LARK, REALTORS
About San Antonio and Surrounding Areas
San Antonio is a city of diversity, from its hills and magnificent oaks on the North Side to the sand and mesquite trees just south of town. The prestigious river walk of San Antonio meanders through downtown, with its shops, restaurants and taxi barges. The Alamo stands as a quiet symbol of freedom amongst the modern office buildings which surround it.
From the historic mission trails to La Villita, to the Historic King Williams area the diversity that makes San Antonio unique is apparent. As a tourist you can take a casual stroll on the river walk and enjoy its ambiance, visit the museums and art galleries, or enjoy the modern theme parks (Fiesta Texas or Sea World) or select from a wide variety of other local attractions.
Every year the city is host to a city wide, party called "Fiesta". Fiesta centers around NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio), and three parades (The river parade, The Battle of Flowers Parade and the Fiesta Flambeau Parade), and crowning of King Rey Feo, and the Fiesta Queens. The celebration is city wide, and includes a number of family oriented gatherings; including the St. Mary´s Oyster Bake, and the Battle of the Bands. Many of the surrounding areas have festivals and parades throughout the year. These include the Boerne Berges Fest, the Poteet Strawberry Festival, the New Braunfels Wursfest, and the Helotes Cornyval, Floresville Peanut Festival, and Castroville´s St. Louis Day´s Celebration. (It´s kind of like give me a group of friendly folks and we will throw a festival for something.)
San Antonio is the seat of Bexar (pronounced bear) county); which occupies approximately 430 square miles of south central Texas. San Antonio is roughly 2 ½ hours by car from the Gulf of Mexico, with its sandy beaches and saltwater fishing. San Antonio is only 150 miles Northeast of Laredo on the Mexican border. The suburban areas of San Antonio expand outside of Bexar County into the surrounding counties of Comal, Wilson, Guadalupe, Kendall, and Medina counties. Within Bexar County there are 26 incorporated cities, many of which are completely surrounded by the city of San Antonio, which is the largest. The smallest of
these cities by census is Grey Forest, and the second largest is the town of Schertz.
San Antonio is often referred to as the "Big City that still acts like a small town". San Antonio is currently the eighth-largest city in the United States, and the second largest city in Texas with a population of 1,144,646 within its city limits. It is the fourth largest Metropolitan statistical Area (MSA) in Texas with a population of 1,592,383; the MSA includes Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, and Wilson counties. The city of San Antonio uses a council-manager form of government. There are total of 11 council members (10 are elected from districts; and 1 (the mayor) is elected at large). The city council sets policies, which are carried out by the city manager.
Bexar County has four county commissioners who are presided over by a county judge; all of these are elected positions. The 25 suburban cities, and other special districts (districts created for water, sewer, and flood control), also have governmental bodies and elected officials.
The Metropolitan Area of San Antonio is the largest populated area to be served primarily by an underground aquifer (The Edwards Aquifer) for its water source. The Edwards Aquifer exceeds all federal drinking water standards. Fluoride was added to the water in August 2002 after a city referendum was passed. There are two primary water providers in the metropolitan area, the San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) and the Bexar Metropolitan Water District (Bexar Met). In addition to the water supplied by the underground aquifer SAWS and Bexar Met have also completed water treatment plants and pipelines that also bring water from Canyon Lake and Medina River to the San Antonio Metro Area and surrounding areas. Both SAWS and Bexar Met are continually looking toward the future water needs and have many additional water storage and water supply projects under consideration. Both providers also have water conservation rebate programs for area residents.
There are 19 San Antonio area public school districts. The daily attendance for all the school districts is around 236,626 students. The largest school district is the Northside Independent School District; which is also one of the largest in the state of Texas.
SPORTS
San Antonio is also home to several professional sports teams.
The National Basketball Association team the San Antonio Spurs, (1999 and 2003 and 2005and 2007 NBAChampions) play in the AT&T Center.
For Spurs ticket information, call (210) 444-5050 or go to
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TRANSPORTATION
AIR - San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is served by the many of the major airlines including -Aerolitoral, Aeromar, America West, American, Atlantic, Southeast, Continental, Delta, Mexican, Midwest Express, Northwest, Southwest, and United, and has an average of 230 scheduled departures and arrivals daily.
BUS - The Greyhound bus terminal is located at 500 N. St. Mary´s (800) 231-2222 and handles Greyhound, Kerrville and Valley Transit bus lines.
RAIL - The Amtrak trains "Texas Eagle" and "Sunset Limited" serve the San Antonio Area
PUBLIC TRANSIT - VIA Metropolitan Transit serves the entire metropolitan area. Park-and-ride locations which allow persons to park their cars at various locations and then ride the bus are available during the work week and for special events. VIA also operates four streetcar routes which serve all major downtown destinations. The VIA Trans Service is also available for the mobility-impaired.
STREETS and EXPRESSWAYS- The city of San Antonio has 135 miles of expressway which include interstate routes IH-10, which runs east and west; IH-35 and IH-37, which run north and south; and Loops 410 and 1604, which circle the city. Typically downtown San Antonio can be reached in 35 minutes or less from any point in Bexar county. The highway system also has transguide, which is a computerized message system alerting travelers to traffic problems.
THE WEATHER
San Antonio has a somewhat tropical weather pattern. The summer months are sunny 70% of the time with the highs in the mid 90°F, with occasional highs over 100°F. The spring and fall months are usually mild with high temperatures in the 70 and 80´s. Our winters are mild with occasional temperatures below freezing. The relative humidity ranges from around 80% in the morning to 50% by late afternoon. Our annual rainfall is around 28 inches per year. Snow does fall in measurable amounts every three to four years.