Young Married Couple Relocating from Atlanta (St. Louis, Washington: transplants, apartment, for rent)

[AtlantaTransplant]

My husband and I are moving to St. Louis in the fall due to work and would truly appreciate any help you can provide us with picking a neighborhood. We don’t know too much about St. Louis yet and are planning on making a visit in September to look for housing.

We think the best way for us to go about navigating the city’s 79 neighborhoods is to describe for you what we like to do and hopefully you will be able to steer us in the right direction. We’re more interested in finding the perfect neighborhood and then looking for specific housing, so we’re willing to do a house, duplex, condo, or apartment. We can spend up to $2,000 a month on rent or spend around $400,000 on a house. We like urban living, so we would like to stay in the city limits but would possibly consider an inner-ring suburb if it matched our needs better than a city neighborhood.

We’re in our late twenties and don’t plan on having children for 5-6 more years, so schools aren’t an issue. We have one large dog who is very laid back indoors but likes long walks, so an apartment is fine as long as there is green space or are pedestrian friendly streets nearby. Our main concern is that the neighborhood be extremely walkable. We love to spend our evenings walking to a restaurant, people watching, and then going for a walk in the park or through the neighborhood. On weekends, we like to go to the park, get brunch, go to a farmer’s market, and maybe visit a museum. My husband will be working in Clayton and I will be working downtown, but we both have cars for our work commutes.

Also, safety isn’t a huge concern because we’re accustomed to urban living, but we don’t want to be paralyzed with fear when taking the dog out for a late night potty break.

Wants: Walkable, lots of restaurants/coffee shops/bars, some shops and other amenities would be a bonus, access to a park or pedestrian friendly streets, reasonably safe

Neighborhoods we like on paper:
Central West End
Tower Grove Heights
Soulard
Downtown (Washington Ave.)
Lafayette Square

Thank you in advance!!!

[olinjoseph]

I know people that live in each one of those, and they are all wonderful choices. I should be able to offer some similar perspective, as me and my wife are also transplants in our upper 20's w/o kids. We live in Benton Park (which I will add to your list too!).

Here would be my rank and reasons why:

#1 Soulard (This is a wonderful fun, super walkable area. Great farmers market, tons of bars and restaurants with a unique feel. Most importantly, the housing stock is great. It is not like anything you will find in Atlanta, and you will be very intrigued by its charm and history.)
#2 Lafayette Square (So, this is one of the most beautiful places you will find in ANY city. The evening pulse isn't quite like Soulard, but the beauty makes up for it. Plus, you have about one of everything you need; coffee, restaurants, bars, wonderful park, gym, etc. You will pay a little more than most spots in the city, but it may be worth it.)
#3 Downtown - Wash Ave. (Normally this would be lower on my list, only because it is tourist central. But, coming from the Southeast, this may be a gem for you. Great history and architecture. It is a fun, walkable place that will help you get acclimated to the city while you find the right neighborhood for your interests/lifestyle. A year of downtown Wash Ave living could do everyone some good.)
#4 Benton Park (I may be biased, but I am bumping this up to #4 because it also has a lot of what you seek. It's actually the next door neighbor to Soulard, and probably, and unfairly, often gets mistakingly identified as a part of Soulard. In my opinion, Benton Park offers the same great housing stock and city living as Soulard, with a little more peace and quiet at night. Both the northern side of the neighborhood, around Sidney, and the lower side, around AB Brewery, are fun and quite walkable. The residents truly love the neighborhood and what it has become. Add it to your list!)
#5 Tower Grove Heights - (An eclectic, fun part of STL. It's lower on my list simply because the area is spotty and something the riff-raff is hard to avoid. But, that is not to scare you - It is MUCH better than a lot of the other neighborhoods, and you will be perfectly safe there. Also, Tower Grove Park is a GEM.)
#6 CWE - Again, certainly nothing wrong with CWE. It feels less unique than the other neighborhoods, but it is as walkable and dense as you get. This is more of an interest call. If you want the dense high-rises, go CWE or Wash Ave. If you want the neighborhood feel - the rest give you that. I will note - CWE has quick and easy access to Forest Park... which may be the best part of STL.


Hope this helps.

[billiken]

Your budget is pretty high and will let you live wherever you want--that's the good news!

I think your visit will really help you figure out where you want to be. You can also take a look at this blog for some great pictures/insight: St. Louis City Talk


Central West End & Downtown have more of the upscale bar & restaurant scene. CWE is great for its proximity to Forest Park.
Tower Grove has more lower to mid-priced international cuisine. A lot of activity in the park w/ farmer's market, food truck Fridays, sports, etc.
Soulard is more about the bar scene/related food, and the farmer's market. The annual Mardi Gras celebration is held here.
Lafayette Square just seems slightly more quiet than the rest on the list--there are some great restaurants and its very charming, but its usually not on the top of the list for most newcomers.

[zach_33]

I'd vote for the CWE. It is, in my opinion, the creme de la creme of the urban STL neighborhoods. It is the most walkable. It has the most upscale housing and amenities, and it is smack dab between downtown and Clayton. Forest Park would be in your front yard. I'd try to get something as close to Euclild (between Maryland and Laclede) as possible. Many multi-units for renting in that area. If I were buying at that price, I might look at townhouses on Pine, McPherson, or maybe even a single family on Westminster. Not a hard and fast rule, but between Kingshighway and Taylor is most walkable, north of Forest Park Parkway, south of Olive.

[pianist1972]

I am a single guy, older than you by some years. I live in Lafayette Square and am very happy there. People are neighborly and there is a super park as the neighborhoods centerpiece, well maintained and used. Shops and dining of all kinds. I highly recommend it.

[looking9]

Gym in Lafayette Square? Please tell me where. Does it have an indoor pool for laps? Is there one in any of the other areas mentioned?

[billiken]

This is the only one I'm aware of in Lafayette Square: About Us - The Fitness Vault

Downtown probably has the highest concentration of gyms of the neighborhoods mentioned.

Many of my friends in the CWE maintained their membership at SLU's gym, which isn't too far away.

[Brickmama]

I think all those neighborhoods would work for you and* 2k a month will get you a great place. I live downtown on Wash Ave and enjoy it a lot. If you lived downtown you could probably get rid of one of your cars since Metro is an option for commuting to Clayton and walking to work downtown. Lots of coffee shops, restaurants, street activity downtown, walkable, and safe. There are also a ton of dog owners downtown you would be able to connect with. I would do your best visiting all and then coming to a conclusion.