Where would a young somewhat "granola" family feel at home? (St. Louis: high crime, house)

[MDtoMO]

We will most likely be relocating to the St L area in a few weeks due to my SO's job. "We" = me, him, and our 7 mo old baby. Having only been there once - 10 years ago - it's difficult to know where to start looking. Can anyone make some suggestions? Here's a bit about what we're looking for:

What we want:
- either in St. L proper or within a 30-40 min drive
- walkable neighborhood if within city OR in/near a small, walkable, cute little town
- easy access to things like farmer's market, yoga studio, libraries, parks, healthy grocery stores and other "crunchy" stuff
- other young families nearby who won't act as if we have horns when they find out that we use cloth diapers, etc.
- 3-4 bedroom house, in the $200-$250 range, preferably old school with hardwoods and such
- space for a small garden
- community
- decent schools nearby (esp. Waldorf or Montessori)

What we'd like to avoid:
- high crime areas
- crappy school districts
- suburbia/homeowner's association
- high rises
- traffic

I'd appreciate any suggestions you can offer. Hope folks are having a lovely weekend. I'm also happy to provide any info about the DC area if it would be of use

[BoomBoxing]

Tower Grove South and Shaw sound perfect for you. You would love the area...it is not a "high" crime area per se. I mean there's property crime and you may want to get a burglar alarm but it's not like there are violent gangs or constant murders.

Tower Grove park is an urban jewel with a weekly farmers market (and free yoga). You would be within walking distance to a wide variety of ethnic resturants, coffee shops, and an organic grocery. You will have no problem meeting fellow crunchy types since these neighborhoods are full of them.

[3240Redo]

3-4 bedroom house in the $200-$250 range? OP, can you verify that this is what you meant?

[Caldus]

My first thought too BoomBoxing. I live in the Tower Grove Park area and live right near the Botanical Park there. Much very much fit for a "granola" type of family. Also have to agree on getting a burglar alarm. This place is safe, but it borders some ghetto parts of town so just try to stay farther away from all of that as it tends to spill over. Otherwise, I really don't know a better fit for what you are asking for. It was immediately the first thing that popped in my head even after all of the places I have checked out in this city in the 4 years I have lived here so far. You are close to downtown but not near a bunch of high rises and definitely nowhere near suburbia. Traffic is fine in this area unless you are trying to peel out into the interstate early in the mornings during rush hour. PM me if you want more info.

[flynavyj]

Had to look up what type of schools you were looking at as i was unfamiliar...The only thing that would make me remove tower grove would be the public school system, but it looks like both school programs you mentioned were private, which wouldn't make a difference. I did see a waldorf school in Webster Groves, along with 4 bd 2 ba homes between 200-250k. The area has lots of "green-planet friendly" folks (better known as hippies) which i think is aided by the university that's in the town. It definitetly has a small town feel to it, including a farmer's market, restaurants, bars, and a historic downtown area...Lots of homes with character as well, tons with hardwoods, high ceilings, and gorgeous wood work....

Here's a link to the school website: Home | Shining Rivers Waldorf School

and i personally thought this house looked pretty awesome: Prudential Advantage Realtors, Saint Louis, Missouri - Sonny Brockman


Good luck in your hunt!
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[MDtoMO]

Originally Posted by 3240Redo

3-4 bedroom house in the $200-$250 range? OP, can you verify that this is what you meant?

Oops, sorry if I was unclear. Yes, this is what I meant.

Thanks all for your responses. This is very helpful! Will check out both the Tower Grove, Shaw and Webster Grove areas (and I so appreciate the links to the schools, house, etc... how kind ). When looking in Tower Grove, how will I know which are the "borderline" areas? Are there streets that serve as boundaries that we should probably stay within?

We live in the DC area now and are used to property crime and such, so that should not be a big deal... just don't want to be afraid to walk around with my little one!

[flynavyj]

I don't think you'd be afraid to walk around with your kiddo in tower grove south, the area is pretty cool, ethnically diverse, and pretty happening! Tower Grove Park is awesome, and the Botanical Gardens are gorgeous. My dad lived down there about 15 years ago, and it wasn't nearly as nice, but i'm pretty happy with what's happened on South Grand Ave. Typically speaking staying West of Grand is good, if you go East of Grand i wouldn't say things are bad, but they're probably not as desirable "yet" considering the close proximity though,i think it'll come around nicely as well...I also prefer the areas South of Arsenal, but i'm sure someone who lives in the area will chime in give you a better gist of it...haven't heard much bad about things North of of Arsenal, but from what i've heard the Tower Grove South neighborhood is where it's at.

[stlcitygirl]

City: Tower Grove
County: Webster Groves or University City

[wustu87]

The only problem I see with the Webster Grove areas for you is the price tag. Finding a $200K-$240K 3BR or 4BR house is doable there, but they will be smaller, older homes. But I would think a "granola" household would probably be fine with an older, smaller home. The other county option for "granola" folks is in Maplewood which is more affordable than Webster, but with somewhat less desirable schools but still very adequate and rather "granola" leaning themselves for public schools.

[gotigers123]

Originally Posted by MDtoMO

We will most likely be relocating to the St L area in a few weeks due to my SO's job. "We" = me, him, and our 7 mo old baby. Having only been there once - 10 years ago - it's difficult to know where to start looking. Can anyone make some suggestions? Here's a bit about what we're looking for:

What we want:
- either in St. L proper or within a 30-40 min drive
- walkable neighborhood if within city OR in/near a small, walkable, cute little town
- easy access to things like farmer's market, yoga studio, libraries, parks, healthy grocery stores and other "crunchy" stuff
- other young families nearby who won't act as if we have horns when they find out that we use cloth diapers, etc.
- 3-4 bedroom house, in the $200-$250 range, preferably old school with hardwoods and such
- space for a small garden
- community
- decent schools nearby (esp. Waldorf or Montessori)

What we'd like to avoid:
- high crime areas
- crappy school districts
- suburbia/homeowner's association
- high rises
- traffic

I'd appreciate any suggestions you can offer. Hope folks are having a lovely weekend. I'm also happy to provide any info about the DC area if it would be of use

I grew up in Webster and wouldn't characterize it as "crunchy" in any sense. Compared to West County, sure, but not crunchy to an outsider. The St. Louis area as a whole leans conservative and "green" folks are few and far between. Tower Grove South is a nice area, as is Soulard. Both have their fair share of crime, but nothing too over the top. If you had to pick in the county I'd suggest Webster, U City, or Maplewood.