Apologies if this topic is misplaced. It's been a few years since posting regularly. I'm an STL (Des Peres) native who left for 8 years of schooling then returned for 4 to continue training. During the 4 year return I was living in Southwest Garden, then met my wife and moved into her Tower Grove South home. Fellowship took us to Memphis and we are currently almost a year into our 2 year southern adventure. I have a job opportunity in the Metro East that will likely necessitate living over there if we return next summer. As a west county child turned STL urbanophile now companied by another "East of Skinker" thinker, we have some (likely misplaced) hesitations about living in the Metro East and being able to partake of and regularly support the city offerings. This is rooted in ignorance as I know so very little about the Metro East and don't know too many folks that live over there. If they do, few are true supporters of the city save for ballgames and zoo trips. I recall seeing folks on this site (during my obsessive reading days while in Ohio 2004-2008) who were Metro East dwellers with a city-bent view. For those of you to whom this pertains, where do you live? How often do you trek into the city for dinner, shopping, general galavanting? Is traffic, distance, driving a hindrance to these endeavors or quickly adaptable? For any transplants from west county, how different is it being 25 min east of downtown instead of west? Any and all advice, opinions, and thoughts are welcome. Thanks in advance for educating.
The crickets make me think either 1) There aren't that many east siders on this forum or 2) no one even glances at the "Metro East" section.
I don't have that much experience on the east side, and can't speak to school districts or anything like that. But if I were in your shoes I'd look in Belleville. Some of it is actually quite charming, has a decent amount of historic red brick housing stock (kind of a Maplewood feel), and some of the streets are even paved with red brick. I think the east side urbanist would ideally live between Downtown Belleville and the Belleville Metrolink Station. That way you could get downtown within an hour and not even have to worry about traffic or driving, but you could also walk to downtown Belleville in ten minutes.
I don't have that much experience on the east side, and can't speak to school districts or anything like that. But if I were in your shoes I'd look in Belleville. Some of it is actually quite charming, has a decent amount of historic red brick housing stock (kind of a Maplewood feel), and some of the streets are even paved with red brick. I think the east side urbanist would ideally live between Downtown Belleville and the Belleville Metrolink Station. That way you could get downtown within an hour and not even have to worry about traffic or driving, but you could also walk to downtown Belleville in ten minutes.
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FYI - 27min ride from Belleville MetroLink to 8th & Pine station. That's the equivalent of the Brentwood station to 8th & Pine. I've heard very good things about Belleville, but haven't spent any time over there.
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I am a Saint Louis Cityist, but if I had to live in the burbs Id very much be looking at either Belleville or Edwardsville. Both of these are excellent communities that have historic character, decent access to dowtown(and Metrolink option for Belleville) and of course the new Mississippi River Bridge should help even more on this front. Also, it has terrific access to the great beauty of the Confluence area (of Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois Rivers) which I'd be hitting up a lot if I'd live in the Edwardsville area.
I know I'm really late on this topic, but perhaps you'll still swing by and read it.
I don't have a whole lot of experience being out in West County, but I think the feel of West County versus the Metro East is really different. While the Metro East does have extensive sprawl issues, I think the cities have done a much better job of maintaining their individual identity. Some places, such as the 159 corridor, can feel a lot like West County or St. Charles suburbs. But, travel into the center of nearly any town in the Metro East and you'll see that town's character and how it started. Way before they were bedroom communities for St. Louis, Belleville and Edwardsville were county seats, Collinsville was a coal mining town, Granite City was and still is a steel mill city, Alton a river city, etc. This character is even evident in the little towns such as Wood River and Roxana that grew up around the refinery. So, while many of these towns and cities are now bedroom communities, they still maintain the character of their roots. Also, while these towns are now connected by such corridors as 159, for the most part they are still separated by miles of cornfields.
I agree with the above posters that if you are looking for a more modern urbanist experience then definitely look at Belleville and Edwardsville. But it depends on where your job is. For example, if your job is in Alton, you probably don't want to live in Belleville and commute an hour each way every day.
The Metro East is a fabulous place to have grown up and a great place to live. And really, in my experience anyways, most Metro Easters tend to be pro-City, at least compared to our West County and St. Charles counterparts. I'm 22, and my friends from back home go into the city all the time for a variety of reasons. Even family members and friends from older generations tend to have a positive view of the city and actually seem knowledgeable about the different neighborhoods (meaning they can at least differentiate Downtown from the Central West End from Soulard).
I think where you've seen Metro Easters on this form have a "city-bent" view is usually when we're defending the Metro East. I was most active on this form around 2006-2008, so I'm one of those people you're referring to, and I understand why it may have seemed that way. Really it arises from the fact that, no, we're not city residents and we do live in the suburbs, but we hate seeing our cornfields turned into cul-de-sacs more than you do. Right now, I'm in Richmond, and I identify myself as either being from "St. Louis" or "Southern Illinois." But if I'm traveling Illinois, say in Peoria or Effingham or Carbondale, I identify myself as being from "Collinsville" because I more expect people to know where that's at as Collinsville has its own history as an individual Illinois town, and I think most Metro Easters tend to be proud of that fact as opposed to just living somewhere in the suburbs.
I don't have a whole lot of experience being out in West County, but I think the feel of West County versus the Metro East is really different. While the Metro East does have extensive sprawl issues, I think the cities have done a much better job of maintaining their individual identity. Some places, such as the 159 corridor, can feel a lot like West County or St. Charles suburbs. But, travel into the center of nearly any town in the Metro East and you'll see that town's character and how it started. Way before they were bedroom communities for St. Louis, Belleville and Edwardsville were county seats, Collinsville was a coal mining town, Granite City was and still is a steel mill city, Alton a river city, etc. This character is even evident in the little towns such as Wood River and Roxana that grew up around the refinery. So, while many of these towns and cities are now bedroom communities, they still maintain the character of their roots. Also, while these towns are now connected by such corridors as 159, for the most part they are still separated by miles of cornfields.
I agree with the above posters that if you are looking for a more modern urbanist experience then definitely look at Belleville and Edwardsville. But it depends on where your job is. For example, if your job is in Alton, you probably don't want to live in Belleville and commute an hour each way every day.
The Metro East is a fabulous place to have grown up and a great place to live. And really, in my experience anyways, most Metro Easters tend to be pro-City, at least compared to our West County and St. Charles counterparts. I'm 22, and my friends from back home go into the city all the time for a variety of reasons. Even family members and friends from older generations tend to have a positive view of the city and actually seem knowledgeable about the different neighborhoods (meaning they can at least differentiate Downtown from the Central West End from Soulard).
I think where you've seen Metro Easters on this form have a "city-bent" view is usually when we're defending the Metro East. I was most active on this form around 2006-2008, so I'm one of those people you're referring to, and I understand why it may have seemed that way. Really it arises from the fact that, no, we're not city residents and we do live in the suburbs, but we hate seeing our cornfields turned into cul-de-sacs more than you do. Right now, I'm in Richmond, and I identify myself as either being from "St. Louis" or "Southern Illinois." But if I'm traveling Illinois, say in Peoria or Effingham or Carbondale, I identify myself as being from "Collinsville" because I more expect people to know where that's at as Collinsville has its own history as an individual Illinois town, and I think most Metro Easters tend to be proud of that fact as opposed to just living somewhere in the suburbs.
I lived in the Metro East for most of my life, but for the last 3+ years I have lived away from the St. Louis area. (I work for the National Park Service) I grew up in Swansea, which is a fairly boring un-charming town in metro east, however I also lived in downtown Edwardsville and downtown Belleville. Both towns are incredibly charming, have great bike trails and lots of amenities. The Edwardsville area tends to be more upscale than Belleville, however Belleville has much better ask to St. Louis. Shorter drive than Edwardsville, and Metrolink access as well. I loved growing up in these areas and never felt like I missed out on anything by living there, in fact I felt like I was doing more because monthly Belleville closes it's Main street to automobiles for several different types of festivals.
The folks live in O'Fallon, IL. Retired USAF.
Metro East is a great place to live, work and retire. Alton, Edwardsville, Belleville...Even O'Fallon.
I love the diversity and options of the Missouri side, but for quite, comfortable living just 20-30 minutes from a major metro, the east side is as good as it gets anywhere.
Metro East is a great place to live, work and retire. Alton, Edwardsville, Belleville...Even O'Fallon.
I love the diversity and options of the Missouri side, but for quite, comfortable living just 20-30 minutes from a major metro, the east side is as good as it gets anywhere.
If I was forced to live outside the 270 loop, I'd easily pick Edwardsville.
I like Edwardsville.
And the mountain bike trail at SIUE was amazing!
Was bummed when they shut that down, still am.
And the mountain bike trail at SIUE was amazing!
Was bummed when they shut that down, still am.
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As someone who lived in Fairview Heights, then the city, and now Kirkwood, I would say that people are mostly ignorant to Missouri on the east side. Just like Missourians see that river as a great barrier, I think many people in Illinois see it the same way. Of course, many if not most come to MO for work, but that's about it besides what you already mentioned (ball games and the zoo). You have one way in and one way out (so to speak, if you are talking about the O'Fallon/Fairview/Belleville area), and there is CONSTANT construction (I cannot remember a time in my 6 years in the area where there wasn't construction).blzhrpmd2 wrote:Apologies if this topic is misplaced. It's been a few years since posting regularly. I'm an STL (Des Peres) native who left for 8 years of schooling then returned for 4 to continue training. During the 4 year return I was living in Southwest Garden, then met my wife and moved into her Tower Grove South home. Fellowship took us to Memphis and we are currently almost a year into our 2 year southern adventure. I have a job opportunity in the Metro East that will likely necessitate living over there if we return next summer. As a west county child turned STL urbanophile now companied by another "East of Skinker" thinker, we have some (likely misplaced) hesitations about living in the Metro East and being able to partake of and regularly support the city offerings. This is rooted in ignorance as I know so very little about the Metro East and don't know too many folks that live over there. If they do, few are true supporters of the city save for ballgames and zoo trips. I recall seeing folks on this site (during my obsessive reading days while in Ohio 2004-2008) who were Metro East dwellers with a city-bent view. For those of you to whom this pertains, where do you live? How often do you trek into the city for dinner, shopping, general galavanting? Is traffic, distance, driving a hindrance to these endeavors or quickly adaptable? For any transplants from west county, how different is it being 25 min east of downtown instead of west? Any and all advice, opinions, and thoughts are welcome. Thanks in advance for educating.
When I was moving to Kirkwood, someone I work with who lives in Swansea told me Kirkwood was "too inner city" for him.
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^ It would be kind of cool to come up with a regional quiz that would test knowledge of the various areas and encourage intra-regional visits. Might not be a bad idea for EWG to sponsor or the various CVBs.