Moving to StL from LA - Please Advise! (St. Louis, Chesterfield: salons, apartments)

[amc0485]

My boyfriend and I are moving to St Louis from Los Angeles in three months. I am originally from Decatur, IL, though my dad has always been in L.A., and I've lived here full-time for the past ten years. I want to be closer to my mom's family, and away from the never-ending urban sprawl of Southern California. He's lived in the San Fernando Valley his entire life, so I'm worried about the transition for him. I've been researching St. Louis online, talking to friends and family from back home who are more familiar with the area, and scrolling through online job postings and apartment listings. And frankly, it's just making me more nervous about moving! A friend of mine recommended that I come here, and I've been reading lots of helpful responses around the forums, but I also wanted to ask some questions specific to my own situation:

1) Where should we look for apartments? He wants to be near the city, of course, but I'd prefer to be a little further out. Besides my family, a major motivator behind this move is the cost of living in L.A. We would ideally like to find an inexpensive month-to-month place in a safe, central location for a month or two while we look for a more permanent living situation. We have two cats, but we are going to try to find people for them to stay with in L.A. for a month or two while we get settled. Ideally, we'd like to find a house to rent after that - preferably in a smaller town outside of St. Louis. Is there anywhere nearby that has good walkability and its own fun things to do, but that is commuting distance to the city? I think we'd like to stay sort of close to the airport, too, for easy travel back to L.A.

2) What is the job market like for me? I have a Master's degree in English Literature and experience as a proofreader/copy editor. I've also done lots of office work, from managing a small business to being the receptionist at a large architectural firm. I've been looking online, and haven't really seen anything like what I do now (freelance proofreader for a full-service creative design facility), or anything that pays even half of what I'm making now. I know the cost of living is much lower, but that still makes me nervous.

3) What is the job market like for him? He has a high school diploma and five years of experience as an Executive Assistant. He has also managed salons and worked as an in-home caregiver to the mentally disabled.

4) How is the public transit system? He hates driving (but might hate it less if he didn't live in one of the most traffic-heavy cities in the country) and takes the bus to work now. We both have cars and plan to bring them both with us, but could we survive with one if we had to?

I'm sure I have more questions I haven't even though of yet, but those are the big ones for now. Thank you so much for reading this far, and I would greatly appreciate any advice you can give!

[marigolds6]

For job prospects for you, you might want to try shopping your resume around with the Cherokee St creative firms. Maybe try going to the Brain Drain crappy hour:
About | Brain Drain Collective
https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23crappyhour

[DinsdalePirahna]

Transit is about the same as in LA. Depending on where you live, it could be great or it could be bad. Car is essential if you live or find employment in the burbs.

Creative job market is iffy, but I'm still picking up freelance creative work from the Saint Louis Area. Using the Creative Group is a good way to pick up freelance work and get yourself into a nice permanent position. I know that large companies such as Edward Jones use the temp to hire approach to fill their creative positions.

Your boyfriend my have a more difficult go at it just a high school diploma. Local HS pedigree is important.
Just like you were pining to return to the Missouri Area, he will miss Southern California alot. But this may also be a good time to take advantage of some pretty good educational opportunities in St. Louis

[newport2clayton]

I just moved here from OC so I'll do my best to answer some of your questions. Personally, I just moved to Clayton and really love the area there. It's pretty similar to a smaller version of West LA in that it's a few miles outside of downtown but it still has it's own corporate high rise scene and there's tons of restaurants and bars in the area. It's a little more expensive than other areas for sure, but you can find some good deals. You'll also have a hell of a time finding a month to month lease since it's a pretty in demand area but I was able to find a nice 2 bedroom with M2M for $800/mo. Other areas you might wanna check out are Tower Grove, Washington Ave, and Soulard. West County and Chesterfield area is nice, but for people your age you'll just get bored. Clayton and Richmond Heights is as far as the metrolink goes west and you can take it right into downtown for $2.25. Regards of what anyone else says here about traffic, it's NOTHING compared to LA, I wouldn't make any decisions based on that, though the highest congestion area is probably around where the 40/64 hits the 270.

[marigolds6]

Growing up in San Diego, I think most St Louisans are deceiving themselves when they claim there is traffic here. Traffic jams here are only trigger by bad weather and accidents; you do not get the volume driven jams you get in LA. Makes driving very easy and predictable.

[zach_33]

Originally Posted by amc0485

1) Where should we look for apartments? He wants to be near the city, of course, but I'd prefer to be a little further out. Besides my family, a major motivator behind this move is the cost of living in L.A. We would ideally like to find an inexpensive month-to-month place in a safe, central location for a month or two while we look for a more permanent living situation. We have two cats, but we are going to try to find people for them to stay with in L.A. for a month or two while we get settled. Ideally, we'd like to find a house to rent after that - preferably in a smaller town outside of St. Louis. Is there anywhere nearby that has good walkability and its own fun things to do, but that is commuting distance to the city? I think we'd like to stay sort of close to the airport, too, for easy travel back to L.A.

Based on this I would recommend you take a close look at Webster Groves and Kirkwood - both are nice suburbs with their own little downtown areas, and sort of fit that mold of being near a major city, but very safe and kind of quaint and small-town feeling. Walkability is hard to come by in suburban St. Louis, though. Clayton probably comes closest, then maybe University City, Kirkwood, and Webster. Maplewood has a very walkable commercial district along Manchester that has been perking up the last 10 years. I know less about northern suburbs and they do have higher crime than western/southern burbs, but I believe Ferguson also has a walkable commercial area. The key in any of these places is to figure out where all the shopping/entertainment districts are and try to scope out rentals that are not too far from it, because even in the most walkable of St. Louis suburbs, a home chosen at random might be miles from all shopping and entertainment. Folks on this board can give you details if you are interested in learning more about the specific boundaries of the shopping/entertainment districts.

[aragx6]

I wouldn't suggest living very far out, if only for your BF's sake. It'll be much easier to meet people and to vaguely replicate the lifestyle you're used to if you stay relatively close in to the city. In addition to the suggestions above you can alos look at University City, Maplewood, Brentwood and Richmond Heights, which are all inner ring suburbs. I'd also look at the southwestern city neighborhoods Southampton, North Hampton, Lindenwood Park and St. Louis Hills -- I honestly think if you spend some time in that area you'd quickly realize that, while urban in feel, they're also a lot like small towns in their own right and there are loads of adorable little bungalows with decent-sized backyards, which I think would really appeal to you and BF as well.

Commuting via public transportation is certainly possible if you live closer to the city core, but without knowing where he'll be working it's hard to say for sure that it will be convenient.

The suburbs of both Webster Groves and Kirkwood have small but walkable little downtowns and might be a decent compromise for you two.

If you give us a better idea of the budget you'll be looking at we can probably offer you more tailored suggestions.

[Brickmama]

Take a look at some Lofts downtown. Busiest times are te weekends and very walkable to just about anything you need.