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This post is now more than a year old. I'm sure the OP either gave up and moved away or resigned to a "boring" life in St. Louis and stopped checking updates on this thread.
I am a transplant myself, having moved here in 2006 right after college. The first 3-4 years were in fact very very hard, before I found friends and before I had much time after work to explore and engage in activities. But these days I absolutely love living here. In fact I think it is one of the most under-rated cities in America. After traveling to 25 countries and all 50 states I don't say that lightly.
Your money goes a long way in St. Louis, with nine fortune 500 companies and cheap real estate/cost of living. But of course all that doesn't mean anything until you start exploring what the city has to offer. This post (and similar posts I have read recently elsewhere) made me so sad that I spent the past hour typing up a list of activities. This list doesn't include the most "obvious" ones like going to a baseball/hockey game or go up the arch. It's simply stuff I have done around the city in the past 2-3 years alone. It's by no means a comprehensive list and I am leaving out so many other more "regular" things like hitting up bars, restaurants, concerts, etc. But the point of this is to get you (and anyone who finds this town unfriendly and boring) to simply start doing **** and believe me, there is a ton of **** to do around here if you make an effort to engage! If you are looking for diversity, there is a ton of it within the I-170 belt (close to universities that have students from all countries and backgrounds, for one).
So get out there and start checking off the list and don't come back until you get through everything here. I mean, I did it and I met incredible people through all of it.
And you may want to move....I live in Richmond Heights, literally 10-15 minutes away from everything the city and the county has to offer and wouldn't have it any other way.
Attend a free public program (drawing, art appreciation, etc) at Pulitzer Art Institute (Heck, just go see that amazing building)
Attend a gallery opening at the Contemporary Art Museum (even if you don’t like art, you can’t beat the people-watching on opening nights four times a year)
Pack a picnic to Laumeier Sculpture Garden
Check out the SLAM Underground every last Friday of the month at the St. Louis Art Museum, enjoy free activities, the DJ, and free entrance to special exhibit
See a show at the Fox
See a movie while sinking in a nice couch at the Moolah
Go see the top-ranked St. Louis Symphony (even if classical music isn’t you thing, the St. Louis Symphony has so many interesting projects (live concerts to accompany classic movies, Cortango events for tango dancers and music-lovers, and the sold-out annual collaboration with Nelly, to name a few)
Vintage shop-hop on Cherokee Street (east of Jefferson)
Hit your friends with some big balls at the playground of City Museum
Sit in the back patio of Venice Cafe and sip a beer while you look at the eclectic decor and listen to a local band
Get groceries (or just a bloody mary from Julia’s Cafe) at the Soulard Market and grab some BBQ from Bogart’s when you get hungry
Make your own Microbrew Tour out of a long list of local breweries: Schlafly, Civil Life, Urban Chestnut, Earthbound Brewing, Side Project Brewing, 4Hands, Heavy Riff, Perennial, Square One, Alpha, Modern, Standard, Kirkwood Station….you will topple over long before getting through the ever-expanding list
Do that float trip down the Black or Huzzah river; go ahead and be redneck
Enjoy natural water slides and an emerald green pool at Johnson’s Shut-In
Hike through the scenic Hawn State Park, or the Lewis & Clarks Trails, or the Castlewood Park
Jump from rock to rock at the Elephant Rock State Park
Swim in the old quary waterhole at the Offsets
Go to the beach (yes it looks just like a real beach) at the Carlyle Lake in Illinois (less than an hour away from STL)
Ski or tube down the “mountain” at the Hidden Valley (yes I know it ain't Denver but you'll have fun at end of the day)
Bike the Katy-trail from Creve Coeur Lake to St. Charles
Grab a DD and head to the beautiful wineries in Defiance, MO
Spend a day in Forest Park (fishing by the east entrance, take a nap by the airplane sculpture on the southern edge, check out an exhibit at the Natural History Museum, take a paddle-boat to the Grand Basin)
Take a scenic drive to Grafton, Illinois right across the river, up the Great Rivers Road, get a bucket of beer from the Loading Dock, or if beer is not your thing, enjoy some wine at Aeries Winery on top of a hill with panoramic view of the valley, then hike a few miles at the Marquette State Park down the road (best viewing season is autumn. The multitude of shades of leaves is stunning)
Climb a few Cahokia Mounds just across the river
Volunteer at the Crown Ridge Tiger Santuary in Ste. Genevieve
Break out those binoculars at World Bird Santuary in Fenton
Standup paddleboarding down the Meramec River with the St. Louis SUP Meetup crew (or if that's too adventurous, go to Simpson Lake with them on a summer Friday afternoon)
Ride a two-person bicycle (or just walk) on the 5.6 miles trail around Creve Coeur Lake
Take an one-hour Sightseeing Cruise down the Mississippi in a steam boat
Bike through neighborhoods of St. Louis with thousands of people from near and afar at the Midnight Ramble
Slide down the Art Hill after a heavy snow
Visit the Bellefontaine Cemetery to see majestic tombs of the Crème de la Crème who lived in STL at turn of the century
Climb the stairs to the top of the Compton Hill Water Tower for a panoramic view of the city that can’t be beat (Open on some nights for Full Moon viewing)
Sample til you drop from hundreds of microbrew offerings at the Brewers Heritage Festival
Watch colorful hot air balloons at the annual Balloon Festival on a beautiful evening at the Forest Park
Bring a sandwich and a drink to the free outdoor concert at the grand basin for opening of the Symphony season
See some riskque art and catch the burlesque show at the annual Naughty-Gras Art Bash in Koken Art Factor (prime people-watching)
Catch some beads at the Soulard Mardi Gras Parade (and dress up your pooch for the Pet Parade)
Eat around the world at the Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park
Watch people with serious arm muscles hold up big beers at the Octoberfest at Urban Chestnut
Watch international movies and unique short film collections at the Whittaker International Film Festival (many of the programming each year are free)
Hop on a few rickety rides and stuff your face with some cotton candy at WashU’s ThurtenE Carnival
Get some legit Mexican tacos and watch the bizarre hipster floats at the Cinco de Mayo Parade on Cherokee Street
Slurp some of the 70,000 oysters that get flown in from both coasts at the Schlafly Stout & Oyster Fest
Get rowdy with drag-queens at the colorful PrideFest
Check out the Japanese Festival at the picture-perfect Botanical Garden
Last edited by lightscamerainaction; 03-17-2017 at 08:57 PM..
Correct, it's very cheap to live in Missouri and St. Louis. MO, AR, TN, KY, KS, OK, the region in general cost a lot less than here in FL. Just on the news tonight they were talking about how things are more expensive than the national average here in SWFL.
Also the Stl metro area has tons of gun ranges and shops which I miss. Here in Southwest FL we have hardly any gun ranges and nowhere near the quality the ones Missouri offers.
this post is now more than a year old. I'm sure the op either gave up and moved away or resigned to a "boring" life in st. Louis and stopped checking updates on this thread.
I am a transplant myself, having moved here in 2006 right after college. The first 3-4 years were in fact very very hard, before i found friends and before i had much time after work to explore and engage in activities. But these days i absolutely love living here. In fact i think it is one of the most under-rated cities in america. After traveling to 25 countries and all 50 states i don't say that lightly.
Your money goes a long way in st. Louis, with nine fortune 500 companies and cheap real estate/cost of living. But of course all that doesn't mean anything until you start exploring what the city has to offer. This post (and similar posts i have read recently elsewhere) made me so sad that i spent the past hour typing up a list of activities. This list doesn't include the most "obvious" ones like going to a baseball/hockey game or go up the arch. It's simply stuff i have done around the city in the past 2-3 years alone. It's by no means a comprehensive list and i am leaving out so many other more "regular" things like hitting up bars, restaurants, concerts, etc. But the point of this is to get you (and anyone who finds this town unfriendly and boring) to simply start doing **** and believe me, there is a ton of **** to do around here if you make an effort to engage! If you are looking for diversity, there is a ton of it within the i-170 belt (close to universities that have students from all countries and backgrounds, for one).
So get out there and start checking off the list and don't come back until you get through everything here. I mean, i did it and i met incredible people through all of it.
And you may want to move....i live in richmond heights, literally 10-15 minutes away from everything the city and the county has to offer and wouldn't have it any other way.
attend a free public program (drawing, art appreciation, etc) at pulitzer art institute (heck, just go see that amazing building)
attend a gallery opening at the contemporary art museum (even if you don’t like art, you can’t beat the people-watching on opening nights four times a year)
pack a picnic to laumeier sculpture garden
check out the slam underground every last friday of the month at the st. Louis art museum, enjoy free activities, the dj, and free entrance to special exhibit
see a show at the fox
see a movie while sinking in a nice couch at the moolah
go see the top-ranked st. Louis symphony (even if classical music isn’t you thing, the st. Louis symphony has so many interesting projects (live concerts to accompany classic movies, cortango events for tango dancers and music-lovers, and the sold-out annual collaboration with nelly, to name a few)
vintage shop-hop on cherokee street (east of jefferson)
hit your friends with some big balls at the playground of city museum
sit in the back patio of venice cafe and sip a beer while you look at the eclectic decor and listen to a local band
get groceries (or just a bloody mary from julia’s cafe) at the soulard market and grab some bbq from bogart’s when you get hungry
make your own microbrew tour out of a long list of local breweries: schlafly, civil life, urban chestnut, earthbound brewing, side project brewing, 4hands, heavy riff, perennial, square one, alpha, modern, standard, kirkwood station….you will topple over long before getting through the ever-expanding list
do that float trip down the black or huzzah river; go ahead and be redneck
enjoy natural water slides and an emerald green pool at johnson’s shut-in
hike through the scenic hawn state park, or the lewis & clarks trails, or the castlewood park
jump from rock to rock at the elephant rock state park
swim in the old quary waterhole at the offsets
go to the beach (yes it looks just like a real beach) at the carlyle lake in illinois (less than an hour away from stl)
ski or tube down the “mountain” at the hidden valley (yes i know it ain't denver but you'll have fun at end of the day)
bike the katy-trail from creve coeur lake to st. Charles
grab a dd and head to the beautiful wineries in defiance, mo
spend a day in forest park (fishing by the east entrance, take a nap by the airplane sculpture on the southern edge, check out an exhibit at the natural history museum, take a paddle-boat to the grand basin)
take a scenic drive to grafton, illinois right across the river, up the great rivers road, get a bucket of beer from the loading dock, or if beer is not your thing, enjoy some wine at aeries winery on top of a hill with panoramic view of the valley, then hike a few miles at the marquette state park down the road (best viewing season is autumn. The multitude of shades of leaves is stunning)
climb a few cahokia mounds just across the river
volunteer at the crown ridge tiger santuary in ste. Genevieve
break out those binoculars at world bird santuary in fenton
standup paddleboarding down the meramec river with the st. Louis sup meetup crew (or if that's too adventurous, go to simpson lake with them on a summer friday afternoon)
ride a two-person bicycle (or just walk) on the 5.6 miles trail around creve coeur lake
take an one-hour sightseeing cruise down the mississippi in a steam boat
bike through neighborhoods of st. Louis with thousands of people from near and afar at the midnight ramble
slide down the art hill after a heavy snow
visit the bellefontaine cemetery to see majestic tombs of the crème de la crème who lived in stl at turn of the century
climb the stairs to the top of the compton hill water tower for a panoramic view of the city that can’t be beat (open on some nights for full moon viewing)
sample til you drop from hundreds of microbrew offerings at the brewers heritage festival
watch colorful hot air balloons at the annual balloon festival on a beautiful evening at the forest park
bring a sandwich and a drink to the free outdoor concert at the grand basin for opening of the symphony season
see some riskque art and catch the burlesque show at the annual naughty-gras art bash in koken art factor (prime people-watching)
catch some beads at the soulard mardi gras parade (and dress up your pooch for the pet parade)
eat around the world at the festival of nations in tower grove park
watch people with serious arm muscles hold up big beers at the octoberfest at urban chestnut
watch international movies and unique short film collections at the whittaker international film festival (many of the programming each year are free)
hop on a few rickety rides and stuff your face with some cotton candy at washu’s thurtene carnival
get some legit mexican tacos and watch the bizarre hipster floats at the cinco de mayo parade on cherokee street
slurp some of the 70,000 oysters that get flown in from both coasts at the schlafly stout & oyster fest
get rowdy with drag-queens at the colorful pridefest
check out the japanese festival at the picture-perfect botanical garden
eulercircles ~ If you want to live in a really friendly, welcoming place, try northern Georgia. We moved here from Florida and love the people here. They remind me of the way people were in the 50s and 60s.
eulercircles ~ If you want to live in a really friendly, welcoming place, try northern Georgia. We moved here from Florida and love the people here. They remind me of the way people were in the 50s and 60s.
Is it a lot better you think than Florida which is becoming overcrowded and full of Yankees and people who's language isn't English first?
I live in SWFL and it just keeps getting worse it seems.
I can pick all the things that are wrong with St.Louis which in my opinion aren't even worth warranting a rant.. Like the list of above St.Louis has so many good to great things about it that so many people fail to realize or utilize. We may not have all the amenities of Dallas Chicago or NYC however for a city of St.Louis's size we come pretty darn close without the over crowding of transplants not like thats a problem..
One of the good things about St.Louis is that you don't have to drive through 50-100 miles of endless suburbs to get to the wilderness the region itself is very compact maybe a tad bit constrained with the 3 big rivers meandering through but other than that you can't go wrong. Also you aren't very far from other major cities such as Chicago Indianapolis Kansas City Nashville Memphis Cincinnati Tulsa Columbus Atlanta Detroit Omaha Oklahoma City Cleveland Wichita Milwaukee Louisville Des Moines Little Rock Grand Rapids all those respective cities are 6-9 hours by car.
All cities are what you make of them St.Louis may not be the best but it sure in the heck isn't the worse.
I can pick all the things that are wrong with St.Louis which in my opinion aren't even worth warranting a rant.. Like the list of above St.Louis has so many good to great things about it that so many people fail to realize or utilize. We may not have all the amenities of Dallas Chicago or NYC however for a city of St.Louis's size we come pretty darn close without the over crowding of transplants not like thats a problem..
One of the good things about St.Louis is that you don't have to drive through 50-100 miles of endless suburbs to get to the wilderness the region itself is very compact maybe a tad bit constrained with the 3 big rivers meandering through but other than that you can't go wrong. Also you aren't very far from other major cities such as Chicago Indianapolis Kansas City Nashville Memphis Cincinnati Tulsa Columbus Atlanta Detroit Omaha Oklahoma City Cleveland Wichita Milwaukee Louisville Des Moines Little Rock Grand Rapids all those respective cities are 6-9 hours by car.
All cities are what you make of them St.Louis may not be the best but it sure in the heck isn't the worse.
True. Also the weather can be lousy, but honestly the winter snows are generally not that bad most winters and only stay around a few days and while it gets cold it's not bitter cold like a true northern city. It's one of the warmest major cities in the lower midwest/upper south region. Cinci has cooler winter and summer weather and Louisville, KY is only slightly warmer in the winter than St. Louis, hardly noticeable but they seem to get more ice storms lately and snows in Kentucky. The last 8 years or so seem to be more rainy and damp in Stl while the ice and snow seem to go south and east of the city.
Also stuff is cheap in St. Louis as well and the infrastructure such as roads are much better designed than other major cities I think.
Not to mention Missouri is very deep red Republican now which promotes growth and excellent gun laws protecting your right to bear arms such as permit less carry.
Missouri has some of the best Republicans in the country! Here in Florida ours are too moderate. We can't even pass open carry with a permit in Florida while Missouri allows its residents to conceal carry without a permit.
Not to mention Missouri is very deep red Republican now which promotes growth
(citation needed)
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