Well, it looks like I have a new job in Lebanon, Illinois. I’m going there in mid-June to look at apartments, and I’ve been checking out the ads on Craigslist, but I don’t know the first thing about the towns in the area, and I was hoping for some help from local Dopers.
Basically, I’m looking for a place to live that isn’t too generically suburban. Small towns with history and character are nice. (Lebanon itself looks fine, but I’m not sure I can actually find an apartment there, so I want to know about my other options.) Interesting neighborhoods in St. Louis that aren’t too scary for a single girl would also be nice, at least for a look-around, though I’m still deciding how far I’m willing to commute. Access to public transportation and / or a nice farmer’s market or food co-op would be a big plus. So, where should I be looking? And also, are there any local papers with online classifieds that I should know about?
Any other information about the St. Louis area that people feel like sharing would also be welcome, of course!
I was stationed at Scott AFB from 1992-1993. I lived in Belleville and it was kind of a dump. O’Fallon was a nice little town, kinda suburbany – I’d include Lebanon in that description. Mascoutah and Shiloh were cheap living – and there was certainly a lot of character to them.
Lot’s of nice areas on the east side. St Louis is good if you want the urban experience. PM me if you want a semi-local kind of guide. I’m not a born and raised rez. but will meet with you and drive you around if you want.
I can’t say anything about farmers markets, but public transportation is a little on the lean side.
There’s one bus route to Lebanon. It’s a morning/evening only route that goes to the easternmost stop on the St. Louis light rail line. For downtown St. Louis to Lebanon, the timetable says about 75 minutes, but that doesn’t count waiting time to transfer from the train to the bus.
Given the traffic on the bridges between downtown St. Louis and Illinois, that actually might not be bad time. I’d definitely recommend you live on the Illinois side of the river.
Yeah, I’m aware that the public transportation situation in Lebanon itself is not great – that’s one of the reasons why I was sort of vaguely thinking about somewhere in between Lebanon and St. Louis.
Thanks – I hadn’t even thought about traffic, since I’d assumed that I’d be commuting in the opposite direction from most other people, but if it’s still a consideration in that direction, that’s helpful to know.
And thanks for the offer, sinjin, but a couple of my coworkers-to-be have already offered to show me around.
If you’re living in MO and working in IL (as I do), you will indeed be going against the traffic. Unless you’re working hours that have you going home when people normally go to work, or something.
However, MO is due to gut I-40/64 on the St. Louis side for the next decade, or so, and it’ll be making a permanent and nasty snarl of traffic, probably all the way to the bridge downtown.
I’d recommend living in IL, and occasionally driving over to the very nice farmer’s market in Soulard in St. Louis (from IL, take Poplar St. Bridge to I-44, take the first exit immediately after the bridge ramp, turn left, then turn right on Broadway).
Can’t help much with recommendations on where to live in IL, although most of my co-workers live in the Troy, Collinsville, O’Fallon area and seem pretty happy with it.
There is a farmer’s market in the Soulard neighborhood (five to tem minute drive south of the Arch). I have a couple friends who live in the neighborhood and they both love living there. They say as long as you don’t live off one of the main roads noise and traffic isn’t a problem.
Here are links to the two main newspapers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
River Front Times
My aunt lives on Dunlap Lake in Edwardsville, which is about a half hour away. Edwardsville is a fairly nice town - kind of a college town, but still fairly rural. You’d be pretty close to O’Fallon, which as far as I know is lots of new tract housing and auto malls, but it might be cheap. With gas being what it is, I’d strive to get as close as posslble and would probably avoid the St. Louis side - there’s nothing really nice that wouldn’t be at least an hour’s commute away, with the construction on I-64/Hwy. 40 for the next 5 years or so.
Another vote for Soulard. Lots of character. Big farmer’s market. Quite a few little restaurants within easy walking distance. Easy access to hwy 55, which will take you across the river and avoid all the 40/64 construction.
Just south-west of Soulard, you might also try Benton Park, which is where we live – especially north of Benton Park itself if you’re a single woman. We live south of the park, and it’s still a little up-and-coming for some people (lots of rehabs and exciting things happening, but still quite a few run-down or boarded-up houses as well). North of the park is pretty well established, though, and has quite a few little restaurants to walk to, as well as being only about 1.5 miles from the Soulard farmer’s market. Benton Park is also really close to St. Louis’s antique row, if you’re into that sort of thing.
You could also try Lafayette Square, which is north of Soulard. A little pricey, but a very fine neighborhood that has been beautifully restored over the past decade or so. You might be able to find and aparment, condo or loft that isn’t too expensive. There’s a nice park there with concerts in the summer. The best way across the river from there is 40/64, but you’ll be east of the construction and against the main flow of traffic.
All three are historic districts, with all the charm you could want!