San Antonio, TX

I'm grateful that I ended up in San Antonio. I love it. I love Texas. Initially, when I got a got in SA, I was really disappointed to leave Austin. There are a lot of really good things about Austin that I thought I was going to miss, but the longer I live in San Antonio, the happier I am here. When I'm not pregnant, I visit Austin at least once a month and instead of regretting leaving, I'm finding that Austin is no longer as good a fit for me as it used to be.

I love that San Antonio is big on recycling. We can recycle just about anything. We even recycle styrofoam. SA was the first city to commit to harvest methane gas from human waste on a commercial scale and turn it into clean-burning fuel and that biogas facility is now up and running. SA also has one of the lowest energy costs in the country. Austin talks about environmentalism, but San Antonio actually does it a lot more. Also, Texas has installed more wind power than any other state and if it was its own country it would be fifth in the world.

I really like that we have no state income tax. Our sales tax differs by county and city, but the maximum allowed in the state is 8.25% (which is what it is in more areas). I like that SA has a low unemployment rate. I love that Texas has HEB! I like that housing is affordable to almost anyone.


I also love that even with the mix of cultures that we have that racism isn't like it is in the rest of the country. We are considered part of the south, but I don't get the looks I get in Alabama or Georgia when I smile at random people. You don't see some of the overt bigotry that I have witnessed in Little Rock and New Orleans (except maybe in very East Texas near the Arkansas and Northern Louisiana border). You don't see the supressed quiet racism of the North. Additionally, there isn't a lot of bigotry towards the intellectually disabled. I see acceptance everywhere of my bear cub and we have a great Down Syndrome Association. Also, I see people with intellectual disabilities working and with family constantly. San Antonio has a very conservative culture, but it is filled with incredibly friendly people and is still open-minded especially about people's differences.

Before you consider moving here, let me note that we are high on the list of most uncomfortable cities due to the combination of high heat and humidity. We also have an extremely high allergen rate year round and people that move here find that even if they never had allergies before they get them here. Also, our average pay is probably a lot lower than average.

Q and I like to daydream about what it would be like for Texas to secede. I love being American and know how much better we have it than other countries first hand. I am like a lot of people though that are extremely dissatisfied with where our country is and where it is going, but I'm still proud to be a Texan and an American.