Moving to St Louis Need advice! (St. Louis, Columbia: sales, car insurance, how much)

[Tiger Fan]

We are moving to St Louis from MI. I will be working in the Southern part of the city I-55 half way between I-270 and I-44 near Germania street. We have two kids (going into 5th grade and 9th grade) We are looking for an excellent school district and a strong sense of community (people get to know their neighbors, are involved with the schools, plenty of sporting activities, parks, etc. I currently drive 35 miles (50 minutes) and would like to shorten the commute-- but not at the expense of finding a very good community. We would like 2300-2800 sq ft house with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 bath. Price range is $300-350K.

Your help is Greatly Aprreciated!!

[Jeepin79]

I was in your shoes just under 1 year ago. I moved to St. Louis from Auburn Hills, MI. Unfortunately I was just back there recently and the economic situation there in MI has gotten even worse than when I left. My wife and I are very happy here. I do miss the MI summers though, but the more mild winter more than makes up for it.

I work in Fenton which is right near 44 and 270. We looked all over the southern area of the city and saw many very nice houses but were discouraged with the lot sizes. It just seemed like these nice big homes were oversized for the lots they were on. In MI we were lucky enough to back up to wooded acrage by the Great Lakes Crossing Mall. At the suggestion of a co-worker, we ended up looking just over the bridge in Columbia, IL. We fell in love.

Columbia is just south of the 255 freeway only 3 or 4 miles into IL. Its a more rural area and has a small town feel. There is definitely a good sense of community like you mentioned. The school district is also excellent. There are several new developments in Columbia in the price range that you are looking that will give you the square footage you are looking for, 3 car garage and 0.5 to 1.0 acre lot size. The best part is that the short commute you are looking for will not suffer.

The differences between living in IL and MO are pretty much this. The property taxes in IL are higher than MO, but in MO you have to pay a personal property tax on all of your cars, boats, toys, etc every year. Gas is more expensive in IL, but Columbia is so close to the border that this really isn't a factor. The sales tax in IL is slightly more, but again, you are so close to the border that it isn't a factor. This can work to your advantage too in buying delivered good like furniture. If you buy something in MO and have it delivered, a lot of places don't charge you sales tax at all (similar to buying something over the internet). Lastly the income taxes. I was shocked at how much cheaper it is in both IL and MO compared to MI. You will be happy. Car insurance is also much cheaper here because you don't have to have the 'no fault insurance'.

With that said, you should like it here. You will find that St. Louis is much smaller of a city than Detroit. I too used to commute up to an hour one way to work and then sometimes 1.5 hours home. Columbia is only 15 to 20 min from downtown and it only takes me 15 min to get to Fenton, where I work. If you have any questions for me, I'd be more than happy to try to help. It will be good to have another former MI resident around. Good luck.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

I've read a lot about Detroit. It's a shame about all of the decay and depopulation there. You'll find that in St. Louis (particularly North St. Louis), though on a smaller scale since it's a smaller city.

If I have your coordinates correct, it looks like Webster Groves, MO is about 15 minutes from your work (according to Google Maps). Mehlville, MO is about 10 minutes. Arnold, MO is about 15 minutes. Fenton, MO will be about 18 minutes. Crestwood, MO is about 15 minutes.

Columbia, IL will be just over 20 minutes.

The city is fine also, but public schools aren't very good, which I guess is the case in most major cities.

[Tiger Fan]

Thank you for the excellent advice. I will definitly check out Columbia, Ill. It sounds like an excellent community with many of the things we are looking for.

At this point I am so green to the search I would appreciate any advice on the area's that you found nice- but with lot sizes that were too small. I currently live in Grosse Pointe so I know all about postage stamp lots and have somewhat gotten used to them. Just looking for as many options as possible!!

Yes Detroit is continues to be set on hard times. There is not yet any end in sight either. I am expecting to have to sell my house for about 70% of what I could have gotten for just two or three years ago. Its a real shame.

Thanks again for your help and outstanding advice!!

[Jeepin79]

My wife and I looked at newer subdivisions in Arnold, Fenton, and also High Ridge. The Fenton area had probably the highest amount of big houses on small lots. I will put in a disclaimer that we concentrated our search on newer construction. Arnold was OK but the schools weren't as good. High Ridge was more rural, but some of the roads were almost trecherous with narrow lanes, steep hills and tight turns.

If you like Gross Pointe, you may want to check out Kirkwood. Kirkwood is a more historic suburb and very well kept. It has a great downtown area, but unfortunately it comes with a bigger price tag. There are a lot of older homes with a lot of character and lots of mature trees. Me being a car guy, I needed a bigger garage and the older homes just don't offer that very often. We're close enough that we can frequent the Kirkwood downtown for their restraunts and farmers market. Rush hour traffic on Lindbergh (the main road) can be time consuming as well. The lights are not timed well on the side streets as they were in MI.

There are a lot of nice suburbs out west of St Louis, but you're really going to rack up the commute time the further out there you move. Lots of people live in Chesterfield, which is very nice and then commute downtown. One of my neighbors works downtown and used to live in Chesterfield. He said he cut his commute by over half an hour by moving here. Its all relative though. Chesterfield has a ton of strip malls and stores for shopping.

Eureka is off of 44 west of the city as well, but again, you're with the grain of traffic adding to your commute. It is very nice out there too though.

I'm not terribly familiar with the suburbs inside of the 270 beltway. I believe Webster Groves is similar to Kirkwood in that it is older, historic and very nice, but pricey.

I hope this helps out a little more.

[CellarBelle]

Also check out Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. You can check my previous posts. If you like sporting activities for kids, this is a great area for it. I'd write more, but I have to get kids in bed. Check out my other posts to learn about the area.

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Thank you for the excellent advice. I will definitly check out Columbia, Ill. It sounds like an excellent community with many of the things we are looking for.

At this point I am so green to the search I would appreciate any advice on the area's that you found nice- but with lot sizes that were too small. I currently live in Grosse Pointe so I know all about postage stamp lots and have somewhat gotten used to them. Just looking for as many options as possible!!

Yes Detroit is continues to be set on hard times. There is not yet any end in sight either. I am expecting to have to sell my house for about 70% of what I could have gotten for just two or three years ago. Its a real shame.

Thanks again for your help and outstanding advice!!

[aragx6]

Tiger Fan,
What would help me is to hear a bit more about the community and house type you want. I'm not very familiar with Grosse Pointe, though I believe it's sort of an older area yes?

If you're looking for more of that "inner-ring" suburb feel with a walkable central downtown, older homes and tree-lined streets, I would definitely look at Kirkwood, Webster Groves, or Rock Hill (though Rock Hill's slightly more north near 40).

In your price range the houses may need a bit of updating to kitchens and baths, but this is also a very steady area, making it a very solid investment for your family.

Plus, the schools are great.

If you end up looking for more of the newer construction look, I'd go with Fenton (though preferably the part that feeds in Rockwood schools not Fox schools). Prices are good, and your commute would be easy. The area definitely feels more spread out and new, and has more strips malls and the like than older cities.


All just depends what you're really looking for. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

[Rocko79]

Kirkwood and Webster Groves, definitely. You will love these areas....beautiful homes, easy commute to the city, shopping....

[kirkwoodginger]

I agree with the Webster/Kirkwood recommendations. They have the old small town feel, excellent schools, highly involved parents and community, and great sports teams.

If you want to learn a little more about the area check out www.websterkirkwood.com.

[montereymadi2]

I'd recommend Saint Louis Hills. Great neighborhood and definitely in your price range. You'd need to put the kids in private school though.