Brits with the opportunity of relocating to STL (St. Louis, Columbia: real estate, rent)

[UK Monkey]

As the title says, this looks like a real possibility for some point in the next 6 months.

We are mid 30's, 2 kids, 1 and 9, and dog.

Looks like we'll be financially straight, a household income in the 130's.

We're well travelled but not to STL, hoping to get over there for the recon trip before Winter.

One of our biggest 'unkowns' is the school systems, we've spoken with others from the company and they say that most people use private education for the kids, particularly the Catholic schools.

Now we've had a bad experience with Private education in the UK with our son, it has caused a reluctance to delve into that world again.

On top of that we have no religion and our son (9) has been left to make his own decision, interestingly he attends a Church backed School but has still reasoned himself to athiesm.

I have no illusions, he's no brain surgeon in the making, but likewise he's no foot soldier. Does the public school system in areas like O'Fallon and Ballwin succeed with ordinary kids?

(yes my perceptions may have been tarnished by 'Gangsters Paradise')


Thanks.

One Brit dreaming of a garage full of Evo Glides.....

[TGS]

The public schools in O'Fallon and Ballwin are good.

The only circumstance where paying for private school is often necessary is if you live within the city limits of St. Louis proper.

Even in the suburbs with good public schools, parents do often choose private schools; mostly Catholic but there are lots of other options also. With your salary, you should have no problem finding either a public school or private school to meet your needs.

[Marksman84]

Would you like to experience St. Louis in the UK? Birmingham in the West Midlands is very comparable (excluding climate, of course).

[STLCardsBlues1989]

If you chose a private school, you could live in the city. I've heard good things about neighborhoods like St. Louis Hills and Lafayette Park. But I have heard good things about Ballwin and O'Fallon. I think Ballwin might be more expensive than O'Fallon. Chesterfield and Ladue I believe are pretty expensive to buy in. I think a few of the local sports figures live in O'Fallon.

I think I heard on here before that private schools here run around $5,000 - $10,000 and up per child per year. If you make $130,000, private school should be affordable for you. St. Louis overall is pretty affordable.

I would think where you live would depend on your job right? I guess you want a shorter commute.

Britain is not on here, but you can compare incomes in different U.S. cities.
Cost of living: Compare prices in two cities - CNNMoney.com
Are there any American cities you are familiar with?

I've never bought with these people, but it's fun to browse.
Coldwell Banker Gundaker -- Your site for St. Louis Real Estate (http://cbgundaker.com/buying/ - broken link)
There's a link up there that says something about an interactive map. That's neat, too.

Will you need to buy a new car? I know British cars are made differently aren't they? Driving on the right side of the road will take some getting used to. Also, I think driving laws as far as turning goes are slightly different in Missouri and Illinois (from what I've read). Maybe someone else knows what I'm talking about.

Left turns on red are prohibited in the states of South Dakota (unless permitted by local ordinance), Connecticut, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and in the District of Columbia and Guam, as well as in New York City, unless a sign indicates otherwise.

Right turn on red - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You may make a right turn at a red light. You also may make a left turn at a red light when turning from a one-way street onto another one-way street that has traffic moving to the left. In both instances, drivers must come to a complete stop and yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic and pedestrians before turning.

Illinois Rules of the Road (http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/rules_of_the_road/rr_chap10.html - broken link)

I think in Illinois, if you're turning from a one-way street to a one-way street, you can turn left on a red light. But it sounds like in Missouri you can never turn left on a red light.

Sorry. I'm getting a bit off-topic here.

Since you make enough to pay for private school, I would think you could focus more on commute, since you can utilize a private school in the city or a private or public school in the suburbs.

[UK Monkey]

we've spent some time in the States over the last 15 years, vacations in California, Georgia and Florida.

I've been over with training courses to Brunswick-GA, Rutland-VA and Raleigh-NC.

AS for driving, this year we did 1500miles in a 2 week vacation, we have our eyes on 2004 Altimas and a 2002 Explorers, as well as the '96 Roadglide for me....


We are originally from Birmingham England, we moved away 16 years ago to the edge of the suburban spawl, but I was an inner city cop there for 8 years. I understand the comparison you're making.

We'll obviously rent a home initially, the main commut would be to Lambert airport, so Ballwin made sense with location.

It difficult trying to get a flavour for a city without yet seeing it for yourself, but thanks for the replies.

[stlcitygirl]

Check out Webster Groves and Kirkwood. Good school districts, beautiful homes, great people and lots of stuff to do.

[wustu87]

Both Ballwin and O'Fallon are fairly large suburbs with a wide variety of housing stock. Your problem moving to St. Louis at your income level is that you simply have too many different options from which to choose! I would guess if you stuck to Ballwin or O'Fallon, in either case you would want to live close to an interstate (I-70 in O'Fallon, I-44 or I-64 in Ballwin) to get to the airport quicker, but that still doesn't narrow it down very much. Frankly anything close to I-270 in West County (Des Peres, Kirkwood, Creve Coeur, Town & Country) would also get you to the airport quickly, although the further south of 70 you go the more traffic you will find. Similarly you could choose the inner county burbs (Clayton, Brentwood, Ladue, Richmond Heights) as long as you are close to 64 or 170. Renting initially will be good to give you time to look around, but since your 9 year old will be in elementary school it would be nice if he or she didn't have to move schools. A good time to buy and move would be the summer before starting middle school (6th grade) since that will be a big change for your child regardless.

[UK Monkey]

Ok, there's still too much choice.

Put yourself in my position, where would be your FIRST choice....
priorities are:
30 min or so commute to Lambert airport,
GREAT public schools,
good recreation
properties with decent plot size.

Suggestions?

[BoomBoxing]

I vote Webster Groves and Kirkwood. That is because I tend to enjoy things like older/charming houses, trees, being able to walk/bike easily, farmers markets, closeness to the city core, and a unique community feel.

On the other hand if none of those things mattered much to me I would choose Ballwin or Manchester.

[UK Monkey]

Webster Grove looks close to the City on Google, should crim e overspill be a consideration in areas within the 270?