Moving to St. Louis from Kansas City (University City, Washington: apartments, rentals) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

tranzformer · 03-23-2009, 12:15 PM

Hi guys,
I haven't really posted much on here at all, but have really enjoyed the other threads that I have learned a lot from. I was able to gain quite a bit of good information from them.

As my title states, I am moving from one side of MO to the other side. As I have been told, the east side is suppose to be better. Hope that is true.

I got accepted to do a fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes-Jewish Hospital and I am very excited to be moving there this summer.

So I need some help to find some nice places to live. I will be spending all of my time at the medical campus. From old threads it appears if you are at the Danforth Campus it is probably best to live in the Clayton or University City area if you want to be somewhat close. I am looking to live either close to the Metro line, or within walking distance (15-20min max). I could drive in, but I have been told it is difficult to find parking on the campus, and you might have to park on one side of the campus and take a shuttle. Also with all the road construction going on (I-64, when will that be done?) I would like to cut down on my driving time into work.

So a few of the places that I have come across that might work are:

- Central West End area: I went there for lunch and dinner when I interviewed at WashU. Seems like a really nice place with a bunch of restaurants and cool coffee shops. Also suppose to have some nice apartments, not sure what the cost of them is.

- SLU area: heard there are some nice apartments and lofts around the SLU campus. That would probably be a good 20-30 minutes walking, might be a bit much in the summer heat or in the winter. But I'm sure I can manage the winter, not sure about the summer humidity and walking into work drenched in sweat.

- Down town area: I think there are quite a few places downtown that look nice. Like around Busch Stadium up to Washington Ave. I would at least be within walking distance to a Metro line.

I guess I am looking for a place that is in a nice area, close to some restaurants, reasonable rent (under $700-800 for 1bd or 2bd), and not to far from the medical campus. I hope that is enough information and I would appreciate any advice or thoughts. Thanks guys in advance.

skrazzle · 03-23-2009, 12:24 PM

dude... its KC to STL... hop in your car and drive down around and see... its not like its KC to Miami.

tranzformer · 03-23-2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skrazzle

dude... its KC to STL... hop in your car and drive down around and see... its not like its KC to Miami.

Unfortunately I will be in school/clinic all the way up until I move to STL and don't have any time I can take off to visit. So any help would be great in narrowing down some areas to look from people that are familiar with the area.

wustu87 · 03-23-2009, 01:04 PM

If your price range is up to $800/mo, you should have plenty of options just within the CWE area or close to one of the nearby Metro stations. Downtown or near SLU (close to a Metrolink station) would work, but I don't see why you wouldn't want to be closer. The university does have a campus shuttle bus system that drives through much of the CWE area picking up and dropping off people. I haven't parked over at the medical campus in years, but some of the university lots are definitely farther away and the closer in ones used to fill up pretty fast, so it doesn't make much sense to drive to campus when you live in the CWE. You should definitely try to line up something early since the lower priced rentals in the CWE can fill up pretty quickly.

tranzformer · 03-24-2009, 09:10 AM

As far as safety, how is the area around SLU? What about the downtown area around Busch Stadium and Edward Jones Dome (Tucker Blvd, Washington Ave, Broadway, I-64)? Is it safe enough to go out at night and go jogging during the day?

skrazzle · 03-24-2009, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tranzformer

Unfortunately I will be in school/clinic all the way up until I move to STL and don't have any time I can take off to visit. So any help would be great in narrowing down some areas to look from people that are familiar with the area.

ah sucky... well, good luck sure there will be a lot of people here able to provide you with information.

zach_33 · 03-24-2009, 11:42 AM

You could do SLU area or downtown-- not sure what your social scene is like though-- that tends to be pretty young I think and not heavily grad student-oriented. Definitely not ideal for a jogger. You will probably run into more people like yourself doing fellowships and residencies and what not if you go to the CWE. My wife works at Wash U Medical (in Childrens) and it seems like most of the grad students and post-docs live either in the CWE or U City. The 30+ and the married set gravitate toward U City. The 20-somethings and the singles gravitate toward CWE. The tenured faculty and the practicing physicians I know are mostly around Clayton and U City. I recommend CWE if you are under 30 and single-- you can jog in Forest Park and walk to work. If you want a more subdued but still fun scene, check out some of the apartment buildings in U City (look for stuff along Pershing between Midvale and Hanley, or else along University or Kingsbury in the Ames Place subdivision) and Clayton (the Moorlands are a popular choice, and there are a bunch of rentals on Forsyth just west of Big Bend)-- either will keep you close to Forest Park, rapid transit, and plenty of fun stuff to do.

aragx6 · 03-24-2009, 12:43 PM

If you're a jogger, I would live near Forest Park if you can -- Downtown will be safe for a jogger, but less scenic surely.

Lots of young professionals downtown, but I think $700-800 will put you on the low end for a 1 bedroom -- 2 BRs really go for more.

Oh and the SLU area is called Midtown if that helps with your research.

tranzformer · 03-24-2009, 03:11 PM

Is there any concern about taking the Metro link late at night or early in the morning between downtown and CWE?

Brickmama · 03-24-2009, 05:39 PM

I jog frequently downtown and there isnt any worries about doing so at all hours of the day and night. There also isnt any issues with taking the metro from downtown since most stops have security. Downtown is a very safe area which I have lived in for almost 2 years. There wont be any issues taking metro, jogging, or coming back from the bars at night.