Good Suburbs on IL Side of St. Louis (Columbia, O'Fallon: transplants, sale)

[MS Born and Bred]

I am considering St. Louis Metro Area as one of possible places to relocate in near future. Most of my family live in Missouri so I want to be near them.

Illinois seems to be a cheaper state to live for those not interested in buying a house due to flat income tax rate and lower sale taxes. Illinois happens to be a liberal blue state, which is what I also like.

Could you recommend good suburbs on IL side of St. Louis to live, work, and play?

[Mosep]

O'Fallon and Edwardsville are nice suburbs, though you'll have to go into the city for most of your "play". As far as political ideologies go, Illinois is a blue state largely because of the Chicago area. You'll find most of downstate Illinois to be pretty conservative. Edwardsville has a large public university, which may make it more liberal than most of the other metro east suburbs (except ESL, of course!).

[Dawn10am]

Even though Illinois is technically a blue state and Missouri is technically a red state, you'll find that the Missouri side of the St. Louis metro area is more liberal than the Illinois side by a pretty hefty margin. Most of the towns in the Metro East were small farming communities before they became suburbs and that culture is still pretty prevalent. The MO side is more polished and metropolitan and the culture reflects that. Just something to think about. That being said, Edwardsville is pretty nice.

[Old Trafford]

On the Il side Edwardsville is hard to beat - Some activity from the university, nice downtown with some good restaurants, nice downtown theater, good housing stock, I think the schools are good - A friend of mine who lives there calls it the "Webster Groves / Kirkwood" of Illinois

[MS Born and Bred]

Originally Posted by Old Trafford

On the Il side Edwardsville is hard to beat - Some activity from the university, nice downtown with some good restaurants, nice downtown theater, good housing stock, I think the schools are good - A friend of mine who lives there calls it the "Webster Groves / Kirkwood" of Illinois

Do you have any comments about Belleville, IL? It's the largest city on IL side and home to Southwestern Illinois College.

I don't mind small towns near a metro area as long it is not too country or redneck (no offense). What about smaller towns with strong German heritage such as Columbia, Millstadt, and Swansea? German culture is known to be less conservative and open-minded.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by MS Born and Bred

Do you have any comments about Belleville, IL? It's the largest city on IL side and home to Southwestern Illinois College.

I don't mind small towns near a metro area as long it is not too country or redneck (no offense). What about smaller towns with strong German heritage such as Columbia, Millstadt, and Swansea? German culture is known to be less conservative and open-minded.

SWIC is a community college. If you want a 4 year institution in Belleville then Lindenwood is your way to go.

Belleville is growing in size, but it's also starting to experience white flight. They're moving into neighboring towns like Millstadt. On a more positive note, Belleville is pretty liberal. It even has its own small gay pride festival, even though St. Louis has its own just across the river.

In terms of location, Belleville, Millstadt, Swansea, and a portion of Columbia are all in St. Clair County. Edwardsville is in Madison, and Columbia is split between Monroe and St. Clair. In terms of liberal and conservative views, St. Clair is pretty blue, and it's followed by Madison and then Monroe. Madison can flip-flop, whereas Monroe usually stays Republican.

As for Swansea, it's small and wedged in between Belleville and Fairview Heights. Fairview has the area's mall, btw.

All in all, the Metro East is enjoyable, for the most part. I grew up there, and I still visit my relatives and friends who live there. I moved to Chicago for college and decided to stay. I'm also gay, and never had any problems. People generally aren't biting your head off in regards to politics when you strike up a conversation, although there will be plenty of yard signs come election season rolls around. That's how you'll know where a lot of people stand.

My biggest complaint about the area is that it's frankly boring.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by MS Born and Bred

Do you have any comments about Belleville, IL? It's the largest city on IL side and home to Southwestern Illinois College.

I don't mind small towns near a metro area as long it is not too country or redneck (no offense). What about smaller towns with strong German heritage such as Columbia, Millstadt, and Swansea? German culture is known to be less conservative and open-minded.

Belleville is indeed an older German community, parts of which remain very nice, parts of which are getting increasingly seedy.

While it is solidly democratic, I wouldn't necessarily call it progressive or open minded- it's more of an old union town in my opinion. It also has a reputation of being quite parochial. To be sure - the entire STL area has this reputation to an extent, but I've personally found it to be very evident in the metro east communities, including Belleville.

I do agree with other posters that if you want a more progressive type environment with more easy access to bigger city amenities, I'd look at the Missouri side, particularly the city of St. Louis or older inner ring suburbs like U-City or Maplewood.

[MS Born and Bred]

Based on posts above, both Edwardsville and Belleville are top progressive places to live for Metro East. However, Metro East is said to be very parochial and frankly boring.

It sounds like I should look into Missouri side for a more progressive type environment with more easy access to bigger city amenities.

Is St. Louis still very parochial like Metro East? Will I have a hard time making friends unless I join a church or having children in school if that's what you mean?

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by MS Born and Bred

Is St. Louis still very parochial like Metro East? Will I have a hard time making friends unless I join a church or having children in school if that's what you mean?

Some transplants do complain about the whole area being cliquish.

You'd probably have an easier time meeting people in city or the immediate Missouri suburbs, as there are more people living closer together there, but the cliquish nature isn't limited to the Metro East.

Growing up in the area, this meant that this really wasn't an issue for me, so I can't share any firsthand experience about moving to St. Louis, but cliquishness is a typical complaint that I've heard from people who have moved to the area. Some people also really dislike that people in the metro like to ask, "Where did you go to high school?" Some view it as a form of alienation from the locals, but it's typically just someone trying to connect with you by trying to figure out where you're from and to see if maybe you two know anyone in common.

Anyway, if you're an outgoing person, I think that you'll be fine.

[Dawn10am]

I think St. Louisans are really very nice and I've had no trouble making friends here. I also live in St. Louis proper, where there are more transplants and young people who tend to be friendlier. I'd stick with the City and the inner suburbs like PerseusVeil said if you're worried about that. It's also not a bad idea to join a church either. No matter what you believe, you can find a church where you will feel at home. You also might try joining an organization and volunteering for a cause you feel strongly about as a way to meet people.