What is wrong with St.Charles County? (St. Louis, St. Charles: real estate, low crime)

[Nmlcal1204]

I am considering relocating from Louisiana to St.Charles County and every time I read about someone relocating to the StLouis area they never talk about St.Charles (St. Peters, Cottleville, Lake St.Louis area). I have only ever been to those parts and they look pretty nice/have nice housing options but why are they never brought up to those considering a move to the area? Being from out of town, is there something that locals know that others may not?

[Scottiegal]

My guess is when you get a bit further west of the city there are less amenities and culture things to do. We are looking to relocate as well. I like the city but the crime is keeping us focused on the suburbs. I would like to hear some opinions from the locals as well.

[billiken]

In the grand scheme of things, its not considered as desirable as West St Louis County. Schools, commute/distance from amenities, and the fact that it still feels a little like newly developed farmland (esp the further west parts of St Charles Cty) probably contribute. Anecdotally, it seems that a lot of the population boom is the result of white flight from North St Louis County over the last 20 years. I get frustrated with local policies related to the area--we've basically spent tons of money we can't afford to at the government level to bring highways, etc. out that way when the St Louis region as a whole does not have large population growth. We've funded everyone's flight to St Charles instead of improving what we have.

Still, I'd say most people who are into suburban living would place St Charles above South St Louis County, North St Louis County, and most of the Metro East.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by Nmlcal1204

I am considering relocating from Louisiana to St.Charles County and every time I read about someone relocating to the StLouis area they never talk about St.Charles (St. Peters, Cottleville, Lake St.Louis area). I have only ever been to those parts and they look pretty nice/have nice housing options but why are they never brought up to those considering a move to the area? Being from out of town, is there something that locals know that others may not?

It has been the fastest or among the fastest growing county in the St. Louis area for many decades now. The primary knock against it is from urban high density advocates who consider it the poster child for sprawl because it is all subdivisions and strip malls. Families in particular seem drawn to the area for the relatively reasonable housing costs, good public school options and reputation for low crime.

Another consideration is where you are working. It can be a long commute if you are working downtown, for example.

[Hector2]

I don't know why you don't hear much about St. Charles County on this forum. Maybe it's the type of questions that have been asked (e.g. if a poster asks for a walkable place to live, you won't get St. Charles as an answer--New Town excepted) or the bias of the people who tend to answer such questions here.

St. Charles is a perfectly fine, safe place to raise a family. It has a nice little main street area. It's affordable. But outside of the main street area, it feels like a suburb that could be almost anywhere--same chains and big box stores. For some that's a big negative. Others could care less. St Charles also has a reputation of being politically and culturally conservative--again, whether that's a plus or minus is up to you. Finally, if you read about the school transfer saga that occurred two or so years ago and the debate over Metrolink expansion a decade or two ago, you will note a certain amount of implicit racism in some of the citizen's comments. Of course, I'm not calling all St. Charles residents racist, that would be stupid. But that was the distinct undertone in quite a few comments.

[FrankMiller]

It's like cheese pizza. It's omnipresent and bland, and even people who like it aren't going to bust into the room shouting "Oh my God I went to a new pizzeria and they had this thing called a 'cheese pizza' that you just have to try!"

St. Charles County suburbs are fine, they're nice cul de sacs with nice new strip malls that will all be half-vacated in 20 years when the bloom is off the rose, and someone builds newer cul de sacs next to fresher strip malls. Like Crestwood before it, like North County before that, time is a circle, etc.

[Scottiegal]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

It has been the fastest or among the fastest growing county in the St. Louis area for many decades now. The primary knock against it is from urban high density advocates who consider it the poster child for sprawl because it is all subdivisions and strip malls. Families in particular seem drawn to the area for the relatively reasonable housing costs, good public school options and reputation for low crime.

Another consideration is where you are working. It can be a long commute if you are working downtown, for example.

Can you define long commute please?

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by Scottiegal

Can you define long commute please?

Well, someone who does the the drive regularly hopefully can chime in, but when traffic is bad during rush hour I think it can take 45 minutes or more from downtown to parts of St. Charles County.

That's bad for St. Louis standards, probably not by other standards.

[Scottiegal]

That is long for St. Louis....

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by FrankMiller

It's like cheese pizza. It's omnipresent and bland, and even people who like it aren't going to bust into the room shouting "Oh my God I went to a new pizzeria and they had this thing called a 'cheese pizza' that you just have to try!"

St. Charles County suburbs are fine, they're nice cul de sacs with nice new strip malls that will all be half-vacated in 20 years when the bloom is off the rose, and someone builds newer cul de sacs next to fresher strip malls. Like Crestwood before it, like North County before that, time is a circle, etc.

Crestwood now has some of the hottest real estate in the area because young families want to be in the Lindbergh School district, so that's probably a bad example.