Tell me about St. Louis

[crl]

Yet another in my ongoing series about places we might want to live some day. I have actually lived in Missouri and my parents are from Missouri, but not St. Louis. So tell me about it.

I am guessing that we would not want to live in the city itself, but in a suburb on the MO side of the city? One of my biggest concerns is diversity. DS is Chinese and I think it would be hard for him to be the only Asian kid in a school full of black and white kids. Another issue is that I prefer walkable communities, and my impression is that the St. Louis suburbs are pretty much all about driving. But maybe there is a niche that would address those issues and I just don't know about it?

Thanks for any thoughts!
Catherine

[megs4413]

kirkwood. kirkwood is the only 'burb I can think of that I think would work for your needs. you could also consider clayton, brentwood, or richmond heights, but real estate is pricey and schools are hit or miss. you'd have to do a lot of homework.

I've lived in St. Louis since I was 3. I'm originally from the western part of St. Louis county. I now live in North county. We are moving in a few weeks to the DFW area.

I cannot imagine wanting to live in the city itself. There is somewhat of a renaissance going on in the south city area, but the schools are awful, so you'd have to solve that problem. Public transit is almost non-existent. We are a car-dependent metro area. Diversity is also an issue. The area I live in is considered very well integrated, but it's about 40% African American and 45% white (non hispanic) which leaves a very small percentage for any other ethnicity. that's not really diverse....it's black and white, KWIM?

I know very little about south county. My understanding is that it is very "white washed." that's the reputation it has around here.

St. Louis city is located in St. Louis County. most residents live in the county (the suburbs) and not the city (mainly because of schools). The Mississippi River cuts off the city in such a way that "St. Louis" (the city and it's closer in suburbs) is a half circle. there are a few "suburbs" in Illinois (over the river), but commutes are difficult because there are a limited number of bridges back into St. Louis. East St. Louis is an entirely different city not just the eastern part of st. louis city. you do not want to get that confused. the St. Louis county suburbs are divided (by locals, not in any official way) into north county, south county and west county. West county is generally considered the most desirable area, in which, to live for families. The best school district is Rockwood. Other good districts are kirkwood, parkway, ladue, and clayton.

There are a lot of wonderful things about St. Louis. the zoo is world class and absolutely free. forest park is home to the zoo, the science center (also free), the history museum, and the art museum. it's a wonderful opportunity to expose kids to cultural activities and events and it's all low cost or free. There's a ton of stuff for kids to do just in general in the area. It's one of the things that we will miss the most. The cost of living is relatively low and there are many deals to be had in housing here right now. The economy has not been hit as hard here as in other areas of the country. Several of the major employers here have recently made positive turns (landing huge contracts at boeing, expanding massively at emerson electric, etc), which is a good indicator of a possible rebound in the general economy here.

negatives: it's hard to find a truly diverse area that is both affordable and has good public schools. possible, but hard. the weather sucks. i mean totally sucks. the ice was terrible here this past year (and we had plenty of snow, too) and it's 102 today. not to mention the rash of tornados we had this spring (which will come again in the fall). it's humid. the asthma and allergy foundation has called it the WORST place in the country to live with asthma and allergies. there is a high crime rate.

I HTH. I could probably ramble on and on, but I'll close this book now. :) good luck finding the right area for your family!

[crl]

Thanks, I really appreciate it! You pretty much confirmed what I thought I knew about St. Louis.

Catherine

[cuca_]

Well, I don't know too much about it, but it looks like we are moving there at the end of the summer. There are a few mom from the area here and they gave me great advice about the area when I posted a few months ago. I would link the post but don't know how to do that on my phone.

Mostpeople recommended living in the suburbs, West county specifically. I think a lot of these are not walkable, but some are.

'
Clayton is in West County. It has a business area but also residential. From what I have heard and researched the schools are great. It is makable-- or at least some areas are.

Also, my DH visited Kirkwood and liked it. From what I understand, that town has at least some areas that are walkable.

I also know people who live in University City (urban), but they send their kids to private schools b/c the public schools are not great.

Anyway, I am sure there are much more knowledgeable mamas who will chime in, but I just wanted to share what I've learned.

[smilequeen]

I love living here. I grew up here and was gone for a while and moved back 2 years ago. DH is not from here but he likes it a lot. My DH is Chinese if that helps :) Right now you'll find the biggest Chinese population in the U City area, but it's moving west. North or South are not places I would go if you want to have a more diverse area wrt other asian kids. South County is very white.

Walkable suburbs to me...U City, Clayton, Kirkwood, maybe Webster Groves?, maybe Brentwood/Richmond Hts.

The schools in Clayton are the best around, but Clayton is pricey. That partially would depend on where you are coming from though. If you were coming from CA, it would seem cheap or on par with what you're used to YK? :)

U City has some lovely areas, but you'd have to budget for private school IMO.

I do not live in a walkable area, but I live in a desirable school district...Rockwood. I live on a 2 acre lot in the woods though. I don't have personal experience with the schools b/c my kids go to private, but for public schools they are highly regarded.

There are so many great things to do with kids here. Our zoo, children's museums, science center, transportation museum, art museum, sports teams, etc. We love it! And it's all fairly inexpensive to do.

There are many good public school districts (the best are Clayton, Ladue, Rockwood, and Parkway), any kind of private school you would want, excellent healthcare.

I don't think our weather sucks. I think it sucks RIGHT NOW and it usually sucks in January/Feb and July/August. That's the trade off for what I prefer...4 seasons. The crime rate is high in parts of the city, but not really in the suburbs, especially not if you go west.

I could keep going, but I'll stop. I can answer questions if you have any though :)

[[email protected]]

I am originally from St Louis and we often discuss going back. If we moved back, I'd want to live in either Kirkwood or Webster Groves--small town neighborhood feel, great commute, excellent schools.

St Louis has some really nice cultural institutions: zoo, art museum, botanical gardens, symphony, opera theatre (in english), Muny, Shakespeare Festival in Forest Park. We're visiting grandma next week and my little ones are most excited about the Magic House (a children's museum).

As a SF Bay Area mommy, I'd rather return to St Louis than move to Sacramento or Davis.The summers have the same heat averages and I miss real winter. The COL is much, much better in St Louis too.

[crl]

Thanks you all. The numbers I am seeing in the burbs are all less than 2 percent Asian, which would not be ideal for us. I do love visiting St. Louis for all the great things to do there, but am just not sure if the benefits would outweigh the detriments for us there.

I really appreciate the information and thoughts!

Catherine

[k_null81]

I live about 30 minutes south of the city center. I have to agree with pretty much all of the above that has been said. My husband and I personally can't wait to move from the area. My husband grew up in south St. Louis county and once my dad retired from the Air Force in 1994 we settled back in St. Louis where all of our immediate family is. My husband and I are personally tired of the weather and want to move south. We also want to be near (30-60 minutes away max) a nice body of water whether it be a really nice lake or ocean. I do agree we have a lot to do to some extent but once you have lived here for so long it just seems so boring...

[tsem]

We moved from Atlanta with our 4 children to St Louis last summer. Guess where we live? Kirkwood, MO. We love it! It is a very neat town about 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis. It is very walkable cute town. Houses here have small-medium sized yards. The housing market is very different than what we were used to in Atlanta. Atlanta suburbs is very swim/tennis neighborhood-ish and StL is very town based.

Love all the things to do here with children. Very family friendly. When friends come in from out of town usually isn't enough time to take them to all the attractions! I was nervous that my children would have trouble with the move (born in Atlanta and had never moved) but they have adjusted great and have made so many friends at their new school. It is not a transient town so I think we are seen as the novelty "new folks". Please PM if you need any more info!
Traci

[smilequeen]

Thanks you all. The numbers I am seeing in the burbs are all less than 2 percent Asian, which would not be ideal for us. I do love visiting St. Louis for all the great things to do there, but am just not sure if the benefits would outweigh the detriments for us there.

I really appreciate the information and thoughts!

Catherine

Well, fwiw, I'm not sure that info is up to date. I'm not sure of the numbers. Certainly south or north you are going to be alone, but central and west? We are a half Chinese family (DH is, I am not) and we've had no problems finding ways to expose our kids to Chinese culture and a host of other cultures. There are at least 3 different Chinese schools in central/west county, a budding chinese area in Olivette/U City, some pretty decent restaurants, a Chinese festival, an international festival. My boys are far from the only Chinese kids in school and their school offers Mandarin classes. So, it may not be as difficult as you think. My DH, who grew up in Hong Kong and Toronto, is perfectly happy with it. The numbers are definitely increasing. DH took our oldest to Toronto for Chinese New Year one year and they didn't get to see the Dragon dance until they got back to St. Louis and went to one of our favorite restaurants. My oldest son and his friends and all of our families now get together and go every year.