Suggestions for St. Louis neighborhoods under 45 minute Commute to SAFB (Kansas City: for sale, rentals)

[Kassad]

Looking at possible areas for relocation this fall when I transfer to the St. Louis area. I will be working at Scott Air Force Base and as much as I'd like to live close to the base; my wife is wanting us to be in a more cosmopolitan area with a relatively high walkability score (are these scores trustworthy?). We both enjoy hanging out in coffee shops and prefer a diverse selection of restaurants. We both have lived and traveled throughout Europe for the last 6 years (she's from Russia) and we both love the european lifestyle. That being said with only the Internet to go by I am leaning towards the CWE (the Basilica and Forest Park sold me) and the Tower Grove area is also inviting.
My wife will be taking our one year old for walks and we both enjoy walking in our neighborhood. Based on that and not wanting a commute over 45 minutes do CWE and Tower Grove seem like good choices? Other areas to consider?

Lastly, we will be looking to rent a 3-4 bedroom house/apt. for around $2k/month. Thanks, all suggestions appreciated.

[moorlander]

Sounds like you're right on track. Other neighborhoods to consider are Soulard, Benton Park, UCity loop area, Downtown loft district and the Clayton neighborhoods of Demun and the Moorlands. Honestly, I think the CWE and Downtown would fit your criteria.

[aragx6]

First off, WalkScore.com can be a useful tool, but in St. Louis I've found they're often missing plenty of things from their map -- many neighborhoods are actually more walkable than their scores would lead you to believe.

The Central West End is easily St. Louis' most walkable neighborhood and its proximity to Forest Park is fantastic, so it's definitely worth considering, but it will put you on the edge of your 45-minute requirement. Probably the biggest benefit to CWE over many of St. Louis' other desirable neighborhoods is its easy proximity to light rail.

Tower Grove South is a lovely neighborhood and there are a lot of great ethnic restaurants, neighborhood bars and grills, coffee shops and Tower Grove Park, which is a great place to walk! You'd definitely shave a few minutes from your commute, but probably not enough to choose the neighborhood simply for that.

Other neighborhoods that I would suggest looking at are:

Lafayette Square -- Full of gorgeous Victorian townhouses, upscale dining, and the very pretty Lafayette Park

The Washington Avenue Loft District - Downtown's most exciting area, lots of cool lofts in converted commercial buildings from the turn of the century, and many restaurants, bars. You could walk to the arch grounds everyday -- even though they'll soon be undergoing an exciting and extensive renovation I've always found the grounds to be quite pretty. On a quick look I had trouble finding 3 bedrooms under 2k in the area, but If you had your eyes peeled I think you could find one.

Soulard - Neighborhood just south of downtown full of old brick townhomes and lots of corner bars and restaurants. The Soulard Farmer's Market is a great amenity to have nearby.

Hope that helps -- definitely feel free to ask any follow up questions!

[moorlander]

True, you can take the train to SAB from Clayton, CWE, and Downtown. You can check transit times through google maps.

[CitySTLbroker]

Tower Grove Heights (1st 3 blocks west of Grand / South of Arsenal North of McDonald) sounds like a perfect fit.

Great Walkability and has the homes in your size price. Downtown has been extremely popular for Scott AFB folks, but getting 3 bedroom units downtown isn't always easy and they aren't houses.

Good luck & welcome to St Louis!

[Kassad]

Sounds like I'm on the right track.. I saw pictures of Lafayette Square park and think it's wonderful. I think I'd be happy with that area or the Forest Park areas (CWE/Tower Grove). Seems I could shave some time off my commute by being in the Lafayette area though (maybe by 10 minutes or so?). Does anyone know if the bridges going from MO to IL in the morning are bumper to bumper? Just want to guage what kind of a traffic problem St. Louis has.

I completely agree with the post re: walkable.com. I think you have to take it with a grain a salt.. I mean it could tell you there's a restaurant a block away but what if it's a craphole place? It doesn't account for the quality of local shops(not that there's any real way it can..).

I think as long as I have a nice coffee house, a grocery store, and a park within a five minute walk my wife and I will be good to go...

[BoomBoxing]

Traffic is fine going eastbound towards Illinois in the morning. You are basically reverse commuting with most people going the opposite way. Lafayette Sqaure sounds perfect for your needs although they don't have a grocery store...they have smaller shops and the like but you'd probably want to drive 5 minutes downtown the the Culunaria to do your grocery shopping. But it definitely has several GREAT restaurants, two coffeeshops, a very nice park, and basically anything else you need within walking distance.

These areas all would suit you really well though so it really just comes down to finding the right place. They also have slightly different "vibes" to them that might be worth considering. I'd say Tower Grove has more of a hipster, crunchy, "portlandia" type of feel. The CWE is mostly students, young professionals, and some very wealthy families. Lafayette Square is more family oriented and quieter while still offering a great urban lifestyle.

[IDASpaceman]

Personally, I think you will have a hard time looking past Soulard. Best of luck...and welcome to the AMC Showcase!

[Kassad]

Okay, so my wife is scared $hitless because she read St. Louis is the most dangerous city in the universe. I'm exagerrating, but you get my point. I tried telling her that every city has it's nice areas, and not so nice areas. One of the problems is she has spent time in a suburb of Kansas City called Overland Park. To say Overland Park is safe is an understatement. It was ranked the number one neighborhood to raise a family in the state of Kansas. Kansas is one of the most safest, albeit boring states so this should put in perspective what she thinks 'safe' is.
She wants to be able to take our 1 year old for walks so now I need to pay closer attention to what neighborhoods we look at. How does CWE, Soulard, Tower Groves, Lafayette Square compare to the 'burbs outside of the city? Can she go for walks by herself?

I'm also interested in "The Hill" and Dogtown areas, although I think that would put my commute > 45 minutes and Dogtown might be less walkable...

[flynavyj]

As a former Kansan (Johnson County/Olathe) i can understand where your wife is coming from, however St. Louis isn't nearly as dangerous as the stats make it out to be. While St. Louis is the largest Metro in the state, the city operates as it's own "county"...meaning there's St. Louis City (with 319,000 people and their own crime stats) and St. Louis County (with 1 million people, and their stats) If the city and county were together the actual rating for St. Louis city would be significantly lower, I think i heard that as a metro area (about 3 million residents here) St. Louis ranks somewhere in the 20's as far as dangerous cities go.

Your wife shouldn't have any issues walking around here, but if she wants to stay in an urban environment she'll have to use her street smarts, as long as she's vigilant, and proactive i highly doubt she'd encounter any problems.

As far areas, i think you're description and budget can get you into the best urban locations of St. Louis.

The Central West End would seem like the best location to suit your needs. Lots of housing (and gorgeous housing at that), very walkable, metro access, the best park in St. Louis, which includes the Zoo, Art Museum, History Museum, and Science Center (that'll all be great as your kid gets older) plus it's a great location to walk, jog, etc...The metro access would provide you to leave the car at home and commute (albeit longer) to work via the metrolink, and depending on your employer, they might even pay for it.

Lafayette Square as mentioned is a more family oriented neighborhood, but it isn't quite as walkable (with regards to grocery stores). The only other issue i see with it is that the area is pretty small which means you might have a hard time locating a place that suits your needs/desires. I've also never been a fan of some of the areas across jefferson that are close to Lafayette Square. PS, did a quick search and was impressed that there were so many homes for sale (could for rent too) in that area, but it's small size and high desirability have the market sitting really high, 200k+ for a 2BR "Condo" in St. Louis is a little nuts to me. But i saw some rentals in the 1500 range so that should help too.

Downtown is happening, the Washington Ave district seems to be where it's at. It'd be very walkable, and have lots of resturants, nightclubs, and dance halls. It'd be urban to the max also. You and your wife could walk down there, the issues i'd see would be how crowded the area gets after dark, lots of visitors in the area from other St. Louis locations who'll be drunk, and stumbling everywhere, which wouldn't make me overly happy to be out strolling at night...Much of St. Louis Downtown will also seem like a ghosttown at night, which while not overly dangerous can put a person on edge...you'll feel like your in "I Am Legend" in certain spots of downtown after dark.

Soulard is a very cool and hip neighborhood. You'd have your run of it with bars, as they're everywhere. It's a pretty crazy place during Mardi Gras, and has an interesting and gorgeous housing stock. I know they have at least one small grocer, and maybe two. All in all, i think it'd be a nice location.

If i was choosing from the above list though, i'd still go with the one furthest away, the CWE...It would offer everything you're looking for, and some things you're not. Plus it'd be a great place to raise your kid if you decide to dig in and stay for the long haul.

PS, welcome to St. Louis.