Possibly moving to st louis. where to look?

G-love

DH may be offered a job today that would have us moving to St. Louis.

he would be working in the Earth City/St.Charles section of town.

we have a 3 year old and need to look for a nice community with great schools.

any suggestions on where to look with a short commute?

thanks so much ladies.

pam1005

Overall, St. Charles County has good schools.  I live in O'Fallon, which neighbors St. Charles, and love it.  The Fort Zumwalt and Francis Howell School District are a part of St. Charles/St. Peters and I've heard good things about them (most of my family attended their schools).  Other great school districts are Parkway and Rockwood, although I am not sure if Rockwood would be too far for you (Wildwood and some of the Chesterfield area).  I am assuming the cost of living here is a lot less than California, so you probably have a lot of options.  A good realtor will point you in the right direction as well.

lilmufish

The St. Louis metro area is very spread out.  Personally, I would live close to where you work, because the traffic is aweful during rush hour if you live further away.  Get a map of STL while reading this, it might be easier   Here!

Basically, the missouri side of St. Louis is spread into counties...you have St. Louis City, You have St. Louis County (North, South and West Counties). You have Jefferson County which is past St. Louis County outside South/West County  and you have St. Charles County which is past St. Louis County on the North/West.  Earth City is closer to North County, and St. Charles County. 

If you live in around Earth City, you are looking at St. Ann, Bridgeton Maryland Heights, Chesterfield, Creve Couer. The main school districts you're looking at are Parkway and Pattonville.  Both - good districts. I'd recommend either. 

I live in St Charles (which is just a few exits up the highway from Earth City) and we like it.  In St. Charles County, you'll find, St. Charles, St. Peters & Ofallon.  All three have built up signficantly (and are still growing) in the past 5-10 years.  County folks are moving out to Jefferson and St. Charles Counties because they can buy more home for less money.     In St. Charles County, the districts that you'd be moving into are St. Charles City, Francis Howell and Fort Zumwalt.

As far as education goes, one perk of living in St. Louis County (no matter where) is that you qualify for special school district services.  Basically, children who have learning or mental disabilities receive top notch educational experiences through SSD.  I know couples who have moved from Jefferson/St. Charles Counties to St. Louis county because their child had a disability.  Its just *that* good

I have been employed in Francis Howell, and Interned in Fort Zumwalt (in ST. Charles) and have been very happy with their educational systems. I'd recommend either one of those. One special thing about Francis howell is K-5 is  year round. They go a period of time, then have several weeks off, then go for a period of time, and have several weeks off.  Hard adjustment, but it works!   They also have vacation station for parents who work - so it makes those cycle breaks easier.

 A perk of living in St. Louis County is public transportation.  St. Charles has limited public transit and Jefferson county - correct me if i'm wrong, has none. 

St. Louis County and St. Charles County both have parks, pools, etc. So either would be nice for children.   

I have lived in the county for most of my life, and moved out to St Charles after getting married. Feel free to PM me with any questions or concerns and i'll do my best to answer them in the most unbiased way.  Each have their own benefits

Here's some basic info about st. louis.  ALso, like the previous poster mentioned going from CA to MO will be a big change - you will welcome the cheaper home costs, and other general cost of living decreases   Also, there is alot in STL that is free...our zoo, science center, parks, etc.

Welcome to St. Louis!

G-love

now that was exactly the post I ws hoping for. thank you thank you thank you.

we had been given some neighborhood info from friends, but they don't have kids. I needed the kid friendly version. and boy did I get it.

you rock.

we'lre hoping to hear today what their number is, so that will determine if this is a go or no go for us.

very exciting.

I may be coming back for more help/info.

I'll let you all know.

Thanks,   Genevieve

lilmufish

No problem  

 

I could have given ALOT more information.... but like i said, ask specific questions and we can do our best to recommend things for you once you decide if you're moving here or not

One thing to remember though...while you may get paid "more" salary in Cali than Missouri...Missouri has a significant difference in cost of living.  A friend of mine's house in Cali was 200,000 dollars MORE than ours...and ours is in better shape/more room/etc.    She pays almost 3.00 a gallon in gas, yesterday I paid 2.76 (ish)...groceries are a bit more for her than they are here.   OR a random statistic: Counseling for her out there is 120-150 a session, here it's 75-100 a session.  Things are just a little cheaper here.  So keep that into consideration when accepting/declining an offer

 Good luck!

 

 

Disneygeek77

Oh yes you will be able to get a lot more house for the money.  We have family in CA and they can't believe how cheap the houses are out here. 

We currently live in the Francis Howell School district.  We don't have a child in school yet but we have heard good things about it.  They only thing is that the elementary school is year round school whereas the middle and high schools have a more traditional schedule.