Moving from Pittsburgh - recommendations for good locations to buy a house in (St. Louis: rentals)

[a_k]

We are moving from Pittsburgh to St. Louis soon. We have an almost 3-yr old. Our price range is below $500k for a 4 br house with a decent-size house. Other criteria that's important:

* Good school district and for the short term, easy access to high-quality daycare (e.g. Goddard School)
* Relatively newer house (built within the last 10-15 yrs)
* Within reasonable driving distance (~30 mins) from kids activities such as museums, zoo, etc.
* Proximity to a lake is a nice-to-have, but much lower in priority

Thank you for your recommendations!

[zach_33]

There's not a ton of lakes in the metro area that I am aware of. For newer homes at or below 500k with elite schools that are less than 30 minutes drive to the city, you've got a lot of choices, and it depends on the lifestyle you are looking for. Kirkwood has some newer homes (though it is mostly older and established) and people love it there. Des Peres, Ballwin, Manchester - all decent areas but very cookie cutter from what I can see. Fenton is a little more rural in feel but a quick commute to the city - there are some hillbilly sections of Fenton but some executives areas as well. Clayton is unreachable with a 500 limit, and most the houses are older, but there are some new builds in adjacent Richmond Heights (which is served by the Clayton school district) that are right at about 500k. Ladue new builds will be unachievable also at 500, but neighboring Olivette (served by the Ladue school district) has some nice new builds priced right in there. Chesterfield and Town and Country are pushing the 30 minute mark but there are a ton of newer subdivisions out that way in your price range, and their schools rock. So, you basically have a lot of options. I would probably shoot for one of the nice new subdivisons in Olivette, but that's just me.

[a_k]

Thanks for the detailed response, zach_33. Olivette sounds interesting and I'd like to dig a bit deeper on secondary criteria.

Can you elaborate a bit more on what you like about Olivette besides the school district? Is there decent shopping nearby? In general, what kinds of professions/companies do people in Olivette work in?

[zach_33]

Sure. Olivette is very centrally located. It is pretty close to I-64 which is the east-to-west aorta of the region, and you can get to it easily using I-170 if you are in the eastern section of Olivette. I-170 also runs straight up to the airport. If you travel for work, you'd be looking at a 15 minute commute to Lambert. Olivette is also close to the two largest business districts in the metro area, downtown STL is probably about a 25 minute drive from the most remote section of Olivette, and downtown Clayton is about 10 minutes away. Olive Blvd runs through the heart of Olivette and is jam packed with retail. Olivette has nice green spaces and a great public park (Stacy Park). It has sidewalks and would be a good area for jogging. There is a mix of older and newer housing - it definitely has some character (the Chevy Chase subdivision is a good example of the older housing stock that is quite nice). A lot of the newer subdivisions are tear downs of modest post-WWII ranches and seem to be of very high quality - many are upper bracket. It is very close to the Galleria Mall (the nicest inner city mall) - there are some great movie theaters out in Creve Couer, which is another retail and shopping mecca unto itself. It is also close to University City, which has a good strip of local, independent shops, bars and restaurants. Olivette has some diversity by midwestern standards-- jews, blacks, wasps, asians. Most of the rentals north of Olive Blvd are lower to middle income, but to the south is mostly affluent. Western Olivette nearer creve couer feels very suburban, but eastern Olivette has a distinct "inner-ring" feel. Professionally it runs the gamut. I have a friend there who is a lawyer and he works in Clayton. It would be a great place to live if you worked in Clayton or at Monsanto whose global HQ is on the western edge of Olivette. It would also be convenient to the office spaces near Olive and 270. The schools, I would reiterate are the very top of the stack. Old Bonhomme Elementary school is blue ribbon. Ladue's Middle and High school are also considered among the very best in this region.

[zach_33]

Come to think of it I could make a similar argument for Brentwood, which I failed to mention in my first post. It's a much smaller school district but it is considered awesome and it is extremely central and well situated for shopping. There are some newer homes there mixed in with some older ones and I think the newer ones would be very close to your desired price range.

[meredithhr]

Congrats on the move! Based on your criteria, I nominate Fenton:

* School District: Look for houses in either Rockwood School District or Lindbergh School District. Area has a lot of new housing stock that is less than 15 years old.

* Day Care: There's a lot well-known, national chains: Goodard School, La Petite, Kindercare, some non-profit church day cares as well.

* Distance from kid friendly activities: There's the Powder Valley Hiking Trail and Nature Center right by Kirkwood, The Magic House is also in Kirkwood (10 minute drive), Monkey Joe's (about a 20 minute drive), Bounce-U, , The Little Gym (in Fenton), 30 minutes to the zoo, Botanical Gardens, downtown STL (I-44 is a very commutable highway). West County Mall is 20 minutes away, the American Girl store is in Chesterfield, about 25 minutes away, Butterfly House in Chesterfield (25 minutes away), City Museum (25 minutes away).

* Fenton has George Winter Lake- George Winter It has a nice boat ramp. However, it's not a lake with a playground or beach.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by a_k

We are moving from Pittsburgh to St. Louis soon. We have an almost 3-yr old. Our price range is below $500k for a 4 br house with a decent-size house. Other criteria that's important:

* Good school district and for the short term, easy access to high-quality daycare (e.g. Goddard School)
* Relatively newer house (built within the last 10-15 yrs)
* Within reasonable driving distance (~30 mins) from kids activities such as museums, zoo, etc.
* Proximity to a lake is a nice-to-have, but much lower in priority

Thank you for your recommendations!

I'd suggest West County, which is comprised of Chesterfield, Wildwood, Ballwin, Ellisville, Manchester and a number of other smaller municipalities. Anything in the Parkway School district.

[glamatomic]

I have to agree with Mutgr. Creve Coeur may also be a consideration as well as parts of Maryland Heights and unincorporated St. Louis County in the Parkway Schools District.

[meredithhr]

MUTGR, wouldn't Ellisville and Wildwood be over 30 minutes to the city? Some parts of Ballwin would also be over 30 minutes from the city. They are nice places to live, but that wouldn't meet the OP's criteria.