working in st.louis, living in illinois? (Chicago, Edwardsville: rental homes, new home)

[mary ellen]

My husband may be getting a job in St.Louis-we would be moving there from Massachusetts. Would we be OK living in western Illinois and having him commute to work? What towns would you recommend - three kids in school- could spend from 400-500K on a home. Thanks.

[CellarBelle]

Hi Mary Ellen - I just sent you an email. If you have kids, you want to be sure to consider Edwardsville. The Edwardsville School District is one of the best in the nation, and we have some great opportunities for children thanks to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the new YMCA, and the proximity to St. Louis. Check out my email, and let me know what questions you have. I LOVE it here, and can't say enough great things about it.

jen t.

[waldo]

I second Edwardsville. I just moved here with 2 kids and looked all over the area. Many of the other areas are having school overcrowding problems such as in the O'fallon area whereas Edwardsville has just built news ones and just passed another referendum to build some more. Nice small town but with new shopping areas being built and St. Loius minutes away.

[CellarBelle]

OH! And how can I forget... Edwardsville is home to Goshen Cellar Belles - a women's wine tasting club that gets together once a month to try the wine of the month! I started the club 3+ years ago, and we have over 100 women on our email distribution list. Every month we have between 20 to 30 women at our tastings. It really is a great way to meet other women in the area. Our monthly tasting is tonight and we are trying French and American Syrahs. Very fun, and very non-wine-snobby!

Do consider Edwardsville - check out our schools at the Illinois School Report Card website:

http://iirc.niu.edu/.
Punch in Edwardsville, and you'll get a great picture of the schools here. It really is a great city.

[John S. Dreas]

O'fallon would be my choice of recommendation. The school system is great, new schools have been built and another has been approved for building. Scott Air force base is nearby. Accessability to many shopping areas as well as easy access to St Louis is possible by way of I-64. I have lived in the area for nearly 34 years and have found a variety of ethnic background, cultures and diverse activities within close proximity

[2beamissourian]

I think it depends on how far you want to drive... and what you are use to.

Many people commute from Illinois to Missouri.

[NativeIllinoisan]

It really would depend on what part of St. Louis he'd be working in....the Illinois burbs are spread out all over, and you have to pick a bridge.

A lot of people commute to the city and live in Illinois. I've done it myself, though I'm not fond of the commuting lifestyle.

If he wants to save money and take the metro, then options are much more limited.

4-5 hundred grand will get you a helluva home here. LOL.

The flip side is that Missouri is much more favorable to business owners than Illinois. And lower taxes. Illinois has high taxes, but our governors tend to get caught up in a lot of trouble. One is in prison now, current one is probably headed that way. Missouri politicians seem to be more honest, but anyone on any kind of public assistance wouldn't care for them.

[bls5555]

DON'T MOVE TO THE ILLINOIS SIDE!! Unless of course you like absurdly high property taxes and 20 cent higher gas prices.

Coming from Massachusetts though I guess everything will probably seem cheap here

[Monarchs]

Edwardsville is nice and has some nice new homes being built. Good schools. Personally, I just moved my family to Highland. Great community. Great school district. Beautiful new subdivision and in less than 30 minutes I can be in my seat at Busch Stadium.

[dbwooden]

Hi, I live in the Chicago area but my in-laws live in Edwardsville. We are thinking about relocating there next year but possibly renting for one year to see if this is the place for us.

Can anyone recommend a site to find rental homes in the area?

Thanks!
Dave

Originally Posted by CellarBelle

Hi Mary Ellen - I just sent you an email. If you have kids, you want to be sure to consider Edwardsville. The Edwardsville School District is one of the best in the nation, and we have some great opportunities for children thanks to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the new YMCA, and the proximity to St. Louis. Check out my email, and let me know what questions you have. I LOVE it here, and can't say enough great things about it.

jen t.