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It looks like my family will be moving to St. Louis by the end of summer 2013. I haven't even visited STL since I was in my teens, and my husband is there often for business, but rarely gets time to venture beyond his office and hotel. I'd like advice on two things: where to visit to get a feel for life in the area (not tourist attractions) and where to look for a home.
A little about us and what we like: we're in our early 30's with one child that will start kindergarten in the fall. We grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee and have lived in North New Jersey for the past 3 years thanks to my husband's job in Manhattan. We're looking for a neighborhood to spend time and live in that is reminiscent of Madison, WI or Montclair, NJ. My husband's employer is in Clayton, so close to that is best. I'm game for older neighborhoods, even if it means the only homes in our budget will be in need of serious updating. My husband prefers newer homes, but can be convinced if his commute will be short and the culture is good. Our only needs are good schools, some sort of a yard (no condos), and sidewalks (no vinyl villages where kids are driven to the bus stop).
Also, what places will we want to spend time? What are good parks, neighborhoods for shopping/strolling/snacking, farmers markets, and generally interesting things to do for people who call St. Louis home?
Thanks so much! Also, apologies for weird typos, using the iPad!
If you can afford to stay in Clayton and consider yourself at least upper-middle class, it's a great walking town with a nice community pool and close to the St. Louis attractions such as the zoo, art museum, etc. The schools are excellent in Clayton. You didn't mention your price range, but if you want a house you would need $600-700K minumum or see what you could find just south in Richmond Heights, part of which is in the Clayton school district. Or you could compromise on the sidewalk thing and look around in the condo market. There are some nice small buildings in the Moorlands area.
It looks like my family will be moving to St. Louis by the end of summer 2013. I haven't even visited STL since I was in my teens, and my husband is there often for business, but rarely gets time to venture beyond his office and hotel. I'd like advice on two things: where to visit to get a feel for life in the area (not tourist attractions) and where to look for a home.
A little about us and what we like: we're in our early 30's with one child that will start kindergarten in the fall. We grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee and have lived in North New Jersey for the past 3 years thanks to my husband's job in Manhattan. We're looking for a neighborhood to spend time and live in that is reminiscent of Madison, WI or Montclair, NJ. My husband's employer is in Clayton, so close to that is best. I'm game for older neighborhoods, even if it means the only homes in our budget will be in need of serious updating. My husband prefers newer homes, but can be convinced if his commute will be short and the culture is good. Our only needs are good schools, some sort of a yard (no condos), and sidewalks (no vinyl villages where kids are driven to the bus stop).
Also, what places will we want to spend time? What are good parks, neighborhoods for shopping/strolling/snacking, farmers markets, and generally interesting things to do for people who call St. Louis home?
Thanks so much! Also, apologies for weird typos, using the iPad!
What is your housing price range? That is a huge determining factor... You might want to check out Webster Groves (63119). WG has a weekly farmer's market, it's a very friendly neighborhood atmosphere, Webster University is a small private school smack in the middle. On the campus of WU at the Loretto Hilton Theater is St. Louis Opera Theater Opera Theatre of Saint Louis whose season starts next week. During the academic year the Loretto is the home of the St. Louis Repertory Theatre The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis . So that's some culture for you!
In the city of St. Louis the St. Louis Symphony STL Symphony - Home is one of the finest orchestras in the nation. During the STL Opera Theater season in June, the STL Symphony splits into two small orchestras and is the "pit band" for the operas.
In St. Louis is Forest Park, Forest Park Forever the crown jewel of the many parks that dot the area. Forest Park is bigger than NYC's Central Park. There is a zoo, Home :: Saint Louis Zoo , the Art Museum Saint Louis Art Museum , the history museum Missouri History Museum and they're all FREE general admission. There are some special exhibits that can have an admission charge within but the vast majority of those institutions are free.
Thanks for the replies. Im pretty sure everything in Clayton is above our budget. Ideally, we'd like to stay below $300k - there would need to be something pretty amazing about a neighborhood to make us stretch further.
Sidewalks are a no compromise unless we're talking rural areas. With a 5 y/o and a large dog in the family we need the kid of neighborhood that's conducive to being outside, visiting the neighbors, etc.
Glad to hear some museums are free - that can be a savior on rainy Satuedays with a restless kid (and husband).
Start with Webster Groves & Kirkwood. Generally older charming homes, cute downtown areas, solid number of community events, close to Clayton and the city.
Kirkwood and Webster are great, but I'd stay as close to Clayton as possible. In terms of similarity to Madison or Montclair, University City would actually be the first area that comes to mind, but the middle and high schools are not acceptable to most middle class parents. Once you eliminate beautiful U City from the list of contenders, I would zero in on 1) Richmond Heights (the part in either the Clayton School district or Ladue School district, which is basically all north of I-64), 2) Brentwood, or 3) Olivette. Webeter Groves would probably be the 4th place I would search, not because it is not nice (it has a great neighborhood-y, community vibe) but it is just a little bit further from Clayton.
There won't be any need to worry about commute times, especially considering the New Jersey/East Coast traffic you might have grown accustomed to seeing. Clayton is a great area, fantastic, and you might get an "entry level" home there for your price point. As others said, Ladue Schools are often considered top notch, but outside of Olivette there are few Ladue School District areas accessible for under $300k, and $300k won't buy you a new home in Olivette most likely...although it might, depending on size.
Personally, I'd look at Kirkwood, and potentially Webster Groves. Great communities, with an awesome small town feel. Everything within the I-270 Beltway will give you a reasonable commute to Clayton using either interstates or surface streets. Both communities have great amenities, and excellent schools. There's an awful lot of rivalry between St. Louis school districts, and the districts are relatively small with tons of different districts stretching across the metro area (this might be similar or different from what you're used to). What I'm trying to get to here is that while some districts are considered "better" than others, this is often the result of rivalries between different school districts, towns, etc...more than any trouble with the actual districts...especially when talking about top tier districts like Kirkwood, Lindbergh, Ladue, Clayton, Parkway, etc...When comparing districts like Ladue to say Normady, or Riverview Gardens...there couldn't be more major differences.
There won't be any need to worry about commute times, especially considering the New Jersey/East Coast traffic you might have grown accustomed to seeing.
What I'm trying to get to here is that while some districts are considered "better" than others, this is often the result of rivalries between different school districts, towns, etc...more than any trouble with the actual districts...especially when talking about top tier districts like Kirkwood, Lindbergh, Ladue, Clayton, Parkway, etc...When comparing districts like Ladue to say Normady, or Riverview Gardens...there couldn't be more major differences.
This is helpful, and I suspected both of these things were true.
Right now my husband's daily commute involves car, NJ Transit, walk/subway and can take between 45-90 minutes each way depending upon traffic. My 11 mile commute down the GSP takes 20 minutes in the morning, but easily an hour in the evening. So yes, just about anything will be better. Also, quality of neighborhood is much more important than square footage. Our current 3 bedroom home is 790sq ft + a partially finished basement. I think it would be tricky anything so petite outside the NYC area.
I was also suspecting the school district comparisons I have been hearing about are mostly a matter of better vs. best, not good vs. bad.
We moved here from the West Coast about 2 years ago and decided to rent before buying so we could get to know the areas better. We ended up buying in Brentwood and LOVE it. Our neighbors are super friendly, everyone watches out for each other; people pet-sit and baby-sit, we have block parties and it's just a nice little area. Of course the homes in Brentwood (similar to Webster and Kirkwood) are older and smaller than other places you could buy in. The schools are good and there's nice parks and walking trails around as well. Brentwood is pretty centrally located- it takes me about 15 minutes max to get from Brentwood to my work downtown. It's also a very safe area- the most crime we see are petty theft reports.
I would also suggest to look at Webster - Kirkwood (depending where) would be further out for your husband to Clayton. For your price range you could find a nice house in Brentwood, Webster or Kirkwood with a finished basement and a decent backyard.
It also depends on the architecture you like for homes- Brentwood has a lot of brick (which i love), while Webster and Kirkwood have a mix of victorian, craftsman, bungalow, etc.
A co-worker of mine is from Wisconsin (went to school in Madison) and we were actually just talking of the farmers markets- none will compare to what you are used to (her words). There is a lot to do around St Louis- you don't necessarily have to live right by the "attractions" like Forest Park- just drive there. Any of the suburbs mentioned would put you in a nice central location to most of the highlights of St. Louis.
good luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snixy
It looks like my family will be moving to St. Louis by the end of summer 2013. I haven't even visited STL since I was in my teens, and my husband is there often for business, but rarely gets time to venture beyond his office and hotel. I'd like advice on two things: where to visit to get a feel for life in the area (not tourist attractions) and where to look for a home.
A little about us and what we like: we're in our early 30's with one child that will start kindergarten in the fall. We grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee and have lived in North New Jersey for the past 3 years thanks to my husband's job in Manhattan. We're looking for a neighborhood to spend time and live in that is reminiscent of Madison, WI or Montclair, NJ. My husband's employer is in Clayton, so close to that is best. I'm game for older neighborhoods, even if it means the only homes in our budget will be in need of serious updating. My husband prefers newer homes, but can be convinced if his commute will be short and the culture is good. Our only needs are good schools, some sort of a yard (no condos), and sidewalks (no vinyl villages where kids are driven to the bus stop).
Also, what places will we want to spend time? What are good parks, neighborhoods for shopping/strolling/snacking, farmers markets, and generally interesting things to do for people who call St. Louis home?
Thanks so much! Also, apologies for weird typos, using the iPad!
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