Moving to STL...advice needed

[CellarBelle]

Don't forget to look on the Illinois side. If your husband goes for the downtown position, look at Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Troy, and O'Fallon. You can compare the school districts at: Interactive Illinois Report Card. You will want to look up the O'Fallon, Triad and Edwardsville School districts. I live in Edwardsville, and it has been great for my family. Mapquest Edwardsville to Busch Stadium to get an idea of the commute. Good luck!

Originally Posted by Tnim

I have read many of the posts and have tried to get as much info as possible but still need some help. My husband has 2 job possibilities in STL. One, downtown and the other in Fenton. If he goes with the downtown position, commuting will not be a problem. He is willing to commute 30-40 minutes. We have 3 children (8,5,and an infant). We are looking for an area with affordable housing 190K-210K in an area with good schools. House size at least 1800 sq/4 bedroom. I hear the Rockwood School District is good? How is the St. Charles area? O'Fallon? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[aragx6]

The year-round concept is definitely different, but as a product of it i have to say I really loved it. Kids go to school for 9 weeks and then have a three week vacation. You don't get that long summer break, but you get these great short ones scattered through the year. It's so relaxing.

It was always kind of a pain for my mom because she was a teacher on a traditional schedule, and she could have saved a ton on childcare if we had been off at the same times as her, but if you don't fall into that issue then I wouldn't worry about it.

And just like Lisamarie said 370 is pretty much never jammed, nor is Page. But neither of those go to the city, so you'll take 270 to 70. 270 can get pretty jammed up in the morning. Or if the job is in Fenton, he would head straight south on 270- which yes, would probably not be the best idea. If he does take the job in Fenton I would probably say St. Charles may not be your best bet.

During rush hour you won't see many truckers on I-70. From my experience, truckers know where traffic will be and avoid it at all costs. Gas is expensive enough for them as it is, and it is very frustrating to waste it in traffic. There will be traffic on 70 in the morning, but it's not really that bad. My educated guess would be that most mornings he'd be looking at a 35-45 minute commute.

[Saphhire]

Here's a house in Valley Park that's also in the Parkway South School district - convenient to I-44 and 141:

http://1556hanna.vflyer.com/2/index.html

You can also look it up on Zillow by typing in "1556 Hanna" zip code: 63088

[skeating]

Hopefully he will get the Fenton location. The price range you mentioned for housing is very difficult to find unless you settled for an older home.

Schools around Fenton would be Rockwood or Parkway School district. These school districts would place you in these various townships : Fenton, Valley Park, Ballwin, Manchester, Winchester. There are more towns, but with raising children Rockwood and Parkway are known to be the better school districts. That is what all the young parents are going after for their kids.

Contact these school districts and get a map of their boundary areas and that will get you somewhat settled as to the towns you could look for a home in.

[aragx6]

You can get plenty of house for that kind of money. I would never say it would be "very difficult"

[skeating]

Have You Looked Lately? We Have Been Looking For Over A Year. Just In The Last Week Have People Begun To Lower Prices To A Little More Reasonable Amount.... Alot Of Very Old Houses In St Louis And Surrounding Towns. St Louis Is Old And So Is Alot Of Real Estate.

This Market Slow-down Is Helping People Get A Reality Check... These Old Properties For Outrageous Prices...

Hope You Find What You Need And Want... Start Looking Hard Right Now The Prices Are Improving.

[MoelleringM]

I am sure you noticed that you received recommendations for Saint Charles and O'Fallon. Well both are nice, but sandwiched between is Saint Peters which is the absolute best. It is nicer than both and cheaper than O'Fallon. I am mentioning this, because I am on here looking to help a family member sell their home in Saint Peters: so full disclosure. However, they are selling extremely cheap because they want to get out from under the house. The home was appraised last year at $220,000. That was in the midst of dropping values mind you which are finally coming back up. They are selling it for $165,00. I am not a realitor of any kind. If you would like some more information, please contact at my e-mail address: michaelmoellering@excite.com. Thank you and good luck with your move.