Young, single, professional...where do I go? (St. Louis, Springfield: buy, colleges)

[STLCardsBlues1989]

St. Louis Mills Mall I believe is in Hazelwood. I've been there twice. It's pretty good. It's the official practice facility of the Blues, but you can go there sometimes and see them practice. Certain times of the day the rink is also open to shoppers. I've skated there.

There are theaters in the city also. I believe Moolah temple shows movies and you can also bowl there. There's also Flamingo Bowl Downtown.

[Brickmama]

Ok St Chas county as a whole. Maybe not DT St Charles.

[Brickmama]

Good point. If you are looking for a good movie theater then try the Moolah.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by Brickmama

Ok St Chas county as a whole. Maybe not DT St Charles.

I'm not going to argue with you about this, because the fact is, I know I am right. I don't like St. Charles, I would NEVER live in St. Charles and I'm not particularly loyal to it, but what you say does not mesh with my 20+ years of experience in the area. Period.

ATL, I will say this. I bet my life savings that you would not be uncomfortable in St. Charles the way you were in South County.

If there's a pretty day this spring head down to Main Street St. Charles, go to the Little Hills Winery, sit out on the patio, drink some Missouri wine and people watch all day and I'm sure you'll have a nice time.

[Brickmama]

Just explaining what I have experienced.

Back to the topic....

[AJohnston_STL]

Yep, you are working in the "bad part" of town, and downtown unfortunately is dang-near a ghost town after 5pm. It has improved very much in the past 5 years or so, and I hope it keeps getting better.

You need to go to the CWE and what not. Atlanta is extremely suburban and has sprawled due to recent growth, St. Louis is an old, urban city. I'd take an old urban city any day of the week. You just have to get out and find what suits you.

Working in north city I can see why you might think St Louis is a gigantic ghetto, but no, that's north city; that's their reputation, that's their modus operandi, unfortunately. If you see a murder on the news, 9 times out of 10 its going to be in north city. Please don't take home a negative view of St Louis because of your experience on the north side. I live in a middle class neighborhood (Dogtown) where violent crime is basically non-existent, and you won't see burned out buildings and burning trash cans in the street here.

[joe stixpuck]

Besides Soulard being a definitely must visit, I second checking out the Benton Park area, which is just across I-55 from Soulard and the brewery. The Venice Cafe and Gus' Pretzels have always been two of my favorite places to take visitors from out of town.

If you check out Soulard during Mardi Gras in a couple weeks, which can be a blast, make sure and visit again (or before) when the area's true casual and cool nature is apparent and easily appreciated.

[atl_to_stl]

Sounds good, different strokes for different folks I guess. Atlanta is definitely more suburban and I've been accustomed to seeing everything "bright, shiny, and new". :-) Also understand my perspective as a young black female may be a little different than yours. I'm coming from an area with a highly educated black middle class and I'm so sad to see the lack of progress in St. Louis within the black community. St. Louis has definitely been an eye opener but no different than any other midwestern or "rust belt" urban city I've lived in for work. As soon as I landed in St. Louis and stepped walked into the terminal, I thought, this is just like Cleveland. I spent eight months there on my last assignment....thankfully, I've found St. Louis to be MUCH better, lol. One thing's for sure, I'll take St. Louis traffic anyday over Atlanta's, goodness gracious. And that blizzard we had in Cleveland last April? NEVER again...I've had more than my share of snow. I was trying to get out of town that weekend, came down with the flu, I was hauling my luggage around by myself in waist deep snow and trying to get to the airport before they shut it down for 48 hours....tons of men everywhere and no one even offered a hand. That was the worst day of my life, lol. Made me appreciate southern hospitality even more.

Mardi Gras sounds fun, I'll definitely have to research it and put in on my calendar. I'm not into anything wild and I'm not a drinker (only wine) but I'm sure it'll be an experience. I have no friends or family here so I'm researching ways to meet new people. My co-workers (who are from St. Louis) say it's a hard city to meet new people because they don't really welcome "outsiders"...is there any truth to this?

Another thing....where can I get some good breakfast, preferrably with a nice hot bowl of grits. I was able to find a Waffle House not too far from the airport and their grits were lumpy and cold...such a disappointment.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by atl_to_stl

Mardi Gras sounds fun, I'll definitely have to research it and put in on my calendar. I'm not into anything wild and I'm not a drinker (only wine) but I'm sure it'll be an experience. I have no friends or family here so I'm researching ways to meet new people. My co-workers (who are from St. Louis) say it's a hard city to meet new people because they don't really welcome "outsiders"...is there any truth to this?

Another thing....where can I get some good breakfast, preferrably with a nice hot bowl of grits. I was able to find a Waffle House not too far from the airport and their grits were lumpy and cold...such a disappointment.

If you are talking about the Waffle House on Natural Bridge Rd. near the Renaissance Hotel, that is a sorry representation of the chain. If you head out West Florissant Ave., you will find a place called Sweetie Pie's which really nails Southern cooking. They also have a location in on Manchester Ave. in the city.

You do NOT see a large African American middle class in St. Louis because blacks were systematically excluded from employment (especially professional employment) at many of the major corporations in town. I could tell you a lot of anecdotes but I will not threadjack.

[atl_to_stl]

Thanks jlawrence01, that's very helpful and interesting regarding the exclusion from employment.

Sweetie Pie's....another spot I'll have to check out. :-)