Moving from Columbus, OH to St. Louis, MO (St. Charles, Webster Groves: real estate, to rent)

[chicagoerin]

The commute times are one of the biggest down sides of moving from Columbus to St. Louis. In Columbus if someone drives over 20 minutes it's considered a long commute. In St. Louis it's not uncommon to drive 45+ min. The traffic in St. Louis is just as bad as Chicago where I lived before here. It has gotten so much worse over the past few years.

[aragx6]

I wonder if we lived in the same Chicago sometimes! LOL

Traffic is about a zillion times worse here! Only 270 southbound has anything near what every tollway and expressway is like in Chicago.

Also: The average commute time in the St. Louis metro is less than 22 minutes - less than the national average! (Metro area's commute time shorter than national average - St. Louis Business Journal:)

Chicago's? The 2nd worst in the country (after NY) at 33 minutes! (Chicagoist: Chicago Has The 2nd Longest Commute In The Country)

That's a huge difference!

[aragx6]

Also Columbus' is listed at 19.8 (MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Columbus, OH snapshot) which isn't all that different than St. Louis'

Why someone would knowingly move 35 miles from the arch and then complain about commute times is beyond me anyway. I grew up in St. Peters, but my mom was a teacher, so she worked only 5 miles away. Unless your budget is particularly low and/or your tolerance for diversity is low, it'd be hard to recommend St. Charles county for someone who has to be downtown every morning.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

It's because of the .00004% chance of being shot in the city, compared to the .00003% chance of being shot in a suburb.

And private schools are expensive, but so is gas.

[Mr. Answers]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Also Columbus' is listed at 19.8 (MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Columbus, OH snapshot) which isn't all that different than St. Louis'

Why someone would knowingly move 35 miles from the arch and then complain about commute times is beyond me anyway. I grew up in St. Peters, but my mom was a teacher, so she worked only 5 miles away. Unless your budget is particularly low and/or your tolerance for diversity is low, it'd be hard to recommend St. Charles county for someone who has to be downtown every morning.

Oh please. I love the suburb-haters from St. Louis. You guys really ought to relax and let people love the suburbs (as most St. Louisans do). My commute from Chesterfield, btw, is not 45 minutes. When it snows, it's 45 minutes. Otherwise, it's 25-30. And once Highway 40 gets opened back up, it'll be 20 minutes to downtown. Chesterfield is a perfect place to be.

[STL Aviator]

Well you'll have to forgive those of us who don't like the overpriced, sprawltastic flood plains of Chesterfield.

[aragx6]

I grew up in the suburbs... I'm allowed to hate them.

And I'm not saying they don't make sense for some people (I think I was very clear about that)

And seriously 20 minutes? Maybe if you live on the highway (which most people in Chesterfield don't)... if it's the greatest place in the world why the need to exaggerate so obviously?

[Mr. Answers]

Originally Posted by STL Aviator

Well you'll have to forgive those of us who don't like the overpriced, sprawltastic flood plains of Chesterfield.

You're forgiven.

Oh...and I live close to Olive and 64. Hence the short commute. Though, I'm sure those living along Clarkson get along just fine, too. Most of West County is conveniently located along either 44 or 64 as well as major arterials like Olive and Manchester. I've found St. Louis to be one of the least congested and easy-to-get-around cities in the country--and that's WITH Highway 40 shut down.

If people want to live in the city, more power to 'em. But those who choose West County are making a very good choice no matter what the suburb haters say.

[chicagoerin]

Sorry, but I am confused. Someone referenced St. Louis and Columbus being similar on Money Mags "Best Places" List? It looks like Columbus is in the top 10 big cities and St. Louis did not make the top 100? What am I missing here..?

[aragx6]

No one even mentioned Money Mag's top 100 list so I'm not sure what you're talking about.

One of the references I used when discussing commute times was the list, and as such I posted the link.

Also, from what I can ascertain, Money mag has not ranked the top "Big Cities" since 2006... they appear to have not done it in 2008. if this is incorrect, I'd love to hear it.

OK quick programming note: Money Mag's numbered list of small cities ONLY includes cities with less than 300,000 residents, therefore St. Louis is not eligible.

However, they include a list on their Web site of all the places they would include- including larger cities, and St. Louis is clearly on it. In fact, counting St. Louis and its suburbs there are 23 on the list!

How many does Columbus have? I'm not sure, because I don't know the name of all of the suburbs, but I'd love for someone who does know them to look at this list of all of them in Ohio: Best places to live 2008 - States: Ohio - from MONEY Magazine
and let me know which ones are suburbs of Columbus.