looking for an area close St. Louis on 55 (Florissant, Arnold: for sale, real estate)

[mcarthurpark]

I am wanting to move close to, but not in St. Louis. I am trying to find a good place that is easy for me to visit family in various places in MO and I think this is it. But I want to know where is best. I was thinking about Imperial or the Festus/Crystal city area. I am wondering about how friendly the people are and what the schools are like mostly, because I got information about the housing market and unemployment rates already. I have 2 kids, one in elementary school, one in middle school.

[asearchforreason]

The far south side of the county down 55 and into Jefferson county is a white working-class area. The geography is quite hilly and might have been scenic at one point but most anything Imperial and north is overbuilt now. There are way too many run down strip malls which tends to take away from the asthetic.

My fiancée's family is from Arnold/Imperial. She grew up there and went to the Fox C-6 schools. Not sure if her experience is typical, but she hated it and was itching to get away for college. I don't think her school was very strong and did not offer nearly as many advanced courses as I had. The percentage of her class who went to 4 year college was quite small compared to mine. If schools are a top priority, I would consider some of the suburbs around the western part of 270 since they have stronger tax bases.

I don't know much about Festus besides visiting some of her family who lives there once or twice. It strikes me as much the same as Arnold, just farther from St. Louis and probably cheaper homes.

If you are interested in more land, there is still plenty of area around there that is not built up where you can have a nice forested lot and some privacy. However, it may be a bit of a windy drive to the nearest supermarket or mall.

[rachel_lucinda]

I agree with asearchforreason -- the farther south you get, the more run-down things tend to get. And, I don't think the schools are quite as good either. You will find that housing in Jefferson County is much more reasonable than in St. Louis County/City. It will have more of a small-town feel to it down there. Drop out rates are higher and not as many go onto college. I can't speak for Festus specifically though.

The one exception to that would be Fenton, in Jefferson County. I don't know if that is close enough to 55 for you... but lots of families are moving that direction because the housing prices are incredibly reasonable. You can get a lot more bang for your buck. Most of Fenton is in the Rockwood School District, which is an excellent school district. Geographically, Fenton is located near I-44 and 141. Lots of shopping close by and it doesn't take to long to get anywhere in St. Louis b/c you are close to 270.

[attychastain]

Hi! i just posted a thread asking the same thing. Let me know what you find out and we can share notes so to speak. Seems our interests are the same. I would love to consider Fenton but I need to be closer to I55 as I will be traveling to Chester, IL (my aging parents) quite a bit and need to make their drive to visit us as simple as possible. so let's keep in touch on your search and perhaps we can make the process more efficient. I have viewed about 30 homes all up and down the I55 corridor. My email is elizabethkayser@sbcglobal.net if you'd like to email me.

[storey13]

Not sure if this is too far for you, but you might want to consider Ste. Genevieve County which is just south of Jefferson County. I lived there for my first 18 years of my life in Bloomsdale, MO and I loved it. You are about 15 minutes from Festus for groceries and there is a shortcut road you can take off of Hwy 61 in St. Marys to get to Chester faster than going all the way to Perryville. The schools are decent and there is a low cost of living and lots of open land for your kids to experience what it is like growing up in the country.

[SashaBlue]

What is Florissant like?

[Bobster]

Hi there...I own a real estate and mortgage company in St. Louis and have two listings in Barnhart. Not to get too commercial here, but if you would like to drop me a line, I'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have about the area and available housing in that market.

Bob

[kallamaree]

I would like to find a place in the Festus area to rent. Can you help me there?? One bedroom is sufficient. Sure could use a furnished place, but it isn't neccessary. It doesn't matter if it is an apartment, trailer, house, garage.........whatever. I really would like for them to allow animals, though. I prefer the rent to be under 500.00 a month. Also, if you know how I can find places to search online would be great. I can't find an online newspaper for that area. Thanks for whatever help you can give me!!

[Northwoods Voyager]

Originally Posted by mcarthurpark

I am wanting to move close to, but not in St. Louis. I am trying to find a good place that is easy for me to visit family in various places in MO and I think this is it. But I want to know where is best. I was thinking about Imperial or the Festus/Crystal city area. I am wondering about how friendly the people are and what the schools are like mostly, because I got information about the housing market and unemployment rates already. I have 2 kids, one in elementary school, one in middle school.

Good luck to you in your serch. You might want to try: Realtor.com

Type in the information with your needs, etc. and get an idea about what is out there. I agree that the St. Genevieve area is pretty good. Also do a google search for the name of any community that you are interested in. Can find a lot of data that way also Lotsof statistics available if you do your research.

[midwestgrl]

for anyone interested i live in crystal city. festus and crystal city are called the twin cities. if you go into the food side of our super wal-mart you are going in the crystal city side, if you go into the mechindise side you are going in the festus side. just like every city there are some streets that you may want to stay away from. i personally live on a very quite street its inbetween the high school and elementry school. crystal city is a great city, you see people walking in the evenings all the time. my husband was a police officer here. if anyone is interested in more info just let me know. also if anyone is looking to buy a house our house is for sale. my husband got a new job and its relocating us to wisconsin.