St. Louis mentality vs. East and WestCoast (St. Charles, Chesterfield: transplants, house)

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by Eyeam

I think St. Louis is a fine city, but I've found that it's not a good fit for my personality type. I grew up here, but left quite a while back for the military and ended up out in the bay area of CA when I got out before returning to the STL area to go to school. One thing I wanted to note in this post was something I've noticed about people that like living in big cities or coastal regions vs living in the Midwest, and that is that the case seems to be about real estate prices 99% of the time. Anytime I've ever had a discussion about living locations with people, they always look at me like I'm crazy for wanting to deal with the cost of living in California. I can understand the concern, the cost of housing is out of control, but it's all about location for me. I was stationed in Oklahoma City when I was in the military, and I had friends from all over the country that stayed there when they got out because you could buy these huge houses with lots of land dirt cheap. Also, when you read a lot of peoples' testimonies about why they chose to move from a place like New York City to a town in the Midwest, it's almost always about cost of living. I have a friend who just had a contract job out in D.C. for 3 years, but he couldn't wait to come back to STL because of how expensive it was there. He's happy to be back here, but he has already been catching himself saying things like "Man, out there, such and such was only a minute away, I didn't have to drive 30 minutes for it, etc etc." But, he'd still rather live here than have way more availability for things because he likes to have more space, a decent sized house and a nice sized yard.

Now, I can see the appeal in that, but it's really not for me, personally. I'd rather live in an apartment the size of a box (which I did for many years) in a place like San Francisco or San Jose than live in the Midwest, but that's just because of my tastes in what I like to do for fun and what I like to have available to me. In the bay area for example, you have the beach, one of the best cities in the country (San Francisco), Yosemite National Park, Reno, NV, for mountains and skiiing (good place to see snow in the winter rather than having to deal with snow and ice storms for 4 or 5 months out of the year), Lake Tahoe, NV, Monterey, CA, and tons of California coast line for good biking. All of those things are short drives away, not 20 to 30 hour drives (which I've done a few times) or flights away. Here in midwest, you have some neat things to do, like explore caves and go floating on rivers (both of which I really enjoy), and a great thunderstorm season part of the year. The storms in the Midwest are amazing, and you just don't get those out west really. However, when I really take the time to sort out the pros and cons of living in each area (which I've done numerous times trying to decide if I want to stay here with family or be much happier somewhere else), I can fill a page with pros for living out West and have very few cons, and I can fill a page with cons for staying here in STL with very few pros. Scenery and weather were actually two of my main reasons for wanting to move, and those are two things you just can't change about the midwest. I prefer mountains, oceans and climates that have a mild winter; STL is land-locked, surrounded by areas of flat land (MO is 'hilly' but the surrounding states are just plain flat) and has a very extreme climate. It's not uncommon for this area to see near or below 0 temperatures in the winter time due to wind chill, and near 100's and above due to the heat index in the summer time.

Oh, something else I forgot to mention before I close was about religion and diversity. The Midwest is a bible belt. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but I'm not Christian. In fact, I'm not 'religious' at all (I do believe in God, just different than how most people do - totally separate discussion). One of the qualities of the bay area that really appealed to me was the diversity of culture. Not only are you exposed to way more culture out there (this is especially nice for someone that loves ethnic foods - it's everywhere), but there's also a greater sense of religious tolerance and diversity. Where I'm currently staying for example, there's a church basically every one hundred yards, and people treat you like an alien if you have non-Christian viewpoints about God (seriously). Out there, it's common to see churches mixed in with Buddhist and Indian temples on the same streets. I really appreciate that kind of stuff.

But anyways, these are just my opinions (not bashing STL) on why I prefer it out West. St. Louis a great little city (under-appreciated by most, probably), but it just doesn't compare when it comes to my personal tastes. Of course, having reread the title of this thread and forgetting the word 'mentality' was in there, this post doesn't necessarily apply now (I was thinking it was about STL vs. East and West Coast), but I typed all this out already so I'm posting it!

Thanks for your viewpoint, my taste is pretty much similar to yours. I like Chicago(live in the metro), and I like it here and was born and raised in Chicagoland. But outside of Chicago & maybe Minneapolis, the Midwest is lacking a lot of things that you can find all over the West Coast.

[RichMonk]

I think it is more important to really figure out your preferred lifestyle. If you are into big cities with many walkable neighborhood but still desire a Midwestern flair then Chicago can provide that. Personally, I find Chicago (lived there for two years) to be somewhat isolating at first and it takes more time to develop relationships. I've not spent much time on the East Coast but my experiences with people who come from those areas is somewhat mixed. One common theme I've encountered when Easterners come to the Midwest is that they feel like they are bending down to talk to the smaller people. This mentality often fades with time. But I am starting to ramble...

The West Coast is a bit foreign to me. I've enjoyed visiting there but the addiction to the car there is a bit annoying. I also can't stand that California lets their citizens vote on nearly everything. The founders created a Constitutionally limited representative republic for a reason; the voice of many will drown the voices of a few (hence the rights of homosexuals being trampled on by the mob). It is beautiful there to say the least I just find the sense of entitlement there too much for me to handle. What I like most about the West coast are its educated progressive enclaves. All the great schools there attract good numbers of smart people.

The Midwest has some hidden gems in my opinion. Real salt of the Earth people can be found there. These people can be a bit small townish in everyday conversation but they are real hardworking people who enjoy a good time. There is a major problem with rural poverty and the Wal-Martization of everything is sickening. Though, the real gems are its medium cities. STL, the city not the metro, is really neat with lots of walkable neighborhoods, a true baseball town attitude like none other, and a riverside culture that is entertaining. I also tend to find more naturelovers among Midwesterners. Heck, I'm one of them. There are tons of camping opportunites and most camp sites (that are worth going to) are packed during Spring and Fall. Plus, floating is the funnest thing ever...ever.

So, I think I said a lot of things without really getting to my thesis sentence at the beginning. The lifestyle you want is key to figuring what part of the country and what neighborhoods are best for you. If you are a nature-loving, urban-dwelling, four seasons-desiring person like me then St. Louis is a great city. If you like things to be faster and a bit more varied then the East Coast might be more fitting. Or if you enjoy the epitome of suburbia then the West would be a prime choice.

[Eyeam]

The lifestyle you want is key to figuring what part of the country and what neighborhoods are best for you.

I couldn't agree more. That's what it's all about really. It's not like any one place is factually better than any other; it's just about preferences.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by Eyeam

I couldn't agree more. That's what it's all about really. It's not like any one place is factually better than any other; it's just about preferences.

I'll agree with that.

[SoStLouis]

STL is a go-getter city. we don't hold our tongue for nobody, we don't care who you are, everyones treated the same. we are pretty laid back but not liberal at all, a healthy dose of conservative is strong in the veins of saint louis.

a phrase a buddy of mine said the other day is that in New York you cut someone off they both start flailing their hands making inappropraite gestures and cussing up a storm, in STL we don't talk we just get to fightin'. we are a tough city that is for sure, we don't take kindly to outsiders who are obviously outsiders (aka yuppies). but if you're real and you're cool people wil see that and accept you anywhere.

we get a lot of **** talked about us because of all the violence on the northside but i'm a lil' white boy and i have lived on the northside or the county since i was born and i've only been in a few fights, for the most part you give respect, you get it back.. we're a real simple town.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by SoStLouis

STL is a go-getter city. we don't hold our tongue for nobody, we don't care who you are, everyones treated the same. we are pretty laid back but not liberal at all, a healthy dose of conservative is strong in the veins of saint louis.

a phrase a buddy of mine said the other day is that in New York you cut someone off they both start flailing their hands making inappropraite gestures and cussing up a storm, in STL we don't talk we just get to fightin'. we are a tough city that is for sure, we don't take kindly to outsiders who are obviously outsiders (aka yuppies). but if you're real and you're cool people wil see that and accept you anywhere.

we get a lot of **** talked about us because of all the violence on the northside but i'm a lil' white boy and i have lived on the northside or the county since i was born and i've only been in a few fights, for the most part you give respect, you get it back.. we're a real simple town.

That's insane and reeks of the redneck mentallity that stereotypes this area.

[robbobobbo]

Originally Posted by ajf131

As to Virginia being East Coast, Virginia is culturally, currently, and historically a Southern state. If Virginia is East Coast, so are North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

I take it the poster was referring to Northern Virginia, which sometimes talks about becoming a separate state from the rest of Virginia. Downstate VA definitely is a Southern state. NoVa is in now way Southern in culture, attitude, politics, or anything else. It is part of the Washington DC metro area and has a high percentage of non-native Virginians, both out of state and many from foreign countries. Traffic is terrible, driving is similar to NYC (in fact, I had no stress driving in Manhattan recently - seemed like home to me), people typically define themselves by their jobs ("what do you do?" is uttered when first meeting someone), people don't speak or acknowledge each other when passing on the sidewalk, and the pace of life is East Coast type A rush rush rush.

[DeBaliviere]

I think a lot of the people who move here and don't like it have chosen to live in neighborhoods (usually in the far suburbs) that don't fit their personalities and then apply what they don't like about their neighborhood to the entire region. I can think of a few people who have moved to St. Louis for their jobs only to have narrow-minded real estate agents shepard them to places like Chesterfield, St. Charles or Fenton, when those are the last places these people should be living. But not knowing enough about the region, they move to these burbs and find themselves miserable.

If you want to live by mountains or an ocean, well, we can't provide that for you here. But there definitely is a place here for just about any type of person to fit in.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by DeBaliviere

I can think of a few people who have moved to St. Louis for their jobs only to have narrow-minded real estate agents shepard them to places like Chesterfield, St. Charles or Fenton, when those are the last places these people should be living. But not knowing enough about the region, they move to these burbs and find themselves miserable.

Ignorance is misery, and dont confuse it with Missouri!

[sixtwobaldguy]

Here's some more st louis bluntness for you:

If your life is so boring that you have time to count up all your neighbors, think obsessively over what the demographic is, and wonder what they are doing/thinking/feeling at all times, then you need to get a freakin life! I'm glad someone's schedule allows for this, because mine certainly does not. I have no idea what most of my neighbors are doing, I have no idea what 51% of people living on the east coast think compared to 51% of people in St. Louis think. If I want to know what someone thinks, I ask that person rather than treat her as a statistic.