Yeah I'm not a huge fan of SA life overall but I have to say that all things considered it is the best big city in Texas to live. Texas just doesn't have much to offer in terms of fun and the climate is atrocious and the land is flat and insipid. But SA has objectively the best Mexican food in Texas and arguably in the USA. Great food overall too, good burger joints, Chinese joints, and other quality international food considering it is Military City USA. No toll roads. Cheaper cost of living than Houston, Austin, or DFW. Cheaper home prices. Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Sea world is ok. But access to 2 theme parks fifteen minutes apart from each other. The Alamo and cultural history. The riverwalk is ok but best in the wintertime. Classic architecture. Crime, sure, but less than the other three major metros. Shorter drive times as you've mentioned. It's less humid than Houston by far and much less severe weather risk than DFW. CPS is garbage, but then again so is all of ERCOT territory. Jobs that pay the same as DFW jobs but your purchasing power is greater because housing is much cheaper here than DFW or Houston. We have H-E-B, and most of DFW doesn't. And the Spurs are the most winning sports franchise in Texas and will continue to be with Wemby's arrival.
I'd rank Denton as the best individual city in Texas to live in (low crime, cooler autumn, low cost of housing if you're not across the street from the colleges), but not sure if there's that much fun appeal there past like your 20s. There's certainly more trees there than anywhere else in Texas though. SA is the best big city.