St louis is not for the young person (St. Louis, Chesterfield: house, high school)

[Red2525989]

I know very few people my age with legitimate careers. Most of us 20 somethings are working crap jobs because there is no job market here.

[moorlander]

Originally Posted by Red2525989

I know very few people my age with legitimate careers. Most of us 20 somethings are working crap jobs because there is no job market here.

For some reason the 'Great Recession' comes to mind. Or maybe a lack of ambition or skills.

[flynavyj]

Have a lot of 20 something friends (although i'm now getting closer and closer to 30) but plenty of them are in career fields here in St. Louis. Granted, most of us graduated college in about 5 years ago now, but several of the "younger" friends graduated within the last several years and have found "career" work. I do see that your background and experience will limit your options, but there's work out there for those who want it...PS, most folks don't start off at 70k/yr....

[aragx6]

I don't think I have any friend with whom I graduated, no matter the city they are living in, who is doing exactly what they thought they'd be doing after college, but 3 1/2 years post graduation, we're all doing something professional.

I've seen little, if any, indication, that St. Louis is harder to find jobs in than any other place. With the large financial and healthcare sectors in St. Louis there are going to be opportunities for young professionals.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Ihatecrime

It really is I mean, I Moved to (downtown) St. Louis 3 years ago, from Dallas TX, for my first job. In sum, I would say my opinion of St. Louis definitely leans toward dislike and I wouldn't recommend it for other transplant young people just starting their lives. PROS: Cost of living is very cheap. It's easy to get around if you have a car, commute times are small and traffic is not bad. Parking is not a problem except in a few areas. No toll roads. Gas is cheap. You can drink in movie theaters and in general, alcohol laws are pretty lax. Lots of outdoor cafes. Beautiful, interesting old architecture, particularly in the Lafayette Square and Soulard neighborhoods. Winters are colder than Dallas . Lots of places to eat and drink beer, including some microbreweries. Lots of free public activities, including the giant Forest Park, a zoo, an art museum, and the Muny outdoor theater. There is also a gorgeous botanical garden. A few bustling cultural spots - The Loop, Central West End, Soulard, and South Grand. Occasional sightings of cultural activity and art/music events. The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is excellent, albeit their repertoire is limited to the popular selections. Good hospitals. CONS: Bad economy. Jobs are so low paying that it will be hard to save money and get out of here. Hard to grow your career. Many empty and boarded up store fronts. City neighborhoods are extremely spotty, with a few nice blocks right next to run-down ones - you really never know what you're going to get when trying a new restaurant or bar, and also makes walking/jogging alone at night unsafe. Seems like this is also hindering development and growth. Racial tension is still a problem - there are areas you definitely don't go if you're white, and vice versa if you're black. North St. Louis is extremely poor and crime-ridden, and some of this is now spreading to the south. The suburbs are exclusive, cliquish, and conservative. Roads are really bad and poorly planned. You have to pay an annual 'personal property tax' on big ticket items, like cars - a few hundred dollars a year just to own something you already paid for, and paid sales tax & licensing fees on. Auto insurance is expensive because drivers are really bad. It's very hard to make new friends - the majority of people have lived and grown up here, and already have their group of friends, and don't put a lot of effort into new relationships. Popular activities seem to be limited to heavy alcohol drinking and eating a lot - not a lot of intellectual activities. Occasionally there are fun cultural events, but you have to know someone who knows someone to even hear about it, usually the day of - little to no advertising. Standards here are very low when it comes to talent, ambition, and accomplishment (however, this makes it easy to break into the art & music scene as a hobbyist). If I were to sum it up in a single statement, I'd say that St. Louis is a very midwestern blue collar city with an infiltrating sense of mediocrity, and a few hidden gems in the midst of a bog of cultural & economic stagnation.

That is so hard to read.

[DespicableMe]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I don't think I have any friend with whom I graduated, no matter the city they are living in, who is doing exactly what they thought they'd be doing after college, but 3 1/2 years post graduation, we're all doing something professional.

I've seen little, if any, indication, that St. Louis is harder to find jobs in than any other place. With the large financial and healthcare sectors in St. Louis there are going to be opportunities for young professionals.

St Louis has very limited scope in terms of career options. As a recently graduated engineer, from my POV the midwest in general is good for manufacturing and mechanical engineering related careers.

Most other fields like Electrical engineering, software professionals will have infinitely better opportunities on the west coast and same thing with management and finance professionals on the east coast.

You cannot pursue your dream career and still stay in the city you grow up in, that's a fact of life every professional needs to grasp sooner or later in his life for the better.

FWIW I was jobless for a number of months last year after coming out from a very good grad school but my issue is more complicated with work visa issues.

[billiken]

Call me the odd ball out, but I'm doing exactly what I wanted to be doing after college, and had zero problem finding a job in St Louis. I had a fairly long list of opportunities, actually.

[GoneNative]

Oh brother. St. Louis is full of young people, and not just in the city, either. While U-City, Soulard, and U-City are extremely young, even parts of West County are great for young people. Haven't you been to Creve Coeur Park? I wouldn't exactly describe it as "geriatric."

[BoomBoxing]

Originally Posted by billiken

Call me the odd ball out, but I'm doing exactly what I wanted to be doing after college, and had zero problem finding a job in St Louis. I had a fairly long list of opportunities, actually.

Same, for the most part. With a political science degree no less. Persistance and dedication with a little bit of luck go a long way. And no, I did not have an "insider" connection or anything like that. I could vent all day long about these types of discussions as I have in the past but it's just wasted keystrokes.

BoomBoxing's words of wisdom are that only you can make you happy...and only you can make the life for yourself that you want. The less you externalize and more you internalize, the better off you will be.

[flynavyj]

graduated college with a degree in aviation and knew that there would be limited possibilities for jobs in St. Louis. I was able to find one flying for a local airline, and did that for three years before using my degree to work into a different industry (still aviation related).

Also, it's not uncommon for people to end up working in a job field that is different than their college field of study.