Pacific (St. Louis, Washington, Union: apartment, crime, house)

[nroden]

I'm likely to transfer with my company to Pacific in March. What are the positives and negatives of Pacific?

Also, my fiancee and I are getting married in June and she's a teacher. I'm hoping she can find a nearby district to teach in.

We're also looking at other towns. Eureka seems to be too expensive. Washington is really nice, but also seems to be growing too fast for my taste. Union looks good and I especially like the looks of St. Clair.

I tend like towns that are big enough to have a decent local economy (grocery store, bank, restaurants, auto parts store, hardware store) but aren't big enough to attract Walmart, which makes Pacific or St. Clair winners, but that isn't everything to me either.

[zach_33]

All I know about Pacific is that they have a really nice animal hospital down there (Pacific Animal Hospital) that kennels dogs - I liked everything about leaving my dog there except for the 45 minute drive it took to get from my house and back each way. I have also been to Pacific a few times for little league baseball games. Those kids can play ball down there! It is a very pretty, forested, rolling hills and valleys area. Eureka is more suburban and a little closer to the city, with lots more money as a result. Downtown Washington is kind of quaint - I like it but Wal*Mart is definitely nearby. I know nothing about St. Clair but I presume it is hard core bible belt, rural poor, judging by the billboards I see when I am down that stretch of I-44.

[DeloresCampbell]

Here is a link about Pacific The City of Pacific, Missouri > Pacific Home Page. I too have been there for little league baseball games and yes they can play baseball!!! If your job is in Pacific then living there might be good for you. However, to get to any St Louis attraction - baseball or football games, the Zoo etc, it is a 45 minute - 1 hour commute. The further out you live from St. Louis, the fewer teacher opportunities there are. St. Louis is well known for private schools. Your fiance would have more job opportunities being closer to St. Louis with the public schools and the private schools.

[nroden]

Are drugs or crime a major problem in any of the towns, or is it something that mostly affects those who choose to be involved?

Also, we're looking for a good church or churches. I'm a lifelong member of United Church of Christ congregations, which are pretty strong in the St. Louis area. My fiancee grew up United Pentecostal. We're looking to find a good fit for both of us, or a situation where we can attend one early service and one regular service.

[stlcitygirl]

Pacific is a suburb, far from the city core. It's actually very pretty, sounds like it would probably be a good fit for you

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by nroden

Are drugs or crime a major problem in any of the towns, or is it something that mostly affects those who choose to be involved?

Also, we're looking for a good church or churches. I'm a lifelong member of United Church of Christ congregations, which are pretty strong in the St. Louis area. My fiancee grew up United Pentecostal. We're looking to find a good fit for both of us, or a situation where we can attend one early service and one regular service.

Well, Union is the county seat of Franklin County. Union strikes me as a nice little town. Franklin county has a huge meth problem, as do many rural areas counties of Missouri, including nearby Jefferson County. Franklin county has a sheriff there, Jason Grellner, who has been in the news (local and national) quite a bit for his efforts to fight the meth problem. You can probably google it.

Now with that said, I don't know that this problem would cause you problems living in those areas, but since you specifically asked about drugs and crime, I thought I'd mention it. I assume it affects mostly those who choose to be involved.

[nroden]

I began staying and working in Pacific on March 25. We got an apartment May 3 and moved our stuff May 12. Now I just have to wait for our wedding so my fiancee can join me up here!

[silibran]

Out of all of those I'd choose either Eureka or Washington. Eureka is in St. Louis County and the Rockwood school district, which might be very meaningful if you have kids. Washington has more charm than Pacific, IMO. I like where it is located on the MO river. It has a German feel, but is larger than Hermann.

Union and St. Clair are OK, but are too far out for my taste, although their setting is lovely. Pacific is the last on the list, as far as I'm concerned.

Please know that if you travel on I-44 daily, the traffic around Six Flags over Mid-America can be hairy. This is another reason for preferring Washington. By the way, Washington has a nice outpost of Mercy hospital in town.

[Patriece]

I used to live in Pacific in the 1970's and worked at a bar called Ed's. Anyone remember? My name was Pat Butler.