My Hood

The place where I live really has no name, and is on the Southside of town. The exact location is 850 Big Oak Drive. It is located off of 281south outside of 1604. Surprisingly, the socio-economic status of my neighborhood is uniquely diverse, with a blend of all three classes. There is much variety found where I live, with a few elderly couples, fairly-sized families, and even single adults. You will find mobile homes, professionally built houses, hand-made houses, and just plains homes. The racial ethnicity, however, is unmistakably entirely Hispanic or of Mexican descent.
The elderly couples are very reserved and don’t communicate with anyone except for their families. They keep their lawns green throughout the year somehow and they never cause any trouble. Now the fairly sized families like my next door neighbors make a little more ruckus. Families like theirs come from all over the country; otherwise they’re pretty much raised here. Lastly, the single adults a lot of times have divorced and are looking to start a new life. With my family it’s a little of everything, which is why I don’t mind living where we live.
Transportation, however, is an issue. Since we live so far out from the city, shopping for clothes and going to the movies is an occasion for us. Major features for my neighborhood would include fast food restaurants, a Dollar General, and some gas stations. Other major features that would epitomize my neighborhood would be family owned businesses. These may include various taco shops, a car shop, and a fruit shop. Everything is spread apart however, making it imperative to have some sort of transportation. There has been a Toyota plant built nearby the High School providing jobs and it hires anyone depending on the position. This plant, I believe, will benefit the neighborhood simply because it will provide more work for the south side area, resulting in population growth and ultimately, a much denser community.
My neighborhood has many weaknesses and few strengths. The highway which runs right through us is very dangerous. It can and has been the cause of many accidents many times resulting in deaths. If I want to pay my friend a visit, I have to drive or walk across the highway, so it’s a risk with the people who constantly speed day and night. Another weakness is how far away EMS is. If an accident does occur, it almost always takes at least five minutes for a response. There’s not much of a food choice without going into town. One strength, rather advantage, is that with the property and the freedom of it we can have any animal we want and as many as we want. Some people have farms in their backyards, literally! It is, overall, a very peaceful neighborhood with very rare cases of disruption or commotion.
I study at Palo-Alto College located at 1400 W. Villaret Rd. approximately fifteen-and-a-half miles from my house. I work at Whataburger located at 4125 S Loop 1604 E approximately eight miles. It takes me about twenty minutes to get to my study place and about 10 minutes to get to work. My friend that lives closest to me lives about five miles away across the highway. Mayfield Park Baptist Church, my “fun” is located at 700 W. Hutchins Pl and is about 22 minutes away from where I live.
I don’t identify very close with my neighborhood other than the fact that I live in it. I do feel a sense of place and community probably only because circumstances force me to. The abundance of Mexican food may be the only thing that appeals to my being there. Yes, it is just a transition point in my life until further notice. I would not like to continue living there simply because of the inconvenience as far as transportation goes. I spend a good hour-and-a-half getting from point A to point B in any given day. This is my neighborhood, this is my San Antonio. -671 words