Should I relocate to STL from SD? (St. Louis, University City: transplants, how much)

[OceanGerl]

Hi all to ST Louisans! How much I miss St. Louis in spite of its quirks. I'm sure many people have reasons to relocate but for me it's more of which path would suit me the best. I'm just keeping my options open right now. I'm in my mid-30s and am married but no kids and have two cats. I grew most of my life in St. Louis (from when I was in elementary school to after graduating from high school). I left St. Louis for college and never has been back to St. Louis except for annual or bi-annual trips visiting my folks who still live here. Right now I'm living in SD and I've lived pretty long time in California. Although I do enjoy SD and California in general because of the beaches, mountains and so on, sometimes I miss home and wonder if I'll be better off in St. Louis in terms of buying a home because it's for sure my spouse and I can't afford to buy a home here in SD. Right now both of us have full time jobs, so we can't really complain. But would we invest better in our future if we relocated? Since we'll be closer to my family and childhood friends who're still living in STL. Is there a trade off living in SD compared to living in STL and be able to afford something? There's no way to know if we're able to find jobs in STL and my spouse is Mexican American so he'll be in the minority. My career has been in web design and administration while my husband works as a production artist. Also, we live for sushi and Mexican food and assume we won't find anything as good as SD in STL. We tried raw tuna once at Elephant Restaurant in STL and it was horrible! What are the most important reasons should we relocate? My parents has been tempting us by sending us pictures and ads of houses we could afford to buy in STL. Hah.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Since you are a native, you may have no problem with the transition. Seems like locals are the ones that return after leaving.

BUT make sure that your husband has visited the area more than a few times and is OK with the move. Make sure you are moving because as a couple 100 percent agree on the move, and you are not the one pushing the issue on him. It is a very difficult transition for many coasties. StL is a very insular and parochial society which is very rough on transplants, especially those from CA.

The graphic arts field is very rough in St. Louis. I am an award winning art/creative director with a portfolio to match, and I could not find work, even as a production artist. I took a few temp jobs with the creative group, but most of my income came from my California Clients.

If you are able to find work, homes are very inexpensive. Traffic is very light compared CA and even the outer most burbs are only 35 miles out.

As far as your mexican food and sushi, forget it. St. Louis can't even get pizza right.

And you will miss California's Scenery.

I eventually just decided to move back to Orange County, and even though it costs more, I am much happier in OC than in StL

[BoomBoxing]

I think it really depends on your priorities. I have never been to SD but it's pretty obvious the climate and scenery is better there. But having a nice house that you own, saving money, being able to take more vacations, and being closer to family might be more important to you.

We preach a lot about how great cost of living is here but let's ignore that for a second. St. Louis still has a ton of amazing restaurants. Not all sushi places are amazing but you will find a few that are really comparable to the coastal places. There is also a Mexican-American community here on Cherokee Street in south city that has a Mexican grocery store and several authentic Mexican restaurants. We've gotten into it on this board about how it compares to Mexican food in southern California, but I will say that most places down that way are very very good. You'll just have to see for yourself

St. Louis has a great restaurant and foodie scene and those that say differently (like the above) are simply uninformed. Check out Sauce and Feast magazines to see what I'm talking about:

Sauce Magazine
http://www.feaststl.com/

There is a growing progressive culture in St. Louis, particularly among younger people that offsets any sort of "insular/parachial" element present here. It's all in the company you keep and area that you choose to live in. The city along with some county areas like University City, Webster Groves, and Clayton are full of open minded and transplant friendly people, as well as transplants themselves.

I think you have to decide what's important. I think St. Louis is an excellent place to lay down roots and you can't beat housing prices here. We have great neighborhoods, parks, tons of different places to choose from, and people are usually very friendly. San Diego is more diverse and has better weather and may have other pros I'm not aware of (I'm not too familiar with SD). Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

[moorlander]

it's funny that you mention Elephant Bar as it's actually a chain based out of Los Angeles. I'd say if you're ready to settle down or if you're going to have kids, make the move home to be near your family. If not stay in socal if you like it there.

[imperialmog]

Why did I first think that the SD meant South Dakota?

[inahandbasket]

Originally Posted by imperialmog

Why did I first think that the SD meant South Dakota?

That's how I was reading SD, too.

inahandbasket

[B33nThere]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Since you are a native, you may have no problem with the transition. Seems like locals are the ones that return after leaving.

BUT make sure that your husband has visited the area more than a few times and is OK with the move. Make sure you are moving because as a couple 100 percent agree on the move, and you are not the one pushing the issue on him. It is a very difficult transition for many coasties. StL is a very insular and parochial society which is very rough on transplants, especially those from CA.

The graphic arts field is very rough in St. Louis. I am an award winning art/creative director with a portfolio to match, and I could not find work, even as a production artist. I took a few temp jobs with the creative group, but most of my income came from my California Clients.

If you are able to find work, homes are very inexpensive. Traffic is very light compared CA and even the outer most burbs are only 35 miles out.

As far as your mexican food and sushi, forget it. St. Louis can't even get pizza right.

And you will miss California's Scenery.

I eventually just decided to move back to Orange County, and even though it costs more, I am much happier in OC than in StL

You know, my wife and I are natives of this region, but we lived a good portion of our lives out in the Pacific NW. About two years ago I got relocated to St Louis, from Seattle. We were thinking it would be refreshing to move back to a more affordable area, get a decent home, and not fight traffic every which way we turned. Well, we went back to Seattle for a visit, recently, and neither of us wanted to return. We miss the culture, scenery, and weather, among many other things. We have a cool, historical house, here, but it seems like we're always in it, because of the lack of outdoors. We miss having waterfronts to walk along, mountains to hike in, etc.
On the other hand, I thought it would also be nice to experience real winters again, since Seattle winters are mild, but after two winters, I find it more depressing seeing nothing but dead, brown foliage, and leaf-less trees for 4 months. Oi vey... Let's not even talk about the hot, humid days of summer, where it doesn't cool off for...again, 4 months. I better stop before I go into withdrawals.

[BoomBoxing]

^^The PNW is beautiful for sure. As long as you can stand the rain, I can't think of a more ideal climate. However, it is pretty ridiculous to say there is a lack of an outdoors here. What does that even mean? The St. Louis area is surrounded by beautiful countryside for hiking, mountain biking, camping and we have great rivers nearby for kayaking, canoeing, etc. If you need a nice place to go walking, try the Central West End, Lafayette Park, Forest Park, or Castlewood State park. Not a waterfront but still very beautiful areas.

It really sounds like you need to get out more and explore . Seattle is pretty awesome though.

[OneCoolDude2010]

No outdoors in MO? Woa, what fantasy land are you guys living in? We have dozens of Conservation Areas where you can fish, hike, hunt. We have quite a few state parks, too, where no hunting is allowed if fall deer season scares you. There are more acres of public land preserved for outdoor recreation in MO than some states have in total acres! St Louis is only a little over an hour from the Arcadia Valley! Try Millstream Gardens.. walk down to the river. Or Silver Mines. Walk around at the highest point in MO, Taum Sauk.. All those are within 30 minutes of one another. Walk on a boardwalk over a swamp at Mingo National Wildlife. We have scorpions, black bears, rattlesnakes, bobcat, and occasionally cougars have even crossed into MO? NO outdoors, huh? Where do all those animals live, then?

[stlcitygirl]

I think he probably means the climate is much better in the Pacific Northwest to be able to do outdoor activities. When I lived in Florida, basically on the water, I was in much better shape because it was just easier to go run on the beach and the weather was good most of the time. Here I joined a gym because the weather isnt reliable enought to constantly be outdoors. In saying that, Missouri has a lot of beautiful country to get outdoors. The poster above mentioned Taum Sauk, that area is gorgeous. My husband and I are big campers, there are a ton of places to get out to spend the weekend. Don't forget the Katy trail, Castlewood, etc. If you want to stay in the city, Tower Grove and Forest Park are great.