Brits St Louis bound -post 2 (Kansas City, St. Louis: rental, houses, neighborhoods) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

UK Monkey · 08-20-2009, 04:28 AM

Things are moving on and things are looking rosy for a relocation.

We also have the decision of whether or not she should apply for a post that has come up in North Carolina.

We need some help confirming that STL is where we should head.

I know the weather is better in NC, its closer to the sea, Florida and the NE for vacations and the like, I can get to Laconia, Murtle Beach and Daytona on the bike.

Sell Missouri to me, make me feel better.

STLCardsBlues1989 · 08-20-2009, 12:33 PM

Missouri is beautiful, in all seasons. St. Louis is fairly inexpensive to live in.

If you do want your water fix, there's Lake of the Ozarks 2-3 hours away. That's always a nice weekend trip or vacation in the summer. Branson Missouri is about 4 hours away. Even if you don't want to go to Branson, there's lots of lakes and parks in the area.

St. Louis does have nearby locations for vacations. Chicago is about 5 hours way, Milwaukee about 6 hours away, Kansas City about 4 hours away, about 5 1/2 hours to Cincinnati, and about 3 1/2 hours to Indianapolis.

I don't know much about North Carolina, but there's a lot of stuff to do in St. Louis. You have football and hockey in the winter, and baseball in the summer (when you can get tickets). The city is baseball crazy, but hockey has a nice following as well. I have heard that a lot of kids around this area play soccer. I'm not sure if your kids are into that. I believe St. Louis also has a women's soccer team.

Of course, you have the museums. There's the History Museum, the Art Museum, the Contemporary Art Museum, and a few other places. Kiel Opera House is under renovation. You also have Fox Theater. Of course you can visit Forest Park as well. South City has some beautiful neighborhoods. There are a lot of great, safe suburbs as well. The Zoo is one of the best in the country, and admission is free. Of course there's the Science Center. And you can tour the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, which is fun. There's the Missouri Botanical Garden. City Museum is a blast. And for kids there's the Magic House. Purina Farms, the World Bird Sanctuary, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Black World History Museum, CityGarden, and Cahokia Mounds are also places to visit.

Using the CNN cost of living calculator, the cost of living for St. Louis should be similar (actually a little bit less) to the cost of living in North Carolina.

Of course, St. Louis doesn't have an ocean. But St. Louis is a fine place to live in its own right.

stlcitygirl · 08-20-2009, 12:59 PM

I copied this from a thread I posted yesterday:
Things great about St Louis
-Beautiful city neighborhoods for the city dweller
-Nice, huge parks to take a stroll (Forest Park is fabulous)
-World Class Zoo (free!)
-Lots of fun things for children to do (Zoo,The Arch, City Museum, Magic House, Grants Farm, Six Flags, Science Center, City Garden)
-Low cost of living (I have owned 2 houses by the time I was 29)
-Outdoor activities close by if you want to get out of the city (Lake of the Ozarks, Lake Carlisle, The Confluence, rivers, etc)
-Great places to take in a show (Muny, The Fox, The Pageant, Verizon Wireless Amp, Scott Trade Center, Chaifetz Arena, Powell Symphony Hall)-Just to name some of the larger ones. Our Opera House is about to be renovated which will be amazing.
-3 Professional Sports teams (Cardinals, Rams and Blues)
-Great place to entertain out of towners (Arch, Brewery, Zoo, Museums, I could go on and on)
-Good indie music scene, lots of cool little venues
-Metrolink-Good for getting around if you live in or near the city
-The Arts (Natural History Museum, Art Museum, tons of independent galleries, Grand Center, St Louis Symphony)
-4 Seasons, lots of Farmers Markets
-Airport is centrally located which is good for my husband that travels
-Higher Education-Several great colleges/Universitys (Washington University, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri-St Louis, Lindenwood University, Webster University, Maryville University, Missouri Baptist)
-Traffic honestly in not that bad, especially compared to Southern California
-Several of the suburbs are constantly being ranked as some of the best places to live and raise a family. (Lake St Louis was just recently ranked as one of the best small towns to live in the country)

I have also heard wonderful things about North Carolina. I would visit both places and see what feels the best for you.

UK Monkey · 08-20-2009, 03:37 PM

My lads into Rugby not soccer...

We've been to NC, we hope to get to STL in the coming weeks.

How cold and icey do the winters get?

Any outdoor sports around, such as canoeing/camping/hunting.

stlcitygirl · 08-20-2009, 04:04 PM

It gets pretty cold in winter, you will definitely see days where it is 30 degrees outside. If I remember right, it snowed about 5-6 times this last winter. (Correct me if I am wrong) I really love the snow so it definitely doesn't bother me.
We have a ton of camping and lots of rivers for canoeing and rafting. My husband and I used to be huge campers, but we spend most of our weekends at the Lake of the Ozarks now. Speaking of, the Lake of the Ozarks (One of the largest man made Lakes in the world) is about a 2 and a half hour drive from the city. It is beautiful and tends to be Missouri's playgrould in the summer.
There is also Lake Carlyle (50 miles from city) and Table Rock Lake (4 hours from city). The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers meet (The Confluence) right outside of St Louis, so there are opportunities for fishing and boating.
Where I grew up in Mid-Missouri, hunting is very popular. I'm not so sure about the St Louis area.

skidamarink · 08-20-2009, 06:20 PM

LOL If he's interested in recreation, he can head over to Party Cove in Lake of the Ozarks.

LMAO

AJohnston_STL · 08-20-2009, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UK Monkey

My lads into Rugby not soccer...

We've been to NC, we hope to get to STL in the coming weeks.

How cold and icey do the winters get?

Any outdoor sports around, such as canoeing/camping/hunting.

I definitely can't speak for North Carolina, but is it a small town or a city/metro area? Even though the people tend to act like morons, you might want to try to post something in the city vs. city forum here on City-Data. ( https://www.city-data.com/forum/city-vs-city/ )

The winters get cold, not Chicago cold (or anywhere close), but fairly cold. We probably average 2-5 snows a winter, and usually they aren't too bad. We might get a foot in one storm, and 1-3" the other 4. Or maybe a foot snow, a 6" snow, and a couple of dustings. It really isn't that bad, at all. Nothing like the northeast or anything. If I recall correctly, I remember 2 50 degree Christmas' in the last 4-5 years, so you get the occasional unseasonably warm day too.

As far as sports go, there are a lot of adult leagues for soccer, softball, and now, kickball. I work with a guy from India who is in a cricket league. HE just moved from suburban NYC and loves St Louis. He was paying $1200 for a 2br 25 miles out of NYC and is now paying $650 for a 2br rental in Creve Coeur. I believe I've also talked to someone who is in an adult rugby league.

STLCardsBlues1989 · 08-20-2009, 11:33 PM

A quick Google search on St. Louis Rugby

St. Louis Bombers Rugby Football Club
St. Louis Rugby Club
St. Louis Rugby | Rambler Rugby Club
St. Louis Hornets Rugby Club - Hornets' Nest
Sunday Morning Rugby Football Club
home
Saint Louis Univeristy Rugby Team ************* ************* ************* ************* SLU,Saint Louis Unveristy,Rubgy,SLURFC (http://www.slu.edu/organizations/slurugby/main.php - broken link)