Does anyone move to the city any more? (St. Louis, St. Charles: apartment, condo)

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Nothing wrong with the city, nothing wrong with the suburbs.

I understand Julian's frustration. Suburbs nearly killed St. Louis. But they serve a purpose for some people.

Whatever floats your boat.

[anr_black]

I live in the city with my husband and two young kids, and we love it. We moved here from a small town three years ago and never once considered moving to the suburbs. For what we paid for our house, cheap taxes, and even with private school for one (and soon to be two), we still end up better off financially then our same house anywhere else (well, anywhere as desirable, anyway). I can walk within a few blocks to the grocery store, library, parks, restaurants, my son's school, church, etc. We have the best neighbors we've had anywhere, and there's a real sense of community here. My neighborhood is better all around then the small town we moved from. And yes, there are plenty of people, even families, that choose to move here. We see families moving in around me all the time. I know all my son's friends and their parents well, because we all live within a few blocks of each other. It's an awesome lifestyle! The only reason I would move is if the cost of high school down the road becomes too steep to justify staying here, which is a real shame. But I honestly don't think I could duplicate our lifestyle in any suburb. And when I ask any of our friends that do live in the burbs, it seems the only advantage is a newer home and more land. We love the city. My kids are raised with a sense of culture and respect for diversity, and a caring community, that I only wish I'd had as an IL farm girl

[Brickmama]

I personally think the city of St Louis is 100 times more appealing than Chesterfield. I am sure 350k people that live in the city will say the same.

[JulianJT]

Originally Posted by 3240Redo

I live in Webster Groves but my wife and I are moving to north City soon. We're buying an LRA house and renovating it, which will take a while to complete.

I'm confused, though. You deride those that live in west county but commute to the city, when you live in the city and commute to west county. Yes, the city needs more residents, but it also needs people to work there. What makes your choices better than the people you despise?

I commute to west county because unfortunately, my company is not immune to the sprawl. They got out of downtown on the first ticket out so our executives didn't have to commute ALL the way downtown to make their quarter-million dollar salaries.

Everyone has a right to live where they want, I just get frustrated with the whole idea that the "further west the better."

I have to commute to west county because the city is slowly losing its prominence as the central business district as companies run to the suburbs the first chance they get. I don't work there by choice, I work there because that's where my job is.

If we didn't continue to sprawl westward, perhaps my job would still be in the city.

Congratulations on your purchase in the city, I hope you love every minute of it. There is a long list of "acceptable" suburbs in my book, and Webster Groves is one of them :P

[JulianJT]

Originally Posted by Brickmama

I personally think the city of St Louis is 100 times more appealing than Chesterfield. I am sure 350k people that live in the city will say the same.

Absolutely. The comment that you were responding to clearly came from a completely out of touch county resident.

Originally Posted by anr_black

My neighborhood is better all around then the small town we moved from. And yes, there are plenty of people, even families, that choose to move here. We see families moving in around me all the time. I know all my son's friends and their parents well, because we all live within a few blocks of each other. It's an awesome lifestyle! The only reason I would move is if the cost of high school down the road becomes too steep to justify staying here, which is a real shame. But I honestly don't think I could duplicate our lifestyle in any suburb

You could only duplicate that lifestyle in an inner ring suburb where people *want* to live close to the city but found the perfect home in Maplewood, University City, or Richmond Heights. In the suburbs, especially those like Chesterfield and O'Fallon, you only care to know the people in your cute little cookie cutter cul de sac. Of course, once a minority family or two moves in, they take off as quickly as they can and move another 10 miles out west into the county, because we all know that when a minority comes in, "there goes the neighborhood."

Isn't sprawl a beautiful thing?

[mytjo95]

I understand you frustration as well. My partner and I were really considering the City when we we're searching to buy a home, but since our jobs our in O'Fallon, and our familes our in St. Charles, Maryland Heights, Hazelwood, we ended up in Florissant.. which btw in my personal opinion is highly more diverse than OFallon or Chesterfield. I like diversity.

We plan to definetly purchase in the City next time, or close inner ring..i.e. maplewood, Ucity, CWE. I LOVE the idea of living there! .. it will def be our next move, hopefully in 5 years!

[STL Aviator]

I moved to the city 5 years ago having previously lived in the suburbs of Chicago. The quality of life in the CWE is outstanding and it has been a good choice for me. I originally thought that I would just live here for a few years, have my fun, and then move on to the suburbs somewhere else. Now I can't really imagine going back to the suburban lifestyle. The thought of having to get in the car every time I run an errand seems arduous. I think it is difficult for many people to change their lifestyle and step out of their comfort zone, and with so many people accustomed to a suburban lifestyle, momentum carries them to a familiar environment. In many cities, the trend toward urban living has been strong for a long time. It seems to be less developed in St. Louis, but I think that will change over time, assuming the suburbs don't kill us first.

[TXRyan23]

My wife and I loved St. Louis the few times we visited ( From Nashville, TN went for the City Park and the Cards ) We heard however that St. Louis isn't the most friendly for mixed-race marriages and that there is a ton of racial tension in the whole metro-area. We actually heard something about racist flyers being sent out in reguards to the school board ? I am going to school to become a elementary school teacher and just really don't want to deal with that stuff.

I'm not a resident so I can't comment on the situation but the city itself has a really bad reputation. I love the Cards though and always will.

[Brickmama]

I think alot of the unfriendly thinking in regards to mixed race relationships is over blown in STL. Yes it exists in STL just like many other metros but if you are in the city you wont have much of a problem. There are a ton of mixed race couples in STL. It may be frowned upon in the outer suburbs but in the city you should be fine.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

I don't live in St. Louis, but I would guess that those statements are overblown, TNRyan. I'm sure there's some racial tension. Pretty much every city has it. But I would think areas of the city are pretty tolerant. I haven't heard of any racial flyers. When it was recently announced that there were 3 candidates for superintendent of the schools, some online forum members on STLToday snarkly replied that it was descriminatory that all 3 candidates were black. I don't think this is the overwhelming thought by any means.

You should be just fine in St. Louis City. I don't think anybody will say anything to you or treat you differently.

Any city has racial tension. St. Louis may be more segregated (more blacks in North St. Louis, more whites in South St. Louis, kinda mixed in the middle) than some cities, but I don't think that necessarily means that there's more racism.

As long as you mind your own business, I don't forsee any problem.