Most Interesting Suburb Not Named Clayton

[Fishtacos]

Besides, any old American made car in any condition is far better looking than any new import![/quote]

How about private jets? How do they look? That's what those American Car execs took to their D.C. hearings recently. That'll show em. Please give us billions, so we can take our private jets to our hearings.

Just don't tell that to all the American workers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama etc..and so on and so forth that make those "imports." And don't tell that to those Conservative Southern Republican politicians who are viva la import in their states so they get their $$.

Let's see, on one hand you have selfish, greed filled, not forward thinking or even current or recent past thinking American car execs running companies into the ground....

Then you have the American Auto workers and their Unions and their inability to take any responsibility for anything.

Then you have the non-union workers in America's South building those cars for foreign car makers. Those conservative southern politicians who seem to be all American all the time in many other areas, say, whoa wait a second, let them crumble up North and it's better for us and our $$.

The reality is America hasn't been able to make many "good" cars for a very long time, nor have those companies been able to remotely manage themselves effectively. They want money, and as wrong as that is, it's a necessary evil for the long term success of the American Auto industry. That's how pathetic it's gotten. However it needs to be with a cleaned house and tremendous restrictions and accountability. Being short-sighted and saying let the American Auto industry die, isn't an effective long-term solution to the problem.

Local car dealers amuse me by saying buy from us, we sell cars made in America. Then the response is well, foreign company cars are made in America too, the response is, well, their profits don't stay here, they go abroad. Then the response back to the car dealer is well, if you owned a car dealership that made better cars, I wouldn't have to buy a "foreign" car made in Alabama, but I have to look out for myself first, free country and all.

Repeat cycle.

[12GO]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Because it affects the value of your property. Trashy cars, big RVs and poorly cared for grass negatively impacts the price people will pay for your home.



Congratulations, that is the stupidest thing I've read today.

From a person from chicago, no wonder you have lost your sense of Freedom and the real meaning of personal property ownership. If you can't afford to buy out your neighbor you don't like, move or shut up. As for this fantasty it hurts home values, that's a stuck up attitude by extremely selfish people. It's always been funny to me that the ones who want to control their neighbors vehicles and grass usually don't have desent furniture in their house! No I don't want my neighbor to have weeds for a yard, but if they are trying, I'll help them out. Otherwise I wouldn't say anything to them as it is their property.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by 12GO

From a person from chicago, no wonder you have lost your sense of Freedom and the real meaning of personal property ownership. If you can't afford to buy out your neighbor you don't like, move or shut up. As for this fantasty it hurts home values, that's a stuck up attitude by extremely selfish people. It's always been funny to me that the ones who want to control their neighbors vehicles and grass usually don't have desent furniture in their house! No I don't want my neighbor to have weeds for a yard, but if they are trying, I'll help them out. Otherwise I wouldn't say anything to them as it is their property.

Then you are clearly better off in the boonies where you are now.

And just for the record? It's not a fantasy that it hurts property values. It's fact. Study up on your real estate a little better man and then we can talk.

[newmba]

So anyway....

I want to thank everyone for their responses to my questions; it has been helpful to keep an open my mind about south city and the inner ring of suburbs. In many of these areas it seems like there are some very affordable single-family homes (again, I'm looking in the $225K - $300K area) and we love the look of some of the older homes/neighborhoods.

One thing we're still wondering about is which of these neighborhoods are most 'walkable'.
We'd love to be in a place where we could safely walk to a park, a coffee shop, a non-chain restaurant, and so on. From a distance, it's hard for me to tell if living near central Maplewood, or South Hampton, or Holly Hills would be most desirable from that perspective (those are just example locations; feel free to suggest other areas of course). Any input is appreciated!

[anr_black]

Southampton is very walkable and if you drive through the neighborhood on a weekend, you'll see lots of people out and about. Depending on where you live in the neighborhood, there is Christy Park (with a small playground) on the east, Francis Park just across Hampton on the west, and Willmore Park to the south. Willmore Park also has a dog park established by the neighborhood association, which residents can join for a small fee.

The north-south road which splits the neighborhood is Macklind, where you'll find a deli, coffee shop/restaurant, green-goods store, running store, candle shop, Italian grocery store/lunch counter, a couple bars (one which is a bar/grill), and further south, Italian resturant, hair salon, laundrey mat, daycare, etc. We live here and love it.

[hhillstl]

Hi - new to the forum and new to st. louis! My wife and I recently bought a home in Holly Hills and love it. It is close to Carondelet Park, quiet, and it has been wonderful to stroll around on warm summer/fall evenings and see all of our neighbors. There is also a new rec. center currently being built on the edge of the park that should be finished sometime later this year.

All that being said, we have friends who live in South Hampton and I agree that it is great as well - in fact when it's warm I often jog from Holly Hills across Kingshighway and into the south hampton neighborhood - I've been here for 6 months but still love looking at the old homes! Also, as the previous poster said, there are a nice string of small businesses and restaurants along Macklind which is a great plus. I think you'd do fine in either neighborhood.

[aragx6]

A couple of resources I tend to use when determining the "walkability" of a neighborhood:

The first is Google maps. Just put in your address and look around with the street view. Search for the nearest restaurants, bars, grocery stores. Find out what parks are nearby and get on the Park district's web site. Look into the neighborhood association.

I also like walkscore.com. You type in the address in question and they'll come up with a "walk score" (100 being paradise) for the area. They determine how close the banks, schools, restaurants, parks etc. Very helpful tool.

Regardless, it sounds like you would be very happy in Tower Grove Heights. your price range would see you settled there nicely, you have the park and the botanical garden within an easy walk and the South Grand area has exactly the kind of indie restaurants you are looking for (no TGIFriday's LOL!)

[newmba]

Yes, a lot of my preliminary research has been with google maps. That walkscore.com site is a nice time saver in that regard - thanks!

Thank you all again for the suggested locations, and feel free to keep them coming if you have an opinion about walkable neighborhoods/suburbs!