Potential relocation to St Louis or Charlotte (living, best, cost)
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I’ve recently learned that due to some changes with a long-time employer, my position will no longer exist. I’m a few years from retirement, and would like to stay with the company, but it may mean a relocation to either suburban St Louis or Charlotte. Neither place would be high on my list of relocation destinations, but it would likely only be for a few (6-7) years, as my plan is to retire in the southwest. Kids are in colleges in other parts of the country. Just wondering if anyone has lived and worked in both places in recent years, or has at least spent considerable time in each place to provide some positives and negatives. I’d likely want to be in a suburban area, with access to mass transit. I’ve spent some time in each place and I know that things like size, weather, and demographics are similar. It would appear that St Louis would be better from a cost of living and central location standpoint, but I hear decent things about Charlotte too. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
I don't know about Charlotte's transit options, but mass transit in St. Louis (especially suburban St. Louis) is a catastrophe (it's less egregiously bad in the city itself). The suburbs have very consciously self-segregated along racial and economic lines and any form of integration (like public transit) with the city is vigorously resisted because it would mean more of "them" coming to "our" part of town. St. Louis' especially western suburbs really are quite nice, so the bunker mentality is, though racist and ugly, "working" in the sense that that niceness is well preserved.
I don't know about Charlotte's transit options, but mass transit in St. Louis (especially suburban St. Louis) is a catastrophe (it's less egregiously bad in the city itself). The suburbs have very consciously self-segregated along racial and economic lines and any form of integration (like public transit) with the city is vigorously resisted because it would mean more of "them" coming to "our" part of town. St. Louis' especially western suburbs really are quite nice, so the bunker mentality is, though racist and ugly, "working" in the sense that that niceness is well preserved.
In St. Louis' defense, the "them" coming into "our" part of town attitude would, more than likely, have more to do with people not wanting criminal activity coming into their area, no matter what the race is. No one, no matter who they are, wants crime in their community. So, using "racism" as the default reason and ignoring all other valid possibilities for this mindset is presumptuous to say the least.
I don't know about Charlotte's transit options, but mass transit in St. Louis (especially suburban St. Louis) is a catastrophe (it's less egregiously bad in the city itself). The suburbs have very consciously self-segregated along racial and economic lines and any form of integration (like public transit) with the city is vigorously resisted because it would mean more of "them" coming to "our" part of town. St. Louis' especially western suburbs really are quite nice, so the bunker mentality is, though racist and ugly, "working" in the sense that that niceness is well preserved.
This post was well done and accurately worded. Well done. I see no lies.
To the Original Poster ST Louis as a city has seen better decades, and at the current moment does not have the momentum that one would like to see in a new place to call home . Charlotte in the midst of a boom along with much of the progressive southern areas. Also having the mountains closeby could be nice. Charlotte does has a light rail so maybe you could try to locate near that corridor?
As @Taynxtlvl mentioned, St Louis has seen better days as a city. The suburbs are nice in most areas though, and you should do fine there. However, St Louis is not booming like Charlotte is, and Charlotte will most likely put more funds towards expansion of their light rail system.
St Louis was a mega important city in the US from the late 1800s until about the 1950s or so. But its importance has faded over the past couple of generations and people have left the city in droves.
The weather is better in Charlotte, Charlotte is much safer than St Louis, and Charlotte has very few run down bad areas, (if really any) compared to St Louis.
I'd go with Charlotte for sure--more things to do close by on the weekend too, with mountains, the ocean and many attractions within 2-5 hours or so.
Well, I will speak as someone who actually knows St. Louis, right now. Other posters are fairly clueless about the current vibe of the area. Things are looking up through a decent portion of the city and the suburbs here are great. Light rail hits the inner ring suburbs and is already in the planning phases for a new North-South line. The growth in the central corridor from downtown StL through Clayton is really great right now. It's not booming like Charlotte, but the picture is way better than this dying city that people like to believe it is. Some of the previous posts seem to based on 30 year old info. Things have changed.
I don't know Charlotte and I'm not going to disparage that choice. I think it would also be a good one. But St. Louis is a great area. As a metro, it's quite safe, but you do need to know where you are in urban areas. Charlotte's urban area will be safer. Charlotte is prettier naturally IMO. Weather...depends on what you want. Our winters will be colder, more snow, but they are relatively mild for a place that gets four seasons. Our summers are probably a bit shorter and a bit better...both are hot and humid. As a legacy city, St. Louis offers more in terms of top notch museums, symphony, botanical garden, zoo, etc. The surrounding areas of St. Louis dip into the Ozarks and can be quite hilly and pretty. Great areas for biking and hiking. Multiple other large cities within a 5 hour drive (most popular weekend cities are Chicago and Nashville). Charlotte has a better airport.
We lived in the Charlotte area on and off for 8 years.
Proximity up and down the Eastern seaboard is a plus. Mountains are 3 hours away; beaches are maybe just slightly more than that depending on which beach. New York, DC, Charleston, Greenville, Asheville, Nashville, Savannah, Florida, are all within driving distance.
Summers are brutally humid compared to the SW.
Lots of lovely neighborhoods to choose from. Good suburbs. I don't think the schools are stellar, but that won't apply to you.
In all honesty: I think Charlotte is a perfectly nice area to live, but I never *loved* anything about it. Hope that makes sense.
Charlotte is the best choice. St. Louis is run down and crime ridden in areas. My friend moved there for an Amazon job and he is trying to get out. He has been robbed twice and not been able to make friends. Charlotte is nicer, cleaner, has more job and population growth.
Charlotte I love its location and all the greenery and outdoor destinations. I lived there for a short time and I always thought that NC is a great place to live.
I’ve recently learned that due to some changes with a long-time employer, my position will no longer exist. I’m a few years from retirement, and would like to stay with the company, but it may mean a relocation to either suburban St Louis or Charlotte. Neither place would be high on my list of relocation destinations, but it would likely only be for a few (6-7) years, as my plan is to retire in the southwest. Kids are in colleges in other parts of the country. Just wondering if anyone has lived and worked in both places in recent years, or has at least spent considerable time in each place to provide some positives and negatives. I’d likely want to be in a suburban area, with access to mass transit. I’ve spent some time in each place and I know that things like size, weather, and demographics are similar. It would appear that St Louis would be better from a cost of living and central location standpoint, but I hear decent things about Charlotte too. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
The City of St. Louis covers less ground in its metro area due to its compact size of 60+ sq miles with 300,000+ people. Everything else is suburbs / small towns for the other 2.3 million people in the metro area. In terms of transit, the MetroLink connects throughout the city's booming central corridor to downtown Clayton, which is the Metro's second CBD. It connects elsewhere in the inner ring suburbs in St. Louis County, in addition to communities in Illinois in St. Clair County. The Metro is more park and ride in many of the suburbs though, which it is not in the city. It does connect you most of the regions amenities though, including the airport, downtown, Union Station, Forest Park, Busch Stadium, the Enterprise Center, etc. A north / south line is being investigated, but would likely start in the city first before entering either portion of St. Louis County. It's unlikely to be done before you retired.
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