Looking for fun town w/ good schools St. Louis area (Kirkwood: houses, neighborhoods)

[J&A'sMOM]

Hi,
We may be looking to move to St. Louis area. Some where within communting distance to St. Louis - or if St. Louis has any wonderful safe little hamlets that would be great. We have 2 young children so schools are very important. We'd want a walkable town - walk to school, library, restaurants and church. A diverse area is good so one with other religions could be important to us. Interested in an area w/ art, science, childrens and museums. Also lots of culture. Does Ladue and Clayton have down towns? Only asking about those towns because I read they have excellent schools. Are there any hip towns in the area? Our housing budget is $750k - $1M and we enjoy homes that are older with lots of architectural details and towns that have historical districts.

Thanks for any ideas

[Ozarks21]

My sister-in-law lives in the Forest Park area of Saint Louis. It seems to be what you describe, except for the "walkable community" concept. I don't know that those exist in Missouri. Have you checked on the St. Louis sub-forum?

[mstergos]

Check Webster Groves. Beautiful town. Great downtown area.. They have beautiful old homes. They are very much about preserving the history of the town.

[faulks303]

Check out Kirkwood, which is just West of Webster Groves. They are both wonderful communities. My Mom lives in Kirkwood. Hundreds of beautiful, large homes in your price range on tree-lined, sidewalked streets. The downtown is darling too, with a wonderful Farmer's Market. A very walkable area, and I think the public schools are decent there, as well as a number of very good Private schools in the area. Beautiful town - be sure to check it out! Great for a family!

[faulks303]

Hello again,

I just replied to your question about trying to find a good family oriented town in or around the St. Louis area. I had suggested that you check out Kirkwood. What I forgot to mention is that it has a great Children's Museum called "The Magic House", many restaurants. If you want more as far as Museums, artsy stuff, St. Louis is just a short commute (I'm thinking around 15 minutes) to downtown, where the zoo if free, as well as the Art Museum around Forest Park, and Science Discovery Center. Good Luck!!

[forcedtorelocateagain]

Kirkwood. It's out of my budget, but it fits yours. I'd live there if I could! No doubt!!!

[2beamissourian]

There is an area .. that is absolutely beautiful ..Higher society type neighborhoods .. I went for a interview in the school district there. I dont remember the name of the area .... The houses were very nicely designed and the area the homes were in were spread apart and not on top of each other.

[liveit2day]

With your housing budget as it is you should check out the houses in Ladue. So many are older English-style homes and ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. It has a reputation for being uppity, but I've never experienced that at all. Great schools there also!!

Good Luck!

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by J&A'sMOM

Hi,
We may be looking to move to St. Louis area. Some where within communting distance to St. Louis - or if St. Louis has any wonderful safe little hamlets that would be great. We have 2 young children so schools are very important. We'd want a walkable town - walk to school, library, restaurants and church. A diverse area is good so one with other religions could be important to us. Interested in an area w/ art, science, childrens and museums. Also lots of culture. Does Ladue and Clayton have down towns? Only asking about those towns because I read they have excellent schools. Are there any hip towns in the area? Our housing budget is $750k - $1M and we enjoy homes that are older with lots of architectural details and towns that have historical districts.

Thanks for any ideas

Clayton is closest to matching all of your requests. you could border Clayton via Ladue or surrounding areas. If you want to walk to EVERYTHING, that is the only place you can...as in Church, schools, restaurants, etc...otherwise the city, with a poor public school system(you would need to do private schools, but you could afford it just fine) would be your other option. Ladue and Clayton are very pricey even for your budget, just an fyi...

Clayton, Ladue, U City South of Delmar, ...or Central West End in the city fit your interests the best imo. ....Kirkwood, Webster etc...would fit if you knocked out a couple of things on your list, but would have most.

[AdamK]

hey i would agree that clayton is pretty awesome if you can afford it. but if you can handle the city, come move to the Hill, it is a famous neighborhood, safe, its like a little utopia