reasons to live in St. Louis? (O'Fallon, Kirkwood: rent, homes, neighborhoods)

[orangefuscia]

Hi!

If you wanted to give someone a bulleted list of things to pique their interest what would it be? (an actual bulleted list would be appreciated only in the interest of being concise). I'd like to link back to this thread.

links, facts, things of that nature -- perks benefits of living in st. louis random facts sort of thing.

I hope this isn't too much trouble!! I can't find a blog or site dedicated to moving to st. louis.

What's the housing stock like and the economy and jobs and nightlife dating life what's the vibe like diversity. The more facts the better numbers and stats, I know its weird but I trust them they're facts why wouldn't I? lol

Also any awesome pics would so be appreciated too, they're all scattered over the net. If you have any you like could you put a link to them here?

Thanks! I really hope this isn't asking too much but there isn't a sticky thread or anything on the board.

-- Julia

[STLMetro]

- Cost of living is low (2008 cost of living index in St. Louis: 82.4 (low, U.S. average is 100))

- Many attractions are free (St. Louis Zoo, Art Museum, History Museum)

- Some of the best urban parks in the world (Forest park, Lafeyette Square, Tower Grove, Carondelet Park, O'Fallon Park, Jeffersion Expansion Memiorial)

- Very nice classical musical arts scene (the Fox, The Rep, Powell Symphony Hall (second oldest symphony in the nation))

- Top notch Universities (Wash U, St. Louis U, UMSTL, Webster U, and several other small schools)

- Several of the largest private companies (Enterprise Rent a car, Graybar, Scottrade, Edward Jones)

- Several of the largest public companies ( Emerson, Energizer, Anheuser Busch InBev (North American Headquarters), Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Purina, Express Scripts, Charter Communications, Monsanto Company, and Wells Fargo Advisers.

- A very strong history of greatness (Lewis and Clark lived here after their expedition, T.S. Eliot, First Olympics in the U.S. and the host of the World's Fair, Maya Angelou, etc.)

- Very strong athletic community (Cardinals/Brown Stockings, Browms/Orioles, Rams/Cardinals, Blues, long history of professional soccer players)

That's all I can do right now, hope this gets her started!

[Central Illinois 1]

Fantastic neighborhoods for every taste (Central West End, Lafayette, St. Louis Hills, Clayton, pretty much all of West County, most of South County, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Kirkwood, Webster, etc...All good!)

The weather is milder that most other midwest cities and far enough South to get a break from the winter cold on a fairly regular basis.

People are generally very friendly.

Very diverse terrain within a short distance (hills, bluffs, rivers, caves, farm fields, forests, etc.)

Most drivers are polite and traffic is usually very tolerable relative to alot of places.

High value for the buck. You typically get alot for your money in terms of housing, schools, and neighborhood quality in most locations. However, be prepared to pay California style prices in the more swank Mid County and West County neighborhoods (e.g., Ladue, Huntleigh, Town and Country, etc.).

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by Central Illinois 1

...However, be prepared to pay California style prices in the more swank Mid County and West County neighborhoods (e.g., Ladue, Huntleigh, Town and Country, etc.).

We bought our home in the "upscale community" of Lake Saint Louis for what I call "ghetto priced" .
(you may be able to get run down bungalow in Santa Ana for what we paid for a home on the lake)

[STLMetro]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

We bought our home in the "upscale community" of Lake Saint Louis for what I call "ghetto priced" .
(you may be able to get run down bungalow in Santa Ana for what we paid for a home on the lake)

I think you are a little jaded to how California priced their homes before the recession. Premium homes in Lake St. Louis (and Ladue) go for the mid $3M's. You can get a 5 bed, 5 bath w/ 6,000 sq. ft. and panoramic views in the low $2M's in Santa Ana.

P.S. - Do you know you're spelling piranha incorrectly?

[CellarBelle]

Easy!
The People

The People

The People!

Love this area of the country!

A few others:

St. Louis Blues Hockey!!!!

Change of seasons - nothing real extreme

Great educational institutions, like Wash U, SLU, SIUE and so on (forgive me for not listing them all!)

Beautiful Scenery! Rural or Metro (who can honestly say they don't love seeing the skyline with Arch in the background?)

The Cardinals and Busch Stadium

The Rams??? Hey, at least we have pro-football!

Great restaurants

Bike trails all over!

I LOVE ST. LOUIS!!!!

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by STLMetro

I think you are a little jaded to how California priced their homes before the recession. Premium homes in Lake St. Louis (and Ladue) go for the mid $3M's. You can get a 5 bed, 5 bath w/ 6,000 sq. ft. and panoramic views in the low $2M's in Santa Ana.

P.S. - Do you know you're spelling piranha incorrectly?

Intentional misspelling, goes back to a user name on another bulletin board about 10 years ago.

You can buy real nice lake front here in LSL for under 500K.

That thieving knucklehead from US Fidelis is building castle for $17m. Most homes in Lake Saint Louis are under 1M.

$600K would get you something "decent" in CA before the market dropped. Even now you really can't touch anything decent for under 450K.

That 2M in Santa Ana you mentioned is probably the Skyline Project (and they call it South Coast Metro to avoid any association with Santa Ana, even though that is where it is being built. That project is on hold, with many legal issues that need to be solved. Santa Ana, Ca is a Ghetto. It resembles Tijuana more than an American City. Even there the homes are priced over $300K.

[Marksman84]

[i]

Originally Posted by CellarBelle

Easy!


The Rams??? Hey, at least we have pro-football!

[stldotage]

St. Louis Magazine's "101 Things Every St. Louisan Must Do" really says it a lot better than I could:

See
1. The Gateway Arch—it’s a given. But you’ve got to be there about 10 minutes before sunset, preferably in the spring or fall when the air is very, very clear.

...

101. A thin-crust Imo’s deluxe pizza, just made and hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth. (imospizza.com)

[stldotage]

So that was your text-based description. Here are some great photos.

Comprehensive Photo Tour by JivecitySTL of the Urban St. Louis Forums:
Link (http://www.urbanstl.com/viewtopic.php?t=4752 - broken link)

Tosspot's (UrbanSTL, Skyscraper Page) AMAZING threads on a handful of St. Louis neighborhoods.

The Urban St. Louis photography forum is a great resource for STL pictures: link (http://www.urbanstl.com/viewforum.php?f=24 - broken link)