St. Louis a good fit for us? (Kirkwood, Ladue: rentals, houses)

[coffeebean]

We have been notified of our choices for relocation, Des Moines, IA, Cedar Rapids, IA and St. Louis are OUR three contenders. There were a few other cities that we are not interested in.

I have only been to St. Louis one time for a visit, many many years ago, and then driving through to get to Memphis. We got lost a few times in some really rough neighborhoods.

We have 3 young children who are active in sports and extracurricular activities, we homeschool, so activities held by the local recreation office would be very important, or the park district. My husband and I enjoy concerts, and coffee shops, organic & whole foods shopping. We would be renting since our stay may only be 2-3 years, and a good location is key.

I would love to live in a neighborhood that has the above (organic grocer, coffee shop, park(s) maybe local deli?) that is all in close proximity, possibly in walking distance. Definitely a safe, family oriented area would be nice, I know with rentals that may not be as easy as I'd hope ??? I'm not sure since I am limited in my St. Louis knowledge.

Would St. Louis be a good fit for us? Also any websites for rental properties in the St. Louis area? I know my local city has their own for rentals that the google search doesn't pick up.

[migrating]

I think you would really enjoy St. Louis. It is very family and homeschool friendly. The zoo, art museum and science center are all free and also offer homeschool classes, sometimes with small costs. The homeschool community is very large and helpful with everything from structured to field trip co-ops. There are so many things to do that we haven't been able to do it all in the 3.5 years we have been here as an 'active' homeschool family.

[Inoxkeeper]

+1 for STL. It gets really cold in IA!

Des Moines and CR are both neat towns, I spend lots of time in both but prefer Saint Louis.

[stlkate]

Brentwood has a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's. There are 2 houses for rent on our street which is very kid friendly. The YMCA is nice and is near Whole Foods - both are easily walkable from pretty much anywhere in Brentwood. I'm not sure about the parks rec/dept. We're relatively new and haven't done much through them yet. We like to walk to things and/or use public transportation, and so far Brentwood has been great for that.

Kirkwood also has an independent organic foods market pretty centrally located. There's also a organic grocer in Ladue. Soulard's farmer's market is great!