Fun Family town/city w/ culture, walkability, & community feel (St. Louis: apartment, houses) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

J&A'sMOM · 05-03-2007, 11:05 AM

Hi,
We may be looking to move to St. Louis area and would love a "sidewalk community". 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. I am really interested in the school situation are there any excellent public schools or do most people send their kids to private? 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

RickMG · 05-03-2007, 04:50 PM

I was going to say that there aren't any "walkable cities" like you're describing but I just remembered that Chesterfield is building what they are calling downtown Chesterfield. It is located just across the street from Chesterfield Mall and will be an area like you are talking about. There are parks, schools and many restaurants and shops all within a mile of it. People of all religions live in the area and within the school districts of Parkway and Rockwood which some consider among the best in the state. Homes in the area are in, or just below that price range. The downtown area is suppossed to be done within the next year or two. They are going gung ho on it now.

Gigee · 05-03-2007, 06:30 PM

J&A'sMom, based on your description I feel like I really understand what you're looking for. You did a great job at describing it. I don't know much about this new downtown Chesterfield, but as a person who wants all of those things you described, I would never want to live in Chesterfield! Sounds horrible to me. Sure, the houses are "nice" and that's where the wealthy live, but it's definitely not a cute walkable community with any architectural qualities. There is an Indian place of worship, but the community is not diverse in a true sense.

My suggestion for you would be check out the Central West End neighborhood in the city. It's beautiful!! There isn't a building there that isn't architecturally astounding, tree-lined sidewalks are on every street, there are tons of small businesses, the best walkable business district in the city complete with cobblestone streets, it's next to Forest Park, and there is abounding culture. There are definitely really nice housing options in your price range; one's that I have dreamed of owning. Many of the most gorgeous blocks still have beautiful iron gates and statues blocking access from the busiest streets to prevent through traffic. It's a lovely place. It's the home of New Bascilica Cathedral, which is amazing. Here is a little more info: http://www.stlouis.missouri.org/cwe/index.html CHECK IT OUT.

Now, I have to warn you... Public schools in St. Louis are not good! Parents who want a good education for their children, send them to private schools. It's gotten to the point that just because you send your child to Catholic school, doesn't mean your religious, it means you care about education. Fortunately, there are a lot of good private schools in St. Louis and even some in the Central West End, although, of course I can't think of the names right now.

Other neighborhoods I think you might want to check out: LAFAYETTE SQUARE, Clayton, and U-City.

RickMG · 05-03-2007, 07:10 PM

I have to agree with Gigee about the Central West End being the best area judging by what you described with the exception of you saying that you had two young children. I sell a lot of places to grad students in that area and am there many times a week. The city has some great areas to raise children, but I wouldn't include the central west end as being one of them. There would be virtually no children in the neighborhood to play with for one thing. As for Chesterfield being diverse, there are people of every race, religion and social stature in Chesterfield. I lived there for 20 years and now live in Ballwin with the Chesterfield line being just a few blocks from my home. Like I said, the downtown Chesterfield is just under construction and it is a new area but anyone who says they wouldn't live here doesn't really know it here.

J&A'sMOM · 05-04-2007, 06:54 AM

Thanks Rick & Gigee,
My issue is that we relocated to CT from MI (our home state) and we are a bit isolated in an area w/ 2 acre minimums because there was no housing inventory in town when we bought almost 2 years ago. I drive everywhere!! I hate it!! Now we may be moving again and I do not want to be isolated. I want my children to beable to ride their bikes on sidewalks. I want to walk to a coffee shop and bookstore and all the other places I stated above - and also have nice friendly neighbors so my kids can play. I could do more urban - for sure - I'd really love a town/city similar to our CT town - but this time I'd buy in town. I'm not sure if I can find that in St. Louis - but I don't give up easy. I'll check out CWE it sounds very interesting and beautiful and once kids are in school you meet other parents!! After surfing the web and reading other threads I felt maybe these areas might fit our needs: U-City, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Ladue, Clayton, and Olivette??? Any thoughts. Does Webster Groves have a downtown area - I really love the houses I've found on the net.

Thanks again!!

RickMG · 05-04-2007, 07:57 AM

I really didn't think of Kirkwood when you brought it up, but it and Clayton would fit your needs more than any of the other areas you mentioned. U.City has a great area, but then again like the CWE it's not too kid friendly. Webster Groves has a great area on Lochwood near Webster University and is very quaint. The best idea for you would be to take a tour of the areas and schools. The closest we come to areas like a NE town would be in small areas of Kirkwood, Webster Groves, U. City, the CWE and although I haven't seen it yet, I hear Hazelwood is really promoting it's newly rehabbed downtown area. Of course Main Street in St. Charles is a great place, but I wouldn't want to go there everyday, it's pretty touristy.

J&A'sMOM · 05-04-2007, 11:41 AM

Gigee,
Where is Lafayette Square? Is it in St. Louis or is it a seperate town? I didn't see it on the CWE neighborhood's listing on the web site. Thanks for the web info - it was very informative. If we end up moving I can't wait to visit all of these places. I wish the web site had the photo pages enabled - that would be so cool.
THXS :-)

Gigee · 05-04-2007, 12:04 PM

I forgot about Webster Groves, that's good advice. It is a charming area. I can't picture the commercial area on Lochwood, I'll have to check it out. Kirkwood is also a very lovely place with nice homes and a great downtown section. I would recommend either one.

To answer your question, Lafayette Square is a only a couple miles from downtown and it's one of the oldest sections of the city. Most of the homes are Victorian and very beautiful. It has a strong neighborhood association, so all the homes are very well kept up and there is an awesome business district there and the most beautiful park that the neighborhood is centered around. It's also a couple blocks from Soulard, where I live. I love living in Soulard because I can walk to the famous Soulard Market, to church, the laundromat, and restaurants all within five blocks of my apartment. Most of the people in Soulard aren't the traditional family type, we're mostly kind hearted locals who love to go to the corner bar to catch a good blues band.

This isn't the most impressive website, but it hopefully gives a better idea of the Lafayette Square neighborhood: http://www.lafayettesquare.org/
And just in case you're curious about soulard: http://www.stlouis.missouri.org/soulard/index.html

riptoman · 05-07-2007, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J&A'sMOM

Thanks Rick & Gigee,
My issue is that we relocated to CT from MI (our home state) and we are a bit isolated in an area w/ 2 acre minimums because there was no housing inventory in town when we bought almost 2 years ago. I drive everywhere!! I hate it!! Now we may be moving again and I do not want to be isolated. I want my children to beable to ride their bikes on sidewalks. I want to walk to a coffee shop and bookstore and all the other places I stated above - and also have nice friendly neighbors so my kids can play. I could do more urban - for sure - I'd really love a town/city similar to our CT town - but this time I'd buy in town. I'm not sure if I can find that in St. Louis - but I don't give up easy. I'll check out CWE it sounds very interesting and beautiful and once kids are in school you meet other parents!! After surfing the web and reading other threads I felt maybe these areas might fit our needs: U-City, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Ladue, Clayton, and Olivette??? Any thoughts. Does Webster Groves have a downtown area - I really love the houses I've found on the net.

Thanks again!!

I live in Webster Groves and after reading your post, this really isn't what you have in mind. There's not a lot of local businesses nor a lot going on in Webster Groves (next to nothing). "Downtown" Webster is a joke -- maybe two tenths of a mile long. What you're describing sounds to me much more like Kirkwood or Clayton. Both are very safe, thriving communities (much more so than webster) with a lot of 'hip ' areas, nice downtown areas, and a generally "family" feel to them. U-City...pretty nice, close to the city...not so much the family place though.

mstergos · 05-10-2007, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riptoman

I live in Webster Groves and after reading your post, this really isn't what you have in mind. There's not a lot of local businesses nor a lot going on in Webster Groves (next to nothing). "Downtown" Webster is a joke -- maybe two tenths of a mile long. What you're describing sounds to me much more like Kirkwood or Clayton. Both are very safe, thriving communities (much more so than webster) with a lot of 'hip ' areas, nice downtown areas, and a generally "family" feel to them. U-City...pretty nice, close to the city...not so much the family place though.

I'm sorry, I had to do a bit of a Scooby-Doo double-take at this post. You live in Webster and think THAT?

I lived in Webster a couple of years ago and can tell you that this is NOT true. It may not be that long of a main street, but it does have restaurants, coffee shops, a neighborhood grocery store, a lot of specialty shops, and an art gallery.

You are really going to put it down against Clayton, whose downtown is a busy, high traffic business center.

Kirkwood is a very nice town, but personally, I don't think the downtown area is as foot traffic accessible as Webster Groves. The main street is a high traffic street, but it does have a lot of good shops and restaurants.

Webster Groves is definitely more of a small town feel place.