Moving to St. Louis
We are considering a move to St. Louis for a job opportunity and would welcome any experiences of living in the city or nearby suburbs. We love the idea of a lower cost of living. Will we be able to find a neighborhood with decent public schools that is walking and biking-friendly? What are the various city and suburban neighborhoods and school systems like? We don't know very much about the city and would love feedback from people who have firsthand experience. Thanks!
Nov 18, 2016
Parent Replies
I spent the first four years of my life in St Louis and then visited every year until ten years ago when my grandmother died. I would never want to move back. The food is awful there. You're surrounded by farmland and can't get a fresh vegetable in a restaurant to save your life. The weather is hideous. The society is completely segregated. I never understood racism until spending time there. It's not cool there at all. Chicago is an amazing city, St Louis is not. You'll be able to afford a nice neighborhood but it will be all white. The only color you'll see will be the help
I highly recommend spending a ding a week there. Rent a car and drive around. Look out the window and pay close attention to what you see. Think about whether you would want your kids to date the other kids you see.
If you're really interested in moving to the Midwest or south, I'd also check out Louisville, Nashville, Atlanta, Chicago, even Tulsa before St Louis.
I grew up in St. Louis, still have lots of family and friends there, and we considered moving back a few years ago so I did a ton of recent research about schools and neighborhoods.
Cool neighborhoods but BAD city schools: Central West End, Tower Grove (specifically south of the park is my favorite- this is where I would live if we moved back; areas north of the park are nice too, east and west fine too.), Forest Park (near Wash U), University City, Soulard.
A bit more suburban but GREAT schools: Webster Groves (where I grew up), Kirkwood. These are both cities where you can find a beautiful old home with good public schools- but not nearly as urban as living in the city.
Good school options in the city: St.Louis Language Immersion Schools (SLLIS- have french, spanish, chinese, and others; public school), City Garden Montessori (in Shaw neighborhood in Tower Grove area- public charter, entrance by lottery and REALLY hard to get into, must live in their boundary around the school too, so home prices have skyrocketed there), South City Community School (in Tower Grove area too- private but affordable- Christian school but so welcoming to people of all faith backgrounds), St. Margaret's (Catholic, but also welcoming to people of all faiths and affordable for private education), The Soulard School (private).
Your best bet for walking and bike friendly will be Central West End or Tower Grove areas. Often when I go back to visit I imagine the life I could have there that would be SO similar to my life here but at a fraction of the cost of living. I definitely think St. Louis is a great place to live and raise kids, and the people are as friendly and down-to-earth as you can get!
I'd be happy to talk more on the phone if the moderator can give you my email for us to connect. Best of luck with your decision!