Have an interview in Clayton...

[TheCatsMeoww]

Originally Posted by Maideneer

I actually don't mind living 10 or so miles away from work and now I discovered my wife can do a transfer on her job to another location under the same parent company, so now Ballwin, Fenton, and Concord are in the picture.

And so my search can now expand to Chesterfield, Ballwin, Manchester, and such. These are good areas yes? I really like the idea of living fairly close to shopping centers...malls, outlets, big parking lot type places with Best Buy's, Target's, Costco's, Trader Joe's, yadada. I know some people find that repulsive living but it's gonna take a while to get the Long Island out of me and I like amenities close by

I'm not keen on the "challenge yourself and step outside your comfort zone" type of thing by living in the middle of a dense ethnic urban center, my entire childhood was filled with that growing up in Queens and there's no more dense place on earth than Nassau County, Long Island. Besides, moving 1,000 miles away is adventure enough for now!

Chesterfield would be my choice if you can afford it. If you drive an extra 18 minutes or so across the bridge to St. Charles, you'll find similar housing for a good $80,000-$100,000 less for the same square footage...a friend of mine paid straight up $100,000 more than we did and our houses were similar in size, similar in quality, similar neighborhoods, and I had a pool.

Ballwin has some nice areas, some of the neighborhoods have older homes so you may find something affordable there. But the problem with Ballwin and Manchester is Manchester road...just a nightmare, pretty much anytime of the day. My parents live right off it and I was there recently, it was amazing how crowded it has gotten.

I worked in Clayton for a long time and commuted from St. Charles, my strategy was to work very early and leave when the market closed to avoid traffic.

Traffic is a huge problem in St. Louis, so make sure you keep that in mind, wherever you pick. And there is construction constantly...when they finish one highway, they start on another, or sometimes they do it at the same time. Right after I moved to St. Charles they closed a huge hunk of Highway 40 for a year...wow that sucked...I had to do a really stupid roudabout way to Clayton that took forever. There is ALWAYS construction. I lived there for a total of 30 years...and I mean ALWAYS.

[Maideneer]

Thanks for the info everyone. I have 5 apartment appointments for 2 weeks from now! I did start reading about a brown recluse spider problem in STL, especially the more suburban you get, is that true?

[TheCatsMeoww]

Originally Posted by Maideneer

Thanks for the info everyone. I have 5 apartment appointments for 2 weeks from now! I did start reading about a brown recluse spider problem in STL, especially the more suburban you get, is that true?

Yes, that is true, but you usually have a problem spider wherever you land...black widows, for example, in other states. In my long years in St. Louis I probably only saw 4 or 5 brown recluse spiders. A girl I worked with did get bit once and it was nasty, she had to have a deep gouge cut out of her thigh...but that is the single time I've ever seen a bite, since 1974. I wouldn't worry about it, but when it starts to get warmer I always shake out my shoes before I put them on, no matter where I live.

They like garages, basements...dark places. They do not like people. That is my experience, anyway.