Moving to STL...advice needed (St. Louis, St. Charles: fit in, house, neighborhood)

[Tnim]

I have read many of the posts and have tried to get as much info as possible but still need some help. My husband has 2 job possibilities in STL. One, downtown and the other in Fenton. If he goes with the downtown position, commuting will not be a problem. He is willing to commute 30-40 minutes. We have 3 children (8,5,and an infant). We are looking for an area with affordable housing 190K-210K in an area with good schools. House size at least 1800 sq/4 bedroom. I hear the Rockwood School District is good? How is the St. Charles area? O'Fallon? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[TGS]

Any of those areas are fine. However, please be aware that Highway 40 (I-64 to the non-natives) will be shut down from I-270 until almost downtown for the next two years. Therefore, your husband will not be able to commute to downtown in the time frame you stated if you live on the 40 corridor. That will remove a large part of the Rockwood district, St. Charles, and O-Fallon area from consideration.

I would recommend looking on the I-44 or I-55 corridors. The areas around I-44 are especially nice. You should check out the Fenton area first, whether your husband is going to take the job in Fenton or downtown.

[Tnim]

I still do not know exactly where things are located in relation to the highways without looking at a map. So, are you saying that if he works downtown and we live in the Rockwood School district area, it will take a long time to get to work for the next couple years? Where would you recommend when you say around I-44?

[aragx6]

To live in St. Charles you don't have to rely on 40 (Which- if you're confused- is actually Interstate 64- but almost everyone calls it 40) In St. Charles you'll have access to Hwy 70 and 364 (also called the page extension) But its important to note that every highway is going to be more jammed because of the overflow from 40.

My knowledge of Fenton is pretty limited, but I grew up in St. Peters/St. Charles so any question you had on that area I feel confident I could help you with.

I would say you can get a good amount of house for your money is that area. You should be able to get a 4 bedroom in your price range that's older, but well-maintained in a great neighborhood- something like this: Single Family Home - 1223 Tara Ln, Saint Charles, MO, 63304 - Realtor.com
or this: Single Family Home - 343 Meadow Grove Ct, Saint Peters, MO, 63304 - Realtor.com

I would definitely suggest the Francis Howell School District over Fort Zumwalt or St. Charles.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask!

[Tnim]

Thanks! So in St. Charles there are multiple school districts? In the one that you recommend (Francis Howell), what area is that?

[TGS]

Here is a good map of the school districts in St. Louis County, with all of the highways:
http://www.co.st-louis.mo.us/plan/gis/School_Districts.pdf (broken link)

Highway 40, I-44, I-55, and I-70 all converge on downtown. The main route to downtown for a large section of the metro area is Highway 40. If you look at the map, the part of Highway 40 between I-270 and downtown will be out of commission for two years beginning in January. When it shuts down, all of that traffic is going to be diverted onto I-270 and then onto I-70, I-44, or side streets.

For a large section of St. Charles County, especially the fast-growing sections around O'Fallon, the main route to downtown is Highway 40. Most of that traffic is going to be diverted to I-70. There are only three bridges across the Missouri River: I-70, Highway 40, and the I-364 (Page Extension) which feeds into I-270 and then on to I-70. I wouldn't recommend moving there at this time because the commute will be longer than the time frame you stated. It might be right about 40 minutes if you live right off of I-70 and he works downtown, but if he works in Fenton then he will have to take I-270 south which is going to be completely clogged. I think that the traffic on I-70 into downtown is already terrible (since it is a main interstate trucking route in addition to a commuter route until it meets I-270), and it is only going to get worse as new subdivisions keep filling up. For example, my husband used to live in St. Charles and work in Kirkwood. His commute was between 40 and 60 minutes, and he lived pretty close to I-70. I don't have anything against St. Charles, it is a great area, but take the drive one morning and you will see what I mean.

Instead, your husband would save a LOT of driving time if you buy in the southern area of the metro. The new housing and shopping developments are pretty similar so you won't be missing anything by going south.

As you see from the map, the Rockwood district is huge! The areas around Highway 40 shouldn't be considered if your husband doesn't want a terrible commute. I-44 is going to take a lot of extra traffic when Highway 40 shuts down, but if you live relatively close to I-44, then the commute should fit into the 30-40 window, and if he works in Fenton, you won't have any problems at all. Therefore, I would recommend the area of Rockwood only south of Manchester Road, but the closer to I-44 you get the easier it will be. The Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Parkway (South of Manchester), and Valley Park school districts are nice and should also make for a very easy commute to downtown or to Fenton.

However, the area between I-44 and I-55 should be considered first. I-55 and the side streets in that area shouldn't pick up any extra commuters when Highway 40 shuts down. A commute to downtown or Fenton would be easy. The areas are clean and safe, with lots of shopping and new subdivisions. The Lindbergh and Mehlville school districts are good. There is also a lot of new development in Jefferson County, right off of Highway 141, in the Fox school district.

Good Luck!

[aragx6]

St. Charles is often used as a blanket term for St. Charles and St. Peters, and parts of both of them are in Francis Howell. But there are also parts of St. Charles that go to the St. Charles schools, and parts of St. Peters that go to Fort Zumwalt.

Generally speaking, Francis Howell's district is in the southern portion of St. Charles, south of I-70, and in the southern chunk of St. Peters.

I found a map that should be able to help you: St Charles County Map Service

Its pretty confusing, but that should give you at least a start.

Francis Howell has 3 high schools (Howell, North and Central) Zumwalt has three (North, South and West) and St. Charles has 2 (St. Charles and St. Charles West)

[lisamarieslp]

FYI--
There are 4 bridges that connect the St. Charles area to St. Louis county: 370 (which connects to 270 in North County and is rarely congested), 40, Page Extension, and 70. I live in St. Peters and commute downtown each day. I haven't had any issues thus far and plan to take Page to 170 to Forest Park Parkway. Yes, there will be more congestion once 40 closes but there are alternate routes.

The schools in the Francis Howell district are good but keep in mind that the elementary schools are year-round while the high schools are not. So, depending on the ages of your children that may or may not influence your decision.

Finally, south county is a great area to live and may be the most convenient for you. I don't know anything about the school districts there but have many friends in the area who have nice, affordable housing. Plus, I think the area around Fenton is really building up so I would anticipate an increase in property value to go along with that.

good luck!

[Tnim]

Wow,thanks all for the info. Lots of help. Interesting to find that some schools are year round. Right now my son is on the traditional schedule. My daughter will be starting kindergarten next year. Also nice to know that the high schools in Francis Howell aren't. I will check out the maps. My only concern is that the price range of house that we want is going to be an issue in Webster grove and Kirkwood. What else is south of Manchester?

[lisamarieslp]

Check out Ballwin and Valley Park.