Moving to San Antonio: your first-week checklist

Set up service a week or two ahead so the lights, water and AC are on the day you get the keys. In a Texas summer, that last one matters.

• Electricity and natural gas: CPS Energy, the city-owned utility, serves San Antonio and much of the area around it
• Water and sewer: SAWS (San Antonio Water System) serves most San Antonio addresses. Some neighborhoods and suburbs have a different water provider, so confirm yours by address
• Trash and recycling: inside city limits, carts come from the City of San Antonio's Solid Waste Management Department, and the fee is billed through CPS Energy
• Internet: compare providers at your exact address, because availability changes street by street

The cities around San Antonio run things their own way. New Braunfels has New Braunfels Utilities, and the City of Boerne runs its own utilities. In other suburbs, electricity can come from CPS Energy or an electric cooperative depending on the street, and trash service is arranged by the city or HOA. Your new city's website lists who serves your address.

Moving to one of them? Our pages for New Braunfels, Boerne, Schertz and the other cities we serve cover the local quirks of moving day itself.

These two have deadlines, so put them on the calendar in your first week.

• Driver license: new residents have 90 days to switch to a Texas license. Book a Texas DPS appointment early, because slots fill weeks out
• Auto insurance: switch to a Texas policy first; you'll need proof of it to register
• Vehicle registration: you have 30 days to register an out-of-state vehicle, through your county tax assessor-collector. In San Antonio that's the Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector
• Inspection: Texas changed its vehicle inspection rules in 2025, so check the Texas DMV website for what your vehicle needs before you register it

Most of these take a few minutes online.

• Set up USPS mail forwarding
• Update your bank, employer, insurance and subscriptions
• Register to vote at your new address. In Bexar County, that's the Elections Department
• If you bought a home, apply for the homestead exemption with your county appraisal district as soon as you're eligible

The San Antonio area has more than a dozen school districts, and your address, not your city, decides which one you're in. Northside ISD and North East ISD are the largest; others include San Antonio ISD, Alamo Heights ISD and Judson ISD, and suburbs like New Braunfels and Boerne have their own. Check the district's boundary tool for an address before you sign a lease or a contract.

Loop 410 and Loop 1604 circle the city, I-35 and I-10 cross it, and US 281 runs north through the middle. Rush hour on 1604, I-35 north and I-10 west is real, so test your commute at the time you'll actually drive it. VIA Metropolitan Transit runs the city's buses.

Expect long, hot summers, mild winters with the odd hard freeze, and fast, heavy storms in spring and fall. Find out where the low-water crossings are near your new place. "Turn around, don't drown" is taken seriously here, for good reason.

Driving a rental truck in from out of town? We can unload it at your new place. Moving locally once you've found somewhere permanent? See how our pricing works or get your instant price.