20something relocating to STL and looking to buy - Working in Clayton (St. Louis: appointed, apartment)

[sarahtwentysomething]

I am in my late 20s and will be moving to St. Louis with my fiance in late summer. I will be working for a company based out of Clayton.

I am looking to purchase a home in the $200,000 range (2-3 bed). I don't want more than a 20 minute commute to work and am looking for an area with a "neighborhood" feel, with younger people/families, and where I can walk to some restaurants and bars (and feel safe doing it after dark.)

I have looked into Dogtown, Maplewood, and U City as viable options. Any opinions on these areas or other ideas? I know I cannot afford Clayton or the Central West End without submitting to the condo life style.

Thanks in advanced!

[wustu87]

Dogtown and Maplewood should work for you, but in U City, $200K would either mean a house further north (i.e. not too close to the Delmar Loop) or a condo which you do not seem to prefer. Another nice area for you would be in Brentwood, where $200K would most likely be a smaller, older 2 BR house east of High School Drive. Richmond Heights is another similar suburb nearby which has some areas of homes in the same condition (smaller, older brick homes) in a similar price range. However, you are not likely to find a 3BR home in any of these areas for $200K or under unless they are pretty small bedrooms in older homes that have not been significantly updated.

I am also curious what you consider negative about the "condo life style" since 20-30 somethings who want to live in a nicer, active and walkable area with a "neighborhood" feel are exactly the type who typically choose to live in a condo! If you are living in your own 50 year own brick house, you will be spending your weekend time fixing up your high maintenance house and yard, not walking to a bar or restaurant. (Hey, I personally prefer home projects and yardwork to hanging out in bars myself!)

[Fishtacos]

Generally speaking Dogtown and Mapelwood come to mind first for me based on the criteria you presented. I would concur with the above regarding Brentwood and Richmond Heights, in terms of finding what you want for your price point. For example, you can find what you seek, new construction, in say Dogtown near your price point, and live next to Medical Residents and young professionals your age mixed with other types. I actually know some people who went through this process last year, and they wound up in Dogtown and are happy there. They were disappointed in what they found for a similar price point, in Richmond Heights and Brentwood.

They considered condos and single family homes. They were actually going to move into a very nice condo in U.City but found and chose the Dogtown home instead.

Clayton is very centrally located which gives you many areas to explore for housing.

Edit: I re-read your last part. All of the mentioned areas are safe and not very far apart from one another, as well as some other areas too. There are some other areas you could consider if you are interested in expanding your search a little too.

[Brickmama]

Are you looking to purchase a house or a condo?

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by Brickmama

Are you looking to purchase a house or a condo?

They seemed pretty clear that they are opposed initially to a condo and prefer a single family home if you read the last line of their post.

[Brickmama]

My bad.

[sarahtwentysomething]

We are oppossed to a condo because we want to avoid a bad neighbor situation we have had in the past which is much more intrusive in a condo than a house. I have had what sounded like a large horse living above me that ran around at all hours. Living in a condo feels to much like living in an apartment for me. I also just prefer the idea of a house with a basement and a yard. It feels like more space and I enjoy gardening.

What about the tower grove south area I am reading about? It seems to be about 20 minutes from clayton but I am not sure about the traffic and such...

Thanks for the advice! Dogtown seems like where I need to focus my search...

[anr_black]

You could also look at Southampton, where I live. Meets all your criteria, and a 3 bed home is well within your price range. The zip is 63109.

http://stlouis.missouri.org/southampton/

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by sarahtwentysomething

We are oppossed to a condo because we want to avoid a bad neighbor situation we have had in the past which is much more intrusive in a condo than a house. I have had what sounded like a large horse living above me that ran around at all hours. Living in a condo feels to much like living in an apartment for me. I also just prefer the idea of a house with a basement and a yard. It feels like more space and I enjoy gardening.

What about the tower grove south area I am reading about? It seems to be about 20 minutes from clayton but I am not sure about the traffic and such...

Thanks for the advice! Dogtown seems like where I need to focus my search...

Tower Grove South is a good area for what you seek. The "action" is on S. Grand, while also a few other streets in and near there. A couple of friends of mine own a couple of bars/restaurants there, and are happy there. Depending on where you are coming from, as in metro size, St. Louis doesn't have a lot of traffic. And, you will be fine going from TGS to Clayton and back, ...or any of the other mentioned areas. As I said Clayton is centrally located, which opens up your options and choices quite a bit. It's less than ten miles from downtown.

Dogtown is quieter, residential, not a lot of walking to bars and restaurants, a few, but it's a short drive from many. It is a mix of young professionals, and long term middle class to blue collar residents. Very safe area. Some of the rehabs and or tear downs in there seem to be at your price range and somewhat of what you are seeking. Southhampton is worth a look too.

[zach_33]

I concur with above. Maplewood, Dogtown, Tower Grove, Southampton. Maybe the Hill neighborhood (?)-- homes there tend to be on the small side but there are many corners dotted with bars and trattorias. It seems to be a pretty tight knit community without much crime. Another area you might consider is Skinker Debaliviere-- it could be hard to find a single family for $200, but you wouldn't have to go much higher than that to find a nice, old, serviceable brick house within walking distance of the U City loop.