I am just slightly panicking, since I have always owned my own home & made it just exactly how I want it, but it’d be silly to buy given our short stay. So…we’ll rent. & I foresee a lot of time to blog (because major household projects will be at a minimum, wah!) AND lots of new ideas on making a rental property feel like home. I know one thing for sure–we’ll be having lots of fun outside…out of this nasty heat! YESSS!!
Any tips/advice on the St. Louis area are greatly appreciated–the city is completely foreign to me! :) We will be relocating in 2014. :)
Congrats Shawna!! St. Louis is a fabulous town for families. If you ever need any advice or help please don’t hesitate to ask. There is so much free/cheap/fun stuff for kids-the zoo, Grants Farm, parks and so much more. Email me if you have questions. I’d love to help!!
I am SO incredibly excited for you! I live in Kansas City, but spent two years in “the Lou” for grad school. You will LOVE it there!! There are so many fun, family and kid friendly things to do there. Forest Park has an awesome (free!!) zoo, running path, museums, and summer concerts/Shakespeare festival. The Magic House is a must for littles and The City Museum is fun (and very unique), too. I nannied both years I lived there and between parks, festivals, etc, we never got bored. I lived in the Central West End, which was a great mix of Midwest and urban. Lots of little wine bars, coffee shops, and boutiques…cute, cute! But I also loved the Clayton area. St. Louis is a great place to live!! And your kids will have SNOW!! It’s still hot and VERY humid in the summer, but I’m sure nothing like where you are now. AND…they’re building an IKEA in Kansas City soon…but until then, there’s always Chicago. :) Congrats and Good Luck!!! Excited to read more on the blog!
Also, I still have many friends in the StL area (who now have preschool aged children), so if you need advice on schools, I’d be happy to ask them.
There is one museum YOU MUST see when you go, I know it can be a lil pricey but with two little ones, you would have a lot of fun checking it out. It’s like an indoor playground if you think about it. http://www.citymuseum.org/site/ Lots of climbing and playing involved with that one museum.
I will try and think of other attractions. I think the zoo is always a fun one and I’ve been up in the arch once, although that can be quite popular at times and long lines to be expected but since you’ll be living there, it’s possible you’ll be able to go when there’s less people touring the arch.
Oh congratulations!!! :) How exciting and happy to know where you’re going. I lived in St. Louis for a summer after college and recall liking it but don’t have any other tips! I do understand your renting a house pain though. We bought and renovated a house in Phoenix because we thought we were going to be living there forever (we did all the work ourselves) and just got to the point of really making it ours when we moved to Texas. Since we didn’t know how long we’d be in Texas, we rented and now that we’re in California we rent again (partially because it’s so hard to afford a house here. That will be nice about St. Louis. I think the cost of living is pretty low!). Anyway, best of luck. And like your other friend said, there’s always Chicago :) That’s where I’m from and it’s not a bad drive!
Congrats on your move, and change of scenery. My inlaws live in SA…north part of the city, near “The Rim”. As a native Virginian (living on the gulf coast of AL for the last 5 yrs, but moving to Winston-Salem, NC as soon as our house sells due to a corporate relocation…YEA!!), I think SA is a great place to visit, and it’s grown incredibly in the last 10 years. But for me, it’s just that – a great place to visit, although my parents-in-law & sister-in-law LOVE it. But yep, too hot and too dry for my taste. In my first strip there, I coined it “the land of little trees.” We could be renting too, which I have mixed feelings about as well. I agree, look at the up side – it will free you up to do a few other things like blogging, plus being a tourist in your new city. Best of luck!
Congratulations on your match! I stumbled on your blog via Pinterest a couple months ago and feel like I need to say THANK YOU! I just love it – it’s so full of so much practical info! The hubby and I just started trying for a munchkin, but I’m LOVING all of your past blog posts on cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and stylish baby goodies! Thank you thank you!!
How exciting. Don’t get too excited, summers there are nasty, but you will definitely be getting back to the cold, snowy winters. My BFF lives in Lake St Louis. She is a hairdresser, but just finished nursing school. She likes Lake St Louis as its not right in the city but close enough. Everytime I’ve gone to visit with my 3 year-old son we’ve always found plenty to do and that’s just vacation wise. Congrats and I hope it is a fun experience for you.
Congratulations!!! Rental or not, I know you will make it a beautiful home for you and your family!! I hear great things about St. Louis!! Best of luck on this new adventure!! xo
Missouri is a wonderful place to live! Don’t let anyone let you believe otherwise :-) Late summer will be nasty hot for maybe a month, but it isnt the nasty hot you are probably used to. Just make sure to have a basement or storm shelter and your golden :-) Also – I’m not exactly sure on neighborhoods in St. Louis, but I know they have some great ones! No matter where you move, I am sure you will make it lovely :-) Good Luck!
SO exciting! Praying for you and your family as you prepare to move! My husband is a coach in the wild and wonderful world of D1 Basketball. Therefore, we are renters. I love your positive outlook on the new adventure. :)
awesome! blessings on a great move! you will make it amazing!
Yay! Welcome to Missouri! I am in Kansas City – so not too far. And I hate to say it, but summers here can be pretty nasty too! Saint Louis is known for all of their FREE family activities, so there will be plenty to keep you and the kids busy!
We have family that live in St. Louis and only live 2 hours away so we are there quite a bit. It has an amazing FREE zoo that kiddos love. Here is an NYT article about loving the midwest you might like to read too. Good luck with the move and welcome to Missouri!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/loving-the-midwest.html?_r=1&
Woo hoo! Your fam will LOVE Stl! Ditto to the many comments praising all the great kid-friendly activities in the area & safe neighborhoods & good schools (public & private) it is also home to Cottonbabies, a fantastic cloth diapering/baby supply store (makers of Bumgenius & Flip). Happy planning in the months to come!
Congrats on your match! I live in St. Louis and would love to help any way that I can. My husband finished his residency last year and we moved back to STL to be closer to family. If you email me what you’re looking for in places to live, I can definitely help you out. :)
Hi Shawna!
I first learned about your blog from a high school friend (I graduated from Monte Vista in 2000) and I have been following your blog ever since. I am beyond amazed by what you do. You are so driven and talented, and I am grateful that you are willing to share your inspiration :)
I just read your post about your upcoming move! My husband and I relocated to a fantastic suburb of St. Louis called Chesterfield in February! We are still very new here, but we like it a lot! We have a 5 1/2 year-old son, an almost-four-year-old daughter and a 20 month-old son. Their transition here was a dream come true. We’ve found an amazing preschool, Gym (Lifetime!!), tons of parks, libraries, family-friendly attractions… It really is an excellent place for families :)
My husband was in the Army until 2007 and we’ve moved a couple of times for his civilian job as well. I can completely empathise with the difficulty in uprooting your life and planting it someplace new, especially when you don’t know a soul or have family nearby to lean on. Please let me know if I can help in any way :). I hope that we might have an opportunity to meet up once you are here! Best of luck with all your preparations!
:) Kristin
P.S. We’re renting a house, too! The housing market here is super active, so I’m sure you’ll find something with potential :)
No actual tips, but my sister has lived all over the U.S. and spent a summer in St. Louis. She said that has been one of her favorite places because the people were so friendly there. Good luck!
Congratulations! Our last assignment was there and my husband is from the area. You will love it! There is so much to see and do, especially with kids. Eckerts is a family owned farm that you can pick all kinds of fruit and then in the winter time cut down your own Christmas tree, the City Museum is a fun place to take the kids to run around and play and at Christmas time check out the light show at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows (gorgeous!) and there seems to always be a Cardinals game going on at Busch Stadium in the summer. Some good places to eat are Rooster (they specialize in crepes), Pappy’s Smokehouse (BBQ), The Shaved Duck (BBQ), and of course Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I hope that gets you started with just a few ideas ;-)
I live it St. Louis… Moved here 8 years ago from San Diego. I really like the city and people are so kind. I can help getting acclimated. Send me an email.
I live in St. Louis. Moved here 8 years ago from San Diego. You will like it! Great city and kind people. Email me for any suggestions.
My grandmother lives near there and last year we went to the Goodwill Outlet in St. Louis…. It’s amazing! You should check it out…. Quite an experience but if you go at the right times and are willing to look through stuff you can get things really really cheap! :)
I have been to St. Louis a few times for work. I brought my family (husband and two toddler boys) and they loved it! Next to DC, it has the most free family fun of any city in the states, or so I read. :)
I just found your blog on pinterest! Saw you are relocating to my town STL, how awesome! You are a very blessed and talented momma! P.s. thanks for giving me some ideas on my baby boys nursery, loved all the pics you posted of your little ones!!
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