Positives and negatives of living in St. Louis (Kansas City, O'Fallon: neighborhoods, gated)

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

I've been here a year and I really don't see anything special about the city. If I were to give saint louis a flavor, it would be vanilla. Maybe you should go to that obscure city in New York and take in the true natural beauty of the Hudson Valley (especially northern Dutchess County and the Catskill Mountains).

Perhaps you should head down into the Ozarks and take in the true natural beauty of Big Spring, Johnson's Shut-Ins, thousand-year-old cedar trees growing on bluffs above the Jack's Fork, or the exquisite formations within Round Springs cave. Or a quaint drive down any of those letter-routes in the area when the fall colors start to change. Alternatively, you could make the short jaunt over to northeast St. Louis County and walk across the Chain-of-Rocks bridge and then go explore Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. Or maybe not...the confluence of the longest and largest rivers in North America and the one of the longest pedestrian-only bridges in the world may not be unique enough for you.

The problem isn't St. Louis, the problem is you mindset. If you would explore the city and surrounding area with an open mind, rather than just thinking "it isn't New York or LA so it sucks", you'd be a lot happier here.

[rgb123]

St. Louis is very unique in it's history and architecture. Like no other place in the country.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by OA 5599

Perhaps you should head down into the Ozarks and take in the true natural beauty of Big Spring, Johnson's Shut-Ins, thousand-year-old cedar trees growing on bluffs above the Jack's Fork, or the exquisite formations within Round Springs cave. Or a quaint drive down any of those letter-routes in the area when the fall colors start to change. Alternatively, you could make the short jaunt over to northeast St. Louis County and walk across the Chain-of-Rocks bridge and then go explore Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. Or maybe not...the confluence of the longest and largest rivers in North America and the one of the longest pedestrian-only bridges in the world may not be unique enough for you.

The problem isn't St. Louis, the problem is you mindset. If you would explore the city and surrounding area with an open mind, rather than just thinking "it isn't New York or LA so it sucks", you'd be a lot happier here.

But, its in Missouri, and that seems to be his whole problem!

[joanie55]

To quote Joni Mitchell, "You don't know what you got till it's gone." This is so true of native St. Louisians, who long for nearby mountains and ocean and feel, in part, the lack of these things makes St. Louis vanilla and spurs us to seek greener pastures. Honestly, the only thing I don't miss about my hometown is the weather. I've lived in New Mexico (beautiful mountains, desert, sky and sunsets) and Florida (ideal weather if you like it warm and beautiful beaches) and I'd take St. Louis over these places hands down. St. Louis has a LOT to offer, most of which has been cited on this thread - ala culture, major league sports, free amenities, low cost of living, good colleges, etc. South Florida has ZERO culture, New Mexico has only Indian and Hispanic culture. Neither area has half to offer of what St. Louis does. I admit it's a bit conservative, but nothing like the deep south. I think it's a great place and I miss it alot and I, too, think those that don't appreciate it should move. Negativity benefits no one.

[DinsdalePirahna]

It could be worse. I could be in Nebraska or Kansas.

There are some places you just don't connect to. This is one of them. Just not feeling it in the midwest.

[TNRyan23]

My wife and I visit fairly often and have considered moving to St. Louis.

Pros for me include the Cardinals, The greatest NL team of all-time playing in one of the better, new stadiums in the league. Nothing's better then a MLB game on a warm summer day. The fact that the Rams play in a dome is great too, Nothing worse then a football game outdoors in late august/early september.

The park is great, the zoo is great, the free art museums are awesome. having a Six-Flags close by and having casinos are great too.

The only cons I know of are St. Louis County schools and crime.

I've heard there is a huge split in race relations between white/black but being in an I.R. marriage, My wife and I didn't really notice anything out of the ordinary, granted, we haven't looked for it either.

[ajf131]

I love that it has so many major rivers and waterways, that I get to see all types of weather here except for hurricanes (thank god). The Italian and German influence is gigantic here. It has one of the most unique histories and architecture of any Midwestern city (Chicago is close behind here), it is a huge baseball town, its suburbs are vast and rich and numerous, the Ozarks aren't very far away, and you can get almost anywhere in the country from here. Many, many things to do here. Great food (bbq, italian, french, german, etc.)..The Central West End, Forest Park, The Botanical Gardens, The Zoo, The Science Center, The Muny, SLU, WashU, Downtown Clayton...etc. I personally think Missouri is among one of my most favorite states in the Midwest (culturally and geographically). Places like St. Louis and Chicago I think are the ultimate faces of the Midwest.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by joanie55

To quote Joni Mitchell, "You don't know what you got till it's gone." This is so true of native St. Louisians, who long for nearby mountains and ocean and feel, in part, the lack of these things makes St. Louis vanilla and spurs us to seek greener pastures. Honestly, the only thing I don't miss about my hometown is the weather. I've lived in New Mexico (beautiful mountains, desert, sky and sunsets) and Florida (ideal weather if you like it warm and beautiful beaches) and I'd take St. Louis over these places hands down. St. Louis has a LOT to offer, most of which has been cited on this thread - ala culture, major league sports, free amenities, low cost of living, good colleges, etc. South Florida has ZERO culture, New Mexico has only Indian and Hispanic culture. Neither area has half to offer of what St. Louis does. I admit it's a bit conservative, but nothing like the deep south. I think it's a great place and I miss it alot and I, too, think those that don't appreciate it should move. Negativity benefits no one.

St. Louis is among the most liberal cities in the United States...St. Louis and St. Louis County are NOT conservative places.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by rgb123

St. Louis is very unique in it's history and architecture. Like no other place in the country.

Ummm..Chicago is pretty unique like that too. St. Louis is the secondmost unique city in the Midwest behind Chicago.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by TNRyan23

My wife and I visit fairly often and have considered moving to St. Louis.

Pros for me include the Cardinals, The greatest NL team of all-time playing in one of the better, new stadiums in the league. Nothing's better then a MLB game on a warm summer day. The fact that the Rams play in a dome is great too, Nothing worse then a football game outdoors in late august/early september.

The park is great, the zoo is great, the free art museums are awesome. having a Six-Flags close by and having casinos are great too.

The only cons I know of are St. Louis County schools and crime.

I've heard there is a huge split in race relations between white/black but being in an I.R. marriage, My wife and I didn't really notice anything out of the ordinary, granted, we haven't looked for it either.

St. Louis County schools are among the best in the country. Clayton High School, Ladue High School, Parkway, and all the private Catholic schools. If you meant St. Louis City, I would agree there, but St. Louis County has excellent schools for the most part. Same with St. Charles County.