Side Note

St. Louis For Families

My dad always said St. Louis was one of the best places in the U.S to have a family, and the worse place to be a single college graduate. The latter is getting better as more people are moving here for the increase in Computer Programming and Engineering jobs, the renovations and development taking place within the Central West End, Saint Louis University, Soulard, and Washington University Medical School, and rapid expansion of St. Louis' restaurants across the county.. The first statement is the focus of this post.
  
These are just a few reasons why families love St. Louis:

1. Low Cost of Living: Cheap. One thing a lot of my friends enjoy is how cheap everything is, from gas, rent per square footage, amount of free parks, events, and museums, and cheap fantastic food. 

2. Good Neighborhoods: Most are safe, affordable, close to schools, restaurants, theaters, and grocery stores. St. Louis neighborhoods are famous for their convenience. The only down side is the lack of quality mass transit (STL Metro does not reach suburbs, is slow, and expensive for the service provided) in suburbs. To counter this, St. Louis is a very car-friendly city, and everything is within 25 minutes by car without traffic; this makes it easier for families to be mobile, park and drive in larger numbers. 

3. Food: The food scene in STL is exquisite. The Hill has all of your Italian needs, from "mom and pop" small restaurants to grocery stores owned by third generation Italians. Central West End has Lebanese, Mexican, American, Japanese, gelato, Welsh, and Thai all within a two block radius. You can't miss Kirkwood, a small town south of 270 and Lindbergh that has Club Taco, Kirkwood Brewing Station, and the Custard Station. 

4. Access to Natural Scenery: As stated earlier, St. Louis has a plethora of free parks and wildlife within county borders. Forest Park in Midtown is between Washington University and Kingshighway; it is 500 acres larger than Central Park, holds the St. Louis Zoo, Muny Amphitheater, Science Center, among several fields and trails. Lone Elk Park out in Meramec Township has a large population of, you guessed it, elk, as well as bison (Bison walk up to your car, do NOT scream and move forward slowly...). 

5. Competitive Schools: St. Louis has some of the best schools Missouri has to offer, both public and private, as well as Washington University, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri - St. Louis, Webster University, Maryville University, and Lindenwood University among others. Schools are diverse, staffed by amazing teachers, and most districts have very active extracurricular activities that are recognized on a national level.

6. Sports: St. Louis is known for its sports. If the Cardinals don't get into the playoffs, it's a bad year (that means they're pretty dang good). The Blues were terrible for most of my childhood, they only just got better a couple years ago and are slowly becoming one of the most recognized teams in American hockey. Rams left, who needs them anyway. 

7. Lastly, Location, Location, Location: St. Louis isn't just in the "Midwest", it is in the middle of the USA. You can drive 5 hours to Memphis, 4.5 hours to Nashville, 5 hours to Chicago, 3.5 hours to Kansas City, and 5.5 hours to Omaha. It's also relatively easy to catch a flight to anywhere stateside, heaven forbid you fly internationally from here however. Missouri itself has many beauties and hiking within 3 hour car rides, from Meramec Caverns, to the Ozark Lakes, Mark Twain exhibits in Hannibal, and Mississippi River tours.