A great neighborhood with excellent public schools besides Alamo Heights and Stone Oak? (San Antonio: best schools, best)

[Gigi45]

I-10 West near Fair Oaks and out Boerne Stage Road

[Septgirl75]

Thank you for the recommendations. We drove around Hollywood park and Hidden Forest and my husband didn't care for them to much. He thought they looked old and he wants a newer home. I liked the big lots though. We loved bluffview, but I researched and found out the elementary schools aren't so great. Does anyone have any more information on Bluffview, do parents just send their kids to private school? My husband's office is near Northwood and we can't handle the airplanes. We drove through Deerfield and it looked nice, but we didn't see much of it, because all of the subdivisions were gated. We want to stay South of 1604. Any other neighborhoods to look into?
Thank you so much!

[Bo]

Originally Posted by rarichie75

We loved bluffview, but I researched and found out the elementary schools aren't so great.

IMO, there's a problem with your research. Hidden Forest is the elementary for Bluffview. Hidden Forest is a great school... rated 10 out of 10 on schoolperformancemaps.com, plus it was a National Blue Ribbon school in 2001 and 2007.

The Hidden Forest attendance area includes: Hidden Forest, Hollywood Park, Hill Country Village, Mission Ridge, Walker Ranch, River Bend, Racquet Club, Hidden Heights, Canyon Creek Village, Canyon Creek Bluffs, Canyon Creek Estates, Blanco Woods, Blanco Bluffs, Bluffview Greens, Panther Springs Apartments, Talavera Apartments, Walker Ranch Apartments and The Haven at Blanco Apartments.

[smuboy86]

Have you actually been inside a Northwood home? Most if not all the plane noise is inaudible. Also on going airport changes are shifting takeoff corridors. You might find this helpful,http://www.sanantonio.gov/Aviation/i...09113240am.pdf. As you can see very little of northwood is actually effected by noise and the little area that is, in red, is elgible for city and federal funding for noise blocking.

[scuba steve]

A realtor can get you around the whole gate issue...

[autiger92]

Originally Posted by rarichie75

Thank you for the recommendations. We drove around Hollywood park and Hidden Forest and my husband didn't care for them to much. He thought they looked old and he wants a newer home. I liked the big lots though.

Don't judge a book by it's cover!

That's EXACTLY how I felt the first time I drove through Hollywood Park. I had heard such wonderful things about it, and was pretty disappointed in the older appearance on my first impression. Actually, I remember thinking, "there's no way I'm living here." The 60's and 70's weren't the greatest decades for architecture. So we looked at LOTS of houses in many of the other newer neighborhoods in the same school district. On the surface the newer neighborhoods looked more "manicured" and nicer, but we were disappointed in the quality of construction (more siding than brick, leaky skylights, generally not well maintained, etc) and lack of character. And as it turns out, houses built in the 80's and 90's and even early 2000's still look dated enough that we felt like we would want to spend $$ to update.

We ended up in HP after all. Our house is a little smaller than what we could afford in some newer neighborhoods, but its a really GOOD house. I wouldn't trade the extra square footage for my REAL fireplace, solid wood cabinets and built-ins, and huge live oaks. There is a great HOA here that sponsers lots of family events, parties, picnics, etc.

Take this w/ a grain of salt--I'm biased, of course. There are lots of advantages to a newer home, too. Good luck in your home search! It's a great time to buy in any of these older neighborhoods--buyer's market right now.

[bgrn198]

Originally Posted by smuboy86

Have you actually been inside a Northwood home? Most if not all the plane noise is inaudible. Also on going airport changes are shifting takeoff corridors. You might find this helpful,http://www.sanantonio.gov/Aviation/i...09113240am.pdf. As you can see very little of northwood is actually effected by noise and the little area that is, in red, is elgible for city and federal funding for noise blocking.

Used to when I stayed with my Aunt and Uncle in Hidden Forest you could hear the planes but it wasn't too loud it's not directly in the flight path like Churchill Estates from what I hear is in the flight path I could be wrong though my dad grew up in SA and that's what he told me lol.

[bgrn198]

Originally Posted by autiger92

Don't judge a book by it's cover!

That's EXACTLY how I felt the first time I drove through Hollywood Park. I had heard such wonderful things about it, and was pretty disappointed in the older appearance on my first impression. Actually, I remember thinking, "there's no way I'm living here." The 60's and 70's weren't the greatest decades for architecture. So we looked at LOTS of houses in many of the other newer neighborhoods in the same school district. On the surface the newer neighborhoods looked more "manicured" and nicer, but we were disappointed in the quality of construction (more siding than brick, leaky skylights, generally not well maintained, etc) and lack of character. And as it turns out, houses built in the 80's and 90's and even early 2000's still look dated enough that we felt like we would want to spend $$ to update.

We ended up in HP after all. Our house is a little smaller than what we could afford in some newer neighborhoods, but its a really GOOD house. I wouldn't trade the extra square footage for my REAL fireplace, solid wood cabinets and built-ins, and huge live oaks. There is a great HOA here that sponsers lots of family events, parties, picnics, etc.

Take this w/ a grain of salt--I'm biased, of course. There are lots of advantages to a newer home, too. Good luck in your home search! It's a great time to buy in any of these older neighborhoods--buyer's market right now.

My Great Aunt and Uncle live in Hollywood Park it is nice

[Septgirl75]

We were looking at the Bluffview of Camino Real that is zoned to Harmony Hills elementary. It is rated a 1, this is what I meant by it not being a good school. But, yes Hidden Forest is excellent. We may look at Hollywood park again and actually look at a home in Northwood. My husband works at the Chase building at 410 and the planes drive him crazy while at work. We are going to continue looking and researching. Thank you for all the information. The closer the neighborhood to my husbands work the better. Northwood is the closest. Alamo heights is close also, but I don't think we can afford a home nice enough and big enough for our family of 5 that is around $300,000. Hollywood park and Northwood looks like our best bet. Deerfield is nice, but is a little to far of a drive.

[Septgirl75]

Also, I wanted your personal opinion on schools. What do you think is the best elementary school, middle school and high school in San Antonio?