Single mother, moving to STL with my 2 children. (St. Louis, St. Charles: section 8, rent)

[PoohPlus2]

Okay, I know there are many past posts that may asked the same questions I'm going to ask. But, there all outdated, so I just need current information about Saint Louis, Mo.

Background;
I was born and raised in SoCal (Los Angeles County), but my family is originally from STL. I'm 25, and I have two daughters (1 year old, 8 year old), Bachelor Degree in Business/Accounting, I don't have any help from my children's father in California. My mother helps me when she can, but she's a bad heart condition. I haven't been able to find stable employment ever since I gave birth to my youngest child. Unemployment is horrible out here. (especially since there are many people searching for employment who have way more years of experience than me) The only positions I can find are temp positions, which don't offer any type of security. When I did have my temp position I was paying almost 1400 in childcare expenses monthly. I just recently gave my car back to the dealer because I rather pay my rent & utilities than my car note. Thank God, I have Section 8 assistance or my children and I would be living on the streets. However, I want more out of life. I don't want to be on Section 8 and receive public assistance for many years. I basically want to use these sources as stepping stones, to make a better living for my children. It's just very hard, scared of change, don't know if I'm making the right decisions and I'm just completely lost. I need to get back on my feet, I was doing so well. I graduated from college 2011, Staff Accountant position for CPA firm (unfortunately I was laid off), nice car, wasn't on welfare at all, everything was perfect in my eyes. But, I just fell off my path when I had my second child. (Depressed!). I have been considering moving to STL, to have more family support, but just have been researching so many horrible stories about the area. I guess my questions are;

1. What is employment like for the field of Business/Accounting?
2. What areas are best to raise children?
3. I'm African American, is racism a big issue out there? Will, I have a problem with my daughter being called names at school?
4. What type of activities are there to do with children on rainy/snow days?
5. Do employers hesitate to hire non-locals?
6. Is STL a hell-hole? Are there more people leaving than coming?
7. How is the social life (I need to do something during my free time to keep me sane)?
8. Please, list anything else that you believe is beneficial to me making a better decision about this problem I'm facing.

Thanks!

[OuttaTheLouBurbs]

I can't answer all your questions, but I'll address the ones I can.

2. I don't know too much about the best places in the metro area to raise kids, but I can tell you that the city's schools are sub-par. Look for county schools; the Lindbergh, Ladue, Clayton, and Rockwood districts are said to be good.

3. There's de facto segregation between the north side of the city/county (largely African American) and the south side of the city and county (largely white). That being said, racism itself isn't that much of an issue-there's not much racial tension here, and everyone seems to gets along. The segregation really only remains because of a "the way it's always been" attitude. Also, the groups tend to mingle in the Central Corridor (Clayton, Richmond Heights, University City in the county; Central West End and Downtown in the city). Honestly, I doubt race will be a major issue for you and your kids.

4. There's the St. Louis Science Center/Planetarium at Forest Park (it's free!), the City Museum, the Arch (you can tour the museum for free or take a ride to the top), the Butterfly House in the County, and a lot of other stuff I probably forgot. You won't have a hard time finding things to do here.

6. Hardly. The metro area has been growing at a steady (albeit slow) pace. The city has been losing population for a while but the losses look to be tapering off. There's definitely blight and heavy crime in some spots (largely concentrated in North City) but on the whole the area is fine.

That's all I have enough knowledge on to answer, but there's quite a few people on this board that can probably answer all your questions better than I can.

[TheCatsMeoww]

Originally Posted by PoohPlus2

Okay, I know there are many past posts that may asked the same questions I'm going to ask. But, there all outdated, so I just need current information about Saint Louis, Mo.

Background;
I was born and raised in SoCal (Los Angeles County), but my family is originally from STL. I'm 25, and I have two daughters (1 year old, 8 year old), Bachelor Degree in Business/Accounting, I don't have any help from my children's father in California. My mother helps me when she can, but she's a bad heart condition. I haven't been able to find stable employment ever since I gave birth to my youngest child. Unemployment is horrible out here. (especially since there are many people searching for employment who have way more years of experience than me) The only positions I can find are temp positions, which don't offer any type of security. When I did have my temp position I was paying almost 1400 in childcare expenses monthly. I just recently gave my car back to the dealer because I rather pay my rent & utilities than my car note. Thank God, I have Section 8 assistance or my children and I would be living on the streets. However, I want more out of life. I don't want to be on Section 8 and receive public assistance for many years. I basically want to use these sources as stepping stones, to make a better living for my children. It's just very hard, scared of change, don't know if I'm making the right decisions and I'm just completely lost. I need to get back on my feet, I was doing so well. I graduated from college 2011, Staff Accountant position for CPA firm (unfortunately I was laid off), nice car, wasn't on welfare at all, everything was perfect in my eyes. But, I just fell off my path when I had my second child. (Depressed!). I have been considering moving to STL, to have more family support, but just have been researching so many horrible stories about the area. I guess my questions are;

1. What is employment like for the field of Business/Accounting?
2. What areas are best to raise children?
3. I'm African American, is racism a big issue out there? Will, I have a problem with my daughter being called names at school?
4. What type of activities are there to do with children on rainy/snow days?
5. Do employers hesitate to hire non-locals?
6. Is STL a hell-hole? Are there more people leaving than coming?
7. How is the social life (I need to do something during my free time to keep me sane)?
8. Please, list anything else that you believe is beneficial to me making a better decision about this problem I'm facing.

Thanks!

1. Clayton is a major business center with law, accounting and financial firms. There are also a lot around the county.

2. I agree with the other poster, stay out of the city, live in the county of St. Louis or near (which is huge). If you are looking for a family area that is reasonable, I'd say St. Charles County...there are a lot of nice neighborhoods, and the Francis Howell school district is decent, although some are better than others. It is also more affordable. Perhaps Maryland Heights, that is more central, or Manchester. Kirkwood has some affordable housing but your kids will go to school with more privledged kids so that might be a challenge. Ladue, the nice places in Clayton, Town & Country will all be too expensive so when you see school ratings and think those are great, they are, but doubtful for you. Not to offend anyone, but I would not live in North County. Stay South on Highway 270 from Highway 70, or over the bridge to St. Charles or St. Peters. I've lived in North County, West County and in between.

3. No, I really don't think you'll encounter that.

4. Rainy snowy days...well, weather can certainly suck. But there are indoor things...plus, the zoo is pretty cool on a rainy day, it is empty and it is the BEST zoo. There are indoor play areas, sporting indoor activities, lots of sports they can participate in (soccer is big in St. Louis, football, baseball, competitive cheer). There is the City Museum, art classes...if you look, you'll find plenty.

5. If you move to St. Louis, you'll be a local. St. Louis is very family oriented (and I'm talking about the county...St. Louis City is a different story), if you have a St. Louis address I doubt that will have any impact on hiring. Getting someone to hire you when you live in CA but want to relocate is a different story.

6. No hell hole but it depends where you are. People that are born in St. Louis tend to return, actually, if they leave. I did...although I left again.

7. You should have no problem with having an active social life.

8. Where does your Mother live, where you are now? And relocating is a major thing when you are dealing with a split custody situation, have you looked into what you need to do to move out of state? Also, any court dealings in the future will likely take place in California, unless he moves, or you don't have current orders and you file in Missouri once you've established residency.

Another thing...consider the weather change carefully, it is significant. It was 2 degrees for a few days when I visited in December...and that truly sucks.