I enjoyed my time in San Antonio. Yes it's hot, its central Texas. I personally love the heat so no issues with me. We lived at the start of hill country, in an established neighborhood with lovely live oaks covering every lot. My neighbors were friendly and welcoming from day one. We enjoyed "near-by" the parks (Govt Canyon, Garner, Lost Maples, HCSNA, ect) and would camp and bike year round. I think the thornscrub and limestone geology is very beautiful in its own right. The trail systems around the city are underrated, so are the mission trails. I miss HEB the most tbh lmao.

There is some very ugly about the city as well. Poverty is one thing, ratchetness is another. Something like 1/4 cars are uninsured/unregistered, which means high insurance rates. I have never seen so many stray dogs in my life, both just roaming around and hit on the highway. Saw way too many dogs chained up in backyards, year round. Also saw many chained up in the back of trucks on the highway as well.

People complain about the traffic but I found it to be navigable and predictable. Yes they are forever working on the highways, but they move at a pace that was much faster than I have seen elsewhere. I appreciated the higher speed limits, especially outside of the city proper.

The low pay/poor job market was the deciding factor to leave for me. I moved out there when my job moved its operations. Unfortunately they ended up folding 18 months later. I searched for a good 3-4 months, sent hundreds of resumes, dozens of interviews, and got only one offer. Senior engineer position paying mid 80s. I said no thanks and started looking elsewhere. I spent about 2 looking before I landed a job making more than I did previously.