Teach me -St. Louis?

I have an interview Wednesday for a job in the greater St. Louis area, Chesterfield specifically. It’s a very good job and I will take it if offered even if it isn’t in anything like my short list of desired places to live. 

Where should and shouldn’t I look for an apartment, especially in between Chesterfield and downtown?  The commute downtown is important because:

My other half is taking med school pre-reqs and will continue to. Both area med schools are  downtown, it looks like, and Chesterfield is 20 miles or so west.  Also, housing in Chesterfield proper looks expensive even on a respectable salary. 

It may be premature to start looking but I need to start planning for the prospect of relocating in the next 6 weeks. 

University city is a nice lower crime area that is pretty nice to live in. It's in the middle but never was exactly cheap. Is your other half all of the way DT or at like Wash U or SLU? 

Neither school, yet.  We are both in Little Rock. 

My STL experience is going on 30 years old st this point. But I do know that Chesterfield is pretty far west of the city, so UC (while nice) is probably not where you want to be. Clayton would be closer. 

I liked living in St. Louis. I’d like to go back some time. 

Don't confuse Springfield for St. Louis.

I would look in Creve Coeur, or Olivette.  They are near U-City, but further from SLU, and Wash-U, so the rent is not jacked up.  I have lived here all my life, and love it.  Feel free to DM me with any questions.

In reply to jay8s :

Roger that, thank you. Olivette wasn’t on the radar yet. 

My parents lived in Chesterfield from 84-87. The commute sucked back then (dad worked for AB). 

Other things: the St. Louis Blues have had the 4 winningest coaches in NHL history. They have never won the Stanley cup. That fact brings me way more pleasure than I should ever admit. 

Don't eat the cheese.

mtn said:

My parents lived in Chesterfield from 84-87. The commute sucked back then (dad worked for AB). 

 

Other things: the St. Louis Blues have had the 4 winningest coaches in NHL history. They have never won the Stanley cup. That fact brings me way more pleasure than I should ever admit. 

Hey, how's your postseason looking?

If its east anything,  stay the berkeley out. East st. Louis especially. 

Mndsm said:

If its east anything,  stay the berkeley out. East st. Louis especially. 

Spoilsport.

East St. Louis was perfectly nice when I stopped there.  I'm sure the 3" bulletproof glass in the KFC was just overkill.  2" would have been fine.

Webster Groves might be an option. Maplewood is a bit hipstery. Kirkwood is nice but pricey. Creve Coeur is a good suggestion too. My brother and I are in the area. 

psteav said:

mtn said:

My parents lived in Chesterfield from 84-87. The commute sucked back then (dad worked for AB). 

 

Other things: the St. Louis Blues have had the 4 winningest coaches in NHL history. They have never won the Stanley cup. That fact brings me way more pleasure than I should ever admit. 

Hey, how's your postseason looking?

Same as the Blues....

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

Mndsm said:

If its east anything,  stay the berkeley out. East st. Louis especially. 

Spoilsport.

East St. Louis was perfectly nice when I stopped there.  I'm sure the 3" bulletproof glass in the KFC was just overkill.  2" would have been fine.

I do find that places with bulletproof glass serve good food. 

Native St. Louisan (with a 5 year dalliance in Chicago) here.

To make life as easy as possible for the drive to Chesterfield, you’ll want to be around I-64 (reticent locals like myself still call it Highway 40, as it predates the interstate system). That highway tends to run through some of the nicer parts of the area, which is both good and bad, as that will beget higher property prices. There will be a lot of student-oriented housing in and around University City (“U City”).

In terms of commuting, generally speaking, people in St. Louis tend to think things are farther apart than they really are. And traffic here is pretty reasonable with some exceptions, but usually only during rush hours - however there’s major overpass reconstruction happening on I-44 for the next couple summers, which will be a PITA. 

Happy to answer any specific questions, though I’ll admit my Chesterfield area knowledge is about 20 years out of date.

Also a former St. Louisan with even less understanding of Chesterfield.

Highway 40 should be your main consideration (SLU and Wash U are both accessible via 40) and good, reasonable housing options should be available between I-270 and I-170. Once you cross west past I-270, you've entered "West County" and your partner's commute will suuuuuuck into the city. Once you cross east of I-170, housing tends to be either "student-oriented" (loud and/or crime issues) or a little far from your job (although the Hill and Maplewood are both good choices). North of I-64 tends to be huge houses and no grocery stores (Ladue and Creve Coeur are wealthy neighborhoods). South of I-64, however, should have adequate housing and a bountiful selection of grocery stores and restaurants, and anything near Manchester Blvd will be worth looking at.

Rock Hill is an excellent target neighborhood (nice but not as expensive as Brentwood, good access to highway via McKnight, good grocery stores off of Manchester, etc.). If you're willing to have a 2nd highway to add to your commute (the I-270/I-64 exchange is a pain at rush hour), Maryland Heights and Des Peres would probably be fine too. Olivette is a good option and I-170 tends to manage rush hour very well (plus you'd be able to use Forest Park Pkwy to get to med school). I'd avoid Overland (Page east of Lindbergh gets sketchy).

If you're feeling super fancy, see about a place in the Central West End. You probably can't afford it, but being walking distance from Coffee Cartel would be worth it. Most Wash U med school stuff should be near Kingshighway and Forest Park Blvd and SLU is only a few miles down Lindell.

Also, grocery stores are very neighborhood-dependent (meaning, many chains will open in *any* neighborhood and adjust their offerings based on the locale). Perfect example is the Schnucks on Ladue (super swanky with full kosher meat counter) vs. the Schnucks on Lindell (plenty of reminders that EBT isn't accepted for prepared food). Both will have good prices for the basics though!

I prefer Schnucks over Dierbergs and prefer both over Shop n Save. Straubs is where you go for your quail eggs and caviar.

I do miss schnuks. That's a great grocery. 

I really appreciate all the detailed info, it will be very helpful. Thank you.  I’ll, go poke around on the maps a little more and see what’s available. 

I know berkeleyall about St Louis, but I'll just say that med school is getting increasingly competitive...I wouldn't count on your other half getting into one of the two schools there.  Especially since Wash U is a top notch institution.  The exception would be ridiculous grades and scores along with strong ties and/or some features that are valued for lending diversity.  There are plenty of smart interesting normal people who struggle to get accepted to any medical school.  The process feels almost random at times.  I have friends who had to apply 3 times to get in and are now in competitive specialties... It makes little sense.

In reply to conesare2seconds :

Zombie thread!

Did everything work out for you? 

I recently interviewed at Boeing (located in Berkeley, LOL) and have been looking at houses around St. Louis, trying to find a workable compromise between home price, school quality, and commute.

Wow, this thread did not hold up well for me...

The_Jed said:

In reply to conesare2seconds :

Zombie thread!

 

Did everything work out for you? 

 

I recently interviewed at Boeing (located in Berkeley, LOL) and have been looking at houses around St. Louis, trying to find a workable compromise between home price, school quality, and commute.

Lived there 11 years. I have a house in Ladue and one in Webster Groves, both are rented. If you have kids, both of those areas have great school districts. My kids went to Ladue. 

mtn said:

My parents lived in Chesterfield from 84-87. The commute sucked back then (dad worked for AB). 

 

Other things: the St. Louis Blues have had the 4 winningest coaches in NHL history. They have never won the Stanley cup. That fact brings me way more pleasure than I should ever admit. 

For a post in a zombie thread...  This is seriously funny.