Reviews & Comments
St. Louis, MO
If You Want Suburbia, It's Here, but there's a cat -
3/22/2010I have an arts background and have lived in the Northeast, the Southeast, and grew up in the Midwest. I am married with children, and I like newer housing, good schools, plenty of shopping and family activities, and culturally diverse people.
This review does not apply to the city of St. Louis, which is definitely its own world, but rather, St. Louis County, which pushes north, west, and south of the downtown area.
The people are friendly, and the school options are many and varied--from private religious schools, academies, and Montessori options, to active homeschooling groups, to excellent public schools. There are also some exclusive, expensive charter schools which are excellent, as well as SLU and Washington University. Rockwood Schools are known for being the best in the area, but the district is zoned irregularly, so it's worth it see a district map. Parkway is also considered to be a good district. Ladue and Clayton are the most exclusive, expensive areas, as well as Town and Country.
There are more hospitals in St. Louis than any place I've ever lived! There is plenty of shopping--you have to hunt more deliberately for unique places, but if you want easy access to a huge assortment of chain stores, there are multiple neighborhoods available. There is also a wide range of restaurants, and while they lean more toward chains than unique eateries, almost every chain you can imagine is represented, from PF Chang's and the Cheesecake Factory to Stir Crazy, Hu Hot, Macaroni Grill, and so forth.
Here is what I found unusual about St. Louis: when it comes to housing, people are accustomed to older houses, and their decorating tastes (in terms of cabinetry and windows) are fairly traditional. When we were house-hunting, we were surprised at how expensive the houses were, given how old so many of them were. While there are neighborhoods with more transplants from other regions, a majority of people go to school in St. Louis and stay and stay and stay in the same areas. This means that you pay a premium to stay in a particular neighborhood, even if the house is older, smaller, and darker. Newer houses are available, but they are farther away from the city. Areas in Chesterfield, Wildwood, and St. Charles (and a couple of neighborhoods in Sunset Hills) offer beautiful, newer homes, but they are farther away and traffic can be an issue. Kirkwood has a number of pretty, older homes on smaller lots, and some of these are being completely re-designed to accommodate more modern tastes. Webster Groves is an older neighborhood--and longtime residents would never live anywhere else in St. Louis--but out of towners house-hunting might not be impressed with most offerings.
Neighborhoods in St. Louis have definite flavors, and it would be worthwhile to rent first and get the feel of an area before you buy a house. Creve Coeur has a very active Jewish community, as well as a large Asian-American population. Catholicism is found in pockets throughout the county. Some schools and neighborhoods have high racial diversity, while others are almost completely white. Politically, you can find many extremes, but the majority tends to be centrist in suburban areas. People are "nice," but they do not tend to reach out to new neighbors. If you are looking to meet new people and mix in to a diverse population, it is not impossible, but it is not easy or speedy.
The zoo, City Museum, Botanical Gardens, Magic House, fantastic spraygrounds and parks, pools with elaborate water slides and spray structures, and multiple opportunities for sports teams and arts education, all make St. Louis a great place to raise a family.
West Haven, CT
It Wasn't My Favorite -
6/11/2008I lived in West Haven for three years when I was single. Some of the great things about it were easy access to the boardwalk on the Sound (great for writers and artists), art museums in New Haven, and local theatres with professional productions for $10 (last-minute) tickets. It was also close to lots of interesting things to do and see in the Northeast--trains into NYC, close to Boston, Newport, and so on.
The not-so-great things included the crime--while I lived there, I found a razor blade in my tire and my car was stolen. It was also expensive--I was teaching, and, without exception, every other teacher I worked with was either married or still living at home (even into their 40s).
Traffic was a nightmare and stressful, but you kind of get used to it. One thing that was weird to me was that there was a Dunkin' Donuts and a nail salon on almost every block.
While there was a lot of racial diversity, most of the people seemed to be from that general area--there weren't many transplants from other regions. The typical Northeast culture was a constant, too, so while I worked with some very nice people, strangers tended to be more aggressive and hurried than in the Midwest.
I preferred Branford, where I lived for a year (but there is much less commercial access and it's more expensive), and Milford (where I worked) to West Haven.
Columbia, MO
It's Fine -
6/9/2008I have lived in several places in the U.S., and Columbia is mostly unremarkable. It is less liberal than Iowa City (another college town), but less conservative than other parts of Missouri between St. Louis and Kansas City. There are arts festivals, concerts, and parades, but none of them are super exceptional, compared to larger places. The True False Film Festival is probably Columbia's most notable arts event.
The people are very friendly. There are a number of comparatively affluent family-friendly neighborhoods, particularly in the south west area.
Traffic isn't really a problem, but the Columbia Pull-Out Virus is pretty bad. I challenge anyone to drive for 20 minutes anywhere in Columbia without having at least one driver pull out directly in front of you when there is clearly not enough room. It's not that they don't look first--they just look, see you coming, and pull out anyway. This is especially fun on a two-lane road when the pull-out-er chooses to drive 15 miles under the speed limit.
The local newspaper, the Tribune, seems small after a larger city (and it isn't delivered on several holidays), but it has a very interesting section called Trib Talk, featuring short comments from callers about local issues. It's a fun way to get a sense of different opinions from Columbia residents.