St. Louis transplants (St. Charles, Arnold, Fenton: fit in, apartments, rent)

[Florida2Missouri]

So, I've heard that it's hard to fit in, in St. Louis when you move from someplace else. Is that true? Where I'm at now, nobody grew up here...most of Orlando has been transplanted here. However, my hometown on the gulfcoast of FL is like that...where most people who live there are born and raised. But, I was just wondering how well those who move to St. Louis having lived in a different type of culture and setting adjust to living there. Are the people friendly? Are the snotty? Do you get cut off in traffic and is there a lot of road rage? Do people say hello while standing in grocery store lines?

I know that in my hometown, it was total southern hospitality. I truly miss that here in Orlando. It's not horrible here by any means, but it's definitely to the point you don't really look anyone in the eye for fear of giving off the wrong impression. Traffic is hell and basically you get a lot of road rage and people cutting you off. It's called "the city beautiful" and it is...everything is manicured and landscaped, however, I do wish the people here were a bit friendlier in general. I've met wonderful people here tho don't get me wrong. So, I'm just wondering what the overall atmosphere of St. Louis is like? Is it like the deep south? Or is it more like walking the streets of NYC?

thanks!

[Fishtacos]

St. Louis isn't a major transplant or destination city.(people usually move to it for work or family or school reasons, or because they live in a nearby smaller area and want a larger metro) There are plenty of people who have relocated to it from someplace else however. It can be characterized as a Midwestern city. Transplants are always welcome.

There are good and bad people everywhere, and within every city(that includes your stereotype of NYC).

Just because some people walk in a hurry, with a purpose and destination in NYC, doesn't mean they aren't kind people. ...or your grocery store reference.

But since those are the examples you gave, the answer is some people will talk to you in a grocery store and some won't. It's a slower paced, family, midwestern city, bigger than Orlando, but not a big city by any means.

[Juice13610]

Ugh.

FishTacos, I think you are awesome, but I want to vomit every time someone refers to St. Louis is a "big small town" or "not a big city." It doesn't have to have 1,000,000+ to be a "big city." It has an MSA of 2.5 million people. The entire state of Illinois probably has only a few more people than that excluding the Chicago area.

St. Louis is a big city, but not the biggest or even one of the biggest cities in the United States.

I moved to an Illinois suburb and I have never felt like an outcast at all.

[CellarBelle]

I grew up in North Carolina, lived in Southern Florida, Iowa, Texas and now Edwardsville Illinois (suburb of St. Louis). I have to say I love Edwardsville because it is very welcoming to outsiders. I have many friends that live here, but are not "from" here. One of my closest friends actually grew up in this town, and my other close friend is from outside of the area. Everyone is very welcoming and used to people moving in and out of the area. I've never encountered unfriendliness here. I can't speak for living in St. Louis, but I'll be surprised if you encounter an unwelcoming attitude when you move there.

The time I've spent in St. Louis has been very positive. When I've needed to merge onto the Interstate, someone has always made room. Clerks in stores are nice and helpful, and going to sporting events is always a great experience. It is not identical to "southern hospitality" - it is just a different flavor. Having grown up in the South, and being someone that returns regularly for visits, I have to say that the South doesn't have the "corner on the market" when it comes to hospitality. They definitely know how to do it, but you won't miss it terribly in the midwest. It is just not as "overt". Midwesterners are great people. You won't get honked at or cursed at on the Interstate unless you do something incredibly stupid or dangerous. If you like the south, you will be just fine in the midwest. Jump in and give it a try! This GRITS (girl raised in the south) did, and I'll be fine to spend my last hours in this part of the country!

On a side note... be sure to look on the Illinois side. If you enjoy the outdoors, Edwardsville and Glen Carbon are great because of all the bike trails. Madison County has one of the largest bike trails in the U.S. And Edwardsville is home of Souther Illinois University Edwardsville - great for anyone looking to take a class here and there. Don't worry about the weather - that's what vacations are for! The summers are plenty long here, and the Spring and Fall are FABULOUS. Check out Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. They are great for families and young couples starting out, housing is priced nicely, and you are just 20 or so miles from downtown.

Good Luck!

[Florida2Missouri]

Thanks that's encouraging! So where in South FL did you come from? And did you adjust well overall to the change?

My husband and I are newly married, and no children. We would like to get a dog soon tho. We would love to be active outdoors....hiking, fishing, biking. So being near to stuff like that would be awesome. It's just that we will be traveling to Fenton for work. So, we were looking at West County places to live. Currently he and I both commute an hour for work (cuz of traffic) and it's something we would definitely like to cut in half at least. =)

[CellarBelle]

Lived in Boca Raton in the early nineties, and my Dad is in West Palm currently. I was not there for long. I did live in Texas on the Gulf Coast for 11 years prior to moving here. The biggest thing for me in living in any area is attitude. I've watched friends and family decide before they even get somewhere that they are going to hate it. I like to "bloom where I'm planted", so adjusting to anyplace has never been a problem for me. The great thing about living in modern times is there is no place I would want to go that I can't get to in under 6 hours!

My opinion is go with the shorter commute if you can find a community to meet your needs near Fenton, go for it! There are great communities in that area, and you should be able to find what you need. Did I tell you to be sure to look at New Town in St. Charles? I would think that would be great for a couple starting out. When I lived in Texas, I spent 1 to 1.5 hours one way driving to work. I look back on it now and regret not living closer to work. I lost so much time everyday! I worked long days, and then finished with a long drive. Didn't leave anytime for fun and family. You need to have time for fun things, and as you plan your family you really want to keep the drive time down. Hope that advice is worth a little!

[Florida2Missouri]

I haven't actually looked into St. Charles cuz on the map it looks like it would be a long commute. Right now I drive 35 miles and sit in about 1-1.5 hr of traffic as you say. And yes, I feel like I'm losing so much time because of that. We had looked at Arnold because they had some newer apartments close to Fenton, but when I mentioned Arnold on another St. Louis board, they didn't have many nice things to say about it...so I started looking around West County. They are building some apartments behind the Gravois Bluffs towncenter that will be opening in December...and from what I understand, that is fairly close to Fenton as well. I didn't realize the cost of living was higher there until I started noticing the rent differences. I surely would have guessed Florida would be higher. But, I did a cost of living comparison online and apparently it's 3.8% higher in St. Louis than Orlando. I was so bummed. But, it gives better reason for my hubby to negotiate his salary now... But, anyhoo thanks for the encouragement. Really and truly my biggest concern of moving from Florida is that I hate cold weather (anything below 50) lol so, that's my adjustment. If tho, I can find something about the cold that interest me such as skiing...then I think that would help. =)

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by Juice13610

Ugh.

FishTacos, I think you are awesome, but I want to vomit every time someone refers to St. Louis is a "big small town" or "not a big city." It doesn't have to have 1,000,000+ to be a "big city." It has an MSA of 2.5 million people. The entire state of Illinois probably has only a few more people than that excluding the Chicago area.

St. Louis is a big city, but not the biggest or even one of the biggest cities in the United States.

I moved to an Illinois suburb and I have never felt like an outcast at all.

I perhaps should have said big metro area. I consider it to be medium sized metro....and I consider Omaha, KC, Cincy, Mil to be small cities.

And Madison WI etc....to be big college towns. I don't classify Madison WI as a city....perhaps I should but it is just how I do it.

Big cities or metros to me are very few in number, NYC, L.A., Chicago.....metros that are also big but not one city per say are Bay Area, D.C/Baltimore, and so on.....Houston, Atlanta metros are larger and so on....

STL metro is similar in size to Baltimore, minus the D.C. part.

I would call STL medium sized. I do not find it big nor small.

[Steve_W]

You mean to tell me you don't concider Omaha in the same class as New York? I always thought Omaha was the largest city in the US. Hmmm.....