lifetime New Yorker seeks Refuge! (St. Louis, Mexico: apartment, rental, homes)

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

St. Louis has an image problem. It does a terrible job with marketing and PR. Always has had that problem. That would help it become at least more of a regional destination city.

And many St. Louisans have a self esteem problem when comparing it to other places. That's the point. You accept it for what it is...and take its best attributes and build upon them. Outsiders often see this much more quickly than locals in STL.

There is this mentality that well St. Louisans can rip on St. Louis and no one else. And St. Louisans have a love/hate relationship with the city.

Well said - and part of that problem is we are in the shadow of the Windy City, and all that grand place has to offer. I understand and agree w/ your statements, but, keep in mind that those that do live here, and love this wonderful city for what she is, are also then at times some of the most vocal critics, as desire is high to improve not just its reputation but its infrastructure, living conditions, etc.

Me, one of my biggest rips is the downtown - I would love, absolutely love, to be able to walk and enjoy all that is there to offer, from the historic Landing, the grounds of the Arch, to the stadium, the Old Cathedral, Union Station, the Old Post Office, etc. and then back to relax along the banks of the muddy old man river - yet, the place is cursed with that convoluted spaghetti mix of interstates/highways that makes it difficult at best to walk in this total area with much pleasure.

Granted, StL is blessed/cursed being along this river - other cities have done wonders of their waterfronts, but seems that here, and maybe its due to the massive amount of low to high water levels that the Mississippi River experiences, but just seems that StL has not been very successful as others incorporating the river into the city. Would love more green areas, places to feel welcome, relaxing, being next to that awesome unyielding power of the flowing stream, but yet still be in the shadows of the cities historic and modern structures, and all that they have to offer.

Ok,,, sorry,,, Getting more than just a tad off track here, semi-hijacking this thread. Durn that glass of mead...

[Strawberrygirl]

Wow! I want to thank everyone for all your help. If this is a small showing of how St. Louisans are then it will be greater then I hoped for. And yes, perhaps I can be of some help as to why I am attracted to St. Louis without just saying all the negative about NYC. Believe me I Love NYC, and in all of my travels I have never been anywhere quite like it. With that being said, St. Louis to me has a unique character of its own that intrigues me and yes as someone said earlier, it is to me like an undiscovered diamond. That's why I am not interested in Chicago, NC, Cali, Tx, Fla, etc... They all seem to lack the character I am searching for. I like that the city hasn't been torn down and built up in a modern way. I love the historic buildings that have been restored. I know this is not all of St louis but at least it exists in certain areas and is concentrated enough to make you notice. The only place I can think of that could compare would be the west village in Manhattan and that's really it. Besides life is meant to be a series of adventures, right? I think I might love the city because this is where I was born but I travel and find that I am most happiest when I am strolling through a town of cobblestone streets and enjoying the diversity of cultures, art, music and food. Life doesn't get much better then that! For me anyway...

[STLCardsBlues1989]

A house in the Central West End or Lafayette sounds nice from a neighborhood standpoint.

But there are some lofts in great old buildings downtown.

[jasontoon]

Good luck and I hope you enjoy St. Louis. If I may, I wanted to slip a plug in here for my neighborhood, Tower Grove South. It's on the south side of Tower Grove Park, whereas Shaw is on the north side of the park. I've lived in both neighborhoods, and I have to say I'll take TGS over Shaw every time.

The areas are similar in terms of architecture, and proximity to the great Tower Grove Park. The main advantage is, TGS is ajdacent to the South Grand strip, with some of my favorite restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and shops in the metro area, plus essential services like a post office, library, dry cleaners, hair stylists, copy store, video store, natural food store, international grocery, etc. I can walk out my door and be at any of these places within ten minutes, on foot. Shaw has its good points, but it's much further away from all of this. And, maybe this is just me, but walking around Shaw feels a little sketchier to me.

Not to diss any other neighborhood, but Tower Grove South is an absolutely fantastic place to live. I love pretty much everything about it, including my neighbors (several professors and an NPR reporter live on my block). In your price range, you should be able to find a pretty great house. And no, I'm not a realtor or trying to sell a house!

For more about Tower Grove South and my specific corner of it, Tower Grove Heights:
Tower Grove South | An active and vibrant neighborhood on St. Louis' near south side
Index
TGHNA: WELCOME TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

Best of luck, wherever you wind up!

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Tower Grove South is an excellent suggestion as well.

There are a lot of great neighborhoods in St. Louis, so you have a large selection.

If you are interested in downtown check out Downtown St. Louis Partnership - Home There's a downtown guides there. There's also a newsletter there. You can just search around a bit. Currently there are over 50 loft developments in downtown listing prices. It's somewhere on that site, but I forgot where. It's on a PDF file (Adobe Reader).
Some that may work for $250k: Adler Lofts, the Alexa (Chemical Building), The Arcade (not done yet), Ballpark Lofts at Cupples Station, Bankers Lofts, Blu City Spaces (2 BR are $150k), The Bogen, Denim Lofts, Dorsa Lofts, Dorsa Lofts, Ely Walker Lofts, Garment Row Lofts, Leather Trades Lofts, Lofts @ City Museum, Lucas Lofts, The Meridian, Motor Lofts, Packard Lofts, Park Pacific, Skyhouse (won't be ready for a long time), The Ventana, and Westgate Lofts.

Once you start looking for a house, Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate may be a good place to browse, but I've never bought a house from them. There's a wide variety of houses, so it would be best to search withing $25k intervals ($225-$250k for example).

[aragx6]

So i feel in love with a new house- someone should buy it and let me come visit you: Single Family Home - 3881 Mcdonald Ave, St Louis, MO, 63116 - Realtor.com

[Bobster]

Moderator cut: real estate agent advertising and or soliciting is not allowed in the forums

I'm also still looking for folks to contribute to my "Stories From Mound City" feature.

[st. louie louie]

What sort of "stories" are you looking for??

[Strawberrygirl]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the info you gave me. Thanks to all of you I found all of the neighborhoods that were suggested to be everything I was looking for but for different reasons of course. I spent the last weekend in St louis and loved it! I think the place I loved most was the CWE. I was able to view some great properties and will probably settle on something soon. Thanks again!

[aragx6]

Fabulous! I'm glad we could help. So I guess your kid leaves for school in the fall- when are you looking to move?