Population: 1.4M
Predominant Languages: English, Spanish
Demographics:
60% Hispanic, 31% White
48% Men, 52% Women
15 – 19 (8%)
20 – 24 (8%)
25 – 34 (16%)
35 – 44 (15%)
Newspaper:
- San Antonio Express News- Main local paper. $ .50 during the week and Saturday, $1 Sunday
- San Antonio Current- Great current events guide. Free at most restaurants and cafés
Culture:
San Antonio is a very friendly city known for having great hospitality no matter where you are. There is a definite Hispanic influence throughout the city and it affects more than just the food. Hispanic and Texan culture has deep roots in maintaining a relaxed atmosphere and dishing out hospitality like candy. This being said, don’t be afraid to ask anyone for help whenever you need it, and definitely talk to strangers at all times.
As is the case in most places, a nice smile and a sense of humor are the best keys for information and suggestions from anyone you meet. I’ve always believed that you cannot get to know a city or its people by following the crowd. To experience San Antonio and its people, you need to let go of any inhibitions you may have and just start talking, any conversation started about the dominance of the Spurs is sure to gain you a friend or two.
Getting there:
Air -
San Antonio is a hub for Southwest Airlines, who have great prices.
Car –
Driving anywhere in Texas is going to take a while, so if you do choose to load up the car, make sure your iPod has enough juice for the journey. Here are some locations around Texas you can use as anchors to estimate your trip time depending on what direction your coming from. Hertz
Dallas – 4.5 Hrs
Houston – 3 Hrs
El Paso – 7.5 Hrs
Brownsville – 4.5 Hrs
Bus –
Probably your best bet if your on a budget and don’t want to spend hours of travel time. Fares from Dallas ranged from $30-$70 depending on student or military discounts, and advance purchase options (cheapest is the 14-day advanced purchase option). GreyHound
Train –
Amtrak is really nice, if you live on the East Coast. In Texas, it is much easier to fly than to take some indirect route into San Antonio, a quick quote on Amtrak’s homepage showed the train ride, one-way, from Dallas to be $35-$45 and lasting 10.5 Hrs. The Amtrak station is located in downtown San Antonio.
Getting Around:
To get a feel for San Antonio, you’re going to need to venture outside of downtown. San Antonio is a VERY spread out city and there is no one specific area for anything, except tourist traps, that’s downtown. VIA is the main public transportation carrier for the city, and just so you know, taxis get pretty expensive when you venture outside of downtown. VIA is cheap and good for trips in and around the downtown area, but if you have the money, I would suggest renting a small car if you want to get around at your convenience.
Weather:
San Antonio is notoriously warm throughout most of the year. If you do happen to come during the winter months (Nov-Jan), nothing more than a light coat is really needed. Artic winter days, relatively speaking, happen so rarely that the city makes little preparation for them. This being said, if it does get to the point that a freeze or even more unlikely a snow comes through, the entire city shuts down anyways, so you won’t be venturing out too far. If you come during the summer, make sure you have a lot of light clothes. San Antonio has a massive amount of humidity at all times, so hot and sticky is the norm during the summer.
Where to go:
I’m not going to tell you about going to the Alamo (which by the way, isn’t the real one, which was destroyed. Did you think they preemptively built a gift shop and display area in the original?) or strolling down the Riverwalk, if you want to follow the same tourist trap route through San Antonio that most do, be my guest. If instead you feel like making the most of your time here by exploring the city and its hospitality, cultural differences, and relaxed atmosphere, instilled by the overwhelming Hispanic population, here are a few suggestions.
- Try and make it down around late April during Fiesta, think of a notched down Marti Gras, it gets the job done. This is a weeklong celebration all over San Antonio that invokes the entire city in constant party atmosphere. If you do choose to go to some of the events around the city, the very publicized NIOSA is a great place to people watch, but be careful, this event gets crowded in a hurry and the food and drinks are expensive. I suggest a pre-party with some friends to get the night started without taking a hit to your wallet.
- With food and drinks at a little more reasonable prices than the events held downtown,Oyster Bake on the campus of St. Mary’s Univ. provides all the same fiesta experiences, great live local bands, and an elaborate carnival, all located throughout the campus. Parking is a problem, so instead of driving down to the campus, use VIA’s park-and-ride system. VIA has multiple pick-up locations around the city where you can ride a direct route to and from the events. Each pick-up location has different busses going to various events across the city, just check the schedules provided.
- Southtown is a recent development in San Antonio. Located just outside of Downtown, it is quickly becoming the trendy art center for the city. This area is also overlapping into the King Williams District which has tons of older houses and gives its surrounding area a definite historical feel. There are enough restaurants, bars, salsa clubs, and artists lofts, to fill en entire night of wandering. Being that its located near downtown, and it is currently being intensely developed, the prices are slightly high to subsidize the atmosphere, but still not too bad.
- A good way of experiencing not only San Antonio but Texan culture is a Friday night football game. You can expect to not pay more than $8 admission to any big game around the city. Some of the more notable games will be highlighted early on in the week in the SA Express News, San Antonio’s local paper. Look for any 4 – 5 A football game and you’ll be in for a decent game, most of the teams in San Antonio are pretty decent to watch.
Nightlife:
If you’re looking at going out clubbing in San Antonio, don’t get your hopes to high. There are some really good dance clubs in San Antonio, but they are far and few between, here are some of the notable ones with links to their web sites:
- Club Rio – Mostly hip/hop, hosts some great events, DJs, and concerts.
- Bliss Ultra Lounge – R&B, Hip-hop, good House music scene on Sat nights (small cover)
- Bonham Exchange – Gay club, but is known around the city as having a great dance scene.
- Posh Ultra Lounge– DJ, Top Hits, Dance.
San Antonio has a better bar scene than anything else. The real problem with trying to go out and bar-hop is that most bars are spread out across the city. For those of you used to walking from bar to bar, you may not like this too much. Below are some good bars worth checking out with some other clusters of late night destinations, and follow this link for more ideas:
- Blue Star Brewery – Near downtown in the King Williams district, a nice area with some small trendy places scattered around it. Located in the artists section of the city, you’ll find some great, but pricey, pieces.
- Rebar – Nice place with some live music. There are 4 other really nice places to go, all right around each other. You can spend your night moving in-between them for a nice mix of music and a change in scenery.
Eating:
I’ve always found there is normally some basic type of food that I can use to gauge the price of any restaurant. This tactic has served me well around the world. If you go to San Antonio, you have to eat Mexican food, it’s not really a choice. There are Mexican restaurants everywhere in San Antonio. Go in any direction around town, pick any place that says “Jalisco” after it or has the tackiest paint job you have ever seen, life-size religious murals are a plus, and you’ll be in for a good meal. Usually the more of a hole in the wall the restaurant is, the better the food they serve, this methodology goes likewise for the greasiness. One more thing, please do not eat from any fast food restaurant while in San Antonio. If you look around you can get bigger portions, better food, and most of the time at a cheaper price.
I like to use the price of a puffy taco plate as a benchmark to make my judgment. Any self-respecting Mexican restaurant will have this plate, and it shouldn’t cost more than $8 or your getting ripped off. Breakfast tacos are another good measure for any restaurant around town, a good potato and egg taco shouldn’t cost more than $1.
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