Missourians Moving Back Home

[Okey Dokie]

Originally Posted by SciFiNerd1

I have been to OKC a few times. What do you like about OKC better than Kansas City? I am still undecided on which MO city to move back. I am open to KC if it is worth considering.

In OKC I loved the house I lived in, the convenience of my neighborhood, how friendly people were. My husband is a 100% disabled vet and Oklahoma is very vet friendly. Because he is 100%, we paid no sales tax nor property taxes. That was big. My husband really liked the Oklahoma City VA hospital and their PTSD program.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by SciFiNerd1

To answer your question, DFW has a lot to offer with a lot of things to do; however, it is expensive to do anything for leisure and to enjoy culture like museums. Museums in most bigger cities have free days where you could go but that is not the case for most in DFW. For examples, Meow Wolf costs $50 per person and Christmas Lights at Gaylord Texan Hotel is like $113 per person, which are ridiculous. St. Louis still have many things you could do for free like museums. Other than Six Flags in Eureka, St. Louis have other things to do that do not cost an arm and a leg like City Museum.

My biggest complaint about DFW is traffic. After years of living here, you will get tired of traffic jams very quickly. So many people are moving to Texas cities from other states causing housing cost to skyrocket. It does not help when you have to compete with people from California, New York, Washington State, etc. who have cash up front to buy a house after selling their previous house worth $500,000 or more there. I know people are not exactly flocking to Missouri. Despite taking a pay cut to move back home, I know I would have an easier time buying a home in Missouri because it won't be as competitive when it is a good time to buy a house with lower interest rate within a few years as predicted by economists.

My favorite thing about Texans is that they are genuinely friendly. They will be themselves with you and be frank if needed (no superficial or passive aggressive). Yes, Missourians are friendly but in a different way. I can't explain it. I make friends so easily in Texas compared to Missouri and Florida to be honest.

My second favorite thing about Texas is that the landscape is diverse compared to Missouri. You have the coast, Hill Country, prairie, and dry western part with mountains.

Question:

I have never lived in St. Louis Metro. Are people in Mid-County (Kirkwood, Webster Groves, etc.) snooty or friendly? I know they are considered upscale areas but somewhat hippie with shops and farmer's market.

This is what I think about Dallas. It's a challenging comparison with St. Louis, considering factors such as size, economy, and culture.

When advising individuals on relocating to a new city, I always recommend seeking a community that is more transient. I currently reside in the Central West End and haven't attempted to establish a life in Mid County. Based on my limited experience with the area, people appear friendly; they engage in conversation when approached. The community can offer different experiences depending on your demographic and whether you are single or have a family.

I personally haven't encountered the "Where did you go to high school?" question, but I've heard it's prevalent in the suburbs where there's a significant local population. This can create a sense of exclusion for individuals without ties to the area.

St. Louis is not snooty at all when compared to larger more affluent metros. Not to say that you won't find a few here or there but in my opinion, you wont encounter any snootiness.

[Kathy884]

Originally Posted by sub

One hurdle for me would be the recent decriminalization issue. I smelled the stuff being smoked in the parking garages on that recent visit and it just rubbed me the wrong way. Not saying people should be locked up for it, but... yeah.... I'm hoping my current state holds off on that for a while longer.... at least until I'm long gone.

I know what you mean about parking garages. They are gross. Now in St. Louis, I always if possible park in surface lots to avoid the smell. It doesn't happen that often, but in Missouri and any state where recreational weed is legal sometime you can be in traffic and just can't get around the smell in your car. It was really bad when I was in LA and Anaheim in California on vacation. It happens on occasion in St. Louis too now.

I'm older and weed legalization doesn't affect me too much. I don't have any family, friends, or acquaintances who smoke weed. For my son he's developed a new circle of friends who don't do weed. A few former really close friends who he now just sees maybe three times a year or so sort of got addicted to the stuff -- still hold down jobs and things like that, but do way less than they used to do and mostly just smoke weed when they are not working -- have sort of gone to pot. I really like these young people and it kind of breaks my heart to see them like this now.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by Kathy884

I know what you mean about parking garages. They are gross. Now in St. Louis, I always if possible park in surface lots to avoid the smell. It doesn't happen that often, but in Missouri and any state where recreational weed is legal sometime you can be in traffic and just can't get around the smell in your car. It was really bad when I was in LA and Anaheim in California on vacation. It happens on occasion in St. Louis too now.

I'm older and weed legalization doesn't affect me too much. I don't have any family, friends, or acquaintances who smoke weed. For my son he's developed a new circle of friends who don't do weed. A few former really close friends who he now just sees maybe three times a year or so sort of got addicted to the stuff -- still hold down jobs and things like that, but do way less than they used to do and mostly just smoke weed when they are not working -- have sort of gone to pot. I really like these young people and it kind of breaks my heart to see them like this now.

That is one of my biggest issues now. It makes me sick. Thankfully in my building I can't smell anything in the hallway. If someone is smoking, it doesn't hit me. I know of people who live in apartment buildings who walk outside their door, it is horrible.

[Kathy884]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

That is one of my biggest issues now. It makes me sick. Thankfully in my building I can't smell anything in the hallway. If someone is smoking, it doesn't hit me. I know of people who live in apartment buildings who walk outside their door, it is horrible.

At my son's apartment building thankfully for him, they don't allow smoking of any kind inside buildings or on balconies, so that works well for him. What the weed smokers do though is smoke in their cars, so DS will see them in their cars and smell it if he passes by their cars whether they are in them or not The lessor of two evils though for him.

[SciFiNerd1]

Originally Posted by Kathy884

You might want to do a separate thread on this topic to get more responses and thoughts on this one. I don't know the answer to questions like population of Mid County -- but it's pretty good sized. (Kirkwood has about 30,000, Webster has about 23,000, Glendale has 6,000 and it goes on and on with all the little mid-country cities that border each other. St. Louis County covers a lot of ground, and all together has a population of around 1 million.

We have found mid country to be a really friendly area. It helps a lot to have a dog as you meet so many people dog walking. Honestly, once I had a dog is when I really felt like I was part of the neighborhood lol.

I'm really not sure about St. Charles Country as I never lived there, but many people I work with live there (more square footage for your dollar typically). A newer area - but there is a historic area too. I think in general St. Charles County is move conservative politically than St. Louis City and Mid County. St. Charles County has a population of around 410,000 with the city proper being around 71,000.

I know my son's future in-laws (He's getting married in May) live in a city out a little further than St. Charles but are in St. Charles county. It's a little more remote which is what they wanted -- beautiful, they have a big garden -- sort of feels like they are out in the country, but still plenty of neighbors and St. Charles is really close by.

There are some really nice areas in the city too and I love the architecture.

I am glad to hear that Mid-County is a friendly area. It is just our luck. My husband and I have two Pugs so making friends shouldn't be too difficult like some areas like Eastern Tennessee, for an example.

As a married couple who is LGBTQIA+, I think Mid-County would be better than St. Charles not only politically but also socially. While we are not religious, we would be open to attend an affirming and inclusive church.

We also enjoy hiking in parks with trees, especially by any body of water. I loved visiting Forest Park and Creve Coeur Lake in the past.

I happen to be an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan so I would love to resume attending games once I am back in Missouri.

[SciFiNerd1]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

[/i][/b]

This is what I think about Dallas. It's a challenging comparison with St. Louis, considering factors such as size, economy, and culture.

When advising individuals on relocating to a new city, I always recommend seeking a community that is more transient. I currently reside in the Central West End and haven't attempted to establish a life in Mid County. Based on my limited experience with the area, people appear friendly; they engage in conversation when approached. The community can offer different experiences depending on your demographic and whether you are single or have a family.

I personally haven't encountered the "Where did you go to high school?" question, but I've heard it's prevalent in the suburbs where there's a significant local population. This can create a sense of exclusion for individuals without ties to the area.

St. Louis is not snooty at all when compared to larger more affluent metros. Not to say that you won't find a few here or there but in my opinion, you wont encounter any snootiness.

I am glad that you are enjoying Central West End where people are friendly and not too into your business. I agree with you about places with much less transient excluding new residents socially.

Compared to other cities I have lived in (DFW, Orlando, & Tampa), St. Louis is definitely more down to earth with a good balance of blue collar and white collar population without being snooty or materialistic.

[SunGrins]

Born and raised in St. Louis. Grew up in the 1950s-60s and at an early age we moved from the "dogtown" west city to north county. At mid 20s and married we moved to Jefferson City. My job took me to every county seat and both cities so I knew Missouri inside and out. The inside wasn't very pretty. Later I worked with the legislature and that was pretty awful. You begin to see why things were as bad as they are. So after 65 years I moved away and never looked back.

Did you feel that you made the right decision to leave the state? I only wish now that I had left sooner.

Do you miss home at all? I miss the Midwestern food -- I still see that as home cooking.

Are you planning to move back one day to be closer to family again or maybe for retirement? No. Most of my family is dispersed. I go to St. Louis every couple years to visit some family and friends and, in my view, it is a great city but still, for me, only to visit. There is a family cemetery plot there with a headstone with my name on it, so I'll come back eventually.

Are you wanting to return back to your hometown or somewhere in the state that is more appealing to you? No. I lived in Jefferson City 37 years and probably would never move back there. But my idea of the ideal livable part of the state is the Missouri River country from about Cooper County east to Franklin County, certainly not the Ozarks or the northern prairie counties.