The Where I Live series aims to showcase our diverse city and region by spotlighting its many vibrant neighborhoods. Each week a local resident invites us over and lets us in on what makes their neighborhood special. Have we been to your neighborhood yet? Get in touch to share your story. If your story is selected and published, you will receive a $250 stipend.
Riverside is what I consider the sweet spot of San Antonio. I’m not too far from downtown, have a sweet view of the San Antonio River and enjoy all the charm of the South Side.
My community is all about art and music. Colorful murals, outdoor concerts and the creative and eccentric people who live here make Riverside an inspiring place to live. There’s even a free art gallery in my apartment building where I can see the art that my neighbors make.
Working as a barista at Tandem has allowed me to meet many of my neighbors, some of whom I now call my friends. I’ve gotten to know a lot of super interesting people through my job, like one regular who brings a different dog along with him every time he stops by (I’ve counted about 9 dogs so far). He rescues and fosters dogs until he’s able to find homes for them.
I’ve learned so much about coffee from one of my coworkers, who also happens to be my neighbor and is the coolest and most interesting person I know. She knows so much about music and is an artist in every sense of the word. She is always herself — which she displays through her outfits.
I also love being able to attend the shows that are put on by the Echo Bridge Appreciation Society. Baldemar y Los Juanos, a band whose sound is a mix of indie and corridos, was so full of energy and put on a great performance recently. The Echo Bridge shows are usually played in the late afternoon, which makes for a stunning view and great weather. If you haven’t been to a concert at the Echo Bridge, it’s something you would definitely want to experience.
I share my home with two incredibly misbehaved cats, Jupiter and Pepper, which means my carefully curated apartment is always in disarray. I think that my cats enjoy living here more than I do because the loft apartment feels like one big cat tower for them.
This is the first time I, as a 21-year-old girl from Dallas, have ever lived on my own and I am so glad that I found this unassuming, renovated warehouse to live in. It’s even better that my school is only 15 minutes away and I never run into 5 o’clock traffic.
Although I didn’t grow up in San Antonio, I have lived here for about four years and have loved every minute of it. The South Side is a really great place with very sweet people and amazing culture.
I love driving down the street and seeing giant murals on the sides of buildings and people selling elotes from their carts. I especially love that there is a food truck on almost every street down here, and I can get the best tacos anywhere I turn. I have eaten at spots all over San Antonio, but the food down south is something that I can never get tired of.
There’s the 24-hour Mexican restaurant that hits the spot after a long night at Cowboys Dance Hall, a small restaurant down the street with the best birria I’ve ever tasted and a small Thai restaurant hidden in plain sight — just to name a couple of my favorite spots with good food and amazing vibes. All these places make the South Side, and that’s what I love about living here.
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