For the next couple of weeks, I just get to daydream about St.
Louis. I’m reading different bucket
lists of things to do, places to go, and where to eat. This simply whets my appetite for my new
hometown. But the biggest question on my
mind these days is “Where am I going to live?”
The neighborhoods have more flavors than Baskin Robbins, and
housing prices stretch from the jaw droppingly low to the eye poppingly high. Knowing that I would like to live within 20
minutes of Forest Park narrows the field a bit... University City, Richmond Heights, Brentwood,
Maplewood, Clayton, Ladue, Webster Groves; these are all names of communities
that I am becoming familiar with – at least in the online space.
A quick search on Zillow reveals this lovely donut of
affordability that centers around Clayton and Ladue. I guess that the old adage of “location,
location, location” is alive and well.
And I must admit that the properties in Clayton and Ladue are beautiful –
large old brownstones with great landscaping, newer homes with enormous yards, lovely
parks nearby, and I’m sure great schools.
Then you have University City, with charming old houses in
intimate streets. With the universities
nearby, you have a youthful culture running through the neighborhoods. Or take a look at Richmond Heights, with its
quiet neighborhoods with funny garages that seem to be part of the basement
rather than an addition to the house. I’m
not sure, but those driveways seem an awkward way to start my weekend rides…
Once you get familiar with the names of the cities, you
suddenly discover that there are these community lines that cross cities, or
take up small neighborhoods within a city.
Again each has its own character and personality. My favorite (by name) is Dog Town. It seems to be most well known for its St.
Patty’s day parade and Imo’s pizza. It
is also nearby the Turtle Playground. The
homes in this area seem to be smaller, closer together, and not built with the
idea of cars in mind.
Still though, I haven’t even figured out the key questions
for what kind of home I want. An
apartment with a pool? A condo close to
my office? A brownstone with a lot of
character, but perhaps limited parking? All
of these questions feed into where I find a place to live. In the end though, however much I may
daydream, until I am on the ground, there is no telling where I will end up
setting up a cat tree, rocking chair and reading lamp.
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