Recommendations for good cities to live in

[Marksman84]

[quote=DinsdalePirahna;9748873]We looked at Clayton but I seemed like a bad Parody of the Snobs (Judge Smails) on Caddyshack. I'm originally from Newport Beach, and trust me, the people there are nowhere near the snobs that you see in Clayton.

we lucked out and bought a house in Lake Saint Louis. its about as nice as it gets. Since there are a lot of transplants like myself, the mindset is a bit more diverse and open to new ideas. Now if I could just avoid Interstate 70.

I still don't like Missouri in general, but living in LSL definitely lightens the suck.

On top of that LSL was just named as the 9th best place to live by Money Magazine (Best Places to Live 2009 - Top 100: City details: Lake St. Louis, MO - from MONEY Magazine)[/quote]

Happy that you like LSL. And please do us two favors - (1) Stay out there and (2) don't Californicate Missouri. We don't want to be dirty, clueless, bankrupt and morally void.

You moved from what in Newport Beach - a one-bedroom bungalow for $495K - to a nice home in LSL and you still knock Missouri? Whatever, dude.

[DinsdalePirahna]

My biggest gripe in this area is the blatant parochialism.

Its really hard to find work when you don't have a local high school pedigree. I had a decent interview today and all was going well. Then two things went horribly wrong. The first was that my portfolio contained a lot of collateral material from the West Coast (I'm an Art Director). The interview went sour when the interviewer deadpanned "Oh. California" then he asked where did I go to high school? What kind of question is that for an interview? (I'm beginning to answer "I graduated with Rick Horton" - which is true - rather than lie about some thing that I went through 30 years ago).

And I would be very careful in calling California Dirty, Clueless and Morally Void. Those traits cross all state boundaries.
You can't judge a place until you have actually lived there, and all I am saying is that this is not the place for me.

Trust me, I'm trying to leave. I'll was quite happy in a two room bungalow on the beach.

[SoStLouis]

We got whatever you're looking for really, we got it all.

A nice rural area, Bowling Green or Lincoln county.

A nice area in the heart of downtown would be Central West End, though it's a notoriously gay district, overpriced and pretentious. If you want all that minus the gay, move near Kingshighway and Forest Park.. lots of asians but not a bad thing.

St. Louis county is just like any other county and can be as close as 4-5 miles from metro. Maryland Heights has increasingly become a nicer and nicer place increasing in perks (free recycling and trash pick up among other perks). I know a lot of young couples buying their first houses in MH. There are always houses for sale here but they go quick, it's a really nice little pocket in STL, a nice suburb without all the excessive pretentiousness.

I'd say the best part of STL to live in is a part of the county that is just a nice modest middle class part of town, something you won't get crossing the river into St Charles, St. Peters, O'Fallon, Weldon Springs, which I'm sure many replies have recommended to move to.

Of course this answer depends greatly on your income. If you're rich theres always Wildwood, the Loop and similar areas.

[SoStLouis]

STL is the greatest place on the face of the earth. we aren't caught up in that east coast/west coast yuppie nonsense, we don't speak like some southern idiots, we aren't too liberal or too conservative. we have a beautiful nature scene, as well as a decent city. it's the perfect medium but i don't expect people to see that unless they've lived here long enough to realize that. been here all 21 years of my life and i wouldn't have it any other way

[MovinOn123]

Originally Posted by SoStLouis

We got whatever you're looking for really, we got it all.

A nice rural area, Bowling Green or Lincoln county.

Bowling Green has nothing to offer, and some of the new houses being built there are not up to good standards. I should know, because I made the mistake of moving there. Come to find out that there's no real building codes up there. That bit me in the butt when it came to selling the house and all this incorrectly built stuff came to light. Not only that, but the house didn't keep it's value (big surprise).

Anyway, for anyone who insists on moving to Bowling Green anyway, make sure you don't pay more than $80k for one of those newer looking ranch houses in the 1800 block of West Adams. You'll be sorry...

[sixtwobaldguy]

Anytime you buy a house you need to either know what you're looking at or hire a very thorough home inspection. He should check and make sure all the walls are properly insolutated, electrical standards are followed, the condition of the roof & floors, and for any foundation problems that are apparent or likely to occur. I also check for termites and carpenter ants in walls under old window sills and around the house especially if dead trees or mulch is present. I also pull up carpet enough to check for mold under it and I've found this more than once. I am not about to move into a house with those kind of problems. More than once a homeowner has stopped and I think I know why, they knew I was going to find something. Whatever the local standards are, if the building fails MY inspection they can keep the POS.

Why are people so obsessed with redneck, hosier, ghetto, and comparing themselves to every possible person they encounter? Chill out folks, you just need to be confident in yourself rather than trying to label everyone else in some way that puts them beneath you. I'm famous for explaining why I don't want to live near trashy areas, but I'll have a beer with anyone who is civil and respectful and I don't think I am better than someone else just because he or she talks ghetto or redneck or whatever the case may be.

[KYCAT23]

Originally Posted by SoStLouis

STL is the greatest place on the face of the earth. we aren't caught up in that east coast/west coast yuppie nonsense, we don't speak like some southern idiots, we aren't too liberal or too conservative. we have a beautiful nature scene, as well as a decent city. it's the perfect medium but i don't expect people to see that unless they've lived here long enough to realize that. been here all 21 years of my life and i wouldn't have it any other way

Why must people continually judge intelligence based on something as asinine as accent? Sure, we southerners have our fair share of "idiots" as described in the quote above, but I have found that this breed is endemic to the whole of the United States (for that matter the world) - including good old St. Louis. This one irony never ceases to amaze me - that the prejudice so often accused of a group of people is more often than not found to be fluorishing in the one making the accusation.

I was on this site researching if St. Louis might be a good relocation point for a seasoned professional. Now I am not so sure if my family and I would be accepted due to the fact that our southern drawls might predispose us to unwarranted social discrimination. Can someone please objectively tell me if outsiders, regardless of their place of origin, are generally accepted or shunned in the St. Louis area? Thank you in advance for your constructive comments.