There are so many great places to live in San Antonio that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Kuper Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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The true test of a neighborhood is when a person grows up there, and then chooses to return in adulthood.

That's what real estate agent Mary Carter did with Olmos Park, which she has called home for the past 20 years.

"I know it so well, and I met my lifelong best friends there as a child," Carter says. "I had many children my age to play with, and we would ride bikes, have lemonade stands, and sell Girl Scout cookies. It was a wonderful place to grow up."

Today, she praises the area's convenience, being only minutes from Highways I10 and 281 and a very quick jaunt to downtown.

"If I didn't have to get around town for work, I could easily live here without a car," she says. "There are so many conveniences right at my doorstep."

Carter offered up a few more of her personal favorites about life in Olmos Park. Here's her guide to the area:

 Where to eat & drink
 Panchito's Mexican Restaurant is "a favorite spot with all San Antonio," Carter says — and that's extra impressive, considering the city's rich Tex-Mex offerings.

 Where to play
 Olmos Basin is a popular spot for its sports fields, as are the many walking trails that surround the neighborhood and its dog park.

 What to see
Olmos Park is very close to Landa Library, plus just minutes from all the entertainment, history, and cultural spots that downtown San Antonio has to offer.

 Where to live
"Olmos Park was one of the first major elite communities built after WWI," Carter says. "A man named Thorman bought the land to develop and was instrumental in making sure it would be its own township and part of the newly developed Alamo Heights Schools District."

The style of homes he built were two-story native rock or brick with interior features like high ceiling and arches between formal areas.

"In the middle of the Olmos Park is a large hill where you can see to downtown and back, and on those lots Thorman built true mansions," she says. "Much later, another man came along to build more contemporary-style homes, only one story and made from brick. You still have a mixture of the two, though many of the contemporary homes have either been torn down or vastly expanded."

Carter recalls that her very first sale was 625 Contour Dr. in 1977, though sadly it was just torn down to become part of a lot for the next-door neighbors. More recently, she has sold 202 Primera, 210 E. Mandalay, and "a great house on Park Lane."

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 Mary Carter lives, works, and plays in Olmos Park. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email mary.carter@kupersir.com, or call 210-387-4663.