Moving to STL summer/fall 2020 (O'Fallon, Ferguson: best neighborhoods, real estate, renting)

[NIghtowl4127]

Myself and my 2 children are moving to STL next year. I have been to STL several times and the city has won my heart. This may, 2019, we will be renting an Airbnb near the Hill, to get a sense of the neighborhood, and living in the city. I have a friend who is from STL and has made several recommendations, however, it has been close to a decade since he lived there full time. I would love to find a place in CWE, and have had "Dogtown" (which I have come to find out is Franz park/Cheltenham/Hi Pointe areas I believe.)

I would love some feedback and good areas for Single mother with older children. We have 2 large dogs, and 2 cats, so I know that limits. My friend did also recommend Ferguson if we did not mind being in the suburbs. However, I would prefer to be in the city. Also, one of my children is an avid artist, and I would like to get her into one of the performing arts high schools.

Cost of living is somewhat comparable to Tulsa, OK...the area I will be moving from. I am starting to gather information. Thank you!

[FalstaffBlues]

with 2 large Dogs I would recommend living near one of the cities amazing parks. Hoods around Forrest Park, Tower Grove Park, Carondalet Park, Francis Park, and O'Fallon Park may suit your tastes.

[billiken]

We live in Dogtown (add Clayton Tamm to the list of official neighborhoods that make it up) with 2 kids. It is a really great place with kids--though mine are younger. We can walk to the zoo and are so close to the MO History Museum and Science Center. I'd classify it as moderately walkable, though about to improve with a grocery store opening in the heart of the neighborhood soon.

To me, the best neighborhoods with kids are Shaw & Tower Grove South. Large homes, so much going on along Grand Blvd, Tower Grove Park is lovely and has a great farmer's market on the weekend and on Tuesday nights in the summer. Single family homes have definitely skyrocketed in price, though.

The hill is really great too--my oldest goes to preschool there. Real estate there is kind of goofy though. Lots of small shotgun houses, and then new construction that is generally pretty expensive (and at times completely out of place--see 5529 Botanical Ave, bleh).

The neighborhoods near Hampton/Chippewa are close to a lot of amenities that make it walkable too, though the commercial stuff there isn't designed to be very walkable. Target, a gym, a library, a grocery store, lots of fast food. The nearby real estate is cute though.

Basically, all of the southwest side of the city is a nice place to live. Plenty of pockets in the southeast side are family friendly, too. The Central West End never feels family-friendly to me--it's more younger people like college students, younger people affiliated with hospitals/universities, or retirees.

Arts high schools: Central VPA (magnet school) or Grand Center Arts Academy (charter school--a friend's husband works there). GCAA got a lot of press recently from one of their students being accepted to Berklee College of Music after just a couple years of piano. I know a couple people with kids at both.

[NIghtowl4127]

Thank you for the information!