Lists! Lists! Lists!

San Antonio suburb drifts onto Money's Best Places to Live 2019

San Marcos is among the best places to live in 2019.

City of San Marcos - Government/Facebook

San Marcos already boasts a world-class university, quaint downtown square, and optimal tubing conditions, but now it can add another accolade: it's one of the best places to live in America.

On September 16, Money magazine released its annual Best Places to Live 2019, and San Antonio's northern neighbor claimed a spot on the list.

Coming in at No. 76 out of 100, San Marcos is applauded for its median home price ($219,894) and projected job growth (18.5 percent), as well as quality of life things, such as low commute times (23 minutes) and clear days per year (229).

To determine the best places to live, Money first looked at cities with populations of 50,000 or greater. If a city had more than 300,000 residents, the magazine then broke it down into neighborhoods. (For example, Austin's Hyde Park neighborhood took the No. 51 spot on this year's list.) According to Money's methodology report, this left 1,796 potential places.

Working with Witlytic, a data and optimization firm, the magazine then examined each area's economic health, cost of living, ethnic and economic diversity, public education, income, health and safety, ease of living, and amenities. Once those number were crunched, reporters got to work researching, reporting, and "searching for the kinds of intangible factors that aren’t revealed by statistics."

In addition to San Marcos, Texas had four spots on the list, the maximum allowed for each state. Round Rock was the big winner at No. 2, followed by Wylie at No. 26, and Austin's Hyde Park (No. 51).

Money debuted its Best Places to Live list 30 years ago as a way to help consumers better decide where to live.

"The average American will move nearly a dozen times during his or her lifetime. Our Best Places to Live franchise gives individuals and families the guidance they need to make informed decisions about where they will have the best living experience across the country," says Shaina Mishkin, writer at money.com, in a press release.

Topping the list this year is Clarksville, Tennessee, located about 45 miles northwest of Nashville. Rounding out the rest of the top 10 is Fishers, Indiana (No. 3); Chicago's Fulton River District (No. 4); Charlotte, North Carolina's Country Club Heights (No. 5); Draper, Utah (No. 6); Bentonville, Arkansas (No. 7); Madison, Wisconsin (No. 8); Meridian, Idaho (No. 9); and Winter Garden, Florida (No. 10).

reports lists

Hold Your Horses

San Antonio City Council considers plan to phase out horse-drawn carriages

Getty Images

A scant majority of San Antonians like the idea of ending the practice.

In a special session on Thursday, October 31, the San Antonio City Council will deliberate on possibly phasing out horse-drawn carriages. A proposal called "A Just Transition from Horse Drawn Carriages" has led to a one-to-three-year plan for replacing the horses with electric carriages.

An early project proposal in November of 2022 — written by District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 3 Councilmember Phyllis Viagran — laid out concerns for the horses' wellbeing, quoting the Animal Welfare Institute. Concerns included exposure to traffic and pollution, long periods standing and walking on hard surfaces, and extreme weather, among other things. In addition to the effect on horses, the request also mentioned environmental effects from slowed traffic.

It proposed completely stopping any new use of horse drawn carriages and letting any existing permits expire. The request also mentioned pedicabs as an alternative alongside the electric carriages, but the pedicabs seem to have fallen away from the public discourse.

Following up on the proposal, a city survey that concluded in August of 2024 found that of 50,476 respondents, a scant majority (51.98 percent) said they liked the idea to "Transition horse-drawn carriages to electric carriages and pedicabs and ban horse drawn carriages completely." Other options like changing hours and location of horse-drawn carriage use were unpopular, and 29.01 percent said they wanted to continue with the current system of use.

A majority of respondents (53.83 percent) had never ridden in a horse drawn carriage at all, and an strong majority of those survey takers cited the treatment of the horse as the reason they hadn't tried it. Those who had ridden on the carriages mostly liked it for the "historical and cultural experience," with examples including feeling nostalgic and learning about San Antonio's history.

The survey did not disclose how many of the people who rode on the carriages were tourists, but tourists made up 21.66 percent of respondents.

In addition to the survey, council members also unanimously voted on August 19, 2024, to have a plan drafted by city staff that would phase out the horse-drawn carriages in one to three years.

The only item on the special session agenda (aside from approval of minutes) is a briefing and possible action on the proposal, meaning that a decision is not guaranteed.

More information about city council meetings is available at sa.gov.

animals civic issues