Edwardsville, Troy, or O'Fallon??? (St. Louis, Clayton: homes, purchase, school district)

[IDASpaceman]

Open thoughts please. I've read several hundred posts on each and in general for the area. Here's my dilemna...

I will be working at Scott AFB. I have a 21 yoa kid who is a univ junior who will be looking to enroll in college. I also have a wife who's career has been in Auto Dealership Service Depts (Writer).

Need to find some sort of happy medium...and I am the one who is willing to take the bite on commuting. The important thing is for the wife to be closer to work availability...and the kid as close to college as possible.

My two other kids are high schoolers...so they seem to be in the best position out of all, as all three areas seem to have great public schools.

We are a pretty active family, not much time spent laying around watching TV except for week nights. Leaning towards Edwardsville as it appears to be a happening place.

Thanks in advance and yes I am aware opinions will differ sometimes greatly.

[STLMetro]

I am a little confused on your situation. Is your son going to be attending SIUE? If so, I think it would be logical that you should live in Edwardville, since you are the one sacrificing on driving. I would rule out Troy because they do not have the dealership presence that Edwardville and O'Fallon possess. However, O'Fallon is much closer to Scott than Edwardville and if your son is living at his own place, then you may choose that route.

[IDASpaceman]

Thanks, it's actually my Daughter--and yes considering SIUE. For someone confused--you sure nailed a great option. Apologies for jacking up the question/scenario.

I think Edwardsville is the way to go.

Anyone want to care to guess what I would be looking at for a typical 8 to 5 work week commute??

[sixtwobaldguy]

I would go edwardsville or troy personally. O Fallon is too close to belleville for my liking. Its got some nice areas but make sure u know which school district you'll be in... if you're too close to belleville ur kids could end up going there which wouldnt be good with all the violence that's tolerated over there.

[STLMetro]

Originally Posted by sixtwobaldguy

I would go edwardsville or troy personally. O Fallon is too close to belleville for my liking. Its got some nice areas but make sure u know which school district you'll be in... if you're too close to belleville ur kids could end up going there which wouldnt be good with all the violence that's tolerated over there.

? O'Fallon isn't close to Belleville at all, you have to go through Shiloh, Fairvew heights, and/or Swansea before getting there. It's about 20 min. away, which is about the same distance that Edwardsville is to Roxana and Alton, which I believe have worse areas than belleville. As long as you are relatively close to O'Fallon you will be in their school district. I'm curious to know which parts of O'Fallon are the bad sections?

[sixtwobaldguy]

There aren't any bad sections of O'Fallon. There are bad sections of Belleville. It's actually less than 8 miles away because of the way it's angled.. in other words being at the far end of O'Fallon isn't that far from the furthest ends of belleville. Probably about 6-7 miles showing on mapquest. I guess it's a matter of perspective, to me 6-7 miles seems pretty close but I am used to running all over the st. louis area and consider 15 miles a short drive. I don't know how the districts are sectioned which is why I say I would check it out just to be safe but you should always find that information out anywhere. Granted "those ends" of belleville it is closest to are not the problem areas.

Alton certainly looks ugly enough although I don't know of anyone who actually lives in such a place. Roxana, at least from what I can tell from the highway, literally stinks but Im not sure if it's actually a "bad area"... I actually have never talked to a single person who has been there and to be honest there probably is no reason to there unless one lives there (I guess some people aren't concerned that all that stinky pollution could harm their health lol)... I imagine it to be a place of shacks and hillbilly types but who knows... if you find their still all hell could break lose.

[loki03xlh]

Originally Posted by sixtwobaldguy

There aren't any bad sections of O'Fallon. There are bad sections of Belleville. It's actually less than 8 miles away because of the way it's angled.. in other words being at the far end of O'Fallon isn't that far from the furthest ends of belleville. Probably about 6-7 miles showing on mapquest. I guess it's a matter of perspective, to me 6-7 miles seems pretty close but I am used to running all over the st. louis area and consider 15 miles a short drive. I don't know how the districts are sectioned which is why I say I would check it out just to be safe but you should always find that information out anywhere. Granted "those ends" of belleville it is closest to are not the problem areas.

Alton certainly looks ugly enough although I don't know of anyone who actually lives in such a place. Roxana, at least from what I can tell from the highway, literally stinks but Im not sure if it's actually a "bad area"... I actually have never talked to a single person who has been there and to be honest there probably is no reason to there unless one lives there (I guess some people aren't concerned that all that stinky pollution could harm their health lol)... I imagine it to be a place of shacks and hillbilly types but who knows... if you find their still all hell could break lose.

Just because O'Fallon is 6-7 from Belleville, doesn't mean anything. For one, it's closer to the West side of Bellevile which doesn't have the problems that the East side does. If people used your logic, no one should live in Clayton or Ladue because it's 6-9 miles from North St. Louis.

[CellarBelle]

I live in Edwardsville, and can't say enough great things about the high school. I have helped families moving to the area purchase homes here, and those with high school students have given me great feedback about being new to the area. The high school has a great mentoring program, and so many extra-curricular opportunities to help the students adjust. On that same note, I also can't say enough about Glen Carbon. Glen Carbon and Edwardsville run together and are all part of the same school district. You could probably find a nice home in either Ed or GC that would put you near the Interstate for quicker access to Scott. Also, if your wife is in the Auto Dealership biz, I highly recommend she check out Cassens (www.cassensandsons.com). They have been around for years, and have a great reputation as an employer, business and community philanthropists. They are quite diversified, and I was just in the dealership the other day, and they were quite busy. I haven't read the other posts - all the towns you named are very nice. If you have any questions, post or email. I've been in Edwardsville for 6 1/2 years now, and if I can't answer your questions, I can probably find someone who can. Good Luck!

[CellarBelle]

Oh, one more thing, if you are active and love outdoors, you will really appreciate all the bike trails through Ed/GC. They are beautiful and a great way to spend a beautiful day like today!

[IDASpaceman]

Thanks folks--you have provided great insight. Appreciate your thoughts and time. I will be in town in the coming weeks and will be able to hit the ground running.