Considering moving out of Saint Louis, looking for opinions or experiences? (St. Louis: transplants, crime)

[hamitchell1]

Hi all,
I'm from Saint Louis born and raised, but lately my spouse and I (25 & 30) have been considering moving to somewhere a little farther south with perhaps less crime. We don't want to be too far from Saint Louis as my parents are here and not in the best of health..we've tossed around the idea of Nashville, Louisville, Lexington, Asheville, Greenville. I am an RN with my BSN so a good hospital/healthcare system is important, we have three large dogs so somewhere with decent land is also important, we're foodies and love bar hopping so a walkable city would be fantastic. Has anyone made the leap out of Saint Louis, if so where did you move and did you regret it?
It's a huge decision, thank you in advance!

[Mosep]

I would suggest moving this thread to the general US forum, as this forum is pretty lightly trafficked.

[mjtinmemphis]

I recommend anyone to leave their hometown for someplace different. St. Louis isn't the only great place to live.

I moved to North Carolina when I left St Louis in the early 90s. I found it to be different and definitely a learning experience. One thing I quickly learned is the grass wasn't always greener on the other side. Crime is everywhere. But it forced me out of my comfort zone and met some really cool people. Within 6 months I learned how to enjoy the new experience.

I would recommend that you look at your pay vs cost of living when considering any city to make sure that you are moving to a comparable or better life.

Now I've been back in St. Louis since 14 and can really appreciate the good things about the city.

[FrankMiller]

Nashville is the only city I've been to out of that list. It's a fun city, but the traffic is a nightmare. They do have a commuter train, but it doesn't seem very popular. You can stop the car in Paducah about half-way there for a decent variety of restaurants.

[flynavyj]

I like the cities you mentioned, headed to Louisville tomorrow for a short weekend vacation with DW. Nashville’s traffic IS horrible, that’s a truth. They’re also going through a major boom right now, their downtown is adding offices and hotels at an alarming rate, while the median home price is increasing dramatically. I’ve seen entire neighborhoods on the western side of town get scraped for new home construction, it’s kind of crazy.

I haven’t been to Asheville for any real length of time, and honestly can’t remember if I’ve even gone through Lexington. Greenville was nice, and quiet. I guess if I wanted to live in a bustling city, it’d be Nashville and if I wanted quieter it’d be Louisville...and both are definite “Cities” by any definition. The others on your list would be more “large, small towns” and I’d be interested only if small town living, with bigger city amenities was what I was after.

[moorguy]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

I guess if I wanted to live in a bustling city, it’d be Nashville and if I wanted quieter it’d be Louisville...and both are definite “Cities” by any definition. The others on your list would be more “large, small towns” and I’d be interested only if small town living, with bigger city amenities was what I was after.

Having visited both Greenville and Asheville, I can definitely agree with this. I'd do some research and visiting (if possible) to get a better feel for the towns. I'm not quite sure either town has nearly the events/food/culture/sports scene that STL has. So, it depends on how important those things are to you. Ex: if you really enjoy cards games, or the STL symphony, or Ethiopian food- you may be driving to ATL for these types of things.


If you spend your free time outdoors, then Asheville seems to be a good place to be. I've often considered relocating there as well. Greenville has more amenities. Either place seems to have enough transplants to where you can still make new friends and have a social life.