Texas gal looking to move to St. Charles area. (St. Louis: how much, new home)

[TexasMamaHen]

Hi there. My husband and I have lived in Texas nearly all of our childhoods and all of our adulthoods. (Both military children.) We are Texan through and through. A lot of my family lives in the St. Charles/ St. Louis area and we are thinking of moving there to be closer to them for our children's sake. But honestly, I don't want to leave Texas. I love my state and everything about it. Is there anything positive anyone from that area would like to throw in? I know things are tough there right now because of the economy - but hopefully there is a turnaround in the near future. Thanks for your input.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by TexasMamaHen

Hi there. My husband and I have lived in Texas nearly all of our childhoods and all of our adulthoods. (Both military children.) We are Texan through and through. A lot of my family lives in the St. Charles/ St. Louis area and we are thinking of moving there to be closer to them for our children's sake. But honestly, I don't want to leave Texas. I love my state and everything about it. Is there anything positive anyone from that area would like to throw in? I know things are tough there right now because of the economy - but hopefully there is a turnaround in the near future. Thanks for your input.

Other than your family what warrants this move? Seems like you don't want to leave, so I can only imagine there are some external factors pushing you towards St. Charles.

I grew up there so Id be happy to try and answer any questions you have, but I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for.

[Chadro77]

If you don't want to leave Texas, you probably shouldn't. Eastern Missouri is nothing like Texas but If you like beat up roads and weather that can vary 40+ degrees from day to day, come on up.

I know you want something positive but I just can't do it.

[cyrano]

If you search me by username, you'll find a recent post of mine on the "why would anyone ever want to leave Texas?" thread. I moved from Austin to Columbia MO a decade ago and overall, I'm happy with the move. If you've visited the St. Charles area, then you should have some idea of what it's like. It's a big county, though, so there's a big variety of things.

On the off chance you haven't spent substantial time there, here's my impressions. Most of the county acts as a bedroom community for the greater St. Louis area which, while it's pretty slow compared to Houston/Dallas/Austin, is still a substantially-sized metropolitan area. That's not to say that most people work downtown-- they don't-- but there are large employment areas throughout the metro area.

The parts of St. Charles I like best are the old original downtown area, where the first state capitol was located, and in the semi-funky marina district along the Missouri River-- the Missouri runs into the Mississippi just a bit east of there. I like funky, and people who live on or spend lots of time on boats are my type of people. St. Louis city residents often accuse St. Charles residents of being vapid suburbanites who are terrified of coming into the big city-- but there are reasons to be leery of being in the wrong place at the wrong time in St. Louis city.

That said, there are compensations to the entire metro area. The Central West End is a lovely mixed use area that reminds me a lot of how Greenwich Village used to be. University City, and several other areas in inner St. Louis, are similarly interesting and sometimes lovely. People who move here are usually kind of surprised, at least, at how much of a religion baseball (the Cards) is-- it's a part of the culture that simply doesn't exist in Texas.

There will be other cultural differences. While it's probably not so prevalent in St. Charles, the St. Louis area is dominated by the Catholic church to a degree outsiders find surprising. There IS the obvious-- St. Louis, St. Charles, along with St. Ann and St. Robert, just to list the Missouri towns that come to mind immediately, all with that common thread of the name.

It DOES get cold up here. I mean COLD, I mean less than zero 1-5 times per winter. I mean potentially terrifying driving. And it does get hot here, too. While the average temps in summer are lower than Texas, the record highs are are least as high as Texas. I've seen 104-107 twice in ten years. Weather systems, hot or cold, just tend to come up and sit over the midwest, creating a magnifying effect. Places Rated Almanac said that Columbia had about the worst-ranked weather in America-- yes, it gets colder elsewhere, and it gets hotter elsewhere, but few other places have that dramatic disparity in the same year. BUT there are also four true seasons here, something you don't have in Texas, where spring comes and goes on a Tuesday afternoon in early March, that day when it's not 40 and it's not yet 85 (I'm exaggerating a little but you should know what I mean). This afternoon, I went out for lunch and it was glorious outside-- about 62 degrees, bright sunshine, gentle breezes. Spring lasts a good 2-3 months and it is both gentle and beautiful...except for the tornadoes, of course, but come on, everyone needs a little spice in their lives. Autumn is similarly glorious-- the leaf show isn't quite as spectacular as in New England, but it's glorious enough, and the temperatures seem to sway gently from 40s at night to 60s in the day.

Missouri, like the rest of the midwest, is a more modest place than Texas in so many ways. If you ever listen to Prairie Home Companion, you may notice how much of a virtue Garrison Keillor makes of the modesty of Minnesotans. Minnesota may be the most modest of the midwest but it very much is a midwestern trait.

Politically, St. charles county is VERY conservative. If that's how you roll now, that part will feel right at home. Other parts of the St. Louis metro area, however, are VERY politically liberal-- St. Louis is/was a BIG union town. You probably won't encounter that in Texas outside of where teh refineries are located.

My bottom line-- if you're going to move a thousand miles to a new home, whatever the reason, I'd consider looking at multiple places in the St. Louis area. You may fall in love with some place like The Hill or the aforementioned Central West End-- and you'd still be less than an hour away from your relatives.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by Chadro77

If you don't want to leave Texas, you probably shouldn't. Eastern Missouri is nothing like Texas but If you like beat up roads and weather that can vary 40+ degrees from day to day, come on up.

I know you want something positive but I just can't do it.

So says the person who last week posted they are trying to leave Georgia for Texas and that they hate "Northerners."

Texas is a big state, with a wide variety of people. To the original poster, where in Texas have you lived and what are you seeking?

[STLCardsBlues1989]

I'd suggest visiting the area if at all possible. That may give you somewhat of a better idea. And of course there's some great posts above here. ^

Have you decided on St. Charles? St. Charles is fine, but there may be other places that fit you. Do you have a job line up? Are schools important? Budget?

[Chadro77]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

So says the person who last week posted they are trying to leave Georgia for Texas and that they hate "Northerners."

Texas is a big state, with a wide variety of people. To the original poster, where in Texas have you lived and what are you seeking?

I don't hate Northerners, I just don't like it when they move to the South and stomp the Southern culture out. I'm not from Mo but I have lived there so I can give her an outsiders opinion, not a biased one from a state native. I lived in South County which isn't too terribly far from St. Charles but maybe it's just that different. No offense to any Missourians but I've lived in Georgia, the DC suburbs of Maryland and Alabama and I'd take any of them over Missouri any day of the week. Just my opinion though.

[aragx6]

Just a comment on the politics: St. Charles is significantly more conservative than the city of St. Louis, but even by rural Missouri standards, much less by many areas in Texas, it's still reasonably centrist. In the prez election St. Charles County went 54% McCain, 45% Obama.

It's definitely a factor no matter which way the OP leans.