Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Missouri > St. Louis
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-20-2013, 05:38 PM
 
Location: Saint Louis MO
16 posts, read 77,334 times
Reputation: 28

Advertisements

Thanks everyone. Looking forward to the move. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-22-2013, 07:13 AM
 
Location: Illinois
37 posts, read 82,064 times
Reputation: 25
That part of St Louis is least beautiful to say the least. Some would call it more like an aftermath of a war. St Louis has some really stunning locales. You just have to drive west. St Louisans have long abandoned some of these areas.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2013, 07:18 AM
 
Location: St. Louis
1,221 posts, read 2,748,863 times
Reputation: 810
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRoweP View Post
That part of St Louis is least beautiful to say the least. Some would call it more like an aftermath of a war. St Louis has some really stunning locales. You just have to drive west. St Louisans have long abandoned some of these areas.
LOL. Have you been to Old North lately?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2013, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Illinois
37 posts, read 82,064 times
Reputation: 25
I was in St Louis 2 months ago not specifically in the Old North. I really like St Louis but generally speaking large sections of the city around downtown is desolate. You have to drive 8 miles west of downtown to get to all the fun and exciting part of St Louis. But then again i am a tourist. Locals will have a different opinion.

FYI. I live somewhere between Chicago and St Louis and visit STL twice every year.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2013, 09:37 AM
 
Location: St. Louis
1,221 posts, read 2,748,863 times
Reputation: 810
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRoweP View Post
I was in St Louis 2 months ago not specifically in the Old North. I really like St Louis but generally speaking large sections of the city around downtown is desolate. You have to drive 8 miles west of downtown to get to all the fun and exciting part of St Louis. But then again i am a tourist. Locals will have a different opinion.
(that's all I can really say to this)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2013, 11:02 AM
 
Location: St. Louis, MO
4,009 posts, read 6,865,329 times
Reputation: 4608
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRoweP View Post
I was in St Louis 2 months ago not specifically in the Old North. I really like St Louis but generally speaking large sections of the city around downtown is desolate. You have to drive 8 miles west of downtown to get to all the fun and exciting part of St Louis. But then again i am a tourist. Locals will have a different opinion.

FYI. I live somewhere between Chicago and St Louis and visit STL twice every year.

*shakes head in dismay*

OP: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think you'll find that this poster's opinions will differ from your own as well as a lot of others on this board. They definitely differ from mine!

Exactly 8 miles west of Downtown St. Louis is Brentwood / Richmond Heights... which has the Galleria Mall, Walmart, Target, other various big box stores and a few restaurants (PF Changs, Maggianos etc). I guess it's each to their own if that's all considered fun and exciting!?

Within 8 miles of downtown of course, is Washington Ave (in downtown itself) which has been ranked one of the top 10 streets in America with numerous clubs, bars, restaurants, lofts, etc (it's undergoing a renaissance of sorts), Soulard, Central West End, Forest Park, and numerous other neighborhoods and amenities which are definitely more fun, unique and exciting (in my personal opinion) than a shopping mall!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2013, 12:45 PM
 
Location: St. Louis
135 posts, read 280,420 times
Reputation: 111
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRoweP View Post
That part of St Louis is least beautiful to say the least. Some would call it more like an aftermath of a war.
While it's good advice to anyone moving to St. Louis to avoid living north of Delmar Blvd., OP is specifically moving to STL to work on the revitalization efforts of Old North. Old North is one of the nicer neighborhoods in North City.

Quote:
St Louis has some really stunning locales. You just have to drive west.
Areas in Benton Park, Lafayette Square and Compton Heights can easily be described as "stunning locales", all within 4 miles of Downtown.

Quote:
You have to drive 8 miles west of downtown to get to all the fun and exciting part of St Louis.
This statement is qualitatively false. As has been stated, Wash Ave. has been rated one of the Great Streets of America in 2011. Cherokee Street, Soulard, Central West End and The Grove are all within 5 miles of Downtown. The Loop is almost exactly 8 miles from Downtown.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-22-2013, 12:57 PM
 
Location: South Park, San Diego
6,109 posts, read 10,897,405 times
Reputation: 12476
Quote:
Originally Posted by marigolds6 View Post
I grew up in San Diego. Basically you get a little bit of snow, but not very much. Occasionally you will get an ice storm; just stay home. Rain is pretty common. Summers can be very hot but winter is not that cold. Severe weather (severe thunderstorms and tornadoes) happen regularly and you need to educate yourself about how to respond to those.

St Louis people drive horribly in poor weather. Drive defensively in that weather (or don't take your car). Otherwise, traffic is rare. Breakins happen in certain locations more than others. The most important thing you can do is never ever leave anything of value in your car.

Your politics will fit in fine from a left-right perspective. Our conservatives are very conservative, but generally respectful. Our liberals are pretty liberal. Race is actually the biggest divide in local politics. Don't ever read the comments on the post-dispatch website. They do not represent St Louis.

Midwesterns are polite and friendly, but can also be insular. Friend groups form early and last a long time. This is not any sort of social death knell, but just something you have to be aware of when trying to meet new friends.

Cannot help you on the young people part Others might be able to.

Midwest in general is very gay friendly (I used to live in Iowa City). The Grove is probably the central neighborhood to the LGBT community, but the Central West End is also very ***** friendly.
Interesting how you noted this. I just visited St. Louis for the first time about three weeks ago and was absolutely blown away by the city. The architecture is just fantastic, great neighborhoods that remind me of Europe (Central West End), Forest Park (Free Shakespeare), Art Museum, Botanical Gardens, BBQ, Craft Beers, Ted Drewes frozen custard- what's not to like?! I am envious of the OP and am certain he will have a great experience there. If I were as young as he, not so established with a beautiful historic home and garden in the best neighborhood in San Diego and most importantly with a group of amazing friends here I would probably move there in a heartbeat.

Our hosts, very friendly and outgoing male gay couple, very quick to host fabulous parties/dinners (one a St. Louis native) who moved back there to flip a beautiful mansion (Waterman Ave.) and now have a cool Mid-Century Modern also bemoan this Midwestern trait. They are great guys, middle-aged and not flamboyant at all, much like us hang out with mostly straight, real fun and interesting folks. Unfortunately they note that while there is a great scrappy friendliness to the natives it is most difficult to break into an established and it seems fiercely guarded circle of friends- that is they might have a drink or dinner with you but don't expect to be invited to their monthly brunches or poker parties anytime soon if ever. They say this is even more evident in the LGBT community, and we are unfortunately known to be cliquish.

I'm sure the OP is young and attractive enough to make inroads and friends but this would always weigh heavily on me if I were to experience the same coolness and difficulty in making new friends there. It is even more difficult as you get into middle-age and as much as I'd like to think of myself as an adventurer and ready to take new chances and challenges like moving to a new great city like St. Louis, this would definitely put a damper on those chances.

I guess you just have to make the jump, be as friendly as you can and eventually you'll start cracking those walls around established friends- I wish him the best of luck, and you never know- we might consider doing the same thing as our friends/hosts- selling our ridiculously valued little house for bundle and living the good (cheap) life in St. Louis too. And they have made great friendships with amazing, fun people, it just has taken them a while and continues to be a frustrating pickle for them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2013, 09:06 AM
 
Location: St Louis, MO
4,677 posts, read 5,768,085 times
Reputation: 2981
While I have not used this group, I have heard great things about the St Louis Transplants group. Basically, they help transplants form friendships with other transplants. I use MeetUp quite regularly and have met dozens of new people that way. I actually just recently took the step of founding a group even (after being asked by others) and 30 people have joined before the first meeting!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-23-2013, 09:35 AM
 
Location: St. Louis, MO
4,009 posts, read 6,865,329 times
Reputation: 4608
For what it's worth, when I originally moved here from Australia, I had no problem at all making friends and finding social circles! I've never understood why people perceive St. Louisans as insular as that wasn't my experience at all. I never had to use meetup groups or anything (I'm not sure they even existed) although I believe they may be a useful tool for a newcomer if all else fails.

I think you'll really enjoy it here and I personally don't think you'll have a problem making friends from what I perceive of your personality through your posts, and I personally found it to be a breeze
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Missouri > St. Louis

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:54 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top