Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
a good buddy of mine is visiting from Chicago at the moment...his first time to STL or a city smaller than Chicago.
We're driving down hwy 70, 94, ladue rd, k, lindbergh etc...he looks at me and says bro its strip mall after strip mall after strip mall with the same 10 stores in every area...how can you stand it? Doesn't it drive you crazy?
Yes. Yes it does.
As if strip malls in the suburbs are unique to St Louis. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, it's the same thing.
Location: Shaw, St. Louis/West Ridge, Chicago/WuDaoKou, Beijing
292 posts, read 871,934 times
Reputation: 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by billiken
As if strip malls in the suburbs are unique to St Louis. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, it's the same thing.
Quote:
15th largest metro area...52nd largest actual city. stl is a city without a county they get no revenue from the burbs...im not a fan of any suburbs in any city just me...they're the same everywhere you go
-me
I know this. Chicago is big enough and has density, variety packed in which means u really never have to visit the suburbs for anything. Up in Chicago people specify if they live in the burbs or the city...they will say they are from Cicero, the north shore, aurora, naperville etc in STL this is not the case everyone just says they are from STL as it all seems to just mesh and blend together.
Chicago city to many is much more desireable than the burbs which is reflected in the pricing...in the STL area the city is seen by outsiders and out of pure ignorance as some kind of giant ghost town of a slum. Prices are higher in the burbs and the burbs are much more desireable to most.
The only suburbs I ever went to in Chicago were the north shore burbs for their quiet beaches and schaumburg for IKEA...there was no need to ever leave the city.
I don't want to turn this thread into another one of those city vs city specifically chicago vs st louis threads...stl city is very small ur bound to run into strip mall wal mart culture down here.
My original intention in this thread was this...STL is too small to support a vibrant "young" scene. Those that argue it is a world class city are delusional. Like I said before it is what it is take it or leave it. I'd like to see a lot of the population that fled the city return and make it vibrant again...also hopefully one day the burbs can be part of the city again to give it some much needed revenue.
New York 1st in city 1st in metro area
L.A. 2nd in city 2nd in metro area
Chicago 3rd in city 3rd in metro area
STL 52nd in city 15th in metro area *suburban sprawl reigns supreme
Last edited by desperad0stl; 12-28-2010 at 12:13 PM..
Because of St. Louis' great transportation system and easy access to any big box shopping you could ever conceivably need, it's really quite easy to never go to the suburbs at all (for these purposes I am not calling Clayton or Brentwood a suburb as they're no more one than many Chicago city neighborhoods are in terms of density).
Chicago was the same way and I loved that. Kansas City, as well as the sun belt, requires a car trip to the suburbs on at least a semi-regular basis.
And ditto to billiken -- Chicago has thousands of sqaure miles of the most endless and depressing sprawl I have ever seen.
I think Desperado is the delusional one. You can live in the city, work in the city, and spend nearly all your free time in the city and never into the suburban sprawl you are talking about. There are a ton of city nabes with coffee shops on the corner, small shops and bars in the neighborhood, apartments among houses, beautiful brick architecture, amazing parks, and a ton of bars and retaurants you would never get tired of. All in the city limits. If you include the inner county (which still retains some urban elements) it's even better.
How does that compare to Chicago? For my money I don't really care. It's a great city, one of my favorite as a matter of fact. But why would I live there when I can a great urban experience here? How is having Soulard, Lafayette Square, downtown, South Grand, Midtown, Clayton, The Loop/U.City/CWE etc.....not enough to be vibrant? I mean give me a break....
Location: Shaw, St. Louis/West Ridge, Chicago/WuDaoKou, Beijing
292 posts, read 871,934 times
Reputation: 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoomBoxing
I think Desperado is the delusional one. You can live in the city, work in the city, and spend nearly all your free time in the city and never into the suburban sprawl you are talking about. There are a ton of city nabes with coffee shops on the corner, small shops and bars in the neighborhood, apartments among houses, beautiful brick architecture, amazing parks, and a ton of bars and retaurants you would never get tired of. All in the city limits. If you include the inner county (which still retains some urban elements) it's even better.
How does that compare to Chicago? For my money I don't really care. It's a great city, one of my favorite as a matter of fact. But why would I live there when I can a great urban experience here? How is having Soulard, Lafayette Square, downtown, South Grand, Midtown, Clayton, The Loop/U.City/CWE etc.....not enough to be vibrant? I mean give me a break....
monotony...for me not having new things available gets monotonous...this is me...the same 4 people the same 4 or 5 places is not my style...I'm an adventurer if I lived back in the days of new world exploration I would be an explorer...cities like NY and Chicago give you that endless variety you could never see in a lifetime.
Variety is huge with me and check out my comments about the folks i knew in west county on my first post on this thread page 4. There are many people like me mainly those who lacked that stability and moved around a lot had constant overstimulation and excess of the larger cities...that is us and u can't say that STL has it is all I'm getting at. STL is what it is take it or leave it.
Again...nobody is arguing that St. Louis rivals NYC and Chicago as far as variety of places to go and people. No other American cities do except maybe LA. My problem with your comments stems mainly from your position that you can't lead an urban lifestyle here or that there isn't a vibrant art & culture scene here. You even said someone would be delusional to think that. Sorry but it's a simple fact that St. Louis is a culturally rich city. Again, I'm not saying it's on par with Chicago but it's very good. Just pick up an RFT to see how many events are going on, even this time of year. During the spring/summer/fall there is always something great going on.
I am like you in that I love city living. I love going to NYC and Chicago. But I really love being able to live an urban lifestyle, bike to work, be close to amazing restaurants and parks, and still have space for my dog to play and plenty of money to save. And without any of the pretentiousness/snobbery of a city like NYC. Best of all, I never have to go out to the "suburban sprawl", as you put it, to do anything besides see some family.
But I really love being able to live an urban lifestyle, bike to work, be close to amazing restaurants and parks, and still have space for my dog to play and plenty of money to save.
This!
I adored Chicago, but I always imagined myself in a cute SFH someday, and unless I made a drastic career switch (to doctor, lawyer or Powerball winner) I would never be able to have that.
To me, St. Louis offers the absolute best of both worlds. Several vibrant, ever changing, walkable neighborhoods, beautiful city parks, fantastic neighborhood fairs and festivals and my very own home to, well you know, call home.
I really have never heard anyone, whether on this forum or "in real life" suggest that St. Louis can truely compare with Chicago in any significant way, but what St. Louis does do, in my opinion, is compare very favorably with its other similarly sized counterparts.
Plus, with all the money I'll save from not spending three quarters of a mil on a home, I can hop on a plane, train or automobile any time I want to visit one of those mega cities I do hold close to my heart.
I'm no less an explorer by nature than you I suspect, desperado, but I also place great importance on having a home base I love and am comfortable in. I really hope you're able to find that, too!
Location: Shaw, St. Louis/West Ridge, Chicago/WuDaoKou, Beijing
292 posts, read 871,934 times
Reputation: 152
Quote:
Originally Posted by aragx6
This!
I adored Chicago, but I always imagined myself in a cute SFH someday, and unless I made a drastic career switch (to doctor, lawyer or Powerball winner) I would never be able to have that.
To me, St. Louis offers the absolute best of both worlds. Several vibrant, ever changing, walkable neighborhoods, beautiful city parks, fantastic neighborhood fairs and festivals and my very own home to, well you know, call home.
I really have never heard anyone, whether on this forum or "in real life" suggest that St. Louis can truely compare with Chicago in any significant way, but what St. Louis does do, in my opinion, is compare very favorably with its other similarly sized counterparts.
Plus, with all the money I'll save from not spending three quarters of a mil on a home, I can hop on a plane, train or automobile any time I want to visit one of those mega cities I do hold close to my heart.
I'm no less an explorer by nature than you I suspect, desperado, but I also place great importance on having a home base I love and am comfortable in. I really hope you're able to find that, too!
Yes I am not knocking STL at all..for its size its pretty damn good but you can't say it has it all.
I think that lack of stability had me feeling like STL was really not a home base I never got attached to any single area. I felt more at home in Chicago than I ever did in STL it was all so exciting to me and that never changed in the years that I was there.
STL is for some it isn't for others. I think for me as well dating in Chicago got me hooked also in the department in the variety of women there and their numbers. The numerous new and different hangout spots kept me feeling excited and i always felt energized...down here having to drive everywhere to the same places has me feeling drained, depressed and all of the sort. I <3 Chicago forever but the job situation was a bad thing! For giving me a job i am thankful a little to STL :P
It's different strokes for different folks too. If I thrived on the ultra urban fast paced cramped apartment lifestyle of Manhattan, I probably would find St. Louis (and 99% of the entire USA) unsatisfying. That doesn't mean St. Louis isn't "urban" but it has its own urban flavor. Such as the ubiquitous two and four family flats all over the city that aren't all that common in a lot of cities. Or our excellent victorian era parks like Tower Grove and Lafayette. Our 19th century water towers such as Compton Hill that dominate the outer city skyline.
You don't need hundreds of high rises, crowded subways, and 5 million people around you to be urban. And you don't half to shell out 2 grand a month for a crappy studio apartment in order to walk to coffeeshops, sit in a park and people watch, or have 20 different types of ethnic food to choose from for lunch. You can do all of this right here in St. Louis.
I know this is an old post but it's as relevant now as to 5 years ago when you wrote it.
New York is cool, however it is not a sustainable place to live unless you are making $150K+ or you have family money.
Cities like St Louis, Baltimore, ETC. are the new incubators of possibilities for young people of Modest to Middle-Income means.
St Louis is really appreciative of small and very unique businesses. Much in the style of "Brooklyn-ized" Artisinal shops, restaurants and bars.
I also see the arts scene in St Louis is growing.
The best thing is you can be young, have a home, and afford to live like an actual adult!
How many people in LA, NYC, SF, Boston could say they don't have roommates?!?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
