Positives and negatives of living in St. Louis (Kirkwood, Ozark: amusement park, transfer)

[glamatomic]

In no particular order:

LOVE:
The Weather (because I'm strange like that)
The color of the leaves in Fall
The fairy lights on the trees on Market Street for Christmas
The Fox Theatre
The Grand Hall (in Union Station)
The Allegorical Window (in the Grand Hall in Union Station)
All of the Interstates and how easy they make life
Lake Creve Coeur
The Mississippi River
The Missouri River
***THE ARCH*** and the way it looks from a distance
Forest Park
The Art Museum (at Forest Park)
MO History Museum
City Museum
Courtesy Diner
Eat-Rite Diner
Ted Drewes
Imo's Pizza
Toasted Ravioli
St. Louis Bread Co (even though it's the same as Panera, the name makes it better!)
The fact that you're only a few hours from Chicago, Nashville, etc
The mansions in Lafayette Square
Drinking in Soulard
The Casinos
Westport
Tower Grove Park
Grand South Grand (the street and the neighborhood surrounding)
The architecture
The Decay (it's beautiful)
The people
The history everywhere
The Peabody
The Cardinals + Stadium
The Levee
The orange smoggy haze in the mornings
The smell
The fact that St. Louis was once so great (and I believe could be again)
The Delmar Loop
The intricities of some of the cities in the County
The fact that I *always* found things to do and never got bored when I lived there

DISLIKES:
The warped crime statistics
'Gangsta' attitudes
St. Louis residents who didn't love St. Louis
St. Louis tourists who didn't love St. Louis
The Galleria (never cared for it, don't know why)
Potholes... too many potholes in the streets
Segregation / White Flight. Is it just me, or did desegregation segregate St. Louis even more?

And that's all I can think of for now...

xxx

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by glamatomic

In no particular order:

LOVE:
The Weather (because I'm strange like that)
The color of the leaves in Fall
The fairy lights on the trees on Market Street for Christmas
The Fox Theatre
The Grand Hall (in Union Station)
The Allegorical Window (in the Grand Hall in Union Station)
All of the Interstates and how easy they make life
Lake Creve Coeur
The Mississippi River
The Missouri River
***THE ARCH*** and the way it looks from a distance
Forest Park
The Art Museum (at Forest Park)
MO History Museum
City Museum
Courtesy Diner
Eat-Rite Diner
Ted Drewes
Imo's Pizza
Toasted Ravioli
St. Louis Bread Co (even though it's the same as Panera, the name makes it better!)
The fact that you're only a few hours from Chicago, Nashville, etc
The mansions in Lafayette Square
Drinking in Soulard
The Casinos
Westport
Tower Grove Park
Grand South Grand (the street and the neighborhood surrounding)
The architecture
The Decay (it's beautiful)
The people
The history everywhere
The Peabody
The Cardinals + Stadium
The Levee
The orange smoggy haze in the mornings
The smell
The fact that St. Louis was once so great (and I believe could be again)
The Delmar Loop
The intricities of some of the cities in the County
The fact that I *always* found things to do and never got bored when I lived there

DISLIKES:
The warped crime statistics
'Gangsta' attitudes
St. Louis residents who didn't love St. Louis
St. Louis tourists who didn't love St. Louis
The Galleria (never cared for it, don't know why)
Potholes... too many potholes in the streets
Segregation / White Flight. Is it just me, or did desegregation segregate St. Louis even more?

And that's all I can think of for now...

xxx

Good list.

I'm strange, too, because I do like the weather here for the most part. I love the summers! Sure, I admit I like to escape the heat and hummidity every couple of years by going to Michigan for a week in August, but I still like it. Not this year, but often our winters drag on a little long for my liking. I'd put our typical falls up against anyones.

[aragx6]

I like four equal seasons and they don't get much more even than St. Louis' -- the humidity rarely bothers me, probabbly just because I'm used to it. I actually liked Chicago's winters up until say late March -- then I'm seriously ready for Spring and it doesn't always quite happen in Chicago. And the constant heat of the south is not my style either. I have family in Atlanta and I just can't handle the severity or length of their hot months -- especially being so far from the ocean, which would at least make the weather somewhat "worth it."

Some people just love complaining about the weather -- they could live anywhere and find something to complain about. I just pick a weather-appropriate activity and enjoy it! The constant moaning from co-workers drives me nuts. I think they just lack anything better to talk about.

[mike0421]

After a year, my likes are numerous, and my dislikes not nearly as many.

I was talking to my fiancee yesterday, who is moving from California to here. Obviously, she is giving up the weather, but in exchange, moving to a place that has a vibrant middle class, multitude of cultural surroundings, superior schools, and a lower unemployment rate. No, there's not an ocean, the terrain is relatively dull, and personally, for me it's a revisitation of the humidity I suffered from growing up in New Jersey, but felt the subsequent difference from with New Mexico, and you have to conclude there's trade-offs, sacrifices, advantages, any where you go, any where you attempt to settle down and make a life for yourself. Some are more relevant for some, depending on their station in life at that given time.

What I really recommend to anyone is to move around, and not to live in one region, or one metro your entire life. The country is too diverse and interesting for such shelter.

[stlcitygirl]

Originally Posted by mike0421

What I really recommend to anyone is to move around, and not to live in one region, or one metro your entire life. The country is too diverse and interesting for such shelter.

Great advice! I still have yet to live anywhere on the West Coast.

[Missy.Rivers]

As Mike0421 just mentioned, I'm moving to St. Louis from California. I have now visited there in the summer, in the spring (beautiful) and for three weeks last fall.

My impressions are mostly all positive. In comparison to the west coast, one of the nicest things that I've noticed is that St. Louis and surrounding communities have what appears to be a much greater middle class. While shopping, for example, to me it is refreshing to see middle America working in grocery stores, in schools, etc. There is less of a divide in the wealthy/poor, at least as far as my limited experience has shown me so far.

In my time there I have found the residants to be friendly, and welcoming. People have seemed open and sincere. A good example being the 6 schools we toured. Every one of them had a very welcoming staff and all seemed genuinely interested in my family. This is different vibe than what you have here where I live. My daughter is going to benefit from attending a great school.

The fall is stunning. Orange and red tree lined streets, its picturesque. The weather in fall, also very nice for my taste. A welcomed change from the humidity I experienced visiting in the summer!

Forest Park, the Botanical Garden, the free museums, the art culture, the restaurants, and in particular the architecture, are all appealing to me. Clayton and University City encompass some the most visually pleasing steets I've ever seen anywhere. I like the history that you can see in all of the homes, the buildings.

As someone who appreciates the outdoors, I love the near year round greenery, and lots of trees and flora. I have yet to venture out to Meramac, or the Ozarks but we most certainly will do so in the near future.

As for the negatives, I have not yet lived there so I can't mention much with much credibility. The humidity in the summer feels oppressive and draining when I visited last June. I will miss the mountains and river canyons of California, and the drier air. But all in all we are very happy about our upcoming residency in the county of St. Louis, MO.

[stlcitygirl]

^Welcome!!!

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Missy.Rivers

As someone who appreciates the outdoors, I love the near year round greenery, and lots of trees and flora. I have yet to venture out to Meramac, or the Ozarks but we most certainly will do so in the near future.

You may want to think twice about visiting the Ozarks. The first time you visit you'll want to return. The second time you visit you'll wonder why you left the first time. The third time you visit you'll bring the furniture.

The Ozarks have a special draw to them - says the former Californian happily and permanently settled on the banks of Table Rock Lake in the SW MO Aux Arcs.

[aragx6]

The Ozarks don't have that sort of epic beauty of the large mountains or canyons, but the sweeping picturesque nature of the rolling hills, beautiful rivers and ancient forests can be truly stunning in and of itself.

I suspect that, as curmudgeon noted, once you start to discover the region's gems you'll find yourself a fan. There's this relaxing feeling I get when I leisurely float down the Courteois with an ice cold beer, marinate and cook up some delicious steaks on the grill and then curl up around the campfire admiring the millions of stars in the sky that I've never gotten from anything else, beach included.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by aragx6

The Ozarks don't have that sort of epic beauty of the large mountains or canyons, but the sweeping picturesque nature of the rolling hills, beautiful rivers and ancient forests can be truly stunning in and of itself.

I suspect that, as curmudgeon noted, once you start to discover the region's gems you'll find yourself a fan. There's this relaxing feeling I get when I leisurely float down the Courteois with an ice cold beer, marinate and cook up some delicious steaks on the grill and then curl up around the campfire admiring the millions of stars in the sky that I've never gotten from anything else, beach included.

Excellent! And you mentioned the millions of stars. Remember, Missy Rivers is from California where you see the air before you breathe it and starlit skies are found only in high altitudes or the deserts. After CA, life in the Aux Arcs is literally a breath of fresh air!