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Thursday, April 24, 2014

My First St. Louis Experience

The flight into St. Louis wasn't as bad as I expected. Although, by the end of the flight I was very ready to get up and stretch my back :) turns out regional planes just aren't very big. we got on the Metrolink at the airport which took us directly into the heart of the Central West End. Our hotel wasn't too far from there, so convenient! It's really nice, the area is a very walkable space next to Forest Park. The whole neighborhood is thriving with all kind of restaurants, shopping, businesses, and life! We ended up walking just a block down the street and eating at a nice Mexican restaurant, Tortillaria Mexican Kitchen. Darn good food! And let me assure you David LOVED the portion sizes. Later we met up with a future co-intern that David will work with this year at a nearby pub and it was a nice time out. By the time we got back to our room that night we were feeling pretty positive about our upcoming move :)
The next morning we woke up early and got out the door to walk to the first place we were viewing on our own. The walk was nice but it was a bit chilly at that time of morning with the wind. We got to the place and viewed the apartment advertised at 950 sq. feet which we felt would be great since it'd be 30% bigger than we're used to. However, I still maintain the only way they are able to say 950 sq. feet is if they count two parking spaces into that number! It was nice but I didn't like the idea of paying for a huge premium for a space that didn't feel much bigger than our current place. From there we hustled back to meet our realtor and were on our way to view many other places.
One thing David and I realized is that we apparently both believe in the Broken Window Theory. Seriously. The first place was in the area, but too far for David to walk from to get to work. It was run down and smaller, we really didn't get a good feeling from it. From there we headed outside the city to nearby 'suburb' areas. Some of the residences were okay, others were 'meh'. Clayton was a really nice and affluent suburb that we got to see some pretty awesome houses. In the end the last two we saw in Creve Coeur (another really  nice suburb) were the two I think we were going back and forth between. They were in the same condo complex. The first was smaller and on the ground level, but was spacious (for us) inside, had all that we were looking for, and had a two car garage. The second unit was even larger, being a 3 bedroom and 2 bath, but on the second floor of its building. It also had a two car garage, which is fabulous since no one else seemed to, and we discovered a GIANT storage unit room/unit in the garage as well. So, both had all we wanted in a residence, the difference came down to square footage/# bedrooms. They are both great, loaded with it all, the only downside we're nervous about is David will have a daily commute that he isn't used to.
Nevertheless, we finished up after a long day and headed back to our hotel. On the way back into the city, five minutes down the street from the two places we were looking at, was a restaurant that caught David's eye: The Salted Pig. Apparently, they had just opened 3 weeks prior and I wasn't going to miss some BBQ on this trip. We ate there and really enjoyed it :) good food at reasonable prices for BBQ!
Our realtor dropped us off, made plans to meet up with us on the next morning to get an application from us and we were on our own. I propped my feet up a while, but then we went walking around the Central West End.
Thursday we slept in and got breakfast together until the realtor came by to pick up our background check application, then we had the day to ourselves! We tested the walk time from his parking area to the hospital doors, then went and sat in Forest Park to enjoy the beautiful weather. We got a late lunch at Little Saigon for a healthy and light lunch. I got the Bun Xao noodle dish that came with chicken, shrimp, bell peppers, egg, scallions and a little curry heat. It was wonderful and I totally recommend it if you're ever visiting St. Louis :D
We stopped by a nearby Tutti Frutti for some fro-yo (YAY! Quarter Thursdays hehe). Later we walked to see the Basilica which was really neat. It was grand not only in style of structure, but size, materials, and craftsmanship. It all around dwarfs St. Paul's here in Pittsburgh in my mind. It's just impressive. No other way to say it. Along our walk back we stumbled across one of the nation's best chess clubs and the Guinness book of world records largest chess piece! The King is over 14' tall haha that is a big game piece. We went into the chess club and were warmly welcomed as guests, welcome to walk around and explore. Even I thought it was really cool, and I'm not even into chess. They are very proud of their club and they should be. I think David will be back there :)
Overall, the whole experience was exciting and encouraging. I think we are really going to enjoy this next move in our lives. I know we are both excited to start a new chapter in our lives, and having such a positive experience already in our new city will only make it better for us!
Okay, enough is enough you're saying. You don't care that much about the details of our house hunting trip to St. Louis - Sorry! My enthusiasm just knows no bounds hehe.

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