St Louis A Possibility? (St. Louis, St. Charles: for rent, townhome, safe area)

[BurnInTheMil]

Good Evening To All,

My wife and I currently live in Walnut Creek, CA (San Francisco/Bay Area), and are about ready to find a new place to call home. Originally from Southern Indiana/Louisville, KY, have lived in California for a couple years now. I am being offered a promotion from within my company, and was given a list of cities that we can relocate to, to accept the new position. St Louis is on the list, so here we are!

A little about us. Mid-Twenties, no kids (yet), love the outdoors, enjoy 4 seasons (especially Fall), and also enjoy spending quality time on our couch watching tv. We much prefer “suburbs” and even the “country” compared to being in urban/downtown areas. Being in a “walkable” area isn’t a big deal to us, both have vehicles, bikes, etc... Public transportation also isn’t needed for us. We would like a family friendly area for possible kids in the future, and would ideally like a safe area obviously. We would more than likely rent for the first year or 2, then look into buying if we like the area. As far as budget for renting, arouns $1000-$1500 would be fine for renting, and for purchasing a home, we would like to stay around/under $225ish. I guess I can also add that I am required to live within 50 miles of St Louis, so other small towns, suburbs, etc...are definitely an option (and preferred).

Being closer to home (Southern Indiana), is definitely a plus, but I’ve always heard negative things of St Louis, but then again I’ve also read positives. I’m hoping to be “enlightened” on this thread.

Any and all help appreciated! Also, we would be moving around March 2018.

[glamatomic]

Hello!

I would look over on the St. Charles County side for your needs- it is very suburban (with bits of 'rural') with easy interstate and highway access to St. Louis. The school districts are very good, too.

I know a lot of families who live over there and love it!

You should be able to rent a modest ranch or townhome in your price range and will definitely be able to buy.

Shannon Howard (HowardTeam here on CD) was the realtor we used when we bought our house in STL County 5 years ago and I would highly recommend her- she lives in St Charles so will be able to guide you in the right direction).

Also, I realize you don't have kids yet, but as a mother of 3, I have to say that STL metro is an amazing place to raise a family. There are so many things to do that are free and affordable. It is impossible to get bored or run out of stuff to do, even on weeks where finances are tight! I love living here ♡♡♡

[Macmurphy1980]

My ex-wife and I lived in STL for a few years and absolutely loved it, however we lived in Central West End, so it was more urban than what you are looking for. Based on your wants, I would recommend some of the southwestern suburbs such as Webster Groves or Kirkwood, or Brentwood ... if you still want to be close to the city with a cool drive. Or you could do St. Charles and take 70 into the city. But as a general recommendation, I think STL is great and should be fine in your price range for the most part. It'd be pretty easy to make it over to southern Indiana as well.

[1grin_g0]

O'Fallon, MO is ranked #8 in the nation on the list below. If you are leaning towards a suburb, it's really tough to beat.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ive/761013001/

O’Fallon is one of the best places to live in the Midwest and in the country as a whole. That is partially because people living there tend to be relatively affluent. But while places where the population earns higher incomes tend to be more expensive, O’Fallon is relatively affordable. The typical household in O’Fallon earns approximately $85,000 annually. When adjusted for the area’s low cost of living, however, the value of the median household income is closer to $90,000.

Housing, in particular, is cheap in the city, which is located on the outskirts of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The typical home is worth about $224,000, only slightly more than the national median home value. While in some cities the price of a typical home can be as much as 15 times the median household income, in O’Fallon the median home value is just 2.6 times the annual earnings of the typical household.

[BurnInTheMil]

Thank you all for the quick info & suggestions!

[mjtinmemphis]

I love St Louis as well.

If schools are an issue, I would recommend checking on line for school district recommendations based on student performance. There are a number high performing school districts and all are in St. Louis Co. with a few magnets and privates sprinkled throughout the city.

Traffic isn't much of an issue but I would recommend that be part of the consideration as much as budget and size of home for the money. If you need good highend shopping near by, best choices would be the 64 corridor. Ofcourse you will get less house for your money. St. Louis is like any other city, you pay for the area.

[BurnInTheMil]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

I love St Louis as well.

If schools are an issue, I would recommend checking on line for school district recommendations based on student performance. There are a number high performing school districts and all are in St. Louis Co. with a few magnets and privates sprinkled throughout the city.

Traffic isn't much of an issue but I would recommend that be part of the consideration as much as budget and size of home for the money. If you need good highend shopping near by, best choices would be the 64 corridor. Ofcourse you will get less house for your money. St. Louis is like any other city, you pay for the area.

To be honest, traffic is the least of my concerns, simply because I currently live in & deal with San Francisco & San Jose traffic everyday. There’s no doubt it’s 10x worse than anything in St Louis. I will be looking forward to the traffic situation greatly!

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by Greg10556

To be honest, traffic is the least of my concerns, simply because I currently live in & deal with San Francisco & San Jose traffic everyday. There’s no doubt it’s 10x worse than anything in St Louis. I will be looking forward to the traffic situation greatly!

I would second St. Charles County, or South County thinking Oakville maybe, or if you want to be closer to Southern Indiana some of the better metro east burbs like O'Fallon IL or Edwardsville or even Waterloo.

You'll have a lot of options and it will seem like houses are free here compared to where you come from. Don't sweat the bad comments, it's really a pretty good place to live for most people. Big enough but not too big if you know what I mean. Lots of amenities. Some people hate the weather but it will be like what you know from Southern Indiana for the most part.

[BurnInTheMil]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

I would second St. Charles County, or South County thinking Oakville maybe, or if you want to be closer to Southern Indiana some of the better metro east burbs like O'Fallon IL or Edwardsville or even Waterloo.

You'll have a lot of options and it will seem like houses are free here compared to where you come from. Don't sweat the bad comments, it's really a pretty good place to live for most people. Big enough but not too big if you know what I mean. Lots of amenities. Some people hate the weather but it will be like what you know from Southern Indiana for the most part.

Thanks for the info. I’ve been to St Louis a few times, but most of the time it was for quick overnight trips for concerts, events, etc...so I’ve never explored anywhere except downtown.

I figured it would be pretty comparable to So.Indiana as far as climate goes, back to the nasty summers I come I guess (The one thing about San Francisco I like, is the weather).

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by Greg10556

Thanks for the info. I’ve been to St Louis a few times, but most of the time it was for quick overnight trips for concerts, events, etc...so I’ve never explored anywhere except downtown.

I figured it would be pretty comparable to So.Indiana as far as climate goes, back to the nasty summers I come I guess (The one thing about San Francisco I like, is the weather).

Yes, hot and humid summers but we have some nice days/weeks sprinkled in. I love our falls. I'm sure it's about the same as So. Indiana. We get cold and have some snow, varies from year to year. Still talking about the 18" dumped in the "blizzard" of '83 or whatever. Spring is nice but often a tease. Falls here are sublime. Good place to be and you can make of it what you want in terms of keeping to yourself or meeting people. People are pretty laid back I think. If you like getting outdoors plenty of hiking trails, biking trails, nearby rivers to explore, etc. Great parks in the city/county and over in Illinois.

Unless you choose to move far away from where you work, which is also an option, most things you need are a 20 minute drive or less.


I would say too it's smart to rent before you buy to get a feel for the area, but when it comes time to buy, I would recommend buying in a good school district, because those areas tend to hold their values and of course, if and when you guys have kids, it would be great to have good public schools as an option. And most of the districts around the area are good.