Moving to St.Louis soon (St. Louis, St. Charles: fit in, to rent, car insurance)

[InsuranceGuy5579]

Hello Everyone,

Myself and my wife will be relocation to St. Louis in about 3-4 months. We have never lived anywhere other than Maryland. This is a scary situation for us both. We are both in our late 20's. We have a baby due in May. My job is promoting me to Regional Management of St. Louis to open the new territory. We will be on a tight budget for the first year and could use some really good advice.

Where is a great place to rent a townhouse for under 1000 a month near St Louis area. We are also wondering what the average Electric bill is a month, Water bill, Car insurance, and state taxes.

Any info would be great for our move, again, this is a very scary situation for us and we want to be as prepared as possible for the move.

Fred

[Juice13610]

I may as well ask because someone else will; do you know where you will be working? What type of lifestyle are you looking for?

You should have little to no problem getting a townhouse for under 1000 a month in STL.

I live on the Illinois side in Fairview Heights, Illinois. I live 13 miles to downtown St. Louis but we also have a light rail system that starts a few miles east of my town and runs all the way through STL to the Lambert International Airport.

We have a 2 bedroom, 2 story townhouse in Fairview Heights in a nice, quiet neighborhood for $650/month.

Not sure on the taxes, because I don't pay attention, but the avg. water bill in around $25-40, and I have incredibly cheap car insurance that is like 80-something a month for 2 vehicles, a 99 and a 2004. Again though, that is cheap to the extreme, my last company was $100 more per month.

[ShadowCaver]

Don't be scared. Just be cautious, prepared, and aware. As Juice13610 mentioned, give some additional clues/thoughts as to what you/your family likes, etc. and more help then can be given to help narrow potentials down for ya. The biggest item we'd need is to know (a) where your job is, and then (b) how far you'd be willing to drive [in time], as those two items are then key to about all else. Peruse the other threads/posts in here, get ya a map of the area, so you know the names of the places tad more familiar, and hang in there, 'k?

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by InsuranceGuy5579

Hello Everyone,

Myself and my wife will be relocation to St. Louis in about 3-4 months. We have never lived anywhere other than Maryland. This is a scary situation for us both. We are both in our late 20's. We have a baby due in May. My job is promoting me to Regional Management of St. Louis to open the new territory. We will be on a tight budget for the first year and could use some really good advice.

Where is a great place to rent a townhouse for under 1000 a month near St Louis area. We are also wondering what the average Electric bill is a month, Water bill, Car insurance, and state taxes.

Any info would be great for our move, again, this is a very scary situation for us and we want to be as prepared as possible for the move.

Fred

You'll find St. Louis to be somewhat similar to Baltimore(in size, in historic red brick city buildings and more.) I like how STL stacks up with Baltimore overall, minus a couple of things....seafood, and proximity to other places for road trips compared to Maryland.

St. Louis is a very affordable metro in many aspects. You should do just fine with plenty of city and suburban options depending on your interests. St. Louis is an excellent place to raise a family or be a kid, ...it is geared towards families.

[InsuranceGuy5579]

Originally Posted by Juice13610

I may as well ask because someone else will; do you know where you will be working? What type of lifestyle are you looking for?

You should have little to no problem getting a townhouse for under 1000 a month in STL.

I live on the Illinois side in Fairview Heights, Illinois. I live 13 miles to downtown St. Louis but we also have a light rail system that starts a few miles east of my town and runs all the way through STL to the Lambert International Airport.

We have a 2 bedroom, 2 story townhouse in Fairview Heights in a nice, quiet neighborhood for $650/month.

Not sure on the taxes, because I don't pay attention, but the avg. water bill in around $25-40, and I have incredibly cheap car insurance that is like 80-something a month for 2 vehicles, a 99 and a 2004. Again though, that is cheap to the extreme, my last company was $100 more per month.

I just flew out to St. Louis to do some interviews Thursday 18th, and loved the atmosphere. Most of the area's i will be working are on the outskirts of St. Louis. We will be working out of all Vantage Credit Unions. Talked with a few locals and they recommended Saint Charles county, quiet, affordable, convienent drive into St. Louis. Did a few searches found some nice town houses for under $1000. Thanks for the info on the bills. That is cheap car insurance, we got perfect rating on car insurance and pay around 130 a month for 2 cars in Maryland.

To answer some questions, Would like to stay within 30 Minutes of St Louis. Looking for Queit Neighborhoods, great school system, we do not party at nights, we like casual things. Places to meet nice couples of any age to get to know, are type of places we are looking to move into. We do not want to move into the "Ghetto" for lack of better words. Near shopping malls and busy interest points, but not in the city. Also, maybe no where near rt 40, hear that is a not so great ride. Looking for a community where folks are great neighbors, low crime<if thats possible these days>.

Hope this helps, We really appreciate all your advice and help.

[Juice13610]

Fairview Heights, Illinois has a low crime rate (less than the US average according to City-Data), great community feel in Fairview/Swansea/Belleville/OFallon, community activities in downtown Belleville, and you are 13 miles to downtown St. Louis. If you are working on the outskirts on both sides of the river, I would suggest an Illinois suburb. If you are working on the outskirts on the Illinois side, live in Illinois. If you are working on the outskirts on the Missouri side, live in Missouri. Someone else will have to help you with that

[methadee]

When I was raising a family and had to move to St. Louis, I rented a sleeping room first to get to know the territory, then I moved my kids to the area.

I have an offer, but can't make available until January. I own a house in St. Charles County, but don't live their full time. If you would like to rent my loft area of my house for the first month that you are in town, as you get to know the area, I could offer that to you. The loft has a bedroom, sitting area, desk area and bathroom. You would of course have use of my kitchen downstairs on the first floor.

It may not be feasible if you have furniture to store, while looking, but thought I would throw out the idea.

I raised my kids in Kirwood. Kirkwood and Webster Groves are the best areas in the county, because they give you a feeling of community. The rest of St. Louis and St. Charles county tends to be spread out and not designed for that "community" feeling. They just offer one sub-division after the other.

Kirkwood is centrally located to the main vantage office, if it still in Creve Couer, not sure.

Anyway, just an idea. I remember what it was like just starting out and relocating to a "foreign land".

My personal email: mod cut - DM for more information... personal emails are not recommended

[Fishtacos]

To the original poster, where in MD do you live and work out of curiosity and possible assistance?

[stevio63]

If you are working alot of st.charles county...then yes..st.charles does make sense...nothing against st.charles area but i think it is reach to say it is "convenient" to st. louis...especially in rush hour and in bad weather...if you work in st. charles predominately thats best case scenario...but if you are working jefferson county, south county, south west county, not so sure than...so it depends....i personally think some of the better school districts are in west and southwest counties...st. charles schools are ok (no offense) but not in same ball park as i stated...priorities....what matter most?? life style or convenience to work area? sounds though you will fit in to the st. louis personality..

[TGS]

Guys, the original post is a year old!!!!