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.
Moving to Kinder Ranch in far North Bexar County with my husband, Brian, and our teenage boys, Tristan and Tanner, was life coming full circle for me.
I grew up just on the other side of U.S. Highway 281 back when everybody had 2- to 5-acre tracts and there weren’t many roads. My family had a horse on our 2-acre property and the neighborhood had riding trails we enjoyed. We would often ride our four-wheelers to our friends’ houses because it was the easiest way to get around.
As much as I enjoyed the country life, I eventually grew curious about life in the big city. After graduating from Texas A&M University and moving back, I realized I had never really lived in San Antonio and that the big city with a small-town feel I was looking for was right here.
I started my real estate career and as I watched the city evolve, it ignited something in me. I was excited about everything that was happening and proud to call San Antonio my home. Even friends who had moved to cities like Boston and Denver ended up moving back when they, too, realized how much San Antonio had to offer.
When Brian and I were dating and he was building the house in Kinder Ranch, we would go check on the house and then stop by Cibolo Creek Vineyards for a couple of glasses of wine. We’d always pass by The 1850 Settlement wedding venue, and I remember thinking it was so beautiful. When we got engaged, Brian suggested we get married there, which was just what my heart wanted. The rustic feel and gorgeous oak trees embodied the San Antonio I grew up in — and later learned to appreciate.
While it does break my heart a little to no longer see the ranches I grew up around, it is nice to see more businesses popping up and to have an H-E-B and Walmart nearby instead of having to drive half an hour into town for groceries like we used to. And as more people moved out here, this area has gotten more schools so our boys don’t have to ride the bus for an hour each day like I did.
Though this part of town no longer feels like the middle of nowhere, we still have plenty of space, which is something we’ve really come to value since the pandemic. And it certainly helps a family like ours that likes to entertain. I have a big extended family I’m close to, so we had all my cousins and their families over for Christmas, and it was about 40 of us altogether. Now we’re excited to start planning our pool for family fun over the summer for years to come.
We’ve been in the new house for just over a year now, but we already feel right at home. Most of the houses in our part of the neighborhood were built around the same time, so we’ve all moved in recently and are getting acquainted.
In the holiday spirit, we decided to break the ice one day when, after I hosted an event for my clients just before Thanksgiving, I realized I had a lot of leftover pies. So we put the pies on a little cart, gifted each neighbor with a pie and introduced ourselves. Since then, our neighbors have dropped off Christmas cookies and wine, and we’ve had frequent cul-de-sac parties. Our family looks forward to many more parties, family gatherings and summers by the pool.
