Considering a job transfer to St Louis, Mo. I am a Colorado Native. Looking for pros and cons to move?

Question

what do residents hate/love about the city?

Wow ! Thanks all your comments are genuine and so much better than info tourist websites!

Answer 1

Depends on what you're looking for, what sort of neighborhood, et cetera.

The weather can be pretty miserable at time. I've been here since I was 18 (moved here for college) and the humidity gets me every summer. At least it's not Houston, though.

Saint louis does not have a particularly effective public transit system. There is a light-rail system called Metro that runs from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to Busch stadium, the Edward Jones Dome, downtown, and then to the east side as far as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Buses are...well, not great.

You probably want to live in the city if you're working in the city. Traffic isn't as bad as in Atlanta or Houston, but during construction season (and we're about to rebuild our largest interstate) it's pretty bad. And St. Louisians are notoriously bad drivers. It's sort of like Dehli, except without the benefit of interesting accents.

That being said, St. Louis does have a lot of good sides.

The best zoo in the US is in Forest Park, which is also the largest municipal park on this side of the Mississippi river (and is 500 acres larger than Central Park)- the zoo and park are free. The Science Center is great for kids, and has a new planetarium with awesome displays.

It's a baseball town, and we just built a new Busch Stadium that is smaller, but has much better amenities and just feels more basebally. The Rams play in the Edward Jones dome, which is a great indoor facility that also hosts conferences and the like through its sister building, the America's Center. Future construction plans include a "ballpark village" around Busch Stadium that will feature residential living, shops, and business space.

Sammy Hagar is opening a Cabo Wabo cantina in a few years in the Bottlecap district, near the Jones dome.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is a 100-year old garden featuring flowers from around the world and is also a leader in plant science and evolutionary biology.

The Hill is a historically Italian section of town featuring some great italian restaurants at reasonable prices.

And real estate prices, depending on where you intend to live, are very nice. I moved into a blue collar neighborhood just a few months ago, and paid 86k for a 1400-square foot house in the south side of the city. Other homes of this size may be much more for some of the more affluent neighborhoods, or may be less for some of the less-so neighborhoods. The city itself, though, is in a new growth phase that will only continue as real estate prices stop rising. And most of the suburbs to the south and west are great places to live (if you're into suburbs, which I'm not).

The city also has Washington University, a top-15 education institution (as measured by US News and World report), and Saint Louis University which has a very good law school and a good undergraduate education. St. Louisians have a very high educational level relative to other large cities because of the sheer density of colleges around the area.

All in all, I'm glad I came here

Answer 2

I live near St Louis and lived for a year in Breckenridge, so I'll try to give you some perspective. The biggest difference is the scenery. Unless you come from eastern Colorado (which is very desolate), you wont have those beautiful Rocky Mountains and wonderful forest terrain. There are parts of Missouri that are very beautiful, especially around the Lake of the Ozarks, and down in the Ozarks/Current River. The Mississippi River drive can also be terrific, but you arent going to beat God's scenery. You also won't have those great ski resorts nearby to go skiing.
St. Louis is a great city, with a top notch orchestra, great Baseball (the Cardinals), and its a great sports city, with great fans. Except for the Broncos, pro sports aren't that huge in Colorado.
Education - St. Louis County has lots of terrific schools in the suburbs, and there are some terrific private schools. But like most cities, the public schools in St. Louis are terrible.
Culturally - there are a number of things going on every night. No, St. Louis isn't going to match New York City, but there are lot of clubs, so you can find any music from rock to jazz to R&B and Rap on here. It's not a huge country music town, but theres still country to be found.
What else - Forest Park is a terrific place to visit, with its museums, The Muny (largest outdoor theatre in the country) and park land. There are also two great universities (Washington University and Saint Louis University), along with some of the best hospitals you will find.
Attititude, St. Louis is kind of laid back - it still does have that small town mentallity at times - and for some reason, everyone seems obsessed by what high school you attended.
Finally, theres the Arch and the St. Louis Zoo - what else can you say.
Ideologically - St. Louis is probably a little more conservative then Colorado, although its a Democratic city. There are different pockets of the city, so you can usually find people you want to hang out wity - St. Louis is very friendly.
Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Well, I would like to welcome you to St. Louis. I live across the river in Illinois.


The pros and cons. Hmmm. The weather sucks, one of the highest crime rates and highest STD's in the country, but other than that, it's not a bad place to live.

Downtown St. Louis is really neat; there is a lot to do. But if you are transfering to from Colorado, I would recommend staying there, unless you enjoy ungodly humidity.

Answer 4

We live in Missouri. But to leave Colorado for Missouri. Housing is less for one thing. But the chiggers and tics. Oh my. We deal with them by spraying the yard and treating the dogs and cat. We like the weather better but we are in southern Missoui Ozarks near Branson. We like living in a small town of less then 600 people. We have to drive 40 miles for medical care. We try not to get sick. We have enjoyed our move from Louisiana. Its dryer here then Louisiana and its also less crime rate than Louisiana. Its all comparitive. We laugh when the natives complain about humidity and heat. they have short summers and mild winters.

http://www.morealestate.net/listings.htm

Answer 5

I've lived in St. Louis for 44 yrs. What do you want to know? You are to vague.

Answer 6

Climate is oppressive there (hot and muggy) in the summertime. Crime rate is also high.

And those are the pros!

Answer 7

eeeek, leaving Colorado for the midwest?!?! nooooo, noooo, noooo. the midwest is sooo boring...there is not much to do here!