Relocation help!!! (St. Louis, St. Joseph, Chesterfield: rent, lawyers, houses)

[PNPGuy]

Hi,
We're moving to St. Louis soon. Need relocation help. Will work at Children's Hospital and need something kinda close, but not a deal breaker. We will have a freshman and a 3rd grader. They have gone to private schools throughout and we would like to continue in that tradition here. Preferably Catholic but a strong independent high school would work as well. My son wants to play football, so a decent team is vital for his existence. My daughter wants to contine in a Catholic school. Don't really know what else you need. We'll probably buy or rent for a year but we're looking for good neighborhoods, limited drive to work (under 1/2 hour) and great schools. Please advise. It doesn't matter the cost of the houses, we're just trying to find out where's the best location for the family.

[moorlander]

If take out a map and draw a rectangle with KingsHighway on the East, Olive to the north, 44 to the south and the missouri river to the west you'll find the nicest areas in St. Louis.

Ladue, Huntleigh, Frontenac, Central West End, Clayton, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Des Peres, Town and Country, Creve Coeur and Chesterfield being the most affluent.

The best Catholic boys schools are Chaminade, SLUH, CBC, Des Smet, Vianny and Priory. The best girls catholic schools are Villa, Viz, St. Joes, Nerix, Rosati Kain, Cor jesu

The best private schools are MICDS, John Burroughs, Westminster, Whitfield

[DespicableMe]

If your kid is serious about football, webster groves high school is a power house.

[flynavyj]

I'd more or less agree, however it'd help to know what type of living situation you'd like (suburban or urban). Considering that you'll be looking to send the kids to private schools, location isn't going to be a big deal with the exception of the commute time. I currently live towards the airport, and can make it to my work on the southside of Downtown in 25 minutes door to door. Getting to Children's hospital will be very easy, especially if you lived along the I-40 corridor which will put you in arms reach of the most affluent areas of St. Louis.

Working from the inside (closest to the hospital) outwards towards the county. Areas that are very nice would be the streets just North of Forest Park (within about 3 blocks of lindell, very expensive housing). Richmond Heights, Clayton, Ladue, Brentwood, Rock Hill, Huntleigh, Creve Coeur, Town and Country, Manchester, Ballwin, and Chesterfield. Getting passed Chesterfield would start to stretch your commute times, and even during peak hours you'll be pushing it as is.

All those areas are very nice and affluent. As for schooling choices, the closest school towards work (and if you lived closer in) would be SLUH which is located at Kingshighway/Oakland Ave (and i'd prefer you not send your son there as they were my high school rival), they do however have a decent football team, and excellent academics and are the oldest Jesuit High School in the St. Louis area. The other Jesuit school is DeSmet which is located in Creve Coeur just north of Ladue Rd, and East of I-270 (my high school). Over the last several seasons DeSmet has fielded some incredible football teams and had their chance at going to state several times. The newest male catholic school to West County is CBC, which was formerly located on Clayton Rd in the Richmond Heights area. They now have a gorgeous and expansive campus just North of I-64/40 and West of I-270. There's also Chaminade as was mentioned earlier, and they seem to have a great reputation for education as well, from memory their basketball was typically ok but i don't remember their football team for anything special...but that's been a little while ago.

Can't help you much with girl high schools, my wife is a St. Joseph's graduate, and loved her experience there. And i once dated a girl from Nerinx Hall, and i think she enjoyed it there as well...I can remember hanging out in Villa Duschene when i was in high school and thinking it was amazing (reminds me of Hogwarts).

Good luck on your choice, St. Louis has a lot to offer for city, county, and rural living and i think you'll get your fill of it here. Also, if price isn't a concern, and neither is school district, you might want to browse the city as well. Lafayette Square seems like it could be a great location to be in, with high home prices, and gorgeous architecture. South Grand is also nice, and Compton Heights is often viewed as a jewel too. You could also check out some of the old Mansions off Westminster in the Central West End which has some beautiful brick old mansions, and is often home to city dwelling doctors, lawyers, etc....The beauty and downfall of private schools is that the friends your kids make will live all over the metro...They'll have friends from all of West, South, and North Counties. There will probably be some city kids mixed in there as well, plus some kids who drive over an hour one way just to get to school, which is great for getting some exposure, but can be terrible for trying to hang out just down the street from your closest friend.

[stlcitygirl]

If you enjoy city living and cost isn't an issue look at the Central West End, Compton Heights, St Louis Hills
The above posters had good choices for suburban living: Webster Groves, Kirkwood, Ladue, Clayton, University City.

[aragx6]

Seems like everyone has given you some solid starting points, but if you have any specifics to add about what kind of community you're looking for, I know we can offer more targeted suggestions! Feel free to ask any follow-up questions and best of luck!

[CitySTLbroker]

St Margaret of Scotland is the best local catholic school that is in proximity to Childrens Hospital. Its located in Shaw and has won national education awards the past two years. I have 2 kids there now. St Louis University HS is also located just south of Childrens Hospital. Entry requirements are high. There are some great neighborhoods in the City, like Compton Heights, Tower Grove Heights, Shaw, Central West End and Shaw. As most people will tell you, the city is block by block, but there are some really nice neighborhoods and they are very affordable, luxurious and close to your job.

[PNPGuy]

Originally Posted by aragx6

if you have any specifics to add about what kind of community you're looking for, I know we can offer more targeted suggestions! Feel free to ask any follow-up questions and best of luck!

We live in Ann Arbor now, it's a community of about 110,000. We would probably prefer suburban living vs the hustle of the city. That being said, in AA, we can get anywhere within 5 minutes, whether it be a museum, ball park, pool, mall, etc. I wouldn't want to drive 15 min to get to a grocery store or mall or whatever, unless it was worth it.

[flynavyj]

Well, you won't be worrying about driving 15 minutes to the grocery store unless you were on the far reaches of town, or really buried deep into a subdivision or on an incredibly high traffic road. I did just notice that there's a major grocery store just less than a mile from the Children's hospital area. It seems that in some parts of the city, major grocers aren't as plentiful as they seem to be in the county, but even still you can expect small, neighborhood, non-chain grocers within close proximity to the locations.

As for Museums and Ballparks those will be located (for the most part) in St. Louis City. The Art Museum, History Museum, and Zoo are located in Forest Park. Odd things like the Dog Museum, or the Museum of Transportation are both further out into the county. Malls will mostly be in the County, the nearest one to the city would most likely be the Galleria, which is located in Brentwood.

[moorlander]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

the Galleria, which is located in Brentwood.

Richmond Heights