This morning, while I was reading various blogs, I came across a post that Stewart Penn wrote called, "How Far Will My Salary Go In Another City" and it got me to thinking, "Why do people continue to live in these high cost cities?"

I'm sure that the number one answer to this question would be that most people have established roots in these cities.  Or maybe they feel that the amenities that these cities have to offer are worth the extra money that it costs to live there.  I'm also sure that there are people who have to live in these cities because of the fact that their professions require it.

But even subtracting the folks who want or need to stay put out of the equation, I imagine that there are probably a good number of people who have reached the point where they have at least considered moving to a less expensive place to live. 

These are the folks that I wish to talk to in regard to where you might wish to consider moving to.  May I suggest St. Louis as an option?

"Whoa...Dude!  But St. Louis doesn't have any of those narley waves that I dig so much!"

True, St. Louis is probably about as far removed from the oceans as you can get and if you're like Spacolie this might be a deal breaker.  But as I pointed out in my response to Mr. Penn's blog, I have a friend who lives in LA and I'd be willing to bet that I've been to the beach more times in the past three years that she has even though she only lives about a 20 minute drive away.

If you're not a surfer, then consider this.  St. Louis is located about an equal distance from both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.  While it's a gulf and not an ocean, The Gulf Of Mexico is actually within a solid day's drive from St. Louis.  (To me, if it's got stuff in it that can eat you, it's an ocean! So, I think that it should count.)

Seriously though, while the ocean does offer some unique recreational opportunities, it's not like it's going to go away any time soon.  While airfares are going up, St. Louis remains a great place to fly out of.  Book a flight to LA with a 21 day advance purchase on Southwest and it will cost you less than $161.00 each way.  If you're not picky about which ocean you want to swim in, STL to Tampa FL is only $89.00 each way!

Other considerations are the recreational opportunities that are available here in St. Louis and within a day's drive.  As I've already mentioned, the Gulf Coast is very long day's drive (about 12 -14 hours), but within a 5 hour drive are Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, Kansas City and Indianapolis.  In between St. Louis and these cities you will find an abundance of recreational activities ranging from archery to zoology.  You can learn to drive a race car or you can suba dive in a cave.  Mountain bike or cruise in a luxury yacht. 

"Oh, but Robert...Isn't St. Louis a bit of a...shall we say....a cow town?"

Far from it!  St. Louis has a population of close to 3,000,000 people.  With this many people we're bound to have a certain amount of diversity and sophistication.  Our cultural institutions are among the best in the country and our sports franchises all have long and storied histories. 

Honestly, I don't care what it is that you're into, chances are that St. Louis can indulge you.  All the way from the high brow to the less so, St. Louis offers some of the best.  Ask anybody who has been to our strip clubs!

"Okay Bob, how much does it cost to live there in St. Louis?"

If you live in LA, St. Louis is 94% less expensive to live in.  That means that in order to have the same standard of living in Los Angeles that you have in St. Louis you would have to make almost twice as much.  While salaries here are less than in LA, they're not that much less!

Housing in St. Louis is up to 400% less expensive than in Los Angeles!  When you factor this in and considering how much of a family's budget generally goes for housing, you would probably have to earn even more to keep your standard of living comparable.

Depending upon which part of St. Louis you would want to live in, you can buy quite a bit of home for a reasonable amount of money.  For example, if you want to live in a typical, middle class suburb you could probably get a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home with a yard and a two car garage for less than $250,000.  In some areas even less.

For $400,000 you can get what would probably be considered to be a mansion in LA.

For $600,000 you can get up to about a 5000 sq. foot home on a 3 acre lot within a 40 minute commute of downtown!

So, if you're thinking about relocating here to St. Louis, give me a call!  It really is a great place to live!

R.B. "Bob" Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

Bob Mitchell is president of ValueList Real Estate Services,  St. Louis' largest discount/full-service real estate and mortgage company.  If you would like to find out more about Bob, ValueList or our flat-fee listing program, please feel free to visit our web site at valuelistre.com