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Live in San Antonio

“San Antonio is a big city with wonderful soul and character. People still look each other in the eye. San Antonio strikes a great balance between a low cost of doing business and a high quality of life. We’re a growing, thriving metropolis, which culturally makes us a great place to raise a family, and yet we’ve retained our great character.”

 —Mayor Julián Castro

“San Antonio is affordable and opportunity abounds. The median cost of a home here is $153,400. Even compared to other Texas cities, it’s a bargain. Our infrastructure keeps up with our growth, and there’s an emphasis on the continued development of the workforce.”

 —Mario Hernandez, President San Antonio Economic Development Foundation

Facts of Life in San Antonio

• With a population of 1,327,407, San Antonio is the country’s seventh-largest city.

• The National Weather Service reports only 31 instances of snowfall in San Antonio in 122 years.

• At age 37, Julián Castro is the youngest mayor of one of the country’s 50 most populous cities.

• SA2020 is a community-wide effort aimed at improving all aspects of life in San Antonio—including transportation, education, arts, and culture—as the city moves toward the year 2020.

• In July 2011, Forbes ranked San Antonio No. 4 in its list of “The Next Big Boom Towns in the U.S.”

• San Antonio’s metropolitan area is home to 14 colleges and universities and some 118,000 students.

• The King William neighborhood, a 25-block area near downtown, is Texas’ oldest historical district.

Work in San Antonio

“San Antonio is full of people that are hard-working and honest, and who really care about providing high-quality service. Our work ethic here is incredible, and we have a fantastic quality of life and low cost of living. Our economy is strong and diversifying every day. With our growing Hispanic population, our demographic is very much indicative of where the country is moving. We’re a great representation of what the rest of the nation will look like in 50 years.”

—Richard Perez, President and CEO Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce

“San Antonio is a growing, prosperous city. Our city didn’t go as crazy as some places did during the economic boom, so we were able to continue to grow even during the recent recession. The businesses of San Antonio just keep on building and hiring. Business leaders in San Antonio collaborate with each other and with the local government. This partnership between private and public sets the tone for how business is conducted here.”

—Lanham Napier, President and CEO Rackspace

“USAA has always been focused on serving military families, and San Antonio has always been our home. Some of the very best employees can be found in this city, and the community has enabled us to grow into a highly respected financial services company.”

 —Joe Robles, President and CEO USAA

“The Culinary Institute of America deemed San Antonio an ideal gateway to the cuisines of the Americas. It’s a perfect match for the Institute’s commitment to diversity and world cuisines. What I love about working in this city is that everybody is willing. That’s the nature of San Antonio.”

 —David Kellaway, Managing Director, The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio

“We studied and interviewed many local vendors and businesses before choosing San Antonio as the location of our headquarters. Since then, we have been bringing high-quality clientele from all over the world to San Antonio for their meeting and event needs. The San Antonio area is a destination you’ll want to visit time and again. Its unique mixture of cultures and activities will keep you busy for days!”

 —Gregorio Palomino, CEO CRE8AD8

Facts of Work in San Antonio

• In May of this year, CNBC ranked San Antonio the seventh most culturally diverse city in America.

• Five Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in San Antonio: CC Media Holdings, NuStar Energy, Tesoro, USAA, and Valero Energy.

• San Antonio is home to four military bases: Fort Sam Houston, Randolph Air Force Base, Lackland Air Force Base, and USO San Antonio.

• More than 106,000 people work in the city’s hospitality industry.

• The defense industry employs more than 60,000 people in San Antonio.

• The 2011 Texas Manufacturers Register ranked San Antonio the fourth-largest manufacturing market in Texas, with 51,177 jobs in the industry.

• In 2010 and 2011, the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau received the Inner Circle Award from Association Meetings magazine, an award given to only 15 CVBs annually.

• In 2011, Livability.com named San Antonio the second-best city in the country for college graduates.

• The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center hosts more than 300 events each year with 750,000 attendees from around the world.

• San Antonio’s Culinary Institute of America campus, which opened in 2008, is one of four in the world.

• In March 2011, San Antonio launched B-cycle, Texas’ first bike-share program.

• San Antonio has more than 43,000 hotel rooms, 13,500 of which are located downtown.

Play in San Antonio

“The food in San Antonio can be summed up in two words: Tex-Mex Proud. It embraces our Mexican heritage and also pays homage to the Texas cattle ranches of old. This city loves big and bold, and you can discover this common thread all over  San Antonio. Our cuisine is like comfort food with soul. Every dish seems to come with a story; it speaks of a culture that is yet to be fully discovered.”

 —Johnny Hernandez, Chef/Owner La Gloria

“The rodeo has an annual impact of more than $150 million on San Antonio, but the best way to look at what it means to the city is to see all the people enjoying themselves and engaging in the activities there. It’s a big deal to San Antonio!”

—Pat Frost, President Frost Bank; Vice President, San Antonio Livestock Exposition Executive Committee

“I visited the state when I was young and fell in love with the people, the places, and the great spirit of Texas. The culture of San Antonio is a reflection of the face of Texas and the country. We love our families, neighbors, and visitors—and no one seems too shy to share a smile.” 

 —David Gabler, Chief Communications Officer, University of Texas at San Antonio

Facts of Play in San Antonio

• San Antonio has 68 miles of hiking and biking trails.

• The city owns and maintains 236 parks, including swimming pools, gymnasiums, sports facilities, recreation centers, and the Botanical Garden and Conservatory.

• Twenty-three San Antonio hotels and restaurants have been awarded AAA’s Four Diamond Award.

• San Antonio has more than 40 public and private golf courses.

• SeaWorld San Antonio is the world’s largest marine-life adventure park.

• Fiesta San Antonio is an annual festival held in April. Local schools celebrate with a Friday off.

• In September 2011, Travel + Leisure listed San Antonio as the country’s 10th best city for foodies.

• The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo happens each February and is one of the largest single events in the city, with more than 1 million visitors each year.

• The River Walk expansion plan will stretch it from about 8.5 miles to a length of nearly 15.5 miles by the scheduled completion in 2013.

• With more than 3,500 animals, the San Antonio Zoo has the country’s third-largest collection of animals.

• Nearly 57,000 fans attended the University of Texas at San Antonio’s first ever football game this year, breaking the attendance record for an inaugural Division I football game.

• The historic Main Plaza hosts free outdoor concerts throughout the year.

• This holiday season, the River Walk will be decorated with 1.8 million LED lights, part of a citywide plan to  switch from incandescent to more eco-friendly lighting.

Heal in San Antonio

“Military medicine in San Antonio has long been key to the welfare of soldiers, their families, and the community at large. From a humble beginning in a rented house across from what is now the River Center Mall, to the 425-bed San Antonio Medical Military Center, we have excelled at caring for America’s military for the past 166 years. Along the way, San Antonio’s military and civilian health care systems have built a dependence on each other that is mutually beneficial.”

—Maj. Gen. David Rubenstein, Commanding General Army Medical Department Center & School

“We derive tremendous energy from being in a city that’s as dynamic as we are. San Antonio makes an attractive home for our clinicians and researchers, who in turn work to improve health and quality of life in this city. Our researchers focus on areas of special concern to San Antonio and south Texas residents—from diabetes to the health needs of our country’s military personnel and veterans— while our faculty brings the latest advances in health care to the area as they train the next generation of health care providers who will serve our city and beyond.”

—Dr. William L. Henrich, President The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) at San Antonio

Facts of Health in San Antonio

• One of every six employees in San Antonio works in either bioscience or health care.

• The U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force now train all medical personnel at the Medical Education and Training Campus, which was established at Fort Sam Houston in 2011.

• In September 2011, Brooke Army Medical Center and the Air Force’s Wilford Hall Medical Center integrated their inpatient, trauma, and emergency care services. The inpatient facility is now the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC).

• SAMMC is the Department of Defense’s largest inpatient medical facility, and is also home to its only Level 1 trauma center.

• The Academy of Health Sciences at Fort Sam Houston is the largest medical education and training campus in the world and produces 35,000 medical profession graduates each year.

• UTHSC San Antonio is home to more than 3,200 students enrolled in more than 74 degree plans.

• UTHSC San Antonio receives more research funding from the National Institute of Aging than any other institution in Texas.

• The bioscience and health care industries created nearly 33,000 new jobs in San Antonio in the past decade.

• On average, employees in San Antonio’s health care and bioscience industries earned more than $45,700 in 2009.

• South Texas Medical Center is a 900-acre facility comprised of 45 institutions that include medical, dental, and nursing schools, as well as hospitals, specialty institutions, and treatment and research facilities.

• San Antonio beat out more than 900 cities to land the Medtronic Diabetes Therapy Management and Education Center, a patient support, education, and sales facility that opened in 2009.

Happening in San Antonio

November 4 

First Friday Art Walk, in Southtown

Jump-start your weekend on the first Friday of each month, when nearly 30 galleries and restaurants keep their doors open late in the artsy enclave of Southtown. Beginning around 5 p.m., crowds start to fill the two-mile stretch from César Chávez Boulevard, just south of downtown, to Probandt Street, dropping in at local art galleries and making pit stops at food trucks along the way. Restaurants get in on the fun by showcasing artwork inside, while vendors set up tents along the route. Described as an “urban phenomenon” by Bill FitzGibbons, executive director of Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, which spearheaded the event in the late 1980s, First Friday Art Walk now attracts 5,000 to 8,000 people every month. The fun lasts until about 10 p.m.—just one more reason to T.G.I.F. bluestarart.org 

November 4 - 6

Lebanese Festival, at St. George Maronite Church

Think you got moves? Betcha don’t know how to dabke. Learn this traditional Lebanese folk dance alongside 10,000 other guests at this indoor/outdoor cultural festival. Celebrating more than 130 years of Lebanese influence in San Antonio, this three-day bash features performances from an 80-member Lebanese dance troupe, as well as live music by a band playing traditional tunes as the night rolls on. Sample authentic Lebanese food like baklava and hummus, or make a beeline to the bazaar to check out handcrafted dresses, tablecloths, and jewelry. Entertain the kiddos in the carnival area where they can play darts, get their faces painted, and compete for prizes, while you enter to win a vacation, an iPad, or a Visa gift card in the raffle. Finish the night at the festival oasis with a glass of Lebanese vino. Keskon! (That’s Lebanese for “Cheers!”) stgeorgesa.org

November 12

Veterans Day Parade, in downtown

Don your red, white, and blue for the 11th annual Veterans Day Parade, part of San Antonio’s Celebrate America’s Military (CAM) Week.  Nearly 3,000 people from all branches of the military, plus marching bands, ROTC units, City Council members, the sheriff, and even the mayor, march in honor of our armed forces. Kickoff begins at 10:30 a.m. with a wreathing ceremony at the Alamo that features patriotic tunes, a presentation of the colors, and remarks by the parade’s grand marshal. Park a lawn chair along the parade route, which starts at Avenue E and Third Street and ends at San Saba Street, but arrive early— a crowd of 20,000 strong is expected to cheer on the procession. With an event like this, it’s no wonder San Antonio is referred to as Military City USA. usmvpa.com

December 2 - 18

Ford Fiesta de las Luminarias, at the River Walk

See the River Walk in a new light during select December weekends. Beginning at dusk, River Walk volunteers and operators line the walkways with more than 6,000 luminarias, or paper lanterns, to mark the “lighting of the way” for the Holy Family. The Paseo del Rio Association, which puts on some 22 events a year on the River Walk, has produced the spectacle since 1968, but its history goes back to 16th century Spain when people started bonfires to light the path to midnight mass. thesanantonioriverwalk.com