St. Louis, Missouri

thatgirlagain17
Living in St Louis / 2y ago / 🦉🦉🦉🦉

I love living in St. Louis.

I'm from a small, rural town in Missouri, and it was my dream as a kid to move to St. Louis.

First, the food is amazing. I love eating food from different cultures, and STL does not disappoint. There's always something new to try and the old reliables.

STL has a great variance in cultures, and it seems like there's always something going on. I look forward to the festival of nations every year, but there are also other festivals throughout the year that are amazing. I love the Veggie Food Fest and the Muslim Festival.

Our library system is fantastic. I'm so looking forward to when the U City Library renovations are done - I live within walking distance and taking trips there every weekend to check out a new book and walk to Blueprint Coffee is something I look forward to.

Like any city, we have our problems, but with how cheap the cost of living is and all the gorgeous neighborhoods, I can't see myself every leaving.

fleurderue
Living in St Louis
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉

70-80k is a great salary for St. Louis. I lived in New Orleans for 7 years and a few other places before moving back to St. Louis. Here are my thoughts after moving back:

-I looove the weather and experiencing four seasons here.

-Crime is about the same where I lived in New Orleans (Uptown and the Westbank) vs here (south city).

-The cost of living is much lower here. We spent a lot on food and utilities in New Orleans, including over $100 a month on water, and that’s when it was just me and my husband in a townhouse with no yard. I love having an Aldi close by!

-I love the amount of free or cheap things to do with kids here.

-Schools are about the same (in the city). You have to do your homework as a parent but there are a lot of great options.

-Everyone complains about STL drivers, but they’re way better compared to drivers in New Orleans and definitely Houston, where I lived before.

How is it like living in St. Louis

The Wife and I moved to STL from Alberta 12 years ago.

Day to day life will be comparable in most ways. Being from Southern ON you will have already had experience with humidity. That floored us when we moved. Winters are mild. Most daily highs in January for instance will be above +0c. Cold snaps happen but temps below -10c are not common. Snow is wet and usually just a few dumps of less than 30cm. Melts in a few days.

As others have mentioned traffic and cost of living will be much better. Taxes are lower, the USA is a good great place to be a top income earner. The country is huge and there are so many destinations for holidays (vacations).

Missouri is VERY conservative. Look up abortion for an idea of how things are here. The government is secular in theory but not in practice. Very unfortunate. That said, the cities are much less so.

Violence is much more common in American life. The idea is that you should inact your 2nd amendment rights and protect yourself that way. Personal choice is emphasized. Rather than the Crown providing solutions, you find them for yourself. Healthcare is a great example. Hearing gunfire in urban areas is perhaps the saddest example of this approach. It will feel odd at first but eventually you'll adapt. American's just do things differently. You'll love it or hate it.

All in all we have LOVED IT.

As soon as you land you've received a 20% raise!

You can buy a beautiful historic home in a Victorian neighborhood for peanuts.

People are very friendly.

$ for $ the food and drink situation has developed into one of the best in the country.

The airport is very small and very easy to fly out of. Via Southwest you can fly anywhere directly. West coast ~3h, East coast ~2h, Golf coast ~1.5h. We live in Benton Park and the drive to the airport is 15mins. Park at the terminal, clear security, and your at your gate no more than 45mins after you left your house. Bloody great! There is a direct flight to YYZ.

Traffic is nothing

4hr drive to bourbon country!

Turns out southern MO is pretty beautiful. Definitely explore it.

Anonymous
Living in St Louis
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉

Transplant from Chicago, live in the city.

Pros: (1) St. Louis is not pricey, believe me. No exaggeration: my property taxes are around 1/4th to 1/3rd of what they would be in Chicago or the suburbs. (2) Old brick architecture is pretty cool. (3) Cultural attractions are pretty underrated. The art museums are great, the historical museum is interesting. Also, MUNY, the Fox, Circus Flora, the concert halls… all good. (4) Unique food and drink (5) Excellent colleges (6) Passionate sports fans (7) The regional health system is exceptional (8) I like the peaceful kayaking available within an hour or two drive.

Cons: Way too car-centered. Infrastructure is a wreck, this includes the airport. Active hostility to downtown from locals. Many locals have never left the area and are inflexible to the slightest inkling of moving forward. The city-county separation is stupid and drags the entire region down. The summer weather is a circle of hell. Crime is bad, especially car-related stuff. It's easy to wonder how some members of the elected city government even find their way out their front doors in the morning. Environmental calamities abound.

I drive every day and I have seen far worse driving patterns in the United States. Anyone ever been to Boston?

Things to Know Before Moving to St Louis