If you were moving and had to commute to St Charles... (St. Louis: apartment, loft)

[sprintingsloth16]

...wanted to live close to/within St. Louis proper, were a young professional with a budget up to $1200 (although would ideally be paying around $900-1000) who values an urban neighborhood setting, safety, access to attractions like Forest Park (or parks in general), museums, and interesting restaurants over proximity to nightlife, where would you live? A commute of 30 mins is not a problem - is it realistic to expect a reverse commute to be this short if living in Downtown or Soulard and commuting on I-70? How would you compare commute time from Clayton, CWE or TGS (looks like some neighborhood driving before reaching I-170) to the time from Downtown or Soulard? Will Cards games greatly affect commute times to the city regardless of neighborhood and highway used for commute?

I've already had a chance to read through many of the helpful posts on this forum that are geared toward young professionals - however, I wanted to ask the experts as well since my core interests are a bit different. Also...

1) Can you recommend any cities in St. Louis county that could potentially reduce commute time while maintaining at least some urban feel? I realize that burbs aren't the city, but I want to check out all potential neighborhoods that come close to fitting some of the desired qualities above. I'm having trouble justifying a place in the burbs vs. those mentioned above if it's only going to shave 5-7 minutes off of a commute.

2) What would you consider to be the safest neighborhoods surrounding Tower Grove Park? TGS sounds nice in pockets (urban neighborhood, walkable, near a park, young professionals), so I'd like to check out other potential neighborhoods in the area if they exist.

3) If you had never lived in a city setting before, do you feel that you would be comfortable living in a Downtown loft on Olive St, away from Washington Ave. crowd? What about Soulard if you weren't interested in the Mardi Gras scene?

4) One more question - quite a few people recommend The Loop (also Delmar Loop) as a neighborhood to look for an apartment in... This looks like a good option for me, as it is in the vicinity of Forest Park, and the Clayton/U City area seems to be safe. Additionally, it is fairly close to I-170. But could somebody please describe the area that encompasses The Loop? When I search on Google, I see an area that basically encompasses about 6 blocks of Delmar Blvd., and I wanted to confirm that folks recommending The Loop are referring to this area, and this area only. How safe is the area?

Thank you all so much for your help!

[RisingAurvandil]

First off, where in St. Charles will you be working? In St. Charles City? St. Peters?

I have a 25 mile reverse commute to the Westplex everyday. It generally takes 35 minutes, maybe 45 if there is an accident. If you start earlier, at 6 am or 7 am, traffic won't be an issue anywhere in StL. If you start at 8 am or 9 am, prepare to spend additional time in traffic. The same is true for the evening. If you depart by 2:30 pm or 3:30 pm, you'll be fine. Any later = more traffic.

If you work in St. Charles City, you will be within 30 minutes of most of the City, except perhaps parts of South City.

Originally Posted by sprintingsloth16

How would you compare commute time from Clayton, CWE or TGS (looks like some neighborhood driving before reaching I-170) to the time from Downtown or Soulard? Will Cards games greatly affect commute times to the city regardless of neighborhood and highway used for commute?

I-70 usually flows well outside of downtown. The CWE, downtown, and Soulard will all be about the same time. Clayton will be slightly closer, maybe by 5 or 10 minutes. Tower Grove will be 5 or 10 minutes further.

Clayton is nice, but your budget is a bit low for that. It is the most expensive "urban" area in StL.

Originally Posted by sprintingsloth16

1) Can you recommend any cities in St. Louis county that could potentially reduce commute time while maintaining at least some urban feel? I realize that burbs aren't the city, but I want to check out all potential neighborhoods that come close to fitting some of the desired qualities above. I'm having trouble justifying a place in the burbs vs. those mentioned above if it's only going to shave 5-7 minutes off of a commute.

Old St. Charles
Kirkwood
Webster
Richmond Heights
Maplewood
University City
DeMun

Originally Posted by sprintingsloth16

2) What would you consider to be the safest neighborhoods surrounding Tower Grove Park? TGS sounds nice in pockets (urban neighborhood, walkable, near a park, young professionals), so I'd like to check out other potential neighborhoods in the area if they exist.

Southwest Garden for sure. It is a working neighborhood though, not a yuppie neighborhood.

Followed by Shaw and Tower Grove South. The closer to the park, the better.

Tower Grove East is improving, but is still in transition.

Originally Posted by sprintingsloth16

3)What about Soulard if you weren't interested in the Mardi Gras scene?

Mardi Gras events only last for a week. Soulard is a real gem.

Originally Posted by sprintingsloth16

But could somebody please describe the area that encompasses The Loop? When I search on Google, I see an area that basically encompasses about 6 blocks of Delmar Blvd., and I wanted to confirm that folks recommending The Loop are referring to this area, and this area only. How safe is the area?

When people refer to the Loop area, they usually mean the area south of Delmar, west of the Metro Red Line, and north of the Parkway. Within U. City proper, most would include the area north of Delmar, to Vernon or Olive Blvd. The area is generally considered safe, especially south of Delmar.

[KarenElissa]

Originally Posted by sprintingsloth16

...wanted to live close to/within St. Louis proper, were a young professional with a budget up to $1200 (although would ideally be paying around $900-1000) who values an urban neighborhood setting, safety, access to attractions like Forest Park (or parks in general), museums, and interesting restaurants over proximity to nightlife, where would you live?

You might also check out the Skinker-DeBaliviere and DeBaliviere Place neighborhoods. They would be walking distance to Forest Park and all that has to offer and they are right in between the Loop and CWE. I live on the north edge and really like the area, particularly being close to Forest Park. And according to google, it would be about a 30 minute commute.

[sprintingsloth16]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

First off, where in St. Charles will you be working? In St. Charles City? St. Peters?

I have a 25 mile reverse commute to the Westplex everyday. It generally takes 35 minutes, maybe 45 if there is an accident. If you start earlier, at 6 am or 7 am, traffic won't be an issue anywhere in StL. If you start at 8 am or 9 am, prepare to spend additional time in traffic. The same is true for the evening. If you depart by 2:30 pm or 3:30 pm, you'll be fine. Any later = more traffic.

If you work in St. Charles City, you will be within 30 minutes of most of the City, except perhaps parts of South City.

Awesome, that's exactly what I was looking for. I've put a lot of faith in Google Maps in the past, but I really appreciate hearing from local commuters/residents during this transition. I'm all for early commutes.

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

I-70 usually flows well outside of downtown. The CWE, downtown, and Soulard will all be about the same time. Clayton will be slightly closer, maybe by 5 or 10 minutes. Tower Grove will be 5 or 10 minutes further.

Also very helpful to know, I plan to drive my commute route during planned hours when I visit. From what I read elsewhere, the St. Louis commute is pretty mild compared to major cities.

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

When people refer to the Loop area, they usually mean the area south of Delmar, west of the Metro Red Line, and north of the Parkway. Within U. City proper, most would include the area north of Delmar, to Vernon or Olive Blvd. The area is generally considered safe, especially south of Delmar.

Thanks for all the great info. Glad to have an idea of where the Loop is now.

Originally Posted by KarenElissa

You might also check out the Skinker-DeBaliviere and DeBaliviere Place neighborhoods. They would be walking distance to Forest Park and all that has to offer and they are right in between the Loop and CWE. I live on the north edge and really like the area, particularly being close to Forest Park. And according to google, it would be about a 30 minute commute.

I plan to drive around these neighborhoods as well - from some other threads, my understanding is that the western side of Skinker-DeBaliviere tends to be students from WashU? I'll be sure to check them both out, then on around to Wydown/Skinker.

[Hector2]

Originally Posted by sprintingsloth16

...wanted to live close to/within St. Louis proper, were a young professional with a budget up to $1200 (although would ideally be paying around $900-1000) who values an urban neighborhood setting, safety, access to attractions like Forest Park (or parks in general), museums, and interesting restaurants over proximity to nightlife, where would you live?

I would check out Maplewood, DeMun, Central West End, eastern part of Richmond Heights, U City, maybe Dogtown.