Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Gunslinger on February 27, 2005, 12:00:56 PM
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I'm possibly moving there in june and was wondering what are some of the nicer yet affordable areas not to far from Lackland AFB? General Impressions of the city itself?
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I'm not from there, but I am familiar with the area. Your best bet would be West as far as you care to commute on 90. So far as I know, there are no nice areas within about 10 miles E, W or S of Lackland, it is pretty gritty and industrial. North puts you into major traffic.
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General impression of San Antonio is good. I usually am in the area once a week or so, but mostly on the N and NW sides, where the major residential growth is.
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Thanks Liz,
I don't have orders there yet but I'm more than likely getting them. Me and the wifeack are planning on buying our first home.
anyone have any experience with VA loans?
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Check out Castroville, Texas. Its about 15-20 minutes due west of Lackland on US 90. Also, if you don't mind being a tad farther away, Hondo, Texas is about another 15-20 minutes drive down US90. That would put you into small town Texas rather than big city, much nicer IMO.
culero
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The SA area is nice. I'd have to second Culero's suggestion of moving to one of the smaller suburbs or look around for a place in the country.
I bought a house thru the Texas Veterans Land Board. Wasn't much of a hassle at all. But you do have to have all your P's and Q's in order creditwise.
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I'd have to agree housing on the NW/west side is going up in $$$ relatively - it's where most of the residential growth is occurring, altho SA in general is growing decently. Housing is *still* relatively cheap for a major metropolitan area.
Traffic east of Lackland, especially at the I-10/410 (northwest side) exchange is a beech and not expected to improve anytime soon, so if you're at lackland, go (north-ish)west-ish young man.
Traffic really isn't all that bad compared to say, Wash DC or Dallas. As far as big cities go SA is very easy to get around in, but there are areas of major highway construction, dealing with and adding to the growing pains.
If you like to play golf... doesn't get much better than SA. SA is a great place to live and work, tho' very family orientated with lots of amusement parks within a decent drive (1 hr or so). And the mexican food to be found doesn't get any better.
You'd be aprrox 90 mins from Austin, and 3-4 from Houston, Dallas and Corpus Christi.
Welcome to SA, you'll like it.
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Thanks for all the info. My trip to witchita falls made me realize I missed Texas (not witchita falls though) So I applied for special duty at lackland. Housing there in certain areas is pretty cheap (as compared to almost anywere in CA)
I'm also excited that I've decided to actually BUY my first home. I live in base housing now. It has its goods and bads, but mainly I don't build up any equity while living here.
Hell I might even start flying again just so I can go to a con and people there might know me from the MA and not just the BBS ;)
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Originally posted by Shane
I'd have to agree housing on the NW/west side is going up in $$$ relatively - it's where most of the residential growth is occurring, altho SA in general is growing decently. Housing is *still* relatively cheap for a major metropolitan area.
Traffic east of Lackland, especially at the I-10/410 (northwest side) exchange is a beech and not expected to improve anytime soon, so if you're at lackland, go (north-ish)west-ish young man.
Traffic really isn't all that bad compared to say, Wash DC or Dallas. As far as big cities go SA is very easy to get around in, but there are areas of major highway construction, dealing with and adding to the growing pains.
If you like to play golf... doesn't get much better than SA. SA is a great place to live and work, tho' very family orientated with lots of amusement parks within a decent drive (1 hr or so). And the mexican food to be found doesn't get any better.
You'd be aprrox 90 mins from Austin, and 3-4 from Houston, Dallas and Corpus Christi.
Welcome to SA, you'll like it.
You mean after all this time I could just taken I-10 for some personal AH combat lessons? I know we could just go to the DA but to sit there and listen to you scream at your monitor would have been worth the drive. ;)
Welcome to Texas Gunny! That is, when you get here!
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If you go to SA, I think I left a bicycle in the basement of an old chrurch there. I would appreciate it if you would take a look and let me know.
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Originally posted by Holden McGroin
If you go to SA, I think I left a bicycle in the basement of an old chrurch there. I would appreciate it if you would take a look and let me know.
Peewee took it. Damn, I thought everyone knew that.
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THE STARS AT NIGHT....ARE BIG AND BRIGHT.....?????
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Not in SA they aren't, maybe in Hondo......
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Originally posted by Lizking
Not in SA they aren't, maybe in Hondo......
It was worth a shot after the Peewee Herman remarks ;)
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Well when you get ready to come over and do a recon, be sure and post it and I will give you the tour.
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Some of the beast looking women in Texas are in S.A
So ya better watch yourself when out with the wife unite when your jaw drops at some of the cuties.
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Visiting San Antonio & family at the moment......was born and rasied here....
My sis' is a realtor in SA ..... could maybe refer you to her if you like.
I used to estimate roofing in town, saw lots of houses ... the best/most afforadable homes are on the N/NW end of town....
And try the enchiladas verdes somewhere :D
(http://www.elsarape.com/images/1DSC00408.gif)
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Gunslinger,
I have been off the BBS for a bit but I just moved here from Albuquerque NM. If you have any questions please feel free to ask away. We love it here...living in an APT til our house is completed. Im stationed at Randolph AFB.
Regards
:)
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not to hijack or anything, but you said you live on base housing? Im in the Marines now, leave for Boot Camp July 25th. What are the goods and bads of base housing?
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lol Slurpee even though he's Air Force now I'm sure he can tell you some "good" stories about Marine base housing. If they are anything like what I saw when I was stationed in North Carolina I feel for ya.
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eewwww NC base housing. Ft. Bragg 1987-1990.
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ah man, so far this isnt looking good, although you guys are talking about NC. I will most likely be in Souther Cali. Camp Penelton (not sure on correct spelling) and to lazy to look it up lol.
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Gonna help guard the border in your off-time...since you'll be so close?
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Originally posted by Slurpee
not to hijack or anything, but you said you live on base housing? Im in the Marines now, leave for Boot Camp July 25th. What are the goods and bads of base housing?
If it sounds like I'm jumping your bellybutton get used to it.
You are not in the Marines nor are you a Marine yet if you havnt left for boot camp!
Marine is a title that you earn when the Senior Drill Instructor dismisses your platoon for the last time. It is indeed a title that you will have for the rest of your life and no one cant take that away from you. Never forget that.
OK about the housing. Marine Corps base housing is lagging behind the other services but catching up quick. Some bases have an abundance of it (camp pendleton/camp lejune) some dont. Mirimar/Yuma.
Non- NCOs E-4 and below have the smaller houses. They arent bad and usually you have a covered car park and a small back yard.
The more rank you get the better the housing gets. Eventually you'll have a fenced in back yard and/or a garage.
Pros:
The schools on base are usually top notch
Gas Water And electric are FREE
It's usually a good community (SAFE for the most part)
Cons:
If you arent buying a house you are not building up equity in that house. Living in housing means you forfiet your housing allowence, wich in some areas is quite large $1200/mo + With a VA loan you can usually buy a house you can afford close to base (depending on wich one) and when you leave you will have $20,000 + in the bank after you sell it.
Gate guards. They are a plus and a minus. Normally I wouldnt worry about going to dinner at applebees and having a beer with my dinner. I live on base and have to drive through the gate. They are pretty hard on not only DUIs but drinking and driving. They can give you a DUI on base for ANY ammounts of alchol in your system.
There is very little you can do to your house to "personalize" it. Some areas are so strict that you have to seek permision to hang a picture on the wall.
Yard inspectors! We had one here that was an absolute Nazi. rumor has it that he was asked to quit for crossing the line. Anyhow this guy would write you up for the most stupid things. Every week he inspects housings lawns. One of the dumbest rules is that I am responsible for the grass 6ft away from the curb. If There is grass growing through the cracks IN THE STREET I have to deal with them.
Dont get me wrong I like living close to my work. My commute if I didnt live on base would be 45 minutes. Hope I've been helpfull and good luck in Boot Camp. Remember......EVERY THING YOU DO IN BOOT CAMP IS FOR A REASON.....and most of these wont click until the last week there :aok
Originally posted by Cobra412
lol Slurpee even though he's Air Force now I'm sure he can tell you some "good" stories about Marine base housing. If they are anything like what I saw when I was stationed in North Carolina I feel for ya.
Cobra my "F" area house is equivlient to O4 and above housing in the Corps. When I first joined the Corps the housing was pitiful. Just as I was getting out they were renovating all the houses at Yuma.
We both know that "F" area are now considered low quality.
K-Bay in Hawaii as some good houses but, all the new ones that were built on a hill are sliding off their foundations. Guess hiring the lowest bidder doesnt allways work.
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Slurpee this is what Pendleton is going to from what I understand. That doesn't mean that all the housing is like this. It also doesn't mean that these houses are for junior enlisted either. Let me see if I can get on the AF crossroads site to get some other photos. I don't know if I remember my password.
The only people that would be able to tell you differently is those who are actually living there now. The housing changes from base to base. Some bases are upgrading their housing but some bases still have old arse houses. I know in the Air Force we authorized to live off or on base if we are married. I'm pretty sure it's the same for the married Marines.
Camp Pendleton (http://www.pendleton.usmc.mil/impact/housing.asp)
This is an update. Here's the areas that are authorized that would pertain to you if your going enlisted.
Jr. Enlisted.............DeLuz, Serra Mesa and Wire Mountain.
Here's a link to the DeLuz basing housing. Remember though it's as I said previously this doesn't guarantee you'll get into this area of base housing especially considering they are fairly new tracts. You may have to go to one of the other two areas. It depends on what's available.
DeLuz (http://www.deluzfamilyhousing.com/community.html)
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If you are married, or get married..stay out of military housing...they are places full of nosy people that call the base police on each other and gossip all the time...worse than normal suburbia...and the wives think they hold the rank their husband has within the community...besides you lose your housing allowance...it's better to stay out in town and find a place thats a little cheaper than your allowance so you actually make a little extra money if you know what I mean...
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Originally posted by ASTAC
If you are married, or get married..stay out of military housing...they are places full of nosy people that call the base police on each other and gossip all the time...worse than normal suburbia...and the wives think they hold the rank their husband has within the community...besides you lose your housing allowance...it's better to stay out in town and find a place thats a little cheaper than your allowance so you actually make a little extra money if you know what I mean...
Yea I think I've had my fill of housing. It's not all that bad it's just a matter of were you go. I've had some GREAT neighbors and I've had some bad ones. The good thing is the military for the most part employs good people and that's who you live around. There's no chance of having a crack house on your block.
As far as your allowence go I've learned the hard way that it PAYS to BUY a house.
A guy I know baught a house 6 years ago in Palmdale, CA. He recently sold it and PCSed to Texas. When he got there he almost baught his house out right with all the equity and appreciation of his house in CA.
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Gunslinger: No problem at all sir. Im realize the Title Marine is to be earnd, im very careful about that. The only reason i said i was in the Marines is because i signd a contract with the Marines and not another branch. So to correct myself:) . I enlisted with the Marines:aok. btw, it was the earning the title Marine and always being able to keep it/the brotherhood so to speak of the Marine Corps that made me want to join the USMC:)
Thanks for all the help guys:)
PS - My Marine recruiter was telling about places hed been and he said, Australia is the 2end best country. You should have heard what he said when i asked him what the 1st greatest country was lolol.
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Originally posted by Slurpee
Gunslinger: No problem at all sir. Im realize the Title Marine is to be earnd, im very careful about that. The only reason i said i was in the Marines is because i signd a contract with the Marines and not another branch. So to correct myself:) . I enlisted with the Marines:aok. btw, it was the earning the title Marine and always being able to keep it/the brotherhood so to speak of the Marine Corps that made me want to join the USMC:)
Thanks for all the help guys:)
PS - My Marine recruiter was telling about places hed been and he said, Australia is the 2end best country. You should have heard what he said when i asked him what the 1st greatest country was lolol.
One can only guess that he's had the joy of getting a soapy soapy in Thailand.
BTW when the Marines make portcall in Australia the town usually throws a party for them. The woman come out of the woodworks in droves. Even the ugliest no game having guy in the platoon goes home with a super model.
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heheheh, He showd me all kinds of pictures from his time in Australia. Guy isnt exactly the best looking fella. I saw at least 3-4 different women throughout the pictures lol.
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Originally posted by wombatt
Some of the beast looking women in Texas are in S.A
You got that right, beastly women. San Antonio is the fattest city in america, that makes it the fattests city in the world.
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Originally posted by Suave
You got that right, beastly women. San Antonio is the fattest city in america, that makes it the fattests city in the world.
I thaught that was houston?
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Ammo is living right on the base, see if u can PM him. He's a nice guy, he will help u out if he has some free time.
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I got a little more than pissed this week when I learned that the medical facility in LA failed to mail back my psyc eval for over a month. My application has been sitting in SA for over a month and going no were because somone dropped the ball. Hopfully in about 2 or 3 MORE weeks I'll actually hear something.
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Originally posted by Gunslinger
I thaught that was houston?
I don't think we were ever number 1. Dallas had us beat the first time it hit the news, and recently they've been saying it's now San Antonio. I'm probably wrong though. Kids nowadays... they've given up on strollers and gone to wheelbarrows.
Thank God I don't work retail. The guys here have to measure customers for seatbelt extenders. :eek:
San Antonio isn't quite 4 hours away. I've made it in 2 (very illegally) & 2 1/2 - 3 normally. Just gotta watch for the small towns. Cops there are ruthless and traffic tickets are a high proportion of those town's incomes.
San Antonio is a really nice city. I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Museums, the Alamo, the River Walk, amusement parks, and it's pretty clean. Just get used to everything being really flat. Also, housing costs here are some of the best in the nation. The house I live in would cost about 4x more on the west coast.
We should all meet up for Wings Over Houston this year. I'll gather up some squaddies, throw the smoker in the truck, & refill the keg.
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Originally posted by Gunslinger
I'm possibly moving there in june and was wondering what are some of the nicer yet affordable areas not to far from Lackland AFB? General Impressions of the city itself?
Not from, visited once. AWESOME city.