What is the art and music scene in St Louis like? Alive or dead? (St. Louis: apartment, lofts)

[scratchNsniff]

I'm thinking of moving to St Louis to get closer to family. I've been saying this for awhile but now I think I'm pretty much done with Southern California. I can't continue to pay more and more money for less and less. I don't want to pay $700 a month to share a house with a bunch of people and not have room to work, or time, because I'm working 2 or 3 jobs (if I can find them) to pay rent. So I'm giving up.

I'm an artist and musician (or I was before I got stuck in California...), so I'm looking for a place with artsy musically inclined people that are out doing cool stuff, where rents are low and the architecture is awesome and still has a big city feel. I'd love a live/work loft, they exist out here in CA, but they are priced for rich people, not the real working artists who need them. Any info on live/work lofts in St Louis would be appreciated too. And where is a good place to look for them from out here, Craigslist? Any other sites?

What is the art scene like in St Louis?
And the music scene?
Do bands typically come through St Louis on tour?
Is the Loop the place to be? Or Downtown? Or somewhere else? I really liked North St Louis the last time I visited.

Thanks!

[aragx6]

I'll take a crack at some of your questions -- for the $700 you're spending to live with other guys now you can definitely get your own place, but I cna't immediately think of an area that would have a lot of live/work loft space type places -- I'm thinking maybe somewhere like Midtown near SLu might have something. Padmapper.com is a good resource. If you're fine with just a regular vintage apartment you can find a place in a safe neighborhood for as little as $400/month. Benton Park and it's sketchier neighbor Benton Park West are full of artists -- I think you'd like the vibe there. U City is also a solid option.

And St. Louis' music scene is pretty solid and a lot of major and minor acts come through. Here's a great article from a few years back on the impact the Pageant has had on the music scene here: The Pageant celebrates 10-year anniversary

Be sure to ask questions as you have them, and best of luck!

[scratchNsniff]

Thanks! I'm totally looking for a vintage apartment or house, something with character. I will check out Benton Park area. I read something about Cherokee Street, do you know anything about that area, aragx6?

[aragx6]

^That's Benton Park and Benton Park West!

BP proper is more gentrified and has like a six-block area filled with antique shops and speciality stores. West of Jefferson is BPW and while the neighborhood is sketchier, it's had an influx of Hispanics that has brought a great flavor to the neighborhood and in addition there are some great print shops and studios over there as well. I was down there for their annual Cinco de Mayo street festival and was impressed with the improvement in the area and the build up of the businesses on Cherokee Street since I'd been there two years previous.

[STLgasm]

Cherokee Street is definitely the epicenter of the creative underground in St. Louis these days. If you're looking for cheap rents, incredible architecture, urban grit and funky, creative people, you should definitely look around Cherokee.

[Old Trafford]

Music scene is starting to rise again- 6 of Paste's article on the growing scene-

10 Missouri Bands You Should Listen To Now :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste

Eleven is the local mag that covers the scene

Eleven Magazine | Music, Community, and Culture in St. Louis

There is also Playback STL - covers music/culture

PLAYBACK:stl

[msintl01]

North st. louis is coming back, old north st. louis is great. any word on upper north side off Grand Avenue, the historic water tower district? word is SLU is looking to invest in student housing and other great thing.. What's the word for the college hill community?

[Brickmama]

Head to Cherokee street. It has a lot of creative types such as artists, musicians, photographers, graphic design, etc. it is an up and coming neighborhood that is still rough around the edges. East of Jefferson Ave is more antique and vintage clothing shops. West of Jeff Ave is truly ethnic Hispanic and creatives commingling together. It's a great place that is getting better.

The Grove is also an up and coming neighborhood you may want to check out.

[scratchNsniff]

Also how is the Mexican food in St Louis? I've only lived in Arizona and California and I LOVE Mexican food. I'm worried it's going to suck when I get to St Louis. I have a cousin in STL who thinks Taco Bell is great Mexican food, so I'm very worried...

[Sundaydrive00]

Originally Posted by scratchNsniff

Also how is the Mexican food in St Louis? I've only lived in Arizona and California and I LOVE Mexican food. I'm worried it's going to suck when I get to St Louis. I have a cousin in STL who thinks Taco Bell is great Mexican food, so I'm very worried...

If you're used to Mexican from Arizona or Southern California, you probably aren't going to find a lot of Mexican places in St. Louis you like. A lot of people will recommend La Vallesana on Cherokee street, but I actually thought it was some of the worst Mexican I've ever had. I think we've tried about 10 Mexican restaurants in the past year and only really liked one, Chava's in Benton Park. We used to eat Mexican at least twice a month, but have pretty much given up on eating out since I can cook more authentic, better tasting Mexican at home.