Chesterfield, Wildwood, Eureka??? (St. Louis, Des Peres, Fenton: real estate, budget, travel)

[CREE-D]

My Family Is Moving To St. Louis And We Are Looking At Homes In The Three Cities Mentioned Above. We Are Looking For A Family Friendly Area With Lots Of Families. I Am Also Looking For A Pre-school Or Mom's Day Out Program For My 4.5 Year Old Son. I Would Also Like To Be Near A Grocery Store, Wal-mart, And Target (or Just Stores In General). My Husband Will Be Traveling To Downtown St. Louis, Up To Peoira, Il, And Down To Southern Illinois. Can You Give Me Some Feedback On These Areas? Thanks So Much.

[aragx6]

I'm not sure how often your husband will be commuting to Peoria and southern Illinois, but if it's fairly often, I can't think of worse places for you to live in the area than those you mentioned. Those locations offer fairly long commutes to downtown St. Louis as well.

Also, wondering how much you guys are looking to spend and what is most important in a house to you. Do you like new construction, or older-more established neighborhoods whose houses have some architectural detailing? How many bedrooms do you need? I think if you fill us in on some of these details we could help you a little better. There are many family-friendly areas in the St. Louis metro.

[breer23]

I'd have to agree with the fair moderator from IL...the Illinois side may be the way to go (Edwardsville, etc.). The trek to Peoria from downtown St. Louis is about 2.5 hours, and that's all interstate, not counting any traffic.

You might look a smaller towns in the surrounding area as well, especially if you don't have to travel into downtown STL all that often....might get more for your money.

[Inoxkeeper]

Check out Fenton near 44 on 141 over to 30. There are several nice subdivisions in most price ranges, great Rockwood schools, it's closer to DT Saint Louis, the JB bridge isn't too far away and as a bonus it's not Illinois.

[CREE-D]

I appreciate the comments. My husband will be traveling to Illinois about every other week. He will be in the St. Louis area the majority of the time. We are looking for a 4+ bedroom house and looking to spend b/t 400,000-500,000. We are coming from Fishers, IN and are sticker shocked!!!

[STLCardsBlues1989]

From my understanding, Chesterfield and Wildwood are some of the pricier areas in the city. Getting a 4BR for way under $400k is easily done in most areas of the metro.

The Illinois side makes sense. Houses are cheaper. Unfortunately, taxes are higher and gas generally costs more.

Just for example, searching realtor.com Edwardsville, IL has some nice 4 BR for under $200k.

If you wanted to live in Missouri, you could live in the city closer to downtown. You can still get a property for a great price. You'd need a private school, though. But what you save on property compared to Wildwood or Chesterfield might make up for it.

I just don't see Chesterfield or Wildwood making sense considering your husband's commute the prices of housing. There are also nice suburbs of St. Louis. I would prefer the city myself, but I'm younger and suburbs aren't so much my favorite kind of place.

This house is one of my favorite in the city. I know nothing of the area, though

Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate
Subdivision:</B> Fendlers
6 bedrooms
2 full baths, 0.0 half bathsApprox. Sq. Ft: 2582
Lot size: 0
Lot description:


It seems to be cheaper than the houses around it, but not drastically.
It's in South St. Louis between Carondelet Park and Bellerive Park (not Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis County) and St. Louis Altenheim.

But I don't know much about the neighborhood itself.

Anyway, in my cities and neighborhoods in the metro area, a 4 BR can be had for under $300k. Personally, I wouldn't bother to spend that much. The city schools are not good, but from my understand the private schools are just fine. So I'd rather get a cheaper house in the city and pay for private school than pay a lot for a Wildwood or Chesterfield house

[aragx6]

I guess I'm still not sure if you're looking for more of an inner-ring feel or outer-ring. The cities you mentioned are pretty far out there, much less dense, but still have lots of families and a decent number of shopping areas available in the area. Cars are king there, you won't see foot traffic.

I will say this: If you want a 4 bedroom house under 400k you won't be looking at newer houses in Chesterfield or Wildwood. Most will be at least 25 years old and as such, will probably have an older kitchen and older baths.
Here's an example: Single Family Home - 14029 Boxford Ct, Chesterfield, MO, 63017 - Realtor.com

Eureka is a whole different story. The schools are not as well-rated, though they are still considered very solid. The area has grown up more recently so your price range gets you a much bigger, newer house. Like this one: Single Family Home - 704 Grand View Ridge Ct, Eureka, MO, 63025 - Realtor.com

I would also look at Fenton as it would help with the hubby's commute, though I'd suggest trying to get something in the Rockwood school district part of Fenton; it's better than Fox SD (average, but not great schools) You should be able to get a good amount of house for your money there too. Like this one: Single Family Home - 2120 Avalon View Dr, Fenton, MO, 63026 - Realtor.com

As others have said, you may also want to consider living in one of the beautiful and historic city neighborhoods. There are many families in some of those areas (my favorites being Tower Grove South (also called Tower Grove Heights) and Holly Hills. Obviously the house will be smaller, but it will also have character that those big new houses in the far-flung suburbs really lack. You'll also need to figure in private schools in your budget, though there are many great magnet schools (filled by lottery) that your kids would have a good chance of getting into.

Here's an example of a home in Tower Grove that's far below your budget that's gorgeous and updated. Single Family Home - 3818 Connecticut St, St Louis, MO, 63116 - Realtor.com

You'd be only a short walk away from one of the most beautiful parks in St. Louis, the botanical gardens, and endless shops and eateries on Grand.

Just something to consider!

if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

[movingfromatlanta]

Relax, I moved to Wildwood last year and you can get a very nice 4 or 5 Bdr home in my neighborhood which is right off Hwy 109 for the price you mentioned. Drive a hard bargain, it is very much a buyer's market. Pay no attention to the Real Estate huckster trying to steer you into the crime infested city. My 3400 sf 4-5 Bdr 3 1/2 ba house, which is only 10 years old and needed no major repairs was purchased for less than $480,000 a year ago. You should be able to do better. Find a realtor who is going to fight hard to get you the lowest price.

[aragx6]

When did I ever say not to live out there? I'm hardly a "real estate huckster" (I'm not a realtor, nor do I live in St. Louis currently) but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at realtor.com and city-data's median home prices and come to some conclusions (The same conclusions it appear the OP has already come to given their mention of "sticker shock")

It's also important to note that much of the St. Louis area is not experiencing a buyer's market currently. Many of the most in-demand areas of St. Louis are still just that: in demand, and deals are much fewer and farther apart than in other metro areas. Homes in West County, when priced correctly, are selling faster than they can put the sign up in their front yard. In fact, close friends just moved into a rental in U City when their Des Peres home sold within 3 weeks.

When you have lived your whole life in St. Louis (or at least more than a year) you can make judgments about my knowledge of what are or are not family-friendly neighborhoods and suburbs, until then, please let the OP come to her own conclusions. She did, after all, ask for our help, not for the incoherent ramblings of a recent transplant.

[movingfromatlanta]

Originally Posted by aragx6

When did I ever say not to live out there? I'm hardly a "real estate huckster" (I'm not a realtor, nor do I live in St. Louis currently) but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at realtor.com and city-data's median home prices and come to some conclusions (The same conclusions it appear the OP has already come to given their mention of "sticker shock")

It's also important to note that much of the St. Louis area is not experiencing a buyer's market currently. Many of the most in-demand areas of St. Louis are still just that: in demand, and deals are much fewer and farther apart than in other metro areas. Homes in West County, when priced correctly, are selling faster than they can put the sign up in their front yard. In fact, close friends just moved into a rental in U City when their Des Peres home sold within 3 weeks.

When you have lived your whole life in St. Louis (or at least more than a year) you can make judgments about my knowledge of what are or are not family-friendly neighborhoods and suburbs, until then, please let the OP come to her own conclusions. She did, after all, ask for our help, not for the incoherent ramblings of a recent transplant.

Chill out dude. Unless you are posting under more than one ID, I was not talking about you.