Relocating to stl from Chicago (St. Louis, St. Charles: apartments, to rent, waterpark)

[strussell]

My husband has accepted a job in Creve Ceour. We have two kids and would like an area with good public schools and with some walkability. Looking at 3-4 bedrooms home for $400k. Are kirkwood and webster the best options? Maplewood seems cool but the schools don't look great. Thanks for any advice.

[RisingAurvandil]

400k should easily be enough to find a place in Kirkwood or Webster, which are likely the best options.

Clayton is the rockstar in terms of walkability and schools, but it's exclusive. You might be able to find a place there, but you'd need to get lucky. And be careful, school districts don't always match their namesake city, Clayton being a good example. For instance, Richmond Heights is very walkable, but is divided between Clayton and Maplewood schools.

There are other decent places that meet your criteria, but the drive to Creve Coeur would be excessive.

[zach_33]

I made the same move 14+ years ago. What area of Chicago are you moving from and what do you like/dislike about it? Walkable and good public schools is tough in St. Louis imo. Kirkwood and Webster Groves fit the bill but only if you are within walking distance of their shopping/entertainment areas - otherwise you might as well live in Creve Couer or Chesterfield. Clayton would be awesome but with a 400k budget you'd be lucky to find a smallish 3 bedroom condo that didn't turn you off in many ways.

[Fishtacos]

Several locals here are familiar with Chicago so listing where you live there and where you like/dislike there would help them/us help you.

Nevermind, I looked it up and it appears you are coming from Lakeview in Chicago. (It also stated you were moving to Philadelphia. Did that fall through?)

You won't be able to duplicate Lakeview living. (I lived near the brown line stop, Wellington, near Panes Bread Cafe and the hospital for reference)

Inner rung suburbs as mentioned Maplewood,(an old friend of mine is principal of the high school, nice guy if you have questions there) Clayton (highly regarded schools walkable, central location, will probably be mentioned most based on your criteria etc but expensive) University City.....Brentwood is close to there with good schools....slightly farther out but not too far with some walkability and good schools, Webster Groves, Kirkwood....some city living you may consider would be Central West End area. Creve Coeur itself has good schools, is a nice area not as walkable.

[gypsyjudy]

I don't think you will get a lot for your money in Kirkwood or Webster Groves. Unfortunately, that is not a lot of money for those areas. Of course, it depends on what you are looking for, too.

I prefer Webster over Kirkwood, as I think Kirkwood has been overdeveloped with big box stores over the last 15 years. The walkability in those areas are ok.

I live in Maplewood and highly recommend it. I homeschool 3 kids, so I am not terribly familiar with the schools. I do know an attorney in Maplewood that loves the schools (high school). I also know of two families that just moved to the area (living in apartments because they can't find a house) to put their kids in the schools. One of the families left Webster for the Maplewood schools. So, that is my limited knowledge of the schools.

The area is great, so don't rule it out. Incredible walkability and convenient to everything. That is why we chose it. A lot of parks, familiy activites/festivals/concerts, a farmer's market (right across from my house), great restaurants, etc. (Oh, and the swimming pool/waterpark is great). Anyway, don't rule it out.

I know a house a few streets back from mine that is being renovated inside and out. Very cute. Looks to be at least a 3/2. Not sure when it will be done, but they have the inside framing up. I'll give you the street if you are interested and you can let your realtor know. My husband works from home, and we will be relocating sometime early next year (though we can leave anytime we want). We have our house on Zillow Make Me Move. 4/2.5 in your price range. I am not trying to be shameless and market my house because, frankly, we are in no hurry to go (but can anytime). The housing market is just truly insane here.

I saw a great new listing in Webster the other day, but, unfortunately, it was closer to $500,000. (Sorry, I love watching the listings/sales). Oh, and Brentwood is also a great area, but, again, very pricey. Good schools, however.

The weather is milder, so that is a positive. (We lived in Madison, WI for 13 years, so I know how much colder it can get there). Anyway, best of luck to you and your family. Hope you love it here!

[STL74]

Great School districts with some walkable areas

Clayton
Brentwood
Kirkwood
Webster

I don't know if I'd write off Maplewood as I think the schools are probably on the upswing as the neighborhood has changed quite a bit over time. You'll definitely get more house for your money there.

Creve Coeur itself has great schools (Ladue or Parkway) and is one of the more diverse (and quickly becoming more so) areas of St. Louis. It's definitely more suburban and car driven, but less cookie cutter than other suburbs.

[Hector2]

If you are really going to prioritize walkability then I wouldn't completely disregard the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District at your price. There are pockets of Maplewood within walkable range of Manchester between Belleview and Big Bend and Sutton that are very walkable. The elementary school has seen an uptick in scores and reputation as has the middle school. There is certainly a dedicated group of people looking to improve the district even more and property taxes in Maplewood/RH have gone up twice in the last several years to support that.

Clayton meets all of your criteria except for price. $400,000 won't go very far at all. The same is true for the walkable areas of Webster and Kirkwood and Glendale although you might have an outside chance at something (but it won't be great). Otherwise, unless you're willing to deal with the STL City public school system/private schools, you're pretty much priced out of walkability. Not happy to write that.

Your other best shots at good schools close to Creve Coeur for around $400K will be Creve Coeur itself, southwestern part of Des Peres, Manchester, Ballwin, and maybe Brentwood.

[strussell]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

Several locals here are familiar with Chicago so listing where you live there and where you like/dislike there would help them/us help you.

Nevermind, I looked it up and it appears you are coming from Lakeview in Chicago. (It also stated you were moving to Philadelphia. Did that fall through?)

You won't be able to duplicate Lakeview living. (I lived near the brown line stop, Wellington, near Panes Bread Cafe and the hospital for reference)

Yes, we thought we were going to end up in Philly but now it's St. Louis. You're correct. We live in Lakeview, have always lived on the North side, in Lakeview or Lincoln Park.


You mentioned U City but the schools there are not good, right? We don't want to deal with private schools anymore. We just want to live in a community that has good schools but really want that walkability. Is Brentwood also a walkable area? Thanks everyone for your input so far!

[billiken]

I previously had a comment about city + private schools, then saw your last post about not being interested in private schools so I deleted.

I'll also throw out Main St. St. Charles, and New Town in St Charles because they haven't been mentioned. Main St. St Charles always struck me as more of a destination spot or touristy than neighborhoodly, but perhaps worth thinking about. New Town St Charles is basically a "new urbanism" project. Downsides: its basically its own little community plopped in the middle of nowhere (or at least it felt that way 4 years ago...which is admittedly the last time I was out there) and I believe historically there's been flooding issues in that area. But some people really love it.

Brentwood is kind of odd. Its technically walkable, but isn't built up "right" IMO. Older homes, so its got that block set up, and lots of retail...but it's pretty much all along Brentwood Blvd/big box shopping/not set up to be particularly pedestrian friendly, though you certainly could walk. IMO, Brentwood/Richmond Heights is urban planning gone wrong, where things could've been set up to be great, and instead it just looks generic.

[Hector2]

Originally Posted by strussell

Yes, we thought we were going to end up in Philly but now it's St. Louis. You're correct. We live in Lakeview, have always lived on the North side, in Lakeview or Lincoln Park.


You mentioned U City but the schools there are not good, right? We don't want to deal with private schools anymore. We just want to live in a community that has good schools but really want that walkability. Is Brentwood also a walkable area? Thanks everyone for your input so far!

One of the U City elementary schools, Flynn Park, is good, actually better than good. But after elementary school performance and reputation suffers.

Brentwood is not walkable by my definition, except in the sense that on the west side of the city you could walk to Tilles Park (a nice County park). But Brentwood is centrally located.