Where to live...here are my options. (St. Louis, St. Charles: power lines, loan)

[Dragon Roll]

wow, thanks!! more good news..yay!!! it's nice to hear that there are lots of things to do for my kids - it's so important. And, I will definitely stick to the Rockwood school district. I am also so glad that the commute to the city is only about 20 minutes. I imagine there is lots to do and see there.

[aragx6]

OK a few ideas to think about:

In Fenton:
This is one of the few 5 beds you'll find on the Rockwood side in your price range and it looks very nice: Single Family Home - 18 Woodridge Trails Ct, Fenton, MO, 63026 - Realtor.com and the best part? It's literally 1.2 miles to your husband's work! Less than 5 minutes!!

Single Family Home - 1358 Green Birch Dr, Fenton, MO, 63026 - Realtor.com - 4 BR, 2.5 BA (It's a touch higher than you want to go, but I'm pretty sure it's over priced) in the Rockwood part of Fenton- Your husband would have a 10 minute drive to work, which I'm sure would be a relief!

Here's a 4/3.5 in Fenton that seems VERY well priced: Single Family Home - 1814 Smizer Mill Rd, Fenton, MO, 63026 - Realtor.com

[Dragon Roll]

wow (again, i keep saying that. lol) thank you thank you thank you...particularly my husband thanks you because now he won't have a long commute. I had no idea there was so much. Everything I read about this area (South County? - not sure I said that right) suggested that it was nothing, but, suburbia ...tracks and tracks of houses with very little to do. Clearly that is not the case, especially since it is so close to the city.

[alikat1205]

i think you will be able to find something. when we were looking fenton seemed to be much more reasonably priced than some other neighborhoods we looked at.

[alikat1205]

you will have to see for yourself. you need to drive around. it is close to the city and all built up. there is a superwalmart (important to me for grocery shopping!) at gravois bluffs in fenton. i drive to manchester to take my daughter to school and it is 10 mins away. the mall is 5 mins further. they have a pretty good freeway system here and fenton is near to several.

[Dragon Roll]

I really liked the Smizer property aragx6 showed me. It would be perfect. I hope we can find something like that (or maybe that will still be available!) once our house is sold.

We are going to have to take a trip out there to take a look at the neighborhood and the houses that are available at the time. I look forward to it.

[aragx6]

Yes that area is called South County - you said it right!

I think you'll like the area. As Alikat said you've just gotta see for yourself. It is certainly suburban, but in St. Louis, until you get way out there suburbia is more subdivision-y than tract-y.

Let's take for example the first house I listed and see what's nearby:
18 Woodridge Trails Ct.

You're less than 2.5 miles away from all three of the big grocery stores in St. Louis (Dierbergs being the nicest/priciest, Schnucks being the mid-range and Shop-N-Save being the discount bag-it-yourself type place)

And because of houw close you are to 44 and to 141, within 2 miles there's just about any chain fast food or sit down restaurant you could need a McDonalds, Culver's Burger King, Sonic, White Castle, Jack in the Box, Denny's Dominos, Cracker Barrel, etc. etc. etc. plus plenty of local guys too!

[stevio63]

i've lived in fenton 20 years and all 3 kids went to rockwood school...and yes...it is one of the best districts in metro st.louis...can't go wrong here...just make sure you are in st.louis county...not jefferson county....rockwood services only st.louis county residents...fenton is called city of parks...plenty of green and in your price range...interstate 44 going into the city is easy to get to the main attractions of st.louis and fenton does have a "rec center" but you have to live in the "city of fenton" to use it free....if you just live in fenton you have to pay a fee but i would say for a young family it would be worth it...most decent subdivisions in this area have their own rec center...mainly a pool and workout area...but you would hit a homerun living in fenton and working in fenton...that would be optimal.

[Dragon Roll]

I just looked at the real estate in the Rockwood/Rockwood Summit school district and it looks as if these homes are 275,000+ with many in the 300's. So, this school district is not an option. We are selling our current home for around 300,000 and we were hoping not to break even on this new move.

We saw one 4 bdrm house on Smizer street that was 224,000 (not sure why it was so inexpensive), but, I doubt this house will be an option when it is time to move.

*sigh* We saw a few really nice homes just across the way (other side of route 30) on Fond du lac Resevoir. Anyone know about those? Is Jefferson County or anywhere outside of the city of Fenton (or the Rockwood school district) worthy for us to consider?

If not, my next question will be, "Can anyone tell me about the private schools in the area?"

[alikat1205]

there are several private schools. st. paul in fenton, sacred heart in valley park and christ prince of peace in manchester. also, keep looking because i really think you could find something.