Traffic better from St. Louis to Mo. or Il Suburbs?

[DeBaliviere]

Check out Crestwood - great school district (Lindbergh) with cheap houses and an easy commute downtown.

[dlh3]

Thanks for all the great advice. I am narrowing down my decision.

[benya31]

I live in Brentwood and have to say it is a fine place to live, you really get the best of all worlds. Extremly high ranking schools, second only to clayton the past few years, public transportation, and location location location. highway fourty is about to be finished which means 15 minute commutes to downtown again, or you can walk the one mile to 3 different metro stations! clayton is ten minutes away, kirkwood/webster are 10 minutes away, really every place you would want to be in st louis is less then 30 minutes away because your right on 40/44/170. There is a ton of variation is house sizing/pricing so youll be able to find what your looking for, and brentwood has the highest paid cops in the area so you know its a safe area. Its really a unique little hole in the wall in the middle of everything. i suggest at least looking at it

[dlh3]

I hear there is flooding in St. Louis. Which side (Mo or IL) has the most flooding? Do we need flood insurance up there? What towns should I avoid because of the flooding?

benya31 said to check out Brentwood. I looked at their website and it said something about an occupancy permit. What is this and is it required for all towns in MO?

[loki03xlh]

I used to live in Oakville, it was a nice commute up 55, about 25-30 min in, 35-40 going home. Now I live in Fairview Heights, IL. It takes me 20 min in and 25 min out. Another plus is the sun isn't in my eyes either way. I just bought a house less than a mile from the Elementary and Jr. High schools on a nice, quiet street; 5 bed/3bath, 2500 sq. ft. for under $160,000.

[wustu87]

Many municipalities require a occupancy permit. You just fill out a form saying who will be living there and pay them a little money -- it's no big deal. The owner or seller has to make sure the home meets the municipality's requirements so that is nothing you would have to worry about as the renter or buyer.

As for Brentwood, I would agree that it is a great place to live in a fabulous location, but because of that premium I doubt you will be able to find a 4 BR / 2+ bath 1800 sq ft home there for $1600/month. If you would be happy enough with a smaller 3 BR home at that same price point you might find something there in your price range. Brentwood actually has a bit of flooding near Deer Creek, but anything far from the creek is perfectly fine. There are actually some pretty neat flood plain maps at FEMA.gov that will let you look at potential flood problems for any address.

[zach_33]

[quote=dlh3;11608210]I hear there is flooding in St. Louis. Which side (Mo or IL) has the most flooding? Do we need flood insurance up there? What towns should I avoid because of the flooding?
[quote]

You can tell if a house you are looking to buy is in a flood zone when you check on insurance prices for that particular address. If it's in a flood plain, you will know because it will require flood insurance (which is very expensive). As for rentals I don't know if it is as easy to find out if a rental is in a flood plain. Any real estate agent or homeowners insurance agent would be able to find out for you, though.

[sixtwobaldguy]

There are some good burbs. You may want to rent something to get a feel for an area before you buy.
School choice would be really critical for me. Oakville, Edwardsville, webster grooves, and creve coeur would all be fine choices to get started with. You really don't want to go any cheaper than those places or you'll be living amongst a lot of low lifes. There are a number of private school options and I would consider using them if you aren't happy with a school system but otherwise enjoy an area. Most people I know on the MO side use them so I'm not very familiar with public school options and cannot make recommendations. There is also a pretty big group of moms in my area that homeschool and they get the kids together to socialize and go on field trips and such.

[stlcitygirl]

I don't know anything about the IL suburbs, however the best on the Missouri side are: Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Brentwood, Richmond Heights and Clayton.

[dlh3]

Do you know anything about Ballwin, Mo? That looks like our best bet so far for rental properties in our price range. I was wondering if Ballwin might be a good place to live. I know it is over 30 min drive but not by much.