Moving to St. Louis
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
St. Louis neighborhoods
July 2010
It's possible that we'll be moving to St. Louis some time next year. Does anyone have any recommendations of good neighborhoods for us to consider? We have a 3-yr-old and a 1-yr-old, and we'd be sending them to public schools in a few years. We know pretty much nothing about the area, so any thoughts anyone has would be welcome! Jennifer
Hi- I grew up in St. Louis and think it is a great city for raising a family. Webster Groves, Clayton, and Kirkwood are all cities that have great public schools, beautiful old homes, and a good community feel, but they are expensive. They are all within about 10-15 minutes of the downtown area. Maplewood is great as well, and more affordable and really close to the city. Ladue is VERY upscale and expensive with great schools. You don't mention where you live here in CA, but all of those communities feel pretty suburban to me compared to Oakland/Berkeley. Pretty car-oriented, mono-cultural (white), and conservative. If you want a more urban feel, living in the city of St. Louis is an option and you could put your kids in private schools (which are not NEARLY as expensive as out here in CA.) Some great neighborhoods in the city are Tower Grove/South Grand/Shaw Park, Central West End, and Dogtown near Forest Park. University City is also a great city, bordering right on downtown St. Louis, but the Univ. City schools are poor as well. If you want great schools, you could move anywhere in West County (Parkway school districts), but those are far out from the city and definitely VERY suburban (think Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon). Feel free to email me if you want some more info or want to talk more in depth. Best wishes! St. Louis Native
Thinking about moving to St. Louis
Sept 2009
We're thinking about moving to St. Louis from Berkeley but are having reservations about it. We are originally from the midwest, but we have no idea what St. Louis is like. Do you have any advice about good neighbourhoods to raise our daughter in. We don't want to become isolated and have to drive everywhere. We want to go to farmers markets, and live in an area kind of like rockridge. I just don't have any clue where to start finding out this stuff. Thanks for your help! mandy
Take a look at Kirkwood and Webster Groves. My parents lived on Argonne Drive in Kirkwood, 1/2 block from the city park, 2 blocks from the train station (always fun for our kids to count the cars when we visited), 3 blocks from the little downtown with a small farmer's market in the summer. Also in Kirkwood is a rather amazing international food market called Global Foods. My cousins (who are into organic farming/local foods and are politically very liberal)live in Webster Groves which seems to be a progressive community.Good luck. Barbara
Mandy,
I grew up near St. Louis and lived there through my college years. I've lived in California for the past 20 years, but my mother lives in St. Louis and I go back each year. I don't know if my knowledge is current enough to help but here's what I can offer (and I'll add my contact info at the end if you want to ask more detailed questions.):
I often refer to St. Louis as small town that happens to have lot of people in it (I think the metro area is between 4 and 5 million). People tend to be friendly and neighborly, more than I have experienced in California, but also provincial and conservative. (At least that's my perspective from living in Berkeley.) There are however some open-minded and progressive enclaves such as: University City, The Central West End and Soulard, all in the city limits. The suburbs, where most people live, tend to be quiet and very midwestern. Hope that helps. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. jayh
We are moving to St. Louis after three years here in Oakland. I grew up in St. Louis and lived there for a few years after college. When we move back we are also hoping to find a neighborhood with great walkability - one of the aspects of our life here that we love and hope to be able to continue. I think it might be a little bit harder to find this in St. Louis but I have some ideas of places we are going to look - off hand I know of at least a handful of neighborhoods where I think we could be able to walk to parks, grocery stores, shops, and farmers markets. Although I don't think many (if any) of the farmer's markets will last year round like they do here. But I could be wrong.
We will have a weeklong trip to the area in the next month or two to look around before we actually move and our plan is to pick some target neighborhoods during that time. The great news is that even some of the best neighborhoods are significantly more affordable than any neighborhood here . . . . Please contact me and we can be in touch about what we are looking for and what we might find in St. Louis! Becky
I wish I were moving to the ''Lou'' (that's what folks are calling St. Louis these days). I have lots of family there, and visit there as often as I can.
The neighborhoods that most closely resemble Rockridge are Clayton and the Loop--they tend to be pricier and are home to amenities like antique stores and spas. I myself would gravitate to the Tower Grove neighborhood, where you'll find it more LGBT- and artist-friendly. Generally, as you move North in the City, it's grittier, and as you move West, it's newer. I'd definitely check Yelp.com and this list from the St. Louis Magazine: http://www.stlmag.com/media/St-Louis-Magazine/SLM-Lists/Neighborhoods/ to get a feel.
Oh, and you have to visit the City Museum--it's weird and wonderful for kids: http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp One nice plus is that the museums and zoos in Forest Park (St. Louis's version of GG Park) are free! former St. Louis Woman
I used to live in St. Louis in many different places. A couple places come to mind--University City and Clayton. The latter is a little more upscale, but the schools are awesome. Both are pretty urban--University City moreso--and the City is close by. There's also the Central West End, but it's a little more college-y/trendy and less family oriented. I personally have fond memories of the City, so I hope everything goes well! Sarah
I have a dear friend, a fine arts photographer, who moved there from LA and I thought she was nuts ... until I visited her. I found there is a very vibrant arts and music scene and plenty of cool people. You can also look here: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/ Lisa in Oakland
The places that might come closest to meeting your needs are University City or Clayton. They are both older suburbs right outside the city limit, adjacent to Forest Park (the huge city park with museums, bike trail, zoo etc), politically liberal, nearby Whole Foods & Trader Joes, farmers markets. Neither are quite as walkable as many areas here, but both have areas with shops/restaurants--in U. City, the Loop (a funky, artsy area) and in downtown Clayton, the business hub of St. Louis county. Clayton is more upscale and has better public schools.
You might also check out Webster Groves, has a more provincial feel. The Central West End is a cool area of the city that lots of young professionals/artists/LGBT folks live, but you would probably have to check out private schools because the city schools are pretty bad. No idea what your educational philosophy is like, but New City would be a great private school to check out, in my humble opinion. As you travel further west into the suburbs (West county), you will find much more conservative folk/cookie cutter houses/strip malls and the like.
One upshot is that your $ will get you much further there. You can find beautiful 3-4+ bedroom homes for 500-600,000! Also, when I go back to visit the neighborhood where I grew up (in Clayton), I still see kiddos riding bikes around the neighborhood, playing out front in sprinklers, etc. It's actually quite sweet, and something that I miss living out here, where I don't feel comfortable allowing my little ones to play outside unsupervised.
Best of luck with move! you'll find your way in the Lou
I was born and raised in St. Louis --lived there 26 years, minus 5 for college & travel. University City is my home town, and I lived in the Tower Grove area as a young adult. Both are lovely areas with lots of international restaurants, parks, mom & pop shops, and lovely housing stock. My husband and I both have parents there, so we visit every year. Please feel free to contact me about it. In the mean time, here are some things you could Google to get a sense of the culture: The St. Louis Botanical Gardens; Soulard Market; The St. Louis Regional Arts Commission; The Fox Theatre; the Black Rep; the St. Louis Cathedral; Forest Park; Laumeier Sculpture Park; the St. Louis Symphony; Crown Candy Creamery...I could go on. Also, to see what some of the architecture is like, try typing U.City, Tower Gove, Soulard, Central West End, or Clayton as keywords in the housing section of Craig's List. You can buy a huge, beautiful home with stained glass windows and wood floors, lots of space, and a huge yard for less than the price of an 800 sq ft box here with zero charm. But it is a very racially charged place, schools aren't that good, and the weather is terrible. That's the trade-off. Good luck! -A St.Louis Native saaba
Moving to St. Louis with kids
Oct 2002
I am moving to St. Louis, MO (actually St. Peters a suburb of St. Louis) with my husband and two children (6 and 2). Any special children's groups or activities that you can pass on to me would be helpful. Also anything that will help me acclimate myself and family to the area would be appreciated. Thanks. Julianna
I grew up in a St. Louis suburb called University City. It is a college town and is very much like Berkeley on a smaller scale. I don't quite remember where St. Peters is, but you can look forward to free zoo, and free art museum in Forest Park. Free ice skating on the ponds there in the winter, too. The weather is mostly summer and winter, hardly any spring or fall. That'll take a while to get used to, but you will. Good luck. U. City Girl
Hi, I'm from St. Louis, and, admittedly, haven't lived there for a long time, but I do have some recommendations which might help. I went to a great preschool/elementary school, which is still going strong, called Forsyth School. It's located across the street from Washington University, which might be a drive from St. Peters(I lived closer in), but definitely worth looking into. Also, great places to take kids, all near Forest Park (the main city park built during the 1904 world's fair): the great zoo, the art museum, the science center. Also, in tower grove a bit south of there, the wonderful Missouri Botanical Garden. I'm sure that all of these city institutions have special programs for kids; they might be good places to start. St. Louis is a very kid-friendly city, and I think it's a good place to grow up. Now (autumn) is a great time of year to move there! The summer's might be a bit of an adjustment... Good luck! jerechter
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!