Kirkwood/Webster Groves/Clayton (St. Louis, Chesterfield: homes, neighborhoods, YMCA)

[Zimbochick]

We are contemplating moving from Atlanta to St. Louis. My husband has a job offer which would be located out past the Spirit of Saint Louis Airport, near the intersection of the 64 and 94.

The types of neighborhoods that suit our sense of community and sensibilities would seem to be Kirkwood, Clayton, and Webster Groves.

Our needs:

1) Great public schools. We have a 6th and 4th grader.

2) Reasonable commute. Would his commute from the areas I mentioned be horrible?

3) Real sense of community, and walkability. My husband is a runner, so access to running areas is important.

4) Budget - under K$500

5) We are a very progressive family, so living in a conservative community would not work well for us.

6) Easy access to downtown, and as DH will be traveling a bit, reasonable airport access.

7) Diverse selection of kid activites, such as community pool, etc.

Many thanks for any input.

[scocar]

My family and I moved to Webster Groves in August. We have a 3rd and 6th grader. The schools are excellent. Kirkwood is right next door and I believe their schools are actually ranked a little higher then Webster Groves. Webster Groves is definitely considered the more liberal of the two though. Webster University is in Webster Groves, so the college campus creates that liberal label as well. Webster Groves has a nice recreation center which includes an ice rink. There is also a YMCA in downtown Webster. I think Kirkwoods downtown area has more dining options. One thing I really prefer about Webster is that they don't have a major thoroughfare running through the middle of the city. Interstate 44 cuts through both, but there is some commercial development that shields that from the residential areas. But in Kirkwood, Lindbergh Blvd, one of the busiest streets in STL bisect Kirkwood going north and south. Webster Groves does not have anything with near that volume of traffic. Your price point will be fairly easy to meet in either community, or the smaller surrounding communities.

As for Clayton I can't really comment on the politics, but would assume it to be more conservative than Webster Groves. Your $500K is doable in Clayton, but will price you out of much of the Clayton area. I would also check out Creve Couer, Town and Country and other communities a little further west. They might not be as much to your political liking, but would be an easier commute.

[Old Trafford]

You should take a look at University City, it would fit alot of your criteria. Not sure about where the schools rank.

[scocar]

Originally Posted by Old Trafford

You should take a look at University City, it would fit alot of your criteria. Not sure about where the schools rank.

University City has some great areas. The problem is that in upper grades the school rankings drop dramatically. The high school, especially has really low scores.

[flynavyj]

I think you'd be very happy with Webster or Kirkwood. Clayton is a great cosmopolitan area too, great homes and schools. It'd likely give you the longest commute to West County, but a medium commute to the Airport because of it's location by I-170. Your best commute time will likely be from Kirkwood, but both Kirkwood and Webster Groves have a great family feel to them. Webster might be a tad more liberal, however I rarely talk crazy politics with my neighbors, and couldn't even comment as to their political activities...hence the reason I think living in an "Conservative" or "Progressive" area are typically bit short sighted...Unless you're putting tons and tons of campaign signs in your yard, you'll probably never notice.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by Zimbochick

We are contemplating moving from Atlanta to St. Louis. My husband has a job offer which would be located out past the Spirit of Saint Louis Airport, near the intersection of the 64 and 94.

The types of neighborhoods that suit our sense of community and sensibilities would seem to be Kirkwood, Clayton, and Webster Groves.

Our needs:

1) Great public schools. We have a 6th and 4th grader.

2) Reasonable commute. Would his commute from the areas I mentioned be horrible?

3) Real sense of community, and walkability. My husband is a runner, so access to running areas is important.

4) Budget - under K$500

5) We are a very progressive family, so living in a conservative community would not work well for us.

6) Easy access to downtown, and as DH will be traveling a bit, reasonable airport access.

7) Diverse selection of kid activites, such as community pool, etc.

Many thanks for any input.

I live in Kirkwood and think it would provide most of what you are looking for. Very good schools. The commute would be a little long (probably 30 minutes on good days) by St. Louis standards.

Plenty of kids activities through the Kirkwood/Webster YMCA, schools, Kirkwood parks & recreation, a great community pool, etc.

Kirkwood perhaps leans a little conservative but I don't think anyone is in your face about it and there are plenty of progressives around here judging by the yard signs that go up around elections.

[scocar]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

I think you'd be very happy with Webster or Kirkwood. Clayton is a great cosmopolitan area too, great homes and schools. It'd likely give you the longest commute to West County, but a medium commute to the Airport because of it's location by I-170. Your best commute time will likely be from Kirkwood, but both Kirkwood and Webster Groves have a great family feel to them. Webster might be a tad more liberal, however I rarely talk crazy politics with my neighbors, and couldn't even comment as to their political activities...hence the reason I think living in an "Conservative" or "Progressive" area are typically bit short sighted...Unless you're putting tons and tons of campaign signs in your yard, you'll probably never notice.

I would agree with all of this. I've lived in Webster Groves for about 8 months and I truly have no personal knowledge regarding the overall politics of my neighborhood. The only personal experience I have is that of the four families of my daughters friends that I've met, two of them were interracial couples. So that might indicate that the area is conducive to diversity. Both Kirkwood and Webster have similar black/white splits in their populations, but I believe Kirkwoods black residents live mostly in the Meachem Park neighborhood, where in Webster there is not isolated neighborhood that caters to the black population as much.

[zach_33]

Clayton actually leans more to the left than most people realize. It's not Berkeley by a far sight, but dems probably outweigh republicans 60-40 there. Glendale and Webster are somewhat similar in ideology. If I were the OP I would choose something close to 64 in the mid-county corridor. Check out Brentwood (awesome schools, very small district), Ladue (ditto great schools, very conservative overall profile, but you can find your niche there). Clayton would be great, because it is close to 64, has great community amenities, but 500 could be a bit constricting budget, unless you are cool with something smaller and/or needing some updates. Large parts of Webster and Kirkwood are both a good bit south of the 64 corridor which could make for a longer commute.

[chicagobear]

Clayton is more sophisticated than Kirkwood or Webster and would be my choice although it is more expensive. It has a significant Jewish population unlike Kirkwood or Webster, which is a plus in my view (even though I am not Jewish).

[wustu87]

As usual I agree with what most everyone else says, but I would expand on my "almost neighbor" zach_33's comment about Ladue. Whereas the city of Ladue is overall fairly conservative, parts of the Ladue school district lean substantially more "left" especially in Olivette which is also probably the most affordable and most diverse part of the district. You often see folks walking or jogging along Old Bonhomme or Price, but it is definitely not walkable in the same sense as neighborhoods in or near downtown Kirkwood or Webster are walkable.

Being right by 170, Olivette is convenient to Lambert airport, downtown and an easy commute to Spirit airport in Chesterfield. Neighborhoods in Olivette near 170 may actually be faster to Spirit than much of Webster since getting to 40 from WG requires taking Elm/Brentwood or Rock Hill/McKnight unless you take 44 to 270 first. As Zach mentioned, Brentwood is another option that is an easy commute to just about anywhere since it is right smack in the middle of everything and fits pretty much all of your criteria.