Shaw - looking for info (St. Louis, Kirkwood: crime, daycares, house)

[call me Lorraine]

My family and I are considering a move to St. Louis from the east coast. We will likely work at Wash U/BJC medical campus. Shaw is a neighborhood we are considering and I am wanting to learn more about the area.

We have 2 children, pre-school age. We are interested in public school options when the time comes. We would like to maintain our current one-car lifestyle.

Questions:
1. What amenities are nearby? We're interested in kid-friendly stuff like libraries, playgrounds, pools.
2. What about daycares, pre-schools and grade schools?
3. What is the commute like via bus?
4. Any recommendations on blocks to consider, blocks to avoid and why?
5. Anything else you think we should know about Shaw?

Thanks for the help!

[stlcitygirl]

KT Cakes will be able to help you with these questions. She lives in Shaw and has children. I live close to the Shaw neighborhood and have friends scattered throughout. The people I know with children send them to St Margaret of Scotland school, located in the Shaw neighborhood. It's a private school, but I've heard really good things. There is also the St Louis Language Immersion School, Kenard Academy, Mallinkrodt School, all great public options. Here is a little write up about Kenard and Mallinkrodt: St. Louis City Talk: New Gifted Program for St. Louis Public Schools

As for playgrounds, Shaw is located right next to Tower Grove Park, 2nd only in the city to Forest Park. There are several playgrounds, farmers market, lots of organized sports. Check it out: Tower Grove Park

Located within Shaw is the Missouri Botanical Garden, absolutely gorgeous: Missouri Botanical Garden

I constantly ride my bike around Shaw, l see lots of families. There is also a dog park if you have dogs. My favorite part of Shaw is Flora Place.

[stlcitygirl]

As for commuting to Wash U, here is the metrolink website to time your commute: Metro Transit Saint Louis - MetroBus, MetroLink & Call-A-Ride - Moving the Community Forward.

[moorlander]

Originally Posted by call me Lorraine

Questions:
1. What amenities are nearby? We're interested in kid-friendly stuff like libraries, playgrounds, pools.
2. What about daycares, pre-schools and grade schools?
3. What is the commute like via bus?
4. Any recommendations on blocks to consider, blocks to avoid and why?
5. Anything else you think we should know about Shaw?

Thanks for the help!

Obviously the biggest attraction is the Missouri Botanical Garden. This place is really top notch. Personally I don't have kids, but my neices and nephews love going to the exhibits and such.
www.mobot.com

Other family oriented things within a short drive are
The city Museum - kids young and old LOVE this place
The St. Louis Zoo - Free and on par with the best zoo's in the world
Forest Park
Tower Grove Park
St. Louis Science Center
The Magic House (Kirkwood, MO) - Fun Fun Fun for kids

Welcome to St. Louis!

[BoomBoxing]

Originally Posted by call me Lorraine

My family and I are considering a move to St. Louis from the east coast. We will likely work at Wash U/BJC medical campus. Shaw is a neighborhood we are considering and I am wanting to learn more about the area.

We have 2 children, pre-school age. We are interested in public school options when the time comes. We would like to maintain our current one-car lifestyle.

Questions:
1. What amenities are nearby? We're interested in kid-friendly stuff like libraries, playgrounds, pools.
2. What about daycares, pre-schools and grade schools?
3. What is the commute like via bus?
4. Any recommendations on blocks to consider, blocks to avoid and why?
5. Anything else you think we should know about Shaw?

Thanks for the help!

Yeah KTcakes is the resident Shaw expert, but I have been spending more time in this neighborhood recently and would like to offer some impressions:

1. Moorlander & Stlcitygirl gave an excellent list of nearby amentities, but I'd like to reiterate how awesome the Botantical Gardens and Tower Grove park are. And they are right in the neighborhood.
2. I have heard good things about St. Margaret of Scotland for a grade school
3. Shaw is right on a couple of bus lines, so I would imagine getting around by bus would be easy in this neighborhood. Also you are not too far from the Grand metrolink stop.
4. I can't recommend a specific block, but I will tell you that I have seen some blocks in the neighborhood that I would not really consider if I were looking. My basic impression is the further south in the neighborhood, the better. But that's just my impression.
5. Shaw is one of St. Louis' most underrated neighborhoods. The housing stock is well kept, unique, and remarkable. That said, I would still consider it "up and coming" which means it is not quite "there" yet. The neighborhood could use more businesses, but Sashas on Shaw and Sweet Art bakery are awesome. I think purchasing there is smart because the neighborhood is clearly moving in the right direction.

Also, there was an episode of House Hunters on HGTV where the couple bought a house in Shaw, and actually looked at another house in Shaw too. I hope you end up moving there, or at least checking it out so you can tell us your impressions.

[jlawrence01]

I worked in the Shaw neighborhood and lived in the Tower Grove East area. I would walk to work daily.

Shaw is not necessarily a war zone. However, there is quite a bit of street crime. You need to have an alarm for your home and never leave anything of value visible in a car. In general, there are few assaults and only an occasional homicide.

You better walk around the area BLOCK by BLOCK as there are some that you will definitely NOT feel comfortable in. Look for boarded up homes and unusual amount of street activity as usually it is a sign of drug activity. The area around Shaw and Grand Ave. has occasionally been a drug supermarket.

Shaw was an "up and coming" neighborhood twenty years ago. And I don't see a huge difference in the neighborhood.

The St. Louis City schools are pretty bad. Everyone wants to cite one or two schools in the system that are outstanding. I am not going to doubt that. The questions is whether YOUR child will be one of the children who get into that school or one who gets to go to one of the many mediocre schools. Most of my friends would live in the city until the kids hit school or took advantage of the excellent parochial (Catholic or Lutheran) schools.

[stlcitygirl]

^
How long ago did you work in the area? I think it's vastly different than 5 years ago. I have 3 different friends that live in Shaw, all single women with no alarm system. We have a lot of neighbors that have their kids in schools around the city. I haven't heard of a homicide in that area in years.

[chr1s]

There has been a grand total of one murder in the Shaw neigherhood during the past five years. Just in case anyone was wondering what an "occasional homicide" means...

[call me Lorraine]

Thanks for the info everyone. I have a couple follow-up questions.

How would you describe the "vibe" of the neighborhood - we currently live in a transitional neighborhood so we are accustomed to some of the issues you bring up. One of the things we like is that our area has a number of newcomers, which brings some good energy to the neighborhood with a common goal of cleaning up the crime and grime issues.

Along those lines, what is the "vibe" of the park. We aren't planning on venturing into any city park after dark, but during the day, what's going on in Tower Grove Park? How big is the farmer's market?

Also, I'm curious if anyone has thoughts on City Garden Montessori school located in the neighborhood.

[stlcitygirl]

^
Just to give you an idea on the farmers market. They do free yoga in the morning, they had around 150 show up for yoga, and around 4000 for the farmers market. About a mile to the East is Soulard Farmers Market which is huge and year round. The "vibe" of the park is great. If you are used to a transitional neighborhood, you will be just fine. Tower Grove Park is a huge asset to have close by. SHAW has a very active neighborhood association. In my opinion, Shaw is edging to the top of transitional. One of my favorite restaurants is in the neighborhood, Sweet Art, it's vegan and very good.