Hello, planning a move... (St. Louis, University City: to rent, university, organic)

[HushLev]

Any insight would be much appreciated--
I plan on moving to St. Louis from about 4 hours away in August.

My plans are to start working some kitchens. Are there good, credible restaurants abundantly around? A good food scene there?

Also, what could I expect housing wise?
I'm not sure I can afford any more than 500 or so base rent, possibly a bit more.
I would like to live somewhere with an urban feel, a few little shops, maybe a small corner grocery...
Lastly, I have a car at the moment, but I would love to ditch it.
How are the bus/rail routes? Would it be a good way of getting around town, to and from work?

Thanks

[dashels]

There are a ton of locally owned restaurants with great food. A good place to see our dining establishments is Sauce Magazine

Our transportation system isn't the greatest and the different parts of town are quite spread out so I would suggest keeping your car

[HelpfulAdvice63017]

You may want to consider University City area.

[stlcitygirl]

Originally Posted by HelpfulAdvice63017

You may want to consider University City area.

Not a bad idea, The Loop has several great restaurants, there are flats to rent and the metrolink has a stop right behind the Pageant. You can live without a car, if you work and live in the right places. I have friends that work and live in The Loop area and they bike everywhere. I believe they have a farmers market a couple times a week.

You may also want to check out the Tower Grove area. There are a ton of restaurants, a beautiful park and the rent may be a little cheaper. Tower Grove East will be a little cheaper than Tower Grove South. There is a farmers market in the park on the weekends and a grocer that sells local, organic food (Local Harvest Grocer) located on Morganford. The metro stop isn't too close but if you live and work in the area you can walk/bike everywhere.

[arch_genesis]

for the times you do need a car you can look into enterprises 'we car' program. it may or may not suit you. Service is only downtown though at the moment. However there are many restaurants downtown and a few metrolink stops and a bike would also lighten your transportation load.

Car Sharing- the WeCar program for downtown St Louis