And what’s great about living in River North is we can walk everywhere. When parking can be a deterrent to people coming here, it’s nice to be able to leave the car in the parking garage and take a stroll along the river to restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in the area.
As a UTSA alumna, it’s exciting to see the progress of the downtown campus and the recent success of the football team. The university’s new School of Data Science is scheduled to open in January 2023, aiming to play a pivotal role in making San Antonio a tech hub. The game-day energy at the Alamodome is truly unmatched, and I hope to see more people who come down for the games stick around after the final score to explore the downtown area and experience how much it’s changed in recent years.
Many locals still have the perception that downtown is just for tourists, and while that may be true for some parts of the River Walk, there’s so much more to enjoy, not just in the heart of downtown, but just up the river along the Museum Reach and in my River North neighborhood.
Construction on Broadway has definitely discouraged people from visiting the area, taken a toll on local businesses, and even impacted the walkability that I’ve grown accustomed to, so I’m looking forward to when it all wraps up. We’re already seeing so many new apartment buildings and businesses in this area between downtown and the Pearl, once construction is finished it will really open up the neighborhood to more visitors, new businesses, and hopefully more locals coming out to enjoy their city.
