If you live on the East Coast or the West Coast you've probably never considered living here in the Midwest. A lot of folks tend to think of cities like St. Louis as being "Cow towns" that don't have much to offer. If fact, this couldn't be further from the truth! St. Louis is a very cosmopolitan city of over 2,500,000 people with a rich history and a ton of things to do. Yeah, the folks in Cheyenne probably say the same thing and I'm sure that it's probably true there too, but St. Louis is major metropolitan area.
No, it's not as big as New York, Boston or LA, but for the most part it offers many of the same amenities without a lot of the problems that are associated with living in a bigger city. For example, did you know that St. Louis has one of the countries premiere symphony orchestras? Or that our art museum is one of the best in the world?
While we don't have a professional basketball team, we are well represented in all of the other major sports leagues. Our St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most highly respected baseball clubs in the major leagues.
St. Louis is also home to a very vibrant entertainment industry. While Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans may argue with us, St. Louis, at least in my opinion, is the home of the blues!
It's not just the blues here either! Between our own home grown talent, which features artists ranging from some of the members of Jimmy Buffet's Coral Reefer Bank to Hip Hop artists such as Nelly and Chingy, as well as the complete range of touring acts that pass through town, St. Louis offers a year round music scene.
St. Louis is also home to some of the country's top universities, such as St. Louis University and Washington University. Connected with these universities are some of the country's top medical centers.
I could go on and on about all of the various cultural amenities that St. Louis has to offer, but all of that would be for naught if I didn't tell you why St. Louis is a BETTER place to live than NYC, Boston, LA or anyone of the other cities that has a larger population than St. Louis. It's not that these places aren't very cool in their own right, it's just that they are SO DAMN EXPENSIVE to live in!
When you compare the cost of living in one of these bigger cities to the cost of living in St. Louis, you'll see that St. Louis is truly a bargain!
Here in St. Louis most folks can actually afford to own their own home! If you're looking for a "hip" urban environment, check out the Washington Avenue "Loft" district where you can buy a "loft" condo for as little as the low 100's. St. Louis also has many historic neighborhoods such as the Soulard neighborhood where an historic home can be purchased also in the $100,000s!
If you prefer a more suburban setting, St. Louis offers homes that if they were in a suburb of Boston would cost as much as $800,000, but that here in St. Louis can go for as little as $400,000 for an equivalent home!
Interested in spreading out a bit? Within a 40 minute commute to downtown, you can buy a home with acreage.
Alright Bob, Can I Earn The Type Of Money That I Earn Here In NYC?
Probably not, but the difference is not going to be so much that it negates the lower cost of living. For example, when my girlfriend was job hunting for a mid-level corporate position, the jobs that she was looking at that were in these higher cost cities only paid about $10,000 a year more than a comparable position here in St. Louis. The cheaper housing by itself more than made it worth our while to stay here in St. Louis.
Another advantage that St. Louis has is our central location. Being located smack dab in the middle of the country makes it convenient to fly just about anywhere else in the US.
If you don't want to fly, we are within a 5 hour drive of Chicago, Kansas City, Nashville and Memphis. Make it a 12 hour drive, about my tolerance for a one day drive, and you're getting close to being able to drive to New Orleans, the Gulf Coast or even Atlanta!
So, a great standard of living in a cosmopolitan city that is conveniently located and has great infrastructure ...what's not to like?
If nothing else, come here for a visit. Especially in the summer, there are a ton of things to do. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call and I'd be happy to answer any that you might have!
