I've lived in San Antonio for about 23 years and my husband's lived here all his life. For the past 3 years, we have lived in the northeast portion of San Antonio, a fairly densely populated area of town and one of the fastest growing ones, as well (also known for its exemplary schools, though the high property taxes show that!) I haven't been in the housing market in several years, but judging by the new development (homes and apartments) I've seen, there's plenty of supply to meet the demand. Homes are priced all over the spectrum -- the "budget builder" in town is "KB" or "Kaufman & Broad" and there are plenty of custom builders available. The challenge in S.A. is finding more land to build on, as the city has begun to sprawl considerably beyond the land area it used to occupy just 10 years ago.
Entertainment-wise, San Antonio offers quite a bit even though many residents tend to forget just how diverse the options are. The scenic Riverwalk downtown offers barge rides and scores of restaurants, bars and old hotels. Also downtown are the Alamo, the Hemisfair Tower (Tower of the Americas), the Institute of Texan Cultures museum, Sunset Station (restaurants, shops & bars, near the Alamodome) and many more I'm omitting only for the sake of space. We have an award-winning zoo surrounded by a 300+ acre wooded park (
Brackenridge Park), the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, the McNay Art Museum and more. In the north central & northwest portions of town there's Sea World of Texas and Fiesta Texas, several wooded city parks with hiking trails and picnic areas and more shopping than you'll ever know what to do with, plus everything else that comes with a population center (police, fire, some major businesses, the Medical Center hospital and research complex). Scattered across town are the various military bases that make San Antonio "military city USA", including Randolph AFB, Lackland AFB, Camp Bullis (Army), Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC).
Outside of town towards the northeast and northwest are historic small towns such as Fredericksburg, Boerne, Bandera ("Cowboy Capital of the World") and the scenic Texas Hill Country. Gorgeous scenic drives await you by driving from San Antonio to Vanderpool (
Lost Maples State Natural Area) and other areas. I just discovered the most beautiful drive I've ever had in Central Texas by driving from Lost Maples State Natural Area to Leakey, Texas recently. Texas is a very diverse state -- diverse terrain, diverse cultures and history and more.
I'd suspect you'd have better luck finding boarding for your horses in one of the small Hill Country towns outside of San Antonio (Bandera, Texas, has many dude ranches and equestrian centers) or on the outskirts of San Antonio in any direction, where the land starts to open up into farming and ranching communities again. I had a friend some years back who owned a horse and I think she boarded it in Boerne, which is very close to San Antonio. I can do some research if you'd like some contacts.
I could go on, but this is more than enough to start with I bet.
