Typical Mid-west city with lots to offer
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6/12/2008
Basically, STL offers decent big city shopping and activities, an excellent Washington University with top-ranked graduate programs, a top 3-4 medical school (depending on the year of the rankings), in a VERY affordable package with pockets of high crime that you can easily avoid (because you can actually afford to live in a nicer neighborhood).
Whether you like it or not largely depends on where you are from. My friends who are from the Northeast hated it there because it's too laid back and quiet and did not have enough night life or restaurants (but they admit people are so friendly and drivers are so well-behaved). My friends from the midwest or south like it just fine.
The details:
I lived in St. Louis for 8 years. Like any other city, if you live in shady parts of town, there's a lot of crime. But guess what? You can choose to live in safe areas that are still affordable. I live in Brookline, MA now; very very safe area, but is the extra cost worth it? After 4 years of living here, I still get a sick feeling every time I have to pay rent (I paid 300/mo in STL, now 1200/mo for something half the size), try to park (God forbid you own a car and don't have 200/mo to burn on parking spots), or try to drive somewhere (something is always broken and traffic is held up, and people are very rude drivers who make dangerous moves such as trying to force your right-of-way when people turning left do not yield to people going straight). Again, it depends on your perspective. I know that Chicago has much worse traffic than STL as well.
Plaza Frontenac is a mall that offers both a Saks and Nieman Marcus (it's technically in a suburb I guess); not many other cities outside of FL, CA or NYC can offer that. Of course if instead you like "quaint" little stores there's not so much here. The "Loop" does have some great little shops. Each to his/her own. I don't mind having easy access to some "big city" types of shopping without having to put up with the living expense. And the "Landing" offers several (not enough if you're from the northeast, too many if you're from a smaller town) fun clubs and bars.
Traffic? Depends again on your perspective. The STL metro area has millions of people; compared to other large metros such as Boston, "rush hour" in STL is like a Saturday morning here. I like the highways here, easily accessible. The streets are so much wider and more predictable compared to the northeast. They actually have large signs a few hundred feet before you come to an intersection, noting which major street you are coming up to. I guess if you are from some bfe small town like Wentzville, you'd hate the "big city." Again, depends on perspective what bothers you.
The zoo in STL is excellent, considering it's FREE. Boston, for example, has 2, each of which is no bigger than a petting zoo, they cost $7.50 last time I went (EACH), and you can't have your kid see both elephants and tigers without visiting both. I think that the one in Milwaukee is a little better, but, again, it's not free.
Forest Park has one of the best trails on which to bike or run. It's about 6.2 miles all the way around. It contains, in addition to the zoo, the art museum that's free on most Tuesdays. If you go out west a little, there are amazing trails.
If you like animals or have kids that love animals, Grant's Farm is free; Purina Farms is free (although that's kinda far if you're not used to driving a lot). Both offer lots of opportunities to pet animals, etc.
You can visit the brewery.
The Botanical Gardens is excellent.
Most things outside downtown close by like 8pm. Some people hate that; other people don't mind cuz that keeps the roudy people downtown near the Landing.
Someone said the city is ugly. Sure, there are run-down parts that are quite depressing. If you have a job, however, you can actually afford to live in a nicer neighborhood. Many other major cities cost much more. You don't have to sell your kidney to get a decent house.
STL gave you Nelly.
If you can't deal with a city that has areas of high crime, avoid STL.
If you want a relatively quiet town that still offers some downtown night life, bars, some riverboat casinos, good shopping, and don't mind some diversity, it's pretty nice. Although there aren't any good ethnic restaurants compared to Boston. Any p.o.s. hole in the wall chinese restaurant in Boston beats Jade Garden (the most authentic Chinese restaurant in the STL area), for example.
DL | Brookline, MA