The Illinois-side of St. Louis (Belleville, East St. Louis: best suburbs, credit, houses)

[jetengineman's wife]

HI! Just saw a great job opportunity at the Downtown Parks Aiport on the Illinois side of St. Louis... before diving in, I'd like to know a little more about the area. I've checked out the Missouri forum, and now I'd like to ask you fine folks what your opinion is of that area? Where are the best suburbs and rural areas for raising a family? Best schools? Any advantage of living in Illinois over Missouri in regards to taxes, cost of living, etc? Whatever feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated... we are researching for a move in the next 18 months or so... we were leaning toward North Carolina but want to check out other areas as well....

Thanks!

[CellarBelle]

I live on the Illinois side of St. Louis in Edwardsville. We have an excellent school system, and a great community. I'm actually a North Carolina native - lived there for the first 21 years of my life - and I still have family there. I LOVE living right outside of St. Louis, and our community is awesome. We have a lot of family opportunities, and we are a growing community. I have school-aged children, and I've been very happy with the public schools here. I love that I can be in downtown St. Louis in 30 minutes, shopping at the Galleria in 35 minutes, or sitting in Busch Stadium taking in a Cards game in 30 minutes.

Illinois housing tends to be cheaper than the Missouri side. However, our property taxes are higher. I can't speak to income tax, but I know if you google "living in Illinois, working in Missouri", you can find some good information.

Do look at the two chamber websites for the area and learn more about it. Also, check my other posts for more info on the area. I've got a lot of info out on this forum. Here are the links for the chambers:
Annual Festivals & Events (broken link)
Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce.

Good Luck!

[illini84]

I second that. The Illinois-side suburbs are great for a family. You don't get the negative things that come along with living in a big city, but you're still close enough to enjoy everything St. Louis has to offer (which is more than people give it credit for). I'd recommend Belleville, Fairview Heights, maybe Collinsville, Edwardsville, O'Fallon...

No matter what though, do NOT live in East St. Louis or anywhere right nearby (Cahokia, Sauget for sure, Madison...maybe Fairmont City). Good luck--you'll love it!

[javamdnss]

Hello~There is a good chance we might be moving to St. L. in June of this year. I prefer to live on the Illinois side because the homeschool laws are friendlier. Do you have any recommendations for me?
Thank You.
Amy G.

[illini84]

Originally Posted by javamdnss

Hello~There is a good chance we might be moving to St. L. in June of this year. I prefer to live on the Illinois side because the homeschool laws are friendlier. Do you have any recommendations for me?
Thank You.
Amy G.

Hi! See my post above. I lived in St. Louis for awhile and enjoyed it there. If you have a family, living on the Illinois side is a wise choice. Try one of the close suburbs I mentioned! They're nice places

[jetengineman's wife]

Thanks for the great info! I've enjoyed St. Louis when I've visited... we'll see what jobs get thrown our way!

[aragx6]

My understanding has always been that Missouri has some of the most laidback homeschooling laws in the country. Is this incorrect?

[illini84]

Hmmm...not sure about that one, but check out this website about the state-by-state laws on homeschooling: HSLDA | Home School Laws

[STLCardsBlues1989]

I think the Missouri side has more expensive housing, but Illinois has higher taxes in general. I guess after a certain number of years it balances out.

If you like historic houses, those may be easier to find on the Missouri side. Missouri has Historic Tax Credits, so if you renovate a building that qualifies as historic, you can renovate it and only pay taxes on what it was worth before you renovated for 10 years.

Either side is just fine. A lot of it just depends on what you want.

[jojojohnson76]

I've never understood why that airport is called the "St. Louis Downtown Airport" when its in the middle of a cornfield outside of St. Louis, although I will admit that it has an awesome view of downtown.

I would say your best bet would be to check out Shiloh, O'Fallon, Fairview Heights. They are 5 mins to everything and a 15 minute drive up 255 S to the airport. All 3 very safe cities.