Interview Weekend - must see? must avoid? (St. Louis, St. Charles: hardwood floors, rental car)

[rgb123]

Hi all,

My interview is on Monday. I am flying in on Saturday morning (they want to give me a chance to look around). I'm temped to just drive home and see my friends and family near Chicago....but I guess I should really look around at possible places to live and get a better idea of the positives and negatives of St. Louis!

The job itself is in St. Charles. But I will probably have alternate work locations all over the St. Louis area.

What is a must-see? Also, what is a "must-avoid"? What are the bad areas I really should not be driving into with my rental car, map and obvoius "outsider - lost" look?

Unfortunatley, my most vivid memory/experience with St. Louis was when I was 18 years old, on a road trip. I stopped to fill up the car in a location that was obviously not good (noticed it as soon as I exited but kept going anyway). A lady begged me for money for cigarettes. I said no....and watched as she got in a van with a scary guy....I felt terrible and was really freaked out as the overall area was very scary. I'd like to avoid general areas like that if possible!

Thanks

[BoomBoxing]

Must-see...I would say Forest Park and the surrounding neighborhoods (CWE especially) are a good place to look around. That in itself should take up a whole day considering the huge amount of things to do and see in those areas. On Sunday perhaps checking out downtown and a number of destination city neighborhoods would be a good choice as well. These include Soulard, Benton Park, Lafeyette Square, Midtown (SLU area), Tower Grove South, The Hill, and Shaw. It wouldn't hurt to check out some neat county areas too, namely Clayton, Maplewood, and Webster Groves. It's too bad your job is in St. Charles, as metrolink won't be an option and most of these areas I named are pretty close to metrolink.

Now areas to stay away from: North St. Louis city, East St. Louis, Wellston/Kinloch/various other small bad areas in North County. It's pretty easy to stay out of those places.

Oh and I know I wasn't very specific about what to see but if I had to give you a recommendation a lot of people don't think of: check out the apartments in southwest St. Louis city. There are a lot of them and they are usually pretty good, and the area is safe and close to all the stuff I mentioned earlier. On craigslist you will find them under St. Louis Hills, Southampton, Northampton, Lindenwood Park, Princeton Heights, and Boulevard Heights. Or zip codes 63109 and 63139. These aren't "destination" or "hip" neighborhoods like a lot of ones I said before, but there are a lot of apartments and they are close to all the action! Have fun on your visit and let us know how it goes

[stlcitygirl]

Boomboxing was right on with what you should see, dont forget to check out The Loop, the flats around there are great.

[rgb123]

thanks! er...I'm going to need a good map, hopefully I can figure out how to get to all those places!

fyi. did some searching on craigslist last night. Lots of apartments in the $500 range....is that realistic? or is it a sign that its a bad apartment or in a scary place? What would you say is a reasonable price range in a decent area?

[BoomBoxing]

I know it's surprising but you really can get a good apartment for that price here. I used to live with two roommates in South County in a 3 bedroom for less than 700. One of those former roommates has a 1 bedroom in the Lindenwood Park neighborhood, which is one of the nicest city neighborhoods, for less than 500. Of course there are some really bad apartments in that price range too, but that price alone doesn't mean it's a bad apartment.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by BoomBoxing

I know it's surprising but you really can get a good apartment for that price here. I used to live with two roommates in South County in a 3 bedroom for less than 700. One of those former roommates has a 1 bedroom in the Lindenwood Park neighborhood, which is one of the nicest city neighborhoods, for less than 500. Of course there are some really bad apartments in that price range too, but that price alone doesn't mean it's a bad apartment.

I pay $445 + utilities for a 1-bedroom in Dogtown, which is one of the safest neighborhoods in the city of St. Louis. I see a lot of kids outside playing and feel perfectly safe walking around at night. The apartment itself is more than decent, and has nice hardwood floors and is in good shape overall. The kitchen is a bit small, though. You can certainty find something here for $500 or less a month. I was able to find my place on Craigslist.

[rgb123]

I flew in this morning... I am running on about 3 hours of sleep, and tried to get as much in as I could today on top of some other things.

I have to say...so far I am pretty impressed. There is a lot St. Louis I had never seen before...and I kind of feel bad about that. I'm from Chicago and I did road trips around the midwest all the time. I went to school in Bloomington (2 hours away)....I've spent lots of time in Memphis, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nashville, SE Michigan, etc. but I always tended to pass St. Louis on the way to some place else, and I think that one experience when I was 18 scared me and I figured the whole area was in decline.

It does appear there are still some pretty rough areas but instead of letting that scare me off I looked beyond it. Not very far, yet, as I didnt have much time, but I did drive into Forest Park and Central West End. I was really suprised....such a nice vibrant area, and beautiful architecture... a real city. A real park that people are really gathering in and using the way it should be.

The weather is beautiful too and I'm just loving the trees and all the greenery I have not been getting in Texas, literally brought tears to my eyes!

My hotel is in St. Charles as is my interview. I have to say, St. Charles really impressed me too. What a nice little town, right on the river. I don't know why the city/county people argue......both are such great places and should be in harmony. Both will appeal to different types of people that prefer a slower or faster pace.

I still have a lot more "work to do" obviously but so far I'm really happy with what I have seen, and I'm crossing my fingers and praying I get this job so I can get the heck out of Texas!

[DinsdalePirahna]

If you are offered and take the position, You will really like the St. Charles riverfront during the holidays. It really becomes a classic christmas town.

I don't get the City/County rivalry either. It was one of the first things pointed out to me on my first visit here back in the early 1990's. I thought it was stupid then. After living here a year you realize that it is part of the underlying parochialism that is endemic to the area.

If you can handle Texas "culture" you will probably love St. Louis.

[rgb123]

Texas "culture" -- is at first charming, and goes to annoying to repulsive pretty quick -- for me. I am referring to things such as pride and all it entails. There is a lot there that, if maybe they were not so 'proud' they might admit to some cracks and try to improve upon a few things that really aren't working so great. But try to tell that to them...

I think that, the culture in St. Louis, is different than Chicago, the problems here are not as foriegn to me as the ones in Texas. I think it is something I can deal with because I understand it better, can relate to it and it's not as 'in your face'.... I don't see Missouri flags literally EVERYWHERE, and Missouri edition GIANT trucks, or other propaganda about Missouri being better than whatever state your from on every billboard, or "missourinative" on any license plates or bumper stickers...no, Missourian by the Grace of God t-shirts....what not.

So far so good. It is nice to see a fair number of CARS on the road. By that, I mean, regular sized vehicles and normal sized SUV's and pick-ups "real men" wouldn't be caught dead in, in Texas.

ugh. I have to go back to that place still.

And it's nice to see Italian food...

[rgb123]

ps. just another observation.

The corridor along I-70 through St. Louis is really run-down. An outsider might not know that if you get past that, there are some very nice areas. This is what I saw when I was younger and scared off a bit. I figured the nicer part was only just near the arch and downtown. (as that is usually how cities are, the downtown might be the only spruced up part).

I am sure the freeway itself is what let to the demise of that area along the road. But if that is what people going through see, and they are afraid to get off the road -- that can lead to a negative perception of the entire area. Especially coupled with stories people hear about E. St. Louis and crime.