Does anyone know how long it takes to commute from Lake St. Louis to downtown St. Louis? I see it's about 35 miles distance.

Are the rush hours pretty congested in St. Louis?

Not sure about the Lake St. Louis to downtown distance. But having lived in or near St. Louis for most of my life--and as a former traffic reporter there--I can speak for its rush hours. Unless things have changed in the last four years since I've lived there, the morning rush is at its peak from roughly 6:30am to 8:30; afternoons from 4 til 6. Unless there's an accident that slows things down, my experience has been that traffic moves along fairly well overall. Try to avoid I-40 EB heading into downtown in the morning and WB from downtown to about I-270 in the afternoon, and I-70 out of St. Charles EB in the morning and WB in the afternoon heading into St. Charles. Those were, and probably still are, the biggest traffic trouble spots and times.

However, living an hour from Atlanta now and having experienced their rush hours, St. Louis at its worst is NOTHING by comparison.

djdave - thanks for your very unique perspective!

Being that my husband would plan to leave around 6:30 a.m. and leave the office around 5:30 p.m., I am wondering if he'll move on through at the edges of the rush hour.

I think from LSL he would use I-70.

rush hours can be bad- a major highway alternative forest parkway was just closed and has added to the problem on highway 40 and 70. usually morning traffic is not as bad as afternoon on highway 40, with traffic moving well you are looking at about 50 minutes into downtown. probably longer than that on the way home.

Are there any particularly nice communities closer to the downtown area in St. Louis?

I am looking for a low crime rate and new/clean grocery stores & shopping.

Clayton, Frontenac, Webster Groves, and Kirkwood are all nice areas fairly close to downtown, but the cost of living can be a bit high. I always liked the Hill area, too, but I can't speak for the crime rates there. I'd surf some real estate websites, such as www.remax.com, and look for houses in those areas to see if they meet your financial criteria.

I am looking to stay under $250K. Where will that tend to get the most bang for my buck?

Have you considered the east side? We moved from the Fenton area to Columbia/Waterloo area 3 years ago and you couldn't pay us to move back.

Fairview Heights, Shilo area has great shopping and many resturants and newer housing in your price range. You will find nothing in Clayton, Webster, etc. for 250k.

I would reccommend you come to St. Louis and just drive the commute from various locations at the appropriate times. I think you would be insane to live in Lake St. Louis and commute downtown.

dejhama,
That is an interesting point about living on the East side. I thought about that but wondered about traffic since everyone has to cross a bridge (bottleneck effect).

How is it living in one state and working in another? Is that complicated tax-wise?

How are the taxes, etc. in Illinois vs. Missouri?

Any more tips to help me explore that option would be great!

Traffic depends on time of commute. I live about 18 miles from downtown. Going over the poplar street bridge it takes me about 25 minutes to get downtown. However to get downtown at 8 am I have to leave by 7 am. I get there by 7:30 but if I leave any later than 7 I get there after 8. From where I live (columbia/waterloo area) I have two options to commute. Rt 3 then over the poplar street bridge. Or 255 to 55 over the JB bridge (this is slightly longer by about 2 miles). Which I take depends on the traffic report.

Taxes are not a problem. I work in MO and my husband works in IL. I have MO taxes taken out of my paycheck and he has IL taxes taken out of his. We have to file in both states, but with turbotax no big deal.

I am looking into relocating to STL too. I have found WONDERFUL info on gundaker.com (you can put in all your criterial and it pulls up the MLS for areas you are looking at)

Another GREAT WEBSITE for relocating information (crime rates, population, etc) which gives statistics and you can compare 2 cities with each other is
http://www.bestplaces.net/html/citycompare.asp
as well as FindYourSpot.com

good luck to us both!

You will definitely get a lot of "bang for your buck" for $250 out in the Lake St. Louis area. But it will take you an hour to get downtown during rushhour, and longer if there is a "traffic issue." (Accident, etc.) Taking highway 70 to get downtown is definitely better than taking highway 40. And highway 40 is usually backed up from Kingshighway (city) to Brentwood, then again from 270 out to St. Charles, which is just before Lake St. Louis. I think the best time on this trip would be 45 minutes....

Other considerations for location... Kirkwood/Webster Groves area is definitely very nice, and has a great school district, but you are going to get a smaller and older house in that area for that price. Des Peres or Ballwin are both great options. They are both just west of Kirkwood, and property taxes are much lower, plus you'll get a lot more house for your money. Highway 44 is probably the best highway to live off of for a clear commute downtown. Another option is Arnold -- you can get a nice, new, large house for your price range, but you are living in an area that is thought of as "rural" (for a nice way to put it).

How concerned are you with schools, etc?... Let me know a little more information about the type of community you are looking for. I have lived here for a little over 10 years, and I have family that lives all over the area. I'll be glad to give you any information I can! My husband and I recently went "house hunting," so I know some fairly current information on costs, etc.

Unfortunately, I run into too many real estate agents who don't have the information, or aren't willing to share it because it will take the buyer longer to make a decision...