I have a job opportunity in St. Louis, MO coming up and was wondering if any FRRAX members live there, or might have any suggestions for areas to live (or not live) along with any other general info. The job would really be ~20 miles south of the city, in Hematite (Festus/Crystal City) but I think I would live closer to St. Louis.
I really don't know much about the city or surrounding area, other than it has the Arch, Cardinals and Rams. I have driven through it on I-70/270 and I-64 several times but it is hard to get a feel for a city just passing through... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

Thanks in advance for any replies.
Matt

I haven't lived there, but know that land is relatively inexpensive (outside St. Louis) compared to what you can find in Illinois. It might be a good idea to get some property with land while it is still affordable.

My dad lives in St. Charles, which is Northwest of St. Louis. I'm not sure where exactly your job is, but if it's in St. Louis itself, Festus seems like a long ways away. It's 25 miles from St. Charles to Stl, and it takes more than 30 minutes to get into St. Louis. Festus is 35 miles, so adjust accordingly. There are some great communities in the greater St. Louis area. Chesterfield used to be the really big growth area, I think it was one of the fastest growing communities in the US. I wasn't terribly impressed with it though. I had an acquaintance that lived in Webster Groves, and I really liked that area. Looks like you can get houses there in the 200k range, give or take. Ladue is the Beverly Hills of St. Louis; houses there are in the millions and quite nice. If you can swing it, buy there. ;-)

It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but I hear that spring and fall are nice.

Jason

Thanks for the info!

The job is actually in Hematite, which looked to be just a few miles west of Festus. I was thinking that the southern metro area would reduce my commute time, compared to living in the really nice areas (which looked to be mostly in the west/northwest), but I would also be close enough to the city to hit up the downtown scene a little.

I would be on a 18-24 month contract , so I'm not sure if I would get a house or not.

I did see that the SCCA there has multiple divisions (even rally), and there are several tracks in the area, so that will give me something to do!

I just moved form St. Louis about a year ago. If you can afford it try to live in the west county area (Chesterfield, Ballwin, Ladue, Wildwood, Ellisville...). St. Charles is OK but I didn't really like it but they are starting to build some really nice homes out there. And yes, the weather is terrible, hot and very humid during the summer and cold and wet during the winter. Also, traffic on 270 and 40 are pretty bad during rush hour so keep that in mind. If you have any specific questions I would be happy to answer them.