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Thanks everyone, for the useful information. I've read through all of the replies and it seems that St Louis has the most of what I want. Here's how I have the cities ranked so far:
St Louis
Kcmo/Indy (Tie)
Cincinnati/Cleveland (Tie)
But really, these cities are so close that I may just end up leaving it to chance.
I am glad you chose St. Louis. What was the deciding factor?
I am glad you chose St. Louis. What was the deciding factor?
It simply seems to have the most of the criteria that I outlined in my original post. But like I said, it's by a small margin compared to the rest of the locations.
A soccer stadium is a reach for the purpose of this thread. Indy, KC, and STL all have an assortment of sports stadiums. A new stadium seems like a wasteful expenditure considering the dome lost the Rams and there is no primary sports tenant on the level of an NFL franchise? Regardless, sports stadiums almost never deliver on promises of nearby development. STL has been trying to prop up Ballpark Village for over a decade now, and despite being adjacent to Busch Stadium, is only just now looking like an actual village or sorts per the linked article.
That's fair, but Fountain Square is also the densest residential neighborhood in Indianapolis. The Hill is the 71st densest in the city. It is also half industrial, split in half by an interstate highway, made up primarily of single family homes. Fountain Square is primarily continuous single family residential with a small commercial strip on the edge. It would probably be around the 50th densest neighborhood in St. Louis City. Clayton and University City are inner ring suburbs that are denser. Even in the ground, the average neighborhood in the Hill feels more urban.
I will be relocating to one of these cities in the relatively near future. Which one would you say is best based on the following criteria:
- Housing (I plan to buy. I know all three of these areas have cheap real estate, but which one provides the best value?)
- Urbanity/walkability
- Employment opportunities (I plan to get into aviation mechanic training, as well as electrical training).
- Outdoor recreation such as parks. I really like outdoor basketball, so an abundance of outdoor basketball courts would be nice.
- Urban neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that are interesting, as well as somewhat ' gritty' with lots of natural plant growth. Cookie cutter suburban style neighborhoods absolutely repulse me.
- Climate. I like a 4 season climate- warm to hot summers, cool to cold winters. I don't like a Texas- summer/not quite summer climate or a Minnesota cold 8 months out of the year climate.
- General livability. Things like traffic, crime, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taggerung
Thanks everyone, for the useful information. I've read through all of the replies and it seems that St Louis has the most of what I want. Here's how I have the cities ranked so far:
St Louis
Kcmo/Indy (Tie)
Cincinnati/Cleveland (Tie)
But really, these cities are so close that I may just end up leaving it to chance.
What a strange thread. Based on your criteria, St. Louis is probably the worst choice. I've lived in STL and currently live in Indy, can't speak for KC.
-St. Louis housing is awful, that's really all there is to it. Starting off as an A&P mechanic you aren't going to be able to afford anything in desirable areas and the cheap parts of St. Louis are really really undesirable. The suburbs in St. Louis County are more or less the same way. If you want a family one day, $250,000 got you a 1500 sq. ft. house built in the 1960's where I lived in south St. Louis County. No thanks.
-Urbanity/walkability- Well, I don't care much about this but both Indy and Stl still suck as far as this goes. Where you'll be able to afford to buy in either city, I wouldn't be walking anywhere.
-Employment- Well this should be your #1 reason for picking a city if you're new in any industry. A quick Glassdoor search for A&P Mechanic shows 17 jobs in KC, 9 in Stl and 39 in Indy.
-I couldn't tell you who has more outdoor basketball courts but it's hard to imagine anything in Missouri beating out Indiana when it comes to anything basketball related.
-Climate- St. Louis has some of the hottest summers I've ever experienced and I've lived in Georgia. Indy is probably the coldest of the three though, so I guess it's a trade-off.
-Livability- Well I'll compare the two I've lived in. The traffic isn't bad in either, St. Louis has FAR more crime, higher sales tax, higher property tax, higher state income tax, higher personal property tax and the city charges you an earnings tax for the privilege of living in the city.
I guess my question to you is what made you think St. Louis was the best fit? Do some more research.
Thanks everyone, for the useful information. I've read through all of the replies and it seems that St Louis has the most of what I want. Here's how I have the cities ranked so far:
St Louis
Kcmo/Indy (Tie)
Cincinnati/Cleveland (Tie)
But really, these cities are so close that I may just end up leaving it to chance.
St. Louis is a great choice. I also think it is smart to keep an opened mind. You never know what options could open between the 5 cities.
It simply seems to have the most of the criteria that I outlined in my original post. But like I said, it's by a small margin compared to the rest of the locations.
Good. As long as you are happy is all that matters.
When you look at the MSA statistics, STL falls right in the middle. Indy is the safest, followed by STL then KC.
We were just talking about this on the City/County merger thread and the false perception that the Crime Rankings create. STL, unlike virtually every other city in the US, hasn't expanded its borders in over 150 years. When those city rankings are created they only consider our urban inner core whereas most metros have a larger sampling of suburban neighborhoods. If the city/county merger goes thru STL drops off all those lists.
When you look at the MSA statistics, STL falls right in the middle. Indy is the safest, followed by STL then KC.
We were just talking about this on the City/County merger thread and the false perception that the Crime Rankings create. STL, unlike virtually every other city in the US, hasn't expanded its borders in over 150 years. When those city rankings are created they only consider our urban inner core whereas most metros have a larger sampling of suburban neighborhoods. If the city/county merger goes thru STL drops off all those lists.
It's too early to tell. Missouri is a conservative state. St Louis is a liberal city as you can imagine. The city county merger isn't a conservative or liberal issue but it will be left up to the state vote. It could go either way until they make it a liberal conservative issue.
KCMO is my all time favorite city. I could go on and on about it.
All the midwest, tho, can have oppressive summers with no breezes.
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