What you love about St Louis (St. Louis, Kirkwood: house, neighborhoods, schools)

[1greatcity]

I've grown tired of all the negativity on the "What you hate about St Louis" thread. What are the good things about St Louis?

I'll start: I love St Louis because it's at the crossroads of America; a little northern, a little southern, definitely influenced by the east, and of course "the gateway to the west." That makes for an interesting mix.

[BoomBoxing]

Great idea.

I love that I can own my own house only a year out of college, the amazing city neighborhoods, the ton of great restaurants, the down to earth people, metrolink, the microbrews, the great schools/universities, the art shows, the amount of free/cheap stuff to do, our sports teams (particularly the Blues), city museum, and St. Louis' own unique brand of urban identity. I don't know how to describe it but I've been around the block, so to speak, and I've never encountered the unique red brick, giant tree, raw urban feeling of much of the city. It's hard to describe but I think many locals will know what I mean.

[stlcitygirl]

Watching urban renewal before my eyes, cost of living, food, red brick, the vibe, the people, the unique neighborhoods, The Fox, metrolink, beer, always something to do.

[moorlander]

All of the above.

And...
forest park
bike Friendly roads and greenways
our abundance of red brick beauties
some of the best architecture anywhere
the close proximity to lakes, rivers, streams, and scenic drives
the wineries
summer float trips
The ease and frequency to make new friends

[aragx6]

I love all the responses so far and I want to repeat them all, but instead I'll just add a few of my personal favorites:
Citygarden
Graffiti art on the floodwall
Mardi Gras
Beale on Broadway on a warm summer's night (bonus points if Kim Massie is singing)

[billiken]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Beale on Broadway on a warm summer's night (bonus points if Kim Massie is singing)

My fiance loves her!

What I love most is probably that I can afford to do pretty much everything I want to do here. I don't think I've ever turned anything down because it's too expensive. I feel like I have the perfect mid-20s lifestyle.

I also love the character of the city. It definitely doesn't have a bland feeling to it.

What kept me here after college is the almost nonexistent traffic. So props to that too.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

I've grown tired of all the negativity on the "What you hate about St Louis" thread. What are the good things about St Louis?

I'll start: I love St Louis because it's at the crossroads of America; a little northern, a little southern, definitely influenced by the east, and of course "the gateway to the west." That makes for an interesting mix.

I'm not sure if this is intended to be limited to the city proper or not. What I like about the area is all the different great neighborhoods, from areas in the City like Soulard, the CWE, to great areas in the county, like my Kirkwood, Webster, Maplewood, and Clayton, just to name a few.

I like that we have big city amenities in a reasonably sized city that offers a great quality of life and many choices.

[1greatcity]

^No intention to exclude the surrounding areas. We're all part of St Louis!

[moorlander]

I love st. Louis because we have sites like this I am staying in St. Louis because... full of other St. Louisians who LOVE it here too!

[orangefuscia]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

I'm not sure if this is intended to be limited to the city proper or not. What I like about the area is all the different great neighborhoods, from areas in the City like Soulard, the CWE, to great areas in the county, like my Kirkwood, Webster, Maplewood, and Clayton, just to name a few.

I like that we have big city amenities in a reasonably sized city that offers a great quality of life and many choices.

you should make a thread listing the amenities and how they stack up to say, new york or chicago. I think people would be surprised. We could also see what
st louis missing. Maybe a wishlist thread?