Opinions on living in the St. Louis area?

Tonya, most of the people in small towns like Staunton. have lived there all their lives, and may be a little less likely to come over and greet the new neighbors.
I live in a similar small town and as a kid, I knew all the neighbors for blocks around. Now I don't know the ones 2 houses down, and I'm not sure I want to know them. Too many meth heads, thieves, etc, around now. It's a shame but true. My next door neighbor and I have known each other all our lives and we look out for each others property.
But I hear my new neighbors outside cussing at their little kids, and I don't want to know them.
It might be up to you to make the first meet and greet moves, but don't be surprised if the neighbors are a little leery til they get to know you.

I'm a couple of hours west of STL and while I've taken friends there to sightsee, I could never live in or near a big city again. The airport is okay, Kansas City is 10 times better as far as being clean and easy to navigate. But there is a rich history and lots to see and do, just be smart and NEVER go into East STL if you can help it! Wentzville seems like a nice town, I think it's about a 40 minute drive into downtown though, so that might be too far for a daily commute once you add traffic in.

Regarding the New Madrid fault ... I work in the insurance industry and the rate for Earthquake Insurance is not exhorbitant, which tells me the insurance companies don't feel that it is a huge risk. Knowing how penny pinching all insurance companies are, that tells me a lot!

Good luck!

I paid rent in STL for 3.5 years. (1988-92. and jumped on an airplane every sun night, and came back every thur/fri, which is why i say i paid rent there, instead of lived there. ) i was in an apt west and outside the city limits, which is nicer section of town.

my observations:
* it's a lot greener than I was expecting. (and i lived in seattle area before st louis.)

* there are a *lot* of people who have lived there their whole life, far more than in any other city i've lived in. the locals love it there.

* seems to be a lot of stability in the local economy, since it's so diversified, and not dependent on a single large employer or industry the way many other cities are. mcdonnel douglass (now boeing), budwiser, various auto plants, and probably a lot of others i can't recall. a fair number of fortune 500 companies have hq's there too i believe. (of course, nyc, la, chicago have more, but STL is probably somewhere in the next 2-3)

* when you're asked what school you went to, they mean which high school! even if you went to college too! apparently everyone knows which are the "good" schools, and which the "bad", so your entire socio-economic status is summed up in which local high school you went to. (it won't apply to imports like yourself) never seen this in any other city i've been to. if you have kids (i didn't/don't) and you're planning on staying in STL for the long term, something to consider is which schools you're kids will be going to, as it will mark them for life! ;-)

* as i recall, the traffic isn't horrible. as a local told me, "everything is half hour away, from anywhere in the area to anywhere else, it's a half hour)

so, while i didn't "live" there full time, i did get an impression of the area. while it wasn't the place i want to live, i do have a lot of respect for the city -- it has some wonderful qualities that aren't "flashy", but are very unique among cities in terms of stability and longevity and community.

--sgl

I live in St Louis, in the so-called "dangerous" north county area. North County covers a lot of ground, some good, some bad. Same with anyplace else. I feel perfectly safe going out in my neighborhood alone at night.

Florissant has a long and rich history. Check out this page from the official Florissant city site:

http://www.florissantmo.com/Local/Hi...ricSites.shtml

It is a very diverse city in terms of population. There's plenty of affordable housing, both rental and to purchase, and stable neighborhoods.

I think St. Louis is one of the most beautiful cities in America - there are pockets of desperation and pockets of beauty. I think frame of mind and attitude plays a major role in whether or not you are going to like living there. I lived there for only three years - but grew up in Southern Illinois and looked forward to the city visits - there is so much "art and culture" there that you can spend a lifetime and not absorb it all. I think you are lucky to be moving there. Congratulations.

See that's the thing, being a southsider (think "scrubby dutch") I know NOTHING (much) of the north side! Maybe she ought to contact both of us when the move comes nearer and we can help her with our different knowledge of the areas. I know there's someone here who lives on the NW side of town! As I mentioned before, there's good and bad pockets throughout the metro.

That's so true about the schools!

Also, St Louis is the ONLY town I've ever been in where people give you directions by what USED to be there...as is...go right there at the light down to where the Ajax Movie theatre used to be...you'll go past the old Phillps 96 station first though, you know the one that burned down 5 years ago...and you keep going until you hit where the Fairgrounds were (Fairgrounds destroyed about 30 years ago). And if you say you're new to St Louis you'll get the history of that movie theatre, the gas station and the Fairgrounds! Been here 18 years and it STILL drives me nuts!

Mon

I live almost two hours from Saint Louis..my DD and her husband live in "Metro Saint Louis"..if you were to visit the city and drove in any direction more than a few minutes, every person who lived outside that radius would tell you, "I don't live IN Saint Louis"..LOL..
Saint Louis is the city located in Saint Louis County..the County has it's own police department, political machine, etc. etc. as someone said, the city is relatively small, while the County is quite large.

I was just up there this week end, escaping from tornado damage in my area..
The tax base is VERY much higher in or near the city..Missouri also has a "property tax" on vehicles, boats, livestock, assessed in January and you pay it right at Christmas time..that's always fun..

I lived in the city from 1975 to 1987..and wouldn't do it now..too much petty crime for me..my DD moved out from a lovely neighborhood in the city 5 years ago because they got tired of having their car trashed..(for you locals, their place was across from Tower Grove Park)..

If you want "city" vs rural and commute..I'd also recommend Webster Groves, Shrewsbury, Carondelet, Kirkwood, Wildwood, and South County..anyplace South or West..with apologies to those North..LOL..
Rural commute..I agree with whomever said "Washington, MO"..and Arnold..and Festus..and Herculaneum..and a little known jewel of a place named "De Soto"..it's an hour into the city from DeSoto, but IMHO, well-worth it..MUCH cheaper all around..and if you live outside the little town there is no zoning..yeehaw.

Edited to add: the New Madrid fault originates in the farthest SE portion of the state..when it blows, it will whack every state that borders Missouri and most of Missouri..I don't worry about it..each area of any state has some "thing" that can whack you

bostonlesley,

Your daughter should have keept going south on Morganford, across the tracks...that area, and to the west is pretty good.

A point though...St Louis City is NOT part of St Louis county...they are independent of each other. In the late 1800's, smaller towns/areas asked to be incoperated into the city of STL. The city didn't want the expense of admitting those towns to the city, so the county was born. Now the city WANTS to become part of the county (turn-about, doncha know?)...actually wants ALL those small towns they DIDN'T want before to become part of the city so they'll have more $$$. STL city is pretty poor while the county has the money now.

A recent discussion about this by residents...

http://www.city-data.com/forum/st-lo...-st-louis.html

A friend of mine who lives in the city has a LOUSY mortgage company and EVERY year the mortgage company pays property taxes to the COUNTY. Which of course means her CITY taxes are not paid, so she has to pay additional monies to the city, argue with the mortgage company to get her money back that the mortgage company paid to the county...and then it happens again the NEXT year! Just a royal pain, and not at all unusual!

I'd stay away from Herky...I think they've had some lead problems. Hillsboro (to the south) is nice but small...not much in the way of stores. My daughter went to school there and it was a very progressive school. Also is a Jr college there. Desoto has some VERY affordable housing and several of nice stores....been a few years since I was by there though!

A lot just depends on where his office will be.

Monica

OOPS..Monica is 100% correct..
I ought to have said, "Saint Louis is a city surrounded on three sides by Saint Louis County"..LOL..
It's confusing..
here's a good site that I found which not only explains the city/county thing further but also has a lot of COOL links.

http://stlouis.missouri.org/about/government.html