Moving to St. Louis, what suburb to choose?

[flynavyj]

Originally Posted by Kublanov

I have lived in Ballwin for 9 years and I can say that Ballwin is more closely connected with the city of St. Louis. St. Charles county sees itself as an entity of it's own while Ballwin is quietly nestled in west county. You can find housing for almost any price; from the upper 100's to the 700's+. Most of St. Charles county is still very new. O'fallon and St. Peters have grown very fast in the past two decades. They don't feel as organic as west county; granted suburbia really isn't that organic. Ballwin definitely has more diveristy. I delivered pizzas here for a few years during high school and we actually have quite a few racial groups. All the shopping you can think of is right here at your fingertips and when you want to get somewhere instead of shop, then take Daugherty Ferry/Big Bend road. For a family this is a great place. Had you been in my situation, 22, college student, I would steer you clear of this area. I would say look at Washington Avenue or the Central West End, but Ballwin is absolutely great for families. You should see how long it takes me to get through a subdivision during halloween trick-or-treating. This place is loaded with kids. And obviously for good reason. Finally, I really think the people in Ballwin and west county tend to be a bit more educated than those in St. Charles County. Not everyone of course but my 16 years of residence in STL have given me that impression. So if I were you I would look at Ballwin, Chesterfield, Manchester, Des Peres, Town and Country, Creve Coeur, and possibly Maryland Heights. They all have similar character as laid back, middle class suburbs, some a bit wealthier than others, with shopping nearby, and a sense of being in the St. Louis area.

I think i'd wholeheartedly agree with that post. I was curious about the educational stats, but according to City-Data demographic information, Bachelor's Degree attainment in the City of St. Charles is 26% of population, while Ballwin is 46% of population...The same is true for High School graduates, 86% in St. Charles vs 96% in Ballwin.

[btoverdrive]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

I think i'd wholeheartedly agree with that post. I was curious about the educational stats, but according to City-Data demographic information, Bachelor's Degree attainment in the City of St. Charles is 26% of population, while Ballwin is 46% of population...The same is true for High School graduates, 86% in St. Charles vs 96% in Ballwin.

I would agree with both of the last two posts. I lived in Ballwin for 16 years and only left in 2004 due to a job transfer. We came in as total strangers and made many good friends that we are still very close to. Ballwin had a small town feel but had anything you needed or wanted, except for maybe going to a ball game downtown. And I worked downtown, never was concerned with the commute. Gosh, I moved from Houston to Ballwin and was used to much worse traffic (except for Saturdays on Manchester!!!).