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merilenda! Let''s talk St Louis!

Iowa Lizzy

Iowa Lizzy

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
1,667
I figured I''d start a thread in LIW so you can tell me some details about STL. Right now we''re looking in the CWE. We''ll rent for at least the first 6 months to a year. Do have any recommendations? Any places to avoid like the plague?

Where do you recommend I go to oggle jewelry and get my diamond fix??
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May I crash this thread? Are you moving to STL?
 
 
Uh, if you move here, watch out for U-Verse's connection issues? Sorry about the accidental triple-post.
 
Yes misskitty! Welcome to the partay! I am moving to STL. FI just started a job there (a month before the wedding!) so we''re moving from Iowa to St. Louis after the honeymoon. I can use all the help I can get!

What is U-Verse?
 
U-Verse is AT&T''s cable/internet service. The cable part makes it a much more attractive option than Charter, but I think the router they gave us is broken. I''ve reset the thing twice tonight, and at some point, I''m going to call and have them bring us a new one.

CWE is nice; we looked at some places there, but just weren''t able to find the right combo (hardwood floors + pet-friendly + parking for 2 vehicles) so we ended up a little bit west of there.

As for jewelry-ogling, I''ve only been here a little over a year, so I''m sure I''m missing out on some places, but I''m a fan of Lordo''s Diamonds. I''m going to have my RHR made by them (once I figure out what I want!).
 
I''m totally here to help! I don''t live there anymore
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but I definitely miss it. The CWE is nice - it''s kind of trendy. Lots of younger professionals and hip nightlife kind of stuff. Are you wanting to stay within a particular area to minimize a commute? My definite recommendation is the St. Louis Hills neighborhood. I LOVE it. There are a lot of ~1940s 4 family flats, it''s beautiful, parks in the neighborhood, etc. Very nice location. I lived in a 4 apartment building that had hardwood floors and was lovely. Less than a block from Francis Park. It''s also walking distance to Ted Drewes, which is a STL fixture. Here''s the link to the neighborhood: http://stlhills.com/

Soulard/Benton Park are old neighborhoods close-ish to downtown with lots of character, but there''s a lot of nightlife down there, and I''m sure it might get loud.

I know a lot of people who live in the Tower Grove area around the botanical gardens. Many of them love it - a lot of older, beautiful buildings down there, too. But I think it''s a little rougher than St. Louis Hills. I know a guy who got robbed at gunpoint on his front lawn in that neighborhood (I''m sure it''s mostly safe, but just saying). Where I lived, I always felt really safe walking around at night.

I''ll let you know if I think of any specific recommendations! If you have it narrowed down to an area, I''ll definitely fill you in on what I know. St. Louis is a GREAT city to live in - I know you''ll love it!
 
I love St. Louis and will be watching this thread! I''m from IN and one of my high school field trips with French Club was St. Louis--we visited Union Station, dined at a French restaurant, and caught a Cardinals game the year Mark McGuire was in hot competition with Sammy Sosa for home runs. Union Station was beautiful; I still have a sterling silver DBTY style necklace set with unfaceted garnets I bought there to commemorate my trip. What can i say-I have always always always loved jewelry and bought pieces like that so I could always remember the fun times I had.

I''ve never visited the arch, though! I guess it''s a must-see but I''m not good in tight spaces or elevators.
 
Monarch, the arch is best viewed from the outside, anyhow (in my opinion!). The windows up at the top aren''t very big or clear, and it''s a lot like looking out of an airplane. Totally not worth the 45 minutes and the trip up in a cramped little car.

Looking up at the arch from the park below or from the upper deck at Busch? Awesome.
 
I''ll be keeping tabs on this as well, since SO and I are talking about moving to St. Louis in a few years. He''s from KCMO, most of his family is still there, and he has some in CoMo. My mom is in Chicago and his parents are in BFE Arkansas...but St. Louis seems to be about equidistant from everyone and we want to be close to them when we start a family. We''ll eventually move back out East to DC when I want to move into management at my company, but fortunately, until that point, we can work from anywhere in the country...so we''re thinking of STL as an option!
 
Hey! So I live on the IL side. That means I can''t recommend much in regards to living in the Lou. I just wanted to pop in and say hi. Maybe we can have an StL meeting once you get here. Where is the job located? You need to pay attention to traffic flows. You could think you are living close to the job when in reality it can take you forever to get there. So that is something to consider. I commuted to downtown StL for 7 years. The drive wasn''t all that bad at all from IL even with the bridge traffic. They are going to add another bridge to alleviate the two main ones. That will be interesting to see how that works out. TG - where are you moving from?
 
I''ve also lived in Como (I''m actually originally from that area) so can offer tips there, too.
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Also, TG, I thought I might ask what you are looking for in a neighborhood and what type of place you are wanting to rent? My cats were nice enough to wake me up after less than 6 hours of sleep, so I''m here on PS.
 
Oooh, oooh... I am a former St. Louisan! I lived there for about 5 years before I moved to Chicago in ''06. I loved the years I spent there and go back to visit fairly often.

I rented in the CWE for a few years while I was in grad school and then moved to the U-City area (right on the border of Clayton), and before I moved to Chicago, contemplated buying a place in Lafayette Square.

What I liked about both the CWE and U-City is that they were within walking distance to lots of things - restaurants, some shopping, Forest Park (which I LOVE). They also had a lot of older but well-kept buildings that had a lot of character. I never had any issues with parking. I felt safer in U-City/Clayton. There are some sections of CWE that I think can be a little sketchy, so you need to do your research.

A few people have already asked some good questions - where will you be commuting to? Do you want to be close to nightlife or are you looking for a more residential feel?
 
Sorry I''ve been MIA today! I don''t have a job there yet so I can''t really consider my commute. FI is working downtown. Right next to the arch basically. The address is 1 Memorial Drive. Lucky duck gets to stare at the arch all day. We were considering a DT loft but I''d prefer to be closer to a grocery store and things like that. Our main requirements are: cat friendly, covered parking, 2+ bedrooms, patio or balcony and washer dryer hookups in the unit. We''d like to keep rent around $1500/month or less.

I was drawn to 3949 Lindell but that may be a little over budget.

I really appreciate any help you all can give me!

Hoofbeats, we''re moving from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I can''t wait to be a hop, skip and a jump from being able to see my favorite team, The Cardinals!!!
 
Just a quick note to say that I''m a HUGE Cardinals fan. Glad to see a fellow fan on PS! FI is dragging me on some errands right now, but I''ll look at Craigslist when I get back. Even if you''re looking on there, sometimes it''s hard when you''re not familiar with the area. Oh and if you are in STL before you move, I would absolutely drive/walk around St. Louis Hills. That''s how I found my apartment when I lived there. Just looked at "for rent" signs in the yards and called for info. It''s very convenient to I-44 for his commute downtown (no more than 15 minutes or so - and 44 tends to not back up like some of the other highways). Most of the buildings have a covered garage behind them, accessible from an alley.

University City would be another option for you. It''s right next to the CWE (it''s where the loop is, if you''re familiar). I know a friend of mine lives there and loves it.

I know someone who also lived in the Soulard Market Lofts which is RIGHT NEXT to downtown, but I don''t know if they allow kitties or have covered parking.

I''ll check later - I love apartment hunting, except when it''s for me. And then I hate it.
 
Yeah, I''ve looked at Craig''s List but it''s just so hard to know where I''m looking. FI''s company has him in a furnished apartment downtown for now (The Mansion House or something like that) and I''ll be heading down there in a couple weeks to find an apartment while he''s at work during the day. I''m going to try to set up as many appointments as I can before I go. I''m a little nervous about driving down there though. I have GPS but I''m just a dunce in any downtown.

Right now I can name all the places I''ve been in STL on one hand: The Millennium Hotel (where we always stay), Busch Stadium, Anheuser Busch Brewery, Ruth''s Chris and Jazz at the Bistro. So my knowledge is quite limited.

Off topic, but FI and I were in STL last summer for a weekend and we were walking around downtown talking about how much we liked the area. I said "I could definitely live here." Well, he was let go from his job at the end of February and he sent me an email that said "Send me a list of every city you think you could/would like to live in." St. Louis was towards the top of the list. He called the Director of Sales at one of the companies and said "I''m looking for a job. I like STL. I think I could do great things for you," two weeks later, he had a job interview there. Now we''re moving there after the honeymoon. I like to call that "the power of cold-calling." Anyone who has worked in sales knows how awful cold calling can be but sometimes it really does pay off!
 
How committed are you to living downtown? I thought that was where I''d want to be after living in Chicago, but I''m actually quite happy with our little condo just west of the city (Richmond Heights / Brentwood / Maplewood are kind of adorable). I have a friend who loves her place in Dogtown, too -- that''s an area you might want to take a look at as well.

By the way, Craigslist is great, but I''d definitely recco going out and looking for signs (on lawns or on condo community boards). Some of the best places just never get posted online -- we found our condo after looking about about 20 terrible places that we found online or through realtors.
 
I second Maplewood - I used to work there, and it was a great area. I agree on Craigslist, too. I think it''s a great tool, especially when you aren''t familiar with the area. But I found my place by just driving around looking at "for rent" signs and calling. That''s great, especially in a residential neighborhood.

I''m guessing we can''t link Craigslist ads on here, but if you''re looking at some in particular, I could probably judge to an extent based on the address.

Personally, I probably wouldn''t live downtown in St. Louis. It''s only recently building up (ever been downtown at night? It''s creepily empty). And it can really be block-by-block down there. I mean, I probably wouldn''t walk down there alone at night.

My friend also swears by Dogtown, but I doubt there''s much covered parking down there. So I guess it just depends on which points are most important to you.

Just let me know if I can help screen any places for you!
 
I''m just checking in because I''m a current St. Louisan, and am glad to know there are and will be some other local PSers! TG, everyone has given you great suggestions. CWE, downtown and University City are great hot spots and offer lots to do. If you''re looking for something a little more relaxed and homey, St. Louis Hills (my neck of the woods), Kirkwood, Clayton, and Brentwood/Maplewood are good options. You really can''t go wrong with any of these areas and I''m sure you''ll find something that will be perfect for you and your FI. Lastly, I''d like to extend an early ''Welcome to the neighborhood!''
 
We are in St. Louis too!

DH works downtown near the arch, I work in Creve Coeur (just off I270). We live in St. Peters in the ''burbs. My commute is around 15-20 minutes, DH drives 35 minutes now that I40/64 has reopened.

We both relocated to the area in August 2007 and were completely unfamiliar with most things St. Louis. Our apartment was in O''Fallon, MO which was a longer commute at the time but a great apartment and rent was pretty cheap. We moved closer when we purchased the house.

Best of luck and let me know if I can help!
 
Thought I'd give an update!

DH ended up signing a lease on Monday for an apartment downtown. It has most of the things we wanted but not all. No washer/dryer hookups so it looks like I'll be shlepping my laundry all the time. The laundry room is free to use so at least I won't have to start hoarding quarters like I did in college! FI is super excited b/c he can walk to work everyday. We are right on the river and our apartment has a nice view of the mighty Mississippi and downtown.

I'm a little bummed b/c I really fell in love with a loft in the CWE (West End Lofts) but we can live dt for much cheaper and we'll only have to pay for one parking spot since FI can just leave his car in the ramp at his office. So we'll save some money and live downtown. I'm just going to have to suck it up and get used to walking to Culinaria for groceries.

So now we just need to sell our house so I can move down there full time!

For the gals near STL, we should totally have a GTG!!!
 
Yaaaay! I'm totally up for a GTG.
 
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