Most Interesting Suburb Not Named Clayton (St. Louis, St. Charles: low crime, house, safest area)

[newmba]

Greetings. I want to thank all the regular posters here who help St. Louis newcomers like myself - I've learned a lot from reading past posts in this forum.

My wife and I (just us; no children in the near future) are moving from a suburb of NYC to St. Louis and are looking for a single-family house in a community that offers some culture and entertainment. It seems like young couples are often directed to areas within the city (such as CWE) or Clayton. We probably can't afford a home in Clayton and don't want to live in the city, so does anyone have any suggestions for other suburbs or small cities in the area that we should be looking at? Which communities offer interesting restaurants or theatres or other things to do? Are we better off simply planning on living in a completely residential area and commuting into the city for our evenings out?

I'll be working downtown but am used to a long commute, so I'm open to learning about any community in the area. Thanks in advance for your ideas and opinions!

[AJohnston_STL]

What's the beef with living in the city?

Any way, Clayton is not in the city. It is a suburb, nice, high class.

[newmba]

Sorry I wasn't clear. I know Clayton isn't in the city - we simply cannot afford to buy a home there (yet)

[sjp1]

I think downtown Kirkwood should provide what you are looking for.

[TGS]

Why not consider the city? The main reason people don't want to live in the city is crime, schools, and taxes. If pick a good neighborhood (low crime), you don't have kids (no school expenses) and you are already working downtown (and paying city taxes), then South St. Louis sounds perfect if you want to be close to culture and restaurants. Most of South St. Louis is single family residential homes. Check out St. Louis Hills and Southampton. You will be in the some of the safest areas in the entire metropolitan area, can walk to coffee shops and restaurants, and be ten minutes away from Forest Park, museums, theaters, etc.

Kirkwood and Webster Groves are pretty nice, but you will pay a premium to live there. Not as much as Clayton, but pretty darn close. If you are serious about not minding a long commute, then check out downtown St. Charles or Edwardsville, Illinois. Both have very cute downtowns and are reasonably priced.

[ajf131]

Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Chesterfield, and Creve Coeur are all nice. Ladue is nice too but even more expensive than Clayton.

[aragx6]

If you won't consider the city at all look at Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Florissant, University City or Richmond Heights.

But make sure you check out plenty of city neighborhoods first -- you'll probably find them safer and less dense than you are imagining. Look at Dogtown, Tower Grove Heights, Holly Hills, Soulard even.

If you tell us specifically a little more about your budget and desires we can probably offer more guidance.

[Fishtacos]

Other people have already answered this for the original poster. Everyone's first advice for what you are seeking is the city itself, considering you have no kids. Most people would tell you that many of the city public schools are not strong, like many other urban areas Nationally. However, there are many safe, interesting neighborhoods in and near all of the other things you seek.

The city of St. Louis is not as densely populated as some other cities and urban areas if that is your question other than safety, and quality of home and neighborhood.

With that said there are many other burbs to live in that are near the things you need and seek, if you are seeking a suburban lifestyle. You can get to anywhere in St. Louis metro from somewhere else within 40 or 30 minutes or often times much less.

Clayton is often recommended for its central location, proximity to the city and burbs, amentities, and upper middle class low crime lifestyle. It isn't the only place to live happily in St. Louis. As other have pointed out, there are many other urban and suburban choices, and if that isn't enough there are outer rung burbs and small town outskirts as well.

[newmba]

This is very helpful - thank you all.

Kirkwood and Webster Groves seem like exactly what I'm looking for in many ways, though TGS is correct that there is a premium to buy a home in either community.

I assumed the city would be too dense to find an affordable home with a backyard, etc. in a good neighborhood, but I seem to be wrong about that. I just looked into the Holly Hills area, for example. We're just looking for a nice smaller home under $300,000 and that might be possible in some of these neighborhoods.

[anr_black]

If your budget is around 300K, I would suggest St. Louis Hills, which is in south city, a couple miles west of Holly Hills. Beautiful older homes and great community. (edit to add: zip is 63109, west of Hampton)