Relocating and Renting a Home in St Louis (St. Louis, University City: rentals, houses)

[jgmedanth]

Hi, my fiance and I are re-locating to St Louis in the fall. I have a position at Washington University.
We are looking for homes to rent, and would not be against a commute, if that is the only option.
But are there actual homes to rent that are near the University and can anyone give me a sense of
1. Price for 3 bdrm
2. Public Transit
3. Walkability

We are less interested in being in a "hip" neighborhood, and we do not want to be near college students. Quiet and safe trumps all other considerations. Would we need to be farther from Wash U to get safe/quiet rental home? Suburbs are ok if there is shopping near by. We do not have kids.

Can anyone throw out some ideas?
I have these suggestions from a friend, who is a former St Louis resident.
Tower Grove East
Dogtown
Glendale
The Hill

Thanks!

[flynavyj]

Well, let me be the first to say Welcome to St. Louis! And we hope you enjoy your stay. Three of the Four neighborhoods you mentioned I'd say are ok. I probably wouldn't recommend Tower Grove East though, but someone with more experience might want to step in and correct me. From memory, it hasn't seen as much improvements as you typically find in Tower Grove South.

The Hill, is an excellent area. Not "urban" in the sense of high rises and brick construction, but typically are made up of smaller framed homes. Often two bedroom homes litter the area, but i'm sure there are some three bedrooms mixed in as well. A couple friends of mine have rented in that area on several occasions, and have had NO safety concerns (with the exception of a jealous ex boyfriend...but that can follow you).

Dogtown is a cool area, probably a tad less "safe" than some of the other areas mentioned on here. At times (mardi gras, st. patty's day) it's a tad less quiet than many other city neighborhoods as well, as they do host parades, and have numerous bars on hand...The crowd can often get a little "rowdy" as well, which can be a drawback.

Glendale is a gorgeous tree lined suburb of St. Louis which i'm pretty fond of. The prices there are a little easier to bear than Kirkwood, but at times more expensive than Webster Groves (least that seems to be my experience). There are also numerous two bedroom homes in Glendale, and lots of three bedrooms as well. It's a fairly small community, and might be a tad less walkable, but that's on speculation. Areas of Webster Groves and Kirkwood would both probably be more walkable suburbs, which would compare well to Glendale.

My guesstimates would put a 3 Bd home in St. Louis renting anywhere between $800-$2000 depending on location, condition, amenities, schools, etc...If you can swing about $1500 you can probably get in a pretty decent area.

I know you guys mentioned that suburban living is fine, but my biggest question would be what do you prefer, urban or suburban? St. Louis has sprawling suburbs that stretch out 40+ miles from downtown, and there is literally something for everyone. The real key is finding a good fit for you, that will compliment your personalities, activities, interests, etc...If you've got any of those pieces of information, along with something about your price range, i'm sure we could offer up a myriad of information for you

[jgmedanth]

Thanks for such a thoughtful reply It's appreciated. I'm going to begin looking into some of these neighborhoods you mentioned.
If you have time for another reply, here is some more information.
We are not into the bar scene at all, and our main interests are in indie and foreign films, bookstores, some live music, coffee shops, good restaurants, and interesting neighborhoods to explore.
If this helps, we used to live in Cleveland Heights, OH by Case Western Reserve University, and enjoyed the neighborhoods around there (South Euclid, Beachwood) and the outlying suburbs and small towns for day trips (Hudson, Chagrin Falls).
We don't mind driving too much, as long as we don't have to drive 30 minutes into the city just to see a movie
We like urban living, but are willing to go suburbs if it's more affordable and quiet.
OK, thanks again, appreciate it.

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by jgmedanth

Thanks for such a thoughtful reply It's appreciated. I'm going to begin looking into some of these neighborhoods you mentioned.
If you have time for another reply, here is some more information.
We are not into the bar scene at all, and our main interests are in indie and foreign films, bookstores, some live music, coffee shops, good restaurants, and interesting neighborhoods to explore.
If this helps, we used to live in Cleveland Heights, OH by Case Western Reserve University, and enjoyed the neighborhoods around there (South Euclid, Beachwood) and the outlying suburbs and small towns for day trips (Hudson, Chagrin Falls).
We don't mind driving too much, as long as we don't have to drive 30 minutes into the city just to see a movie
We like urban living, but are willing to go suburbs if it's more affordable and quiet.
OK, thanks again, appreciate it.

Sorry I'm only addressing one part of your post, but there are two theatres that exclusively show independent & foreign films. One is the Tivoli Theatre in the Delmar Loop. It's a popular & eclectic street North of Wash U. The other is the Plaza Frontenac Cinema in the Plaza Frontenac Mall. It's a high-end mall (Saks-Fifth, Neiman Marcus, etc) in a very wealthy suburb called Frontenac. I've heard they're both very nice theatres. There are plenty of nice neighborhoods near both theatres. They're pretty centrally-located, so mostly anywhere you choose to live in the metro area, you won't be more than 30 minutes away.

[aragx6]

To get an idea of rental prices I would look at Craigslist as well as Realtor.com which posts all the rentals from the MLS. If you can swing $900-1500 I think you can find some very nice options -- any less and you'll need to look further out or consider a 2- or 4-family.

Based on what you've said I would look in a couple neighborhoods that will be quiet but close to everything:

Skinker-DeBaliviere -- on the far western edge of the city north of Forest Park. Quiet, with gorgeous housing stock but walking distance to the loop (where the Tivoli and severa fantastic music venues are) and easy access to metro (light rail)

University City is just west of the city limits, has gorgeous housing stock, mostly very walkable and generally quite safe -- some parts may be a bit noisy/student-oriented, but some of the neighborhoods with larger homes will be pretty quiet.

Clayton -- This is St. Louis' premier suburb. There are others on here who know the individual neighborhoods better than I do, but you really can't go wrong with Clayton (though it will likely be the most expensive of your options)

Dogtown -- most of Dogtown is actually very quiet, and there are a couple great little bars along Tamm near the highway. Really the only day it's rowdy of the whole year is St. Patrick's Day (Mardi Gras is in Soulard and I don't think Dogtown gets much spillover from that festival).

Southhampton, Northhampton, Ellendale, Princeton Heights -- There are several neighborhoods on the western edge of the city south of Forest Park that have adorable little houses and are very safe. They're a bit of a mix between suburban and urban living and typically have bigger box shopping located on the main drags.

The Hill and Southwest Garden are just a touch closer in to the city. The Hill has some great Italian restaurants (and some not so great ones too!) but has a very friendly, old-school St. Louis vibe.

Maplewood, Shrewsbury -- just on the outskirts of the city. Maplewood has a nice strip of restaurants along Manchester, both have easy access to a metro station.

Richmond Heights, Brentwood, Glendale, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Rock Hill, Warson Woods and Oakland -- All inner ring suburbs. Richmond Heights has a metro stop and more big box shopping than you could ever need -- including high-end stuff like a Trader Joe's, Nordstrom Rack etc. Even if you live in the city you'll likely end up shopping in RH. Webster Groves and Kirkwood are two great suburbs with walkable downtowns.

Tower Grove South is worth a look, but I think Tower Grove East is still a bit more gentrifying than you're looking for. Tower Grove South is near the absolutely gorgeous Tower Grove Park as well as the MO Botanical Garden and South Grand is a fantastic strip of restaurants -- including some great ethnic ones -- bars and shops. One of my favorite neighborhoods in the city, but possibly a bit more urban than you're ideally looking for.

Wow, there's really more neighborhoods I could talk about but you might get overwhelmed and my hand might cramp up. The point is that there are loads of great neighborhoods and suburbs that will provide an easy commute for you and give you everything you're looking for. Feel free to ask follow-up questions!

[jgmedanth]

Aragx6 - thanks for all this great info! I will start looking on Craigslist with these neighborhoods in mind.

[aragx6]

^Also be sure to ask if you have any questions about neighborhood boundaries.

Here's a great resource on the city's 79 neighborhoods: Neighborhoods of the City of St. Louis

[moorlander]

I'd think you would want to locate near the 2 MetroLink lines. WashU provides free passes for students and faculty so start your search there. FYI, you probably want to stay south of Delmar on the red line.