Potential move to St Louis area...would love suggestions on best neighborhoods for $$

[mom2mikel]

We are considering moving from Chicago burbs to St. Louis, MO area for DH's job relocation. My son will be a freshman next year so we are looking at areas with good schools where we can get a nice house for a decent price (under 300K for 4 bd, 2.5-3 bath with basement). I love Edwardsville, IL -- that's about 35 minutes away from where his office will be located. I'm not even sure about their schools to know if they are good or bad.

How are property taxes on the Missouri side versus nearby Illinois towns? Are there any ramifications if he works in MO, but we live in IL?

Just trying to figure out some of the options.

Thanks!

 

[katclicks]

I have a lot of family in edwardsville, it is my 2nd home really. The schools are very good and the town has really grown lately and gotten a nice facelift. The property taxes tend to be on the higher side in IL, but the bang for your buck is quite high as far as what kind if house you can get. I am not 100% sure, but am fairly certain there is no issue with living in edwardsville and commuting to stl. Most of my family does that. Edwardsville has a great small town feel to it, my hubby and I would move our family there in a heartbeat if we ever had the chance. Where in Chicago are you moving from? I grew up there and made many chi-edwardsville drives as a kid Good luck!

 

[mom2mikel]

LOL - Ironically, SIUE is top of my daughter's college list (she's a junior now so we'd probably find a way to stay here while my DH and DS move there for her final year of h.s.).

I love Edwardsville too

They were just at SIUE last weekend and we are in St. Louis this weekend!

This is a pretty exciting scenario for me -- even though it means moving a little over 4 hours away from family.

Thanks!

 

[NotUrsula]

The ramification is that you have to file taxes in both states. The accounting can get a wee bit complicated, but lots of folks do it, so his HR dept. should be able to help set it up.

Just one caveat re: living in Edwardsville. That is a Hwy. 40/I-64 commute, which means that you must factor in bridge traffic. If there is a wreck on the bridge or the spaghetti interchange on the Illinois side, your 35 minutes can easily become 2 hours.

If you can tell me more or less where he would be working in St. Louis (a zip code would be fine), then I can advise you on traffic issues.

 

[ZehnJahren]

You do want to be cognizant of the commute, because traffic can get crazy near the IL-MO bridges at certain times of the day, like PP said.

Do look into school rankings in the area. There are some really terrible school districts, and some great ones, on both sides of the river depending on where you're looking. It really depends on where he's working, as you don't want a long commute every day.

I lived in IL but all my jobs were in MO and it's super easy to do taxes across t he borders. However, you do have to file both MO and IL state tax returns along with your federal returns; not a big deal.

 

[mom2mikel]

Thanks for the info! The zip is 63139, if that helps at all

Appreciate all of the replies!

 

[amyngary]

I grew up near Edwardsville and now live in the St. Louis area. Taxes on housing is MUCH higher in IL than in MO. I hear Edwardsville is becoming a great place to live though.

You may want to consider living somewhere in the Lindbergh district. Places like Crestwood, MO, would fit your price point nicely, and the Lindbergh district wins all the awards. We actually moved to the district last year specifically for the school system; we moved from Kirkwood, which is also known to be a great school system but houses cost a lot more there.

Welcome to St. Louis. We think it's a fabulous place to raise a family. There are a lot of free museums, etc.

Let me know if you have other questions.

 

[kjpotter]

I live in Edwardsville and graduated from SIUE. Ask me any questions.

The schools are great. I have kids in NO Nelson Elementary (grade 1) and Woodland Elementary (grade 4). I have commuted to downtown St. Louis for 10 years so I know all about traffic.

Where would your husbands job be located?

 

[NotUrsula]

63139 js one of the zips in the heart of the Southwest Side. Most of the Hill is 63139, and I spend a lot of time in that area.

The best commute into the 63139 area from the burbs is going to be via I-44. From Illinois, that doesn't hurt so much coming in as long as there are no wrecks on the Poplar, and once you master the art of dodging quickly over 5 lanes of busy traffic to catch the I-44 exit, but in the evening the area where 44/55 merge just south of the bridge approach gets gridlocked, because the curve of the ramp is very sharp, and the trucks have to crawl in order to avoid flipping the rail. (Read this for a good explanation and photos: http://www.modot.org/stlouis/major_projects/PoplarStreetRampproject.htm

Going to this part of the city, he really would not be able to use the other bridges without going at least 30 miles out of his way; that commute from near Edwardsville essentially requires crossing the Poplar St. Bridge.

Normally if you leave anywhere in 63139 at 5 pm, you can get to the 44/55 split in about 15 minutes via I-44, but moving the next 5 miles typically takes an additional 25 min or so. He should plan for at least an hour to get home on a good day, unless he will be working a non-traditional schedule. (Never underestimate the time that a crowded bridge crossing will add to a commute; IME, it is to be avoided if you have a choice.)

(BTW, that gridlock on the EB bridge ramp generally does not so severely affect folks who are leaving downtown proper, because they are not taking the same ramp onto the bridge as those northbound trucks are. The bridge is slightly south of downtown, but is 2 miles north of where I-44 joins I-55.)

 

[jdh008]

Well I was going to come here and suggest Edwardsville, IL, but it looks like that's already been done.

I actually just moved to the area from Houston for work and fell in love with the town. I like that it's small but not too small and it's a pretty quick drive to St. Louis. My wife likes that the town does a very good job of maintaining the historic parts of town.

I also can't speak about SIUE highly enough. I actually had no intention of going back to school, but after looking into the MPA program there, meeting with the faculty and then touring campus, I couldn't resist. I'll admit that part of it is that it reminds me of the school where I got my bachelor's, Sam Houston State in Huntsville, TX. It's not that small a school, but the friendliness of everyone there and the ease of getting around campus makes it feel like it is.

 

[mrsclark]

Most areas in St. Louis, MO with a highly rated school district within the 270 loop (which is our suburban interstate loop) will tend to be on the expensive side. However, some "deals" can be had on older homes in those areas. For that reason many people (who want to live on the Missouri side AND are looking for newer construction) look in western areas of the St. Louis county, Jefferson County and especially St. Charles county. But as others have posted, commute times are an issue. Some of our interstate sections (such as the aforementioned Poplar street bridge) are very old and under constant construction/repair, so that should be carefully factored into your decision. Another area you may want to look is around Fenton - it would be a quick hop on I-44 for your husband to get to work, it is in the highly rated Rockwood School District and housing still seems reasonable there.

With the exception of college, I have lived in St. Louis all my life so I would be happy to answer any additional questions you might have!

 

[NotUrsula]

A note re: Fenton. The county line between St. Louis and Jefferson counties runs through Fenton.

If you are looking for the Rockwood SD, make sure that homes that you look at are on the St. Louis County side of the line.

(I used to work for a branch of Jefferson Co. government. Not a day passed when we did not encounter some person who had purchased a home in JeffCo and had not realized that they had crossed the county line. They would complain to St. Louis County about some service not being met, and would be shocked when that office explained that it was because they did not live in St. Louis County.)

 

[mom2mikel]

Thanks so much for all of the replies! It sounds like this has been put on hold, so we are in a waiting pattern. We did drive through SIUE/Edwardsville again on our way to St. Louis last weekend and I really do love it!

I will bookmark this post and refer back to it whenever the time comes...

Thanks again!!!