CHESTERFIELD, MO... RELO advice please!! (St. Louis, St. Charles: apartments, to rent, neighborhood)

[molliecat1]

GREETiNGS!!!

I have a thread on here regarding St. Charles and O'Fallon, and unfortunately, not much in the way of responses. My husband is interviewing for a job in downtown St. Louis and we are looking at the surrounding burbs for relocation. I love the appeal of the charming downtown in St. Charles, but both SC and OF may be too far out. Chesterfield looks like a nice, straight shot west. Anyone who lives in Chesterfield or surrounding burbs who may have some input?

We are a 50/51 yr. old couple with a disabled son who is 23. He is totally on par verbally, mostly has some physical and learning differences. We are looking to rent--- range $1100-$1500 preferably. My son does not drive, so a safe transit within Chesterfield is important. Any info. regarding disability servicing in the area would be helpful. We are not used to BIG CITY life, and prefer a suburban feel, with some charm. It appears that Chesterfield is not too large, which is good.... and wondered if in fact there is a community feel to it?? I see it has a lot of shopping/mall options, which honestly is do to the fact that our son is able to enjoy that kind of thing. He LOVES The Cheesecake Factory!

So if anyone has any advice regarding this area or other surrounding areas, that would be great. Overall, we like a "newer" feel, for housing options. While I really enjoy a downtown with charm and character, we do like amenities for shopping and housing that are newer. A nice mix of both is a bonus!! THANKS for reading, and hope to hear some feedback THANK YOU!!

[Dawn10am]

Chesterfield is newer with LOTS of shopping options (I mean TONS), but the transit options aren't great, and even though its population is smallish on paper, it's part of a vast, sprawling suburban area, so I doubt there's much community feel out there.

You could definitely try your luck with Chesterfield, and you might find something that fits your needs, but I would say that Kirkwood or any of the other suburbs on the Manchester Rd. corridor (Glendale, Warson Woods, Rock Hill, Brentwood, etc.) might be better. They're older, but I daresay the transit options are better and there's probably more of a community feeling.

[billiken]

If you're interested in Chesterfield, I would look into the Call & Ride services that Metro provides--I don't know much about them. The traditional transit services in Chesterfield are fairly limited.

[FrankMiller]

Pretty much anywhere outside of 270 (rough rule of thumb) tends to be suburban sprawl with all the pros and cons that implies. Limited non-car transit, and the community is wherever you find or make it (school, church, work). It's also cheaper.

[jribe]

while chesterfield seems close to downtown STL- it's a commute. Let alone the extra time that will have to be allowed if it rains, snows, is icy, or a variety of other reasons. What kind of commute is your husband looking for? I would also say that your budget probably wouldn't' go far in chesterfield- unless you're considering apartments? I would look at brentwood, webster groves and kirkwood first.. All have that smallish town feel, shopping and are relatively close to downtown for your husband. I work in midtown and live in brentwood- on average it's about 20 minutes or so; can be up to 30 minutes with bad traffic but we like our little community and its safe while being in the middle of a lot to do.

[DennisF6]

I moved to Chesterfield a little over a year ago (from the Seattle area).
I like it a lot. It feels super safe, a bit upscale but people seem very down to earth and friendly.
I don't work downtown but, from where I am it's about 25 minutes away with light traffic, 35-40 with peak traffic.
If you want a shorter commute it is important to be fairly close to 40/64. Otherwise you could add another 15 to 20 minutes to those times.

I don't see a lot of transit routes around. I think that will be a weak point for you.

Community feel? Hmmm... well there are regular free concerts and movie nights at local parks. Our neighborhood has lots of BBQ's and such... people are proud to say they are from Chesterfield. Is that a community feel?

Shopping? Yeah - the best in the St Louis area! I live in a strictly residential area but I only have to walk 3/4 of a mile to get to lots of stores and restaurants.

Cheesecake Factory - just over a one mile walk from my house. Enough to burn off about 10% of one of their meals!

Prices - housing is more in Chesterfield than most places. Certainly more than St Charles. I was willing to pay that because I wanted to be in the Parkway school district. If schools weren't a factor for me I am not sure I would have settled there. Not that I don't like the area because I really do. I'm just not sure it would be worth the cost difference.