Where-to-Live: San Antonio, Texas

And here we go! Let’s head west on Culebra Road while I tell you some fun facts about San Antonio!

While military service is what originally brings many San Antonio residents to Bexar County, the area has enticed enough of them to stay long after their enlistment is up. San Antonio is attractive enough, in fact, to make it the United States’ seventh most populous city! After being founded as a mission and colonial outpost of the Spanish Empire in 1718, San Antonio was also part of the Mexican Republic, as well as the Republic of Texas, before it eventually became part of the United States after the Mexican-American War ended in 1848.

Rich with a deep history that predates the State of Texas, San Antonio has been one of the fastest growing cities in America over the past 30 years, and is today a vibrant hub of culture. In the mood for some history? Go check out one of the five 18th-century Spanish frontier missions, including The Alamo itself, in San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Is your mood more in-step with some leisure or sightseeing? Walk the River Walk, or climb the Tower of the Americas. Maybe you’re more of a sports person (this is Texas after all), you can go see the five-time NBA champion Spurs in action at the AT&T Center... as long as it’s not February, when the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo show is hosted by the stadium, and attracts 2 million visitors every year (this is Texas, after all).

If you were to turn right on Cliffbrier and left on Timber Path, but you don’t have to, you would come across HB Zachry Middle School (Go Wolverines) and Lloyd M. Knowlton Elementary School. Go Knight! Keep heading West.

Just a few blocks north of us is Culebra Creek Park where you will find 145 acres of wooded
areas, grassy areas perfect for picnics, a walking trail and several multipurpose sport fields

And we will be driving past Taft High School. Go Raiders!
Please continue on Culebra Road.

Ok, our first family community to explore is Valley Ranch. Feel free to drive into the neighborhood and explore! Actually, feel free to explore ANY of the neighborhoods that we come across. Kenny Cunningham is an expert on these developments and can answer any questions that you might have.

The spacious three to six bedroom homes in Valley Ranch range from 1,736 to over 3,500 square feet, and can fit almost any family at any stage of life! With the Northside Independent School District-affiliated Kallison Elementary School located within the community, and a loaded tab of amenities that include a clubhouse, amphitheatre, and walking trails, Valley Ranch is a perfect home for the whole family!

Keep driving to get to Kallison Ranch.

Located directly adjacent to Dr. Pat Henderson Elementary and just across Culebra Road from both Harlan High and the brand new Straus Middle School, Kallison Ranch is yet another exemplary family community in Northwest San Antonio.

With easy access to Loop 1604 and Highway 211, local shopping, dining, and entertainment options are also just minutes away! Not in the mood to venture out of the neighborhood? Residents of Kallison Ranch enjoy resort-style amenities including a brand new pool, fireplace-equipped pavilion, playground, dog park, and more!

If you wanna drive through that neighborhood, do it! Then come back this way on Culebra Rd and turn right on Tally Rd and follow your navigation.

I hope you are exploring some of these great neighborhoods! Turn right when you get back to Culebra Road and then turn right on Alamo Parkway.. Please. Thank You.

We are heading through the Alamo Ranch area. Keep on the lookout for some great communities!

Look straight ahead. Fronterra at Westpointe is a picturesque community just 2 miles outside of Loop 1604.

Minutes away from dining, shopping, and entertainment options, this master-planned community within the Northside Independent School district is a perfect place to grow your family!

Set up a picnic at one of the parks, take a dip in one of the neighborhood’s two oversized pools, meet some neighbors for some fun at the Clubhouse, or explore one of the trails and walking paths in the neighborhood!

One of the most family-friendly neighborhoods in West San Antonio, Arcadia Ridge is nestled right on 700 acres of scenic landscape for the whole family to enjoy!

With an on-site elementary school expected to begin construction soon, and access to an outstanding education in the rest of the Northside Independent School District, Arcadia Ridge is a perfect place to grow your family!

With plenty of fun for the whole family, residents of Arcadia Ridge can take a hike on one of the scenic walking trails, hang out at one of the nearby parks, or even go golfing at nearby Briggs Ranch Golf Club!

Keep heading West and we will find Redbird Ranch!

One of the most robust communities in all of San Antonio, Redbird Ranch is an awesome new community just 20 minutes from Lackland AFB.

With an On-site elementary school, 2 community pools, a park, recreation area, and even an on-site Lifestyle Director, Redbird Ranch is perhaps the most complete, self-contained community in all of the River City! The two to four bedroom homes in Redbird Ranch range from 945 to 2,500 square feet, and include smart home connection, granite countertops, and more!

If you were to keep heading west you would find even more wonderful communities. Let’s head back on Potranco Road so I can show you more things. Follow Potranco all the way east and cross over North Grossenbacher.

Located off Potranco Road in the fast-growing northwest side of San Antonio, The Canyons at Amhurst is an affordably priced community in an amazing neighborhood!

Just minutes from Lackland AFB, homes in The Canyons range from three to five bedrooms with floor plans ranging from 1,400 to 2,600 square feet. All boasting 9-foot ceilings, smart home connection, granite countertops, and access to the highly ranked Northside Independent School District, you can’t go wrong with any of the homes in The Canyons!

Remember Grossenbacher Road? Let’s go back there and turn left.

Next up is the Bullet Hole Gun Range. Their ranges are from 50 to 300 yards and they offer training and private bay rentals.

Next is the Stoney Creek Community. Just minutes from Lackland AFB, Downtown San Antonio, The Golf Club of Texas, and more, Stoney Creek is a neighborhood of new construction homes located right next to both HWY 90 and Loop 1604.

Offering affordable floor plans that range all the way from 945 to 2530 square feet, granite kitchen and bathroom countertops, and D.R. Horton’s new smart home system, Stoney Creek has a perfect place for anyone to plug in, and recharge.

Check out the Harlach Farms subdivision! Just minutes from downtown San Antonio and the River Walk, and conveniently situated near shopping, dining and more, this community is in the celebrated Medina Valley school district and boasts stunning floor plans and amenities. Historic Castroville, Texas is just minutes down the highway as well.

Now you are going to have to turn right on US 90, which is the opposite direction of where we wanna go. But don’t worry, there are Fireworks Stores where our turn around is. So there’s that. Just follow your navigation and it will guide you to our next stop, which will be the Applewood development.

A brand new community on Pue Road on the southwest side of San Antonio, Applewood is just minutes from Lackland AFB.

Like the outdoors? Enjoy one of the many walking, hiking, and biking trails at nearby Government Canyon Natural Area. More of the shopping type? Traders Village open-air Market, Alamo Ranch, and The Shops at La Cantera are close by as well! In fact, with SeaWorld, Fiesta Texas, Gateway Hills Golf Course, and more all within minutes of the neighborhood, Applewood has something for everyone!

Choose from a variety of floorplans ranging from 1,296 to over 2,400 square feet that feature granite countertops, smart home systems, and more!

Up ahead, please turn right on Ray Ellison Blvd. As you drive though, I want to fill you in on some greatness which is the San Antonio Airport.

While Military City USA is known at least in part for the Air Force activities at Lackland AFB, San Antonio civilians will have to fly into the city through San Antonio International Airport. Located less than 10 miles north of downtown, SAT is a hub of travel in the area, and with its adjacency to I-410, it is a perfect place to start exploring San Antonio!

Like with so many other things in San Antonio, the history of its airport also has a military twist. After being founded in 1941 when the CIty of San Antonio purchased 1,200 acres of land north of the city limits, the circumstances of the Second World War necessitated the field’s military use. Designated as Alamo Field, the airport was operated as a training base by the United States Army Air Forces throughout the war’s duration.

Returned to the city after the conclusion of the war, SAT today operates as one of the biggest airports in Texas. In fact, one of the 24 gates and its two terminals is probably where your visiting family and friends will be arriving, and that’s almost always a good thing.

Should we talk about the Chapman Training Annex? Good, because it is on your right.
So San Antonio didn’t trademark the nickname “Military City U.S.A” for nothing: along with Lackland AFB is the Medina Training Annex, home to some of the most intense mental and physical training the U.S. military has to offer.

On this site is the training ground for the Air Force’s Special Forces. Para-rescuers, medical combat officers, and more are all trained right here. As a matter of fact, the Annex was actually renamed Chapman Training Annex in March 2020 to honor Master Sgt. John A Chapman, who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor in Afghanistan.

Let’s turn right on Sol Trace and explore Solana Ridge.
Located on the Southwest side of San Antonio, right next to Lackland AFB, is Solana Ridge by Express Homes. With easy access to Loop 410, I-10, and HWY 90, and smart home systems in every model, Solana Ridge is one of the most connected communities in all of San Antonio!

With floor plans in the neighborhood varying from two to five bedrooms, and 945 to 2,600 square feet, there’s a home in Solana Ridge for families of all sizes.With community amenities that include a pool, playground, and sports court, there’s plenty to keep the family busy as well! Look around, check out the homes, and make your way to the I-410 access Road.

Go ahead and turn left up here. We’ve got so much to see along this stretch of road. I’d like to highlight Los Altos. It’s a vibrant emerging community just off the Southwest loop of I-410.

Choose from 10 floor plans consisting of both single and two-story homes, all complete with sun-filled living areas, efficient kitchens, and comfortably sized bedrooms for you to escape to!

In the mood for some activities outside of the neighborhood? Go shopping at nearby South Park Mall, hit the links at Mission Del Lago, or visit one of the many San Antonio Missions for some cultural stimulation!

If you have the feeling that we are driving past a park, you would be correct. Tucked inside of Southwestern San Antonio, and directly adjacent to Kelly FIeld Annex, is the immense 505 acre Pearsall Park. The gargantuan recreation area was designed to provide dynamic outdoor fun to any and all visitors, and boasts a slew of amenities including the biggest skatepark in the city, a dog park, trails, a sports complex, numerous art installations, and more!

Turn left onto West Military Drive and I’ll tell you a few things about the JBSA Kelly Field Annex!
Named in honor of the first member of the American military to be killed in the crash of a plane he was piloting, 2nd Lieutenant George Edward Maurice Kelly, Kelly Field was originally established on a cleared cottonfield in March 1917. One of 32 Air Service training camps the U.S. established after entering into World War 1, Kelly Field has been a constant throughout nearly the entire history of American military aviation. Known as Kelly Air Force Base after World War 2, it was designated the Kelly Field Annex in 2001, and its components were absorbed into the greater Lackland AFB, or shifted to civilian control. Those civilian portions were rebranded as Port San Antonio in 2007, and operate as a commercial rail and airport today.

Since so many people come to San Antonio for military service, and since Lackland Air Force Base IS known as “The Gateway to the Airforce,” and we are driving on Military Road, it is only fitting that we dive a little further into the military experience here.

With 80,000 active-duty personnel and 200,000 veterans residing in San Antonio, the significance of Joint Base San Antonio, and Lackland Air Force Base in particular, is obvious. Still, though, the importance of Lackland to both San Antonio and the Air Force as a whole cannot be understated.

Nicknamed “The Gateway to the Air Force” for good reason, every Air Force service member has in fact walked through Lackland’s gates. As the sole location for the U.S. Air Force’s basic military training, every enlisted man and woman in the Air Force will go through the 8½ weeks of trials here before graduating and becoming an Airman.

Named after Brigadier General Frank Lackland, the base consists of more than 24,000 active duty members; 10,000 DOD civilians; and 11,000 contractors and family members. Many will leave Bexar County at the end of their service time, but like Kenny, many will come to call San Antonio home for good!

While on base housing is available, the waiting lists could have you sitting on your hands for months. Because of these circumstances, many families coming to JBSA-Lackland opt to settle in one of the beautiful surrounding communities that we have seen today. Remember, Kenny Cunningham is here to help you find that perfect fit.


Well, we sure covered a lot of the communities here in San Antonio! Whether you’re here on account of military service (which we’d like to thank you for in advance), or you were attracted here to the Alamo City for one of the countless other reasons that make San Antonio a jewel of Texas, we hope your stay here so far has been excellent! On our way to our last stop, let me go ahead and mention some of the other things you can occupy yourself with during the rest of your time here!

Considering the Air Force presence here, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Lackland houses some historic decommissioned aircraft. What might surprise you, though, is the magnitude of the aircraft that are in fact preserved on the base!

Proudly on display at Lackland are:

A B-52 Stratofortress
A 185 foot wingspan bomber
An F-4 Phantom
A Vietnam-era fighter jet that had a top speed of 1,473 mph
An SR-71 Blackbird
The fastest air-breathing manned aircraft ever built
A C-121 Constellation
Which was a 44 passenger Propeller-driven military transport from the 1940s-50s
A B-17 Flying Fortress
One of the most-used American bombers of WWII, and had a capacity of 17,600 lbs
And a B-25 Mitchell
WWII bomber that served in every theatre of the Second World War

Quite the collection they’ve got over there, isn’t it?!

Not so much in the mood for military history? Have your kids with you? Go check out The DoSeum, San Antonio’s Children’s Museum! Are they future members of the Space Force? Head over to Scobee Planetarium at San Antonio College! Perhaps you're in the mood for some more adult culture, in which case McNay Art Museum will surely wet your artistic whistle!

Wherever your interests may lie, you're sure to find an outlet for them here. And, hopefully someday, you’ll come to call San Antonio Home!

We have one more community to highlight and it is conveniently located on our way back to the start of this tour, which is Click and Move Realty.

Located outside of San Antonio’s Loop 1604 and Loop 410, The Overlook at Medio Creek offers a quaint and calm option for future SA residents!

With 22 different floor plans to choose from ranging from 1,042 to 2,855 square feet, there’s a home on The Overlook for everyone!

Conveniently close to Lackland AFB, shopping & dining options, and even family friendly entertainment at SeaWorld San Antonio, The Overlook is a stellar community!

And that pretty much sums up this Where-to-Live tour of San Antonio. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Please give Kenny Cunningham a call and let him tell you even more about this fantastic place. And don’t forget to check out some other great UCPlaces tours in the area! Have a great day!