need a town south of St. Louis for relocation (Friday, today)

[northbayeric]

I'm just trying to forecast what energy prices long-term are going to be like--probably not good at all any time soon. So if you, the OP and your wife are going to be working close to conventional 9 to 5 days, you might want to find a place about 2/3rds the distance from Bourbon to St. Louis that will be pretty rural but not so far from St. Louis that your wife gets sick of the long commute from closer to Bourbon only to hit heavy traffic toward the end of the morning commute. Plus heavier traffic at the beginning of the afternoon commute and dreading having to drive all the way out to Bourbon or Washington rather than closer to St. Louis.

I'm thinking Pacific, or possibly the western Eureka outskirts. Six Flags is on the northern side of I-44, so maybe somewhere south and a bit to the west of Six Flags, if there are any real estate opportunities in that area. The Rockwood School District, which covers all of Eureka and a good chunk of Fenton to the east, has a really good reputation, so if you're able to find a place that's by Rockwood's western or southwestern boundary, that might be a very good way to go. I don't know how good the schools in Pacific are. It'll be a while before Pacific gets built up in any way. Right now, once you get past Six Flags, it's pretty wide open along I-44.

Inoxkeeper's totally right; once you get past Hwy. 141 going on I-44 westbound, it's a nice, scenic area! I much prefer it to the very busy, flatter I-70 corridor along St. Charles County's eastern half.

[northbayeric]

Actually, another possibility might be along State Highway 30 around High Ridge or House Springs. I've been along it as recently as May 2006 from I-270 out to House Springs and Byrnes Mill, but no further west. Would anyone know how it is driving along Highway 30 out to St. Clair compared to I-44? Is it slower going along the two-lane section of 30 nearer St. Clair?

Jefferson County (which includes House Springs) property taxes are lower than in St. Louis County, but I don't know if they're comparable to Franklin County, where Pacific and Washington are located. In short, I would look at Pacific and maybe around House Springs along Highway 30.

[smithmi]

A little southeast town called Ellington? I did hours and hours of research on schools, people, crime etc etc. I finally moved from Utah to Ellington Mo. I have fallen in love with the people and my land. We need just a little bit of an adjustment with local law enforcement, but I am working on that.
BTW: your name "Rescue Brew" have you been in the rescue field?

[Inoxkeeper]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

Actually, another possibility might be along State Highway 30 around High Ridge or House Springs. I've been along it as recently as May 2006 from I-270 out to House Springs and Byrnes Mill, but no further west. Would anyone know how it is driving along Highway 30 out to St. Clair compared to I-44? Is it slower going along the two-lane section of 30 nearer St. Clair?

Jefferson County (which includes House Springs) property taxes are lower than in St. Louis County, but I don't know if they're comparable to Franklin County, where Pacific and Washington are located. In short, I would look at Pacific and maybe around House Springs along Highway 30.

Eric,
Hwy 30 is a cluster during rush hour...I would try to avoid it if possible.
Lot's of stoplights. Plus High Ridge, House Springs, etc aren't in Rockwood. I am very pro Rockwood since both my kids went there.

[kshe95girl]

what about some of the other towns in Jeff county? Kimmswick, Imperial, Herculaneum, just to name a few..... I would think that drive time would be minimal to STL..... I know when I was growing up in SG, I could get from there to South STL in just about 50 minutes...... yes, I drive like a bat out of hell.

[Inoxkeeper]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

what about some of the other towns in Jeff county? Kimmswick, Imperial, Herculaneum, just to name a few..... I would think that drive time would be minimal to STL..... I know when I was growing up in SG, I could get from there to South STL in just about 50 minutes...... yes, I drive like a bat out of hell.

You could do it faster today...55 is 4 lanes wide from Herky on into Saint Louis.

[northbayeric]

That part of I-55 does handle a large volume of traffic remarkably well, being 4 lanes each way. Good work too, Inoxkeeper, in letting us know about Hwy. 30! It does have a number of traffic lights going through Fenton and High Ridge. If it ever gets upgraded to freeway status, that would be many years away, I would think.

Looking at my map, there don't seem to be any highways except some lettered ones that go from the I-55 corridor over to I-44 around Sullivan. I think all of this might bring the OP back to the Eureka-Pacific area as a place to look. Any idea what the schools in Pacific are like, Inoxkeeper or anyone else? The school district would be a lot smaller than Rockwood, I would have to think.

[northbayeric]

Originally Posted by smithmi

A little southeast town called Ellington? I did hours and hours of research on schools, people, crime etc etc. I finally moved from Utah to Ellington Mo. I have fallen in love with the people and my land. We need just a little bit of an adjustment with local law enforcement, but I am working on that.

Ellington is way too far from St. Louis to try to commute there, but that part of SE MO is a lovely area scenery-wise. You're not far from Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, which will hopefully be fully restored later this year. Hope this all works out great for you with the regional law enforcement there in Reynolds County.

[aragx6]

Pacific's schools are about average. There's two elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school, so it's far smaller than Rockwood, and less well-rated, but by no means horrible. It's a more rural area, which can be either a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

[Inoxkeeper]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

That part of I-55 does handle a large volume of traffic remarkably well, being 4 lanes each way. Good work too, Inoxkeeper, in letting us know about Hwy. 30! It does have a number of traffic lights going through Fenton and High Ridge. If it ever gets upgraded to freeway status, that would be many years away, I would think.

Looking at my map, there don't seem to be any highways except some lettered ones that go from the I-55 corridor over to I-44 around Sullivan. I think all of this might bring the OP back to the Eureka-Pacific area as a place to look. Any idea what the schools in Pacific are like, Inoxkeeper or anyone else? The school district would be a lot smaller than Rockwood, I would have to think.

Eric, you can take M to MM from 55 to 30 at House Springs...and if you know the way it's easy to cut thru to Eureka. You come out on 109 at 44.

M is 4 lanes each way to 21 then 2 lanes to 30 and on to 44. It's twisty but moves pretty good. I wouldn't want to commute that on a daily basis though.