Hip, Walkable Neighborhoods in and around St. Louis?
April 23, 2019 11:41 AM Subscribe
A friend is moving to the St. Louis area and wants to focus her search on walkable neighborhoods with coffee shops and dining and the like. She's not looking to go totally car-less. I've sent her a link to this question but wanted more suggestions specific to the St. Louis area. Thanks so much!
The Central West End is awesome. I lived in a little neighborhood off Lindell Blvd between Chase Park Plaza and the Cathedral Basilica - I can't recommend it highly enough. It's beautiful and historic, with lots of walkable restaurants, bars, coffee shops, a great indie bookshop... it's the best place I've ever lived.
posted by something something at 11:50 AM on April 23, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by something something at 11:50 AM on April 23, 2019 [7 favorites]
For walkability in the city, the aforementioned Central West End is good. Also consider Tower Grove East and Tower Grove South, centering on South Grand, which is a stretch of restaurants, a used book store, etc. all near one of our parks. Forest Park Southeast may also be viable, with access to "The Grove" (an area of Manchester Blvd. with bars/restaurants), the CWE and Forest Park itself.
Outside the city proper, Maplewood and University City are frequently considered walkable suburbs.
posted by brentajones at 12:05 PM on April 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
Outside the city proper, Maplewood and University City are frequently considered walkable suburbs.
posted by brentajones at 12:05 PM on April 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
I lived in the Central West End a decade ago. It was great! Adorable apartment. Movie theater at the Chase a block away. Coffee shops, diners, and banks all right there. I've heard they even got a Whole Foods down there since. (Schnucks was about a mile, which was a little much if you had more than a couple of bags.) I was in school at the time, which was also walkable for me. I once went 6 weeks without driving!
posted by BlueBear at 12:28 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by BlueBear at 12:28 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I think you've pretty much got your answers already. CWE, U-City, and Tower Grove. I might throw in Dogtown, some people might suggest closer to SLU, and IIRC there's a nice coffee shop somewhere along Manchester kind of in the Maplewood area, but that's really it.
I personally lived in U-City (the Loop), and, while I had a car, I did not have a job and thus could not afford to put gas in it often, and so I lived a mostly walkable life. The big problem would be getting to a grocery store. The Shnuck's on Olive was kind of sketchy, but the one on Clayton Road was too far to walk. Having a car but not using it often seems perfect for the Loop area.
posted by kevinbelt at 1:18 PM on April 23, 2019
I personally lived in U-City (the Loop), and, while I had a car, I did not have a job and thus could not afford to put gas in it often, and so I lived a mostly walkable life. The big problem would be getting to a grocery store. The Shnuck's on Olive was kind of sketchy, but the one on Clayton Road was too far to walk. Having a car but not using it often seems perfect for the Loop area.
posted by kevinbelt at 1:18 PM on April 23, 2019
As others have said, there's a number of cool options. One thing that might help - where is this friend's job located, and how upscale can she afford?
posted by notsnot at 1:29 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by notsnot at 1:29 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
CWE is best for immediate area walkability and access to Metrolink for excursions to other walkable areas. It's going to be more expensive.
nice coffee shop somewhere along Manchester kind of in the Maplewood area,
Foundation Grounds. Also Mystic Valley has a coffee bar in it.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:36 PM on April 23, 2019
nice coffee shop somewhere along Manchester kind of in the Maplewood area,
Foundation Grounds. Also Mystic Valley has a coffee bar in it.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:36 PM on April 23, 2019
Tower Grove South is a fantastic neighborhood. I used to live on Arsenal, between Grand and Morganford. There was tons of stuff to walk to, including fun bars, good restaurants, small grocery stores and a farmers market in Tower Grove Park. I've heard Shaw across the park has gained quite a few amenities since I've left St. Louis (which is going on 7 years now). If your friend is looking for a realtor, PM me; a friend of mine specializes in urban, walking-friendly neighborhoods.
posted by slogger at 1:40 PM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by slogger at 1:40 PM on April 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Fluttering hellfire, I am embarrassed. I have gone to FoGro for many, many years, and I never knew about the coffee shop inside Mystic Valley. Then again, Maplewood has its fair share of coffee shops: FoGro, Living Room, La Cosecha, Stone Spiral...
posted by stannate at 3:45 PM on April 23, 2019
posted by stannate at 3:45 PM on April 23, 2019
I'll say that I like the culture of Tower Grove South way better than the CWE.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:37 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 4:37 PM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Soulard is pretty walkable, with a lot of great bars and restaurants, a few coffee shops, plus the Farmer's market. I enjoyed living there - as long as you're south and off the main strip of bars, it's a nice neighborhood with great architecture. You're absolutely still going to need a car, but that's true of just about anywhere in our fair city.
Benton Park just north of Cherokee is similar - lots of great old houses, easy to walk to restaurants and the hip spots on Cherokee, but you're still gonna need a car for most errands.
posted by chrisamiller at 8:37 PM on April 23, 2019
Benton Park just north of Cherokee is similar - lots of great old houses, easy to walk to restaurants and the hip spots on Cherokee, but you're still gonna need a car for most errands.
posted by chrisamiller at 8:37 PM on April 23, 2019
I personally lived in U-City (the Loop), and, while I had a car, I did not have a job and thus could not afford to put gas in it often, and so I lived a mostly walkable life. The big problem would be getting to a grocery store. The Shnuck's on Olive was kind of sketchy, but the one on Clayton Road was too far to walk. Having a car but not using it often seems perfect for the Loop area.
There's a grocery store right on the Loop now that's part of the big WashU complex next to Eastgate, so that part has gotten better. In terms of being able to walk to all of the things you might need to hit on a nearly daily basis, I agree that the Central West End, University City, and Tower Grove South in the blocks close to Grand (or Morganford) meet that criterion.
What I'm curious about is what "hip" means. The Central West End, for example, is one of the richest, most blatantly "upper crust" neighborhoods inside city limits, and without wanting to knock anyone's preferences I personally always found it uncomfortably bougie. The Loop is much less that way (although increasingly more so), but during the school year it'll be pretty flooded by students from WashU, and that goes doubly for the coffee shops. If your friend is interested in local arts and music, University City is not even remotely a walkable distance away from the places where that happens, which are mostly on the south side. If that is something she's interested in, then among the previously recommended neighborhoods Tower Grove South and, to a lesser extent, Shaw, are really the standout choices. I'd also add Tower Grove East, on the other side of Grand from those two neighborhoods, to the list.
posted by invitapriore at 2:18 PM on April 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
There's a grocery store right on the Loop now that's part of the big WashU complex next to Eastgate, so that part has gotten better. In terms of being able to walk to all of the things you might need to hit on a nearly daily basis, I agree that the Central West End, University City, and Tower Grove South in the blocks close to Grand (or Morganford) meet that criterion.
What I'm curious about is what "hip" means. The Central West End, for example, is one of the richest, most blatantly "upper crust" neighborhoods inside city limits, and without wanting to knock anyone's preferences I personally always found it uncomfortably bougie. The Loop is much less that way (although increasingly more so), but during the school year it'll be pretty flooded by students from WashU, and that goes doubly for the coffee shops. If your friend is interested in local arts and music, University City is not even remotely a walkable distance away from the places where that happens, which are mostly on the south side. If that is something she's interested in, then among the previously recommended neighborhoods Tower Grove South and, to a lesser extent, Shaw, are really the standout choices. I'd also add Tower Grove East, on the other side of Grand from those two neighborhoods, to the list.
posted by invitapriore at 2:18 PM on April 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
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