Visiting St. Charles--Preparing to Move (St. Louis, St. Peters: for sale, condominium, how much)

[photobuff42]

I will be making my second visit to St. Charles soon to seriously explore the community and begin looking for a new home now that I have accepted an offer of employment there. Does any one have any recommendations of good hotels, places I should visit to get a good feel for the community, restaurants, etc? Are their any neighborhoods that should be on the definitely avoid list or can't miss list? I am thinking about purchasing a villa or a condominium but haven't ruled out a traditional house. I have read a lot about New Town but are there others I should see? I'm a single professional and I know St. Charles has a great reputation for family living but I want to live there to minimize my commute. I have two days and want to make the best use of my time. Thanks in advance!

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Personally, as a single I would recommend the city rather than St. Charles.

But St. Charles is a nice area as well. Are you looking for things to do in St. Charles, the city, or just the metro in general?

[photobuff42]

On this visit, I would really like to explore St. Charles. I know St. Louis really has great things to offer--sports, night life, the zoo--but I'd like to save them for when I am actually living in the area.

[Brickmama]

If you are a single professional I would recommend living closer to or in the City. Has much more to offer for someone in your current status.

[WalnutPark829]

i believe the OP said they are getting a job in st. charles. i really see no problem living there, if thats where your going to work. but i agree if your young and single and looking for fun things to do, downtown is where it is at. but if you want to minimize your commute, st. charles might be what you want.

[photobuff42]

I'd really like to know what is available in St. Charles. I'm tired of commuting twelve miles to a job where I travel around all day, then drive twelve miles back, especially with rising fuel costs.

[photobuff42]

Yes!! And I am 42, old enough to know my mind, but young enough to drive in to St. Louis for dates and other fun. Besides, shorter daily commutes are greener and I get more time for the beauty sleep that forty something singles need.

[aragx6]

You'll definitely want to explore Main Street St. Charles. There are lots of cute antique and craft stores as well as nice indie restaurants (they're few and far between in much of St. Charles county) Lewis and Clark's and Trailhead on Main Street are owned by the same person and are both pretty good. Trailhead is a microbrewery and has great beer, but a smaller menu, Lewis and Clark's is more a traditonal restaurant. R.T. Weiler's and their one-pound burger are popular there as well. When the weather is nicer there are lots of people out and about and plenty of festivals down there, but you might be a little early for that if you're visiting soon.

As far as hotels go, there are plenty of the typical options, any of them would suit you fine. If you wanted something a little more local you could look into some of the B&Bs in downtown St. Charles.

The Rec-plex is a great indoor complex with pools, ice skating, basketball courts and such in St. Peters that is well liked by members of the community.

When I was home in the area over Christmas my mom took me out to see New Town and I was not impressed. There is only one little road to get out there and goes through some of the not-so-nice light industrial area with lots of warehouses and such. The town itself looks like a movie set. The homes look very fake and don't at all fit with the local architecture. It was a beautiful December Saturday, and no one was outside at all. Most of the commercial areas have yet to fill in, and you are miles from any other retail development. It's very overpriced.

How much are you looking to spend on living? If I knew that I could make suggestions for areas that would work for you.

I grew up in St. Peters and was happy as a child, but as a young professional couldn't bear to live there again.

There's very little backwards commute from the city core, so if you can handle a 30-40 minute commute, I'd definitely consider other areas.

[aragx6]

I just saw your new post- so ignore the attempts to get you to live elsewhere.

[photobuff42]

I'm thinking the high end will be around 250K. Houses for sale here in my neighborhood are priced between 205-215K. Even if it goes between 180-200, I'll make a nice profit. I figure with my house sale and my new salary between 200-250 will be about right.