Moving to St. Louis, MO
St Louis
-
Affordability 4 out of 5
-
Safety 3 out of 5
-
Healthcare 3 out of 5
-
Traffic Flow 4 out of 5
-
Property affordability 5 out of 5
-
Climate 4 out of 5
-
Environment quality 5 out of 5
Fancy living in a city that has seasons, has sport, is multicultural, and won’t burn a hole in your wallet, seriously think about moving to St. Louis.
The city of St. Louis is often referred to as the gateway to the West, but its proud residents prefer it to be called the gateway to the best! Bursting with vitality, this sports and beer loving city is a great place to live whatever your age.
Parents will appreciate the excellent school systems, the kids will love the parks and general amenities which ensure the youth of St. Louis are well catered for. The young professionals have plenty of activities to take part in once they leave the office and the hipster crowd have a plethora of trendy hangouts to choose from.
St. Louis has been a blot on the national landscape for decades through no fault of its own. It very much does things its own way, which obviously annoys the men in offices who compile statistics for a living. St. Louis has an independence that most other cities dream of (bars open until 3am, lax driving laws and smoking bans) but wouldn’t dare employ, and have to admire their spirit.
The job market
It’s a vast and varied jobs market in St. Louis with many large employers. The biggest employer is the city itself, with hundreds of current vacancies in a variety of departments and roles. If you move to St. Louis for work, you fill find that the major employers are in the bioscience, education, and healthcare industries.
With there being so many healthcare facilities in the area, there is also multiple job opportunities for those with experience in medicine and care giving. Those with no specific trade can browse online for hospitality vacancies as with the vast number of hotels, bars, restaurants, music venues, theatres, etc., in St. Louis; as this is a city that draws in tourism there are many jobs to be had in this field.
The unemployment rate is slightly higher than the national average, but those with enough experience in their fields, especially multilinguals, will not be short in offers.
Select the size of your move to get free quotes
Living costs
It won’t break the bank to live well in St. Louis; this Midwestern city is significantly cheaper than New York or Los Angeles across the board. Your money will definitely go further when you move here.
Food
For a romantic meal for two in St. Louis, you can expect to pay around $50, not including the tip, while a single meal at a lower end restaurant is around $10. With most cities, cooking at home and buying groceries is less expensive than going out for every meal. The produce in St. Louis is on average cheaper than other large cities like Chicago or New York.
Utilities
Basic utilities in St. Louis are the same as all American cities; these are electric, heating, garbage removal, and water charges. Your average apartment will have around $100 in monthly utility bills, while internet is around $50, depending on your service provider.
Rent
As you can expect, it costs a lot less to rent an apartment in St. Louis than it does in Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles. In fact, rental properties in St. Louis are one of the lowest of all American cities.
For a one bedroom apartment in the heart of St. Louis, you can expect to save $800 each month on rent compared to if you move to Chicago. Compared to New York, you can save 70% on rental prices here in St. Louis on a three bedroom apartment.
Property Information
There is a good mix of properties available in St. Louis from modern city centre condos to large, turn of the century homes in leafy suburbs. Many traditional homes in the city have been renovated into condos as well as many new ones being built.
Anyone looking to make the move to St. Louis will have more choice than in most cities as the old and new make unlikely neighbours here yet work so well.
Neighbourhoods
Family Friendly: Kirkwood – The necessities of a family friendly neighbourhood are good schools, safe streets and plenty of activities you can all do together. Kirkwood ticks all those boxes; and then some. Closer to the city than most suburbs making it great for commuting, the family friendly entertainment options are within walking distance of the suburbs central square which house shopping and eating opportunities. Property prices are very affordable too, making this one of the best places to raise a family in the St. Louis area.
Upmarket: Ladue – The wealthiest St. Louis residents have been making their home in this elite neighbourhood for the past century. The homes here are elegant and full of character and built on large plots of at least an area. You will find private, leafy lanes with only a few houses sitting majestically in their beautiful surroundings. Add into the mix 5 private sports clubs, a country park and 2 private schools and you can see why it is such an upmarket area, and you need an upmarket bank balance to live here.
Hip and Trendy: Cherokee Street – Speciality stores, independent stores, art galleries, cafes and a the coolest hangout in town, The Whiskey Ring, are just a few ingredients of the Cherokee Street neighbourhood. This area is a Mecca for art from the galleries to the studios and the public art projects. Condos and lofts are the most popular housing with young couples and friends sharing making up the majority of the population.
Up and Coming: Dutchtown – Dutchtown covers such a large area of St. Louis it is almost like a town within a city. A long time favourite with students, it has undergone some kind of personality transplant of late and has been voted in several forums as the most up and coming area in the city. The commercial corridors where the majority of the stores were empty are filling up again, and people are falling in love with Dutchtown again.
Cost of moving
The list below shows the approximate costs of moving to St. Louis from several key places. We have used the standard method to compile this list by basing the prices on a 20 sq ft shipping container, which is the most popular size.
| From | Cost |
|---|---|
| Berlin | £2,000 |
| London | £3,000 |
| Sao Paulo | £3,200 |
| Adelaide | £6,000 |
| Cape Town | £6,300 |
Schools and Education
There are a few hundred schools in the St. Louis, covering the full spectrum from preschool to high school. Deciding between public, private and charter schools is a big decision for parents, but there are a few things to consider before making your choice.
For public schools in the St. Louis Public Schools district, your children will be assigned a school based on where you live in St. Louis, though there will be some schools outside of your that you may apply to, provided that you can find your own transportation.
There are considerably more private schools, and most of them are tuition bases and run by an independent body, usually associated with a religious body.
Universities in St. Louis
There are several universities in the city, if you’re main reason for moving to Saint Louis is for higher education. From Washington University in St. Louis to Saint Louis University, you can find several good programmes in various academic concentrations.
Ranking against the world
Home of Maya Angelou, T.S. Eliot, Jon Hamm, Chuck Berry, Kevin Kline, Yogi Berra, Nelly, and many other names of civil rights, arts and sport, there must be something in the water here.
Aside from having the largest arch in the USA, St. Louis is known for other aspects of its city. the St. Louis Cardinals have one the World Series of baseball more time than you can count with both hands, and not only is the Saint Louis Zoo free, it’s one of the country’s best.
Jetpac City Guides rates St. Louis the happiest US city, and judging by the wide smiles on the faces of the residents we will go along with that one!
A day in the life
From taking photos of the biggest moustache in the world to browsing the unique shops in Dutchtown a day in St. Louis is never boring. The aforementioned facial hair is the affectionate nickname for the Gateway Arch, the highest man made monument in the US.
After experiencing the heady heights of the arch and with feet firmly back on the ground its time to grab some brunch. We headed to the highly acclaimed Half & Half who have turned the days laziest meal into an experience not to be missed. Weekdays are best if you don’t want to join the weekend queue snaking around the corner. From there we are off to St. Louis’ newest attraction; the 2.9 acre Citygarden. Stroll the pristine grounds admiring the sculptures created by some of the top names in this field of the arts.
If this experience has got you in the mood for getting up close and personal to one of nature’s most beautiful creatures it’s time for a trip the Butterfly House. A 3 storey crystal palace has been packed with tropical plants and foliage and is home to 2000 butterflies who all enjoy free flight. If you now feel the need for a spot of culture there are several fine museums to choose from including art, science and natural history.
Once the day turns into evening there is only one place to be; Soulard. There are over 30 restaurants, taverns and music venues in this neighbourhood each offering musical entertainment in a selection of genres. An evening here is one you will want to relive time and time again and with such a vast choice of venues you will never get bored.