Where to live in STL/Barnes?

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Hi,

I am so glad to have found this website. I am moving to the area soon with my husband and son and am getting very stressed about finding a place to live. I will be working at Barnes at night.

We prefer to rent for now and would love a:

1. townhouse or villa (really don't want a condo or apt because we've just been so happy in our current TH without neighbors above or below us).

2. 2 bedrooms/1-2 baths - 2 or more stories

3. privacyfenced patio or yard or at least some outside privacy (e.g. from attached garage) and needs to be safe where we can wak around and play outside

4. garage would be great but not necessary if there is at least one assigned space.

5. needs to allow a larger dog (55 lb collie with great manners)

6. probably up to $1300/mo but that would really be pushing it. Would die for something less than $1000.

But, most importantly, we really like the more suburban neighborhood feel vs the downtown or some of what I saw driving in the neighborhood right around barnes feel. We've been searching the net like crazy and found one great fit in Brentwood but the TH assoc. is very strict about their 40 lb dog weight limit. Please help any way with suggestions of specfic towhnhouses or even neighborhoods to look at. I was only their one day for an interview and am so unfamiliar with the area. On the net it looks like their are some places in wentsville, st charles, creve coeur, ofallon, florrisant but I don;t know what those neighborhoods are like or how long the commute to Barnes may be.

THANKS. Sorry for the long email. Am getting very stressed with the upcoming move. Would be so grateful for any advice. :redbeathe

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Specializes in Telemetry, Med-Surg.
Hi,

I am so glad to have found this website. I am moving to the area soon with my husband and son and am getting very stressed about finding a place to live. I will be working at Barnes at night.

We prefer to rent for now and would love a:

1. townhouse or villa (really don't want a condo or apt because we've just been so happy in our current TH without neighbors above or below us).

2. 2 bedrooms/1-2 baths - 2 or more stories

3. privacyfenced patio or yard or at least some outside privacy (e.g. from attached garage) and needs to be safe where we can wak around and play outside

4. garage would be great but not necessary if there is at least one assigned space.

5. needs to allow a larger dog (55 lb collie with great manners)

6. probably up to $1300/mo but that would really be pushing it. Would die for something less than $1000.

But, most importantly, we really like the more suburban neighborhood feel vs the downtown or some of what I saw driving in the neighborhood right around barnes feel. We've been searching the net like crazy and found one great fit in Brentwood but the TH assoc. is very strict about their 40 lb dog weight limit. Please help any way with suggestions of specfic towhnhouses or even neighborhoods to look at. I was only their one day for an interview and am so unfamiliar with the area. On the net it looks like their are some places in wentsville, st charles, creve coeur, ofallon, florrisant but I don;t know what those neighborhoods are like or how long the commute to Barnes may be.

THANKS. Sorry for the long email. Am getting very stressed with the upcoming move. Would be so grateful for any advice. :redbeathe

All of the places you named are nice areas, however, they do make for a long commute to Barnes. Living in Wentzville will make it a very long commute. You may want to try University City, Olivette, Creve Coeur, Clayton, and Brentwood to start. It also depends on your budget of course, as you may be able to find cheaper housing further out, but it will kill you on gas and time spent commuting. Do a search on Craig's List http://stlouis.craigslist.org/apa/ for housing in the areas you want. You will be able to type in the area you want, the amount you want to pay, and the number of bedrooms & bath you want to narrow down your search. You can narrow down even further to only those that allow dogs.

Hope this helps and good luck in your search.

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You also might want to try Kirkwood, Glendale, Webster Groves, and Crestwood. All these communities have good schools. You might have an eaiser time finding a house to rent that allows dog's vs a TH. Good luck with your search. Cosmo

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Specializes in ED.

I would look in South County- Oakville, Sunset Hills, or Crestwood. From Sunset Hills or Crestwood you would have close access to I-44-Barnes is right off of I-44 at Kingshighway. From Oakville, you would just take a straight shot down I-55 to I-44- take you 20 minutes to get there. Creve Coeur and Brentwood are very nice areas but super expensive. You would be hard pressed to find something around 1,000 a month there. Oakville would probably be your best bet for something in that price range- good schools and parks. Saw some nice stuff on craigslist in Arnold in the price you are looking at. Arnold is about 5 miles south of Oakville area down highway 55.

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I live in Brentwood/Rockhill area. You have Brentwood and Webster groves School district. My son is at Webster and it's AMAZING. I love this area it's diverse and everyone is so kind. Check it out. The Neighborhoods located Between Litzinger and Manchester Roads is great close to everything, Malls and the New Hanley parking Garage you can take the Metro Link to barnes and theres free parking. I think you'll be pleased.

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.
I would look in South County- Oakville, Sunset Hills, or Crestwood. From Sunset Hills or Crestwood you would have close access to I-44-Barnes is right off of I-44 at Kingshighway. From Oakville, you would just take a straight shot down I-55 to I-44- take you 20 minutes to get there. Creve Coeur and Brentwood are very nice areas but super expensive. You would be hard pressed to find something around 1,000 a month there. Oakville would probably be your best bet for something in that price range- good schools and parks. Saw some nice stuff on craigslist in Arnold in the price you are looking at. Arnold is about 5 miles south of Oakville area down highway 55.

I was going to suggest some of these areas as I have a number of friends who live there and are extremely happy. The Webster/Kirkwood area is also wonderful as suggested by others. Some great areas very near some terrific little downtown areas with wonderful restaurants and shopping.

The areas you mention are very reasonable, but unless you're used to and don't mind a lengthy commute, forget it. With gas being the price it is, you'll spend a bundle. I'm from L.A. originally and used to commutes but even I wouldn't be crazy about those drives.

The south areas are relatively close and have many areas to chose from. Prices are also reasonable. A little further out and you can look at Arnold or Fenton as reasonable with decent rents, but I'd seriously look for something in the areas mentioned above.

I think it's going to be very difficult for you not to have a place lined up ahead of time and to find something that YOU are comfortable with. It'd be nice if you could line up some things ahead of time to look at when you get here rather than hook in to something long-term online that you might not be happy with. There can also be areas within the mentioned communities that you will want to avoid.

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Specializes in SICU, NTICU.

What about across the river?

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.
What about across the river?

I had quite a few friends when I worked downtown (in my former career) who were very happy there. I think some costs are higher on the IL side (taxes, gas, etc.) but I believe some housing is still inexpensive. There are a lot of newer areas, but beyond that, I couldn't recommend anything specific.

That's why it would be better if the OP could come in ahead of time and do some looking around. If she were buying, I would suggest renting first, lol, but that's what they're looking to do.

Wish I could be more help, but I'm west of 270 and originally from CA, so not real familiar with a lot of these areas...

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For the price you want to pay, I would really suggest Kirkwood/Webster Groves. I've lived in almost every area of town here, and you will love the school district even if you may have to get an older home to rent. On the other hand I now live in O'fallon and am going to be betting my BSN at Barnes next fall. I will be taking the page extension into 170 and then on to forest park parkway straight to barnes. The whole trip is about 35 minutes, which isn't that bad. A dirty little secret noone in st. Louis wants out is that it takes forever to get anywhere anyway. Our little town isn't so little anymore! lol The closer you live, the more sidestreets and bumper-to-bumper traffic you will have to deal with to get to Barnes, and the farther you live the more direct access you have by way of highway. It's just a matter of whether you want to spend your 35 minutes driving for or sitting staring at the car in front of you. It's all the same in the end. Right now a big portion of highway 40 west of Barnes is closed until December. After december it will be closed East of Barnes for another year. For that reason, i probably wouldn't look at Illinois...

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.
For the price you want to pay, I would really suggest Kirkwood/Webster Groves. I've lived in almost every area of town here, and you will love the school district even if you may have to get an older home to rent.

Yes, it's a great area and the schools are good. Might be the best area to concentrate on...

A dirty little secret noone in st. Louis wants out is that it takes forever to get anywhere anyway. Our little town isn't so little anymore! lol The closer you live, the more sidestreets and bumper-to-bumper traffic you will have to deal with to get to Barnes, and the farther you live the more direct access you have by way of highway. For that reason, i probably wouldn't look at Illinois...

That is somewhat a matter of perspective. Having grown up and lived in L.A. until 15 years ago, I can tell you that traffic is almost a non-issue anywhere I go in STL. The worst it has been is when I used to commute from West St. Louis County (Ballwin) downtown and we had a snowstorm or a bad accident. My usual 45-minute commute (during traffic) would be anywhere from 1.5 - 2.5 hours. Otherwise, compared to L.A. traffic where you might SIT (and I mean SIT) for long periods of time, traffic moves at a decent pace. There are always the exceptions.

That being said, it's always more convenient living by a highway. Also as far the IL side of the river goes, there are those "bridge" issues to deal with. Those can muck up a commute faster and worse than anything I've ever heard!! :rolleyes:

The fortunate thing in this business is that unless the OP is working a standard 8 - 5 gig, the hours we work normally don't coincide with major traffic hours.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Rehab, Burn, dialys.

I agree with Oakville, Mehlville, Arnold areas, just 20 -30 minutes up I55 to get to Barnes, price is more reasonable and the neighborhoods are great for kids and pets. Wentzville is out I64 from Barnes but they are n rebuilding I64 from I270 and east and that project is going to take several years. I loved living in South County, close to almost everything + I felt safe. Good luck on the move and job!

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