Wednesday, August 01, 2012

New & Future Parents of the Lindenwood Park & Clifton Heights Neighborhoods

About

Discussion about why our neighborhoods are great, or not great, for raising kids.
Description
My wife and I love our neighborhood. We live in the Clifton Heights neighborhood of St. Louis city (right on the border between CH and Lindenwood Park). We want to have a kid soon, and are trying to decide where we'll live once our kid is school age. We have many young friends who live in the city, and who love living in the city, that are moving out to the county once they begin a family. I un
derstand why they do. They want to live in a place with good schools for their kids.

We may wind up moving to the county when we have a kid, and that's OK. We may wind up staying in St. Louis city when we have a kid, and that's OK. I just want to make sure we make our decision based upon reliable information and not just old assumptions. We love living in our neighborhood and we don't want to move. But we're also alright with the idea of moving if our neighborhood and city's just not a great place to raise a kid. But that's sad - it's a vicious cycle... Our city will never be a better place to raise kids if young parents move out to the county once they begin a family.

That's why I started this facebook page. I'm hoping that it's a way to connect other like-minded neighbors of ours... neighbors who value raising kids in a great environment and neighbors who also value living in a city they truly love. I'm hoping that this page will foster open and honest discussion among neighbors so that we can share the knowledge we each have. I hope this will help my wife and I, and others, make plans based on our priorities and real information, and not just old assumptions.

I know that our city has great restaurants, great bars, great shopping, great parks, great architecture, great spirit, great diversity, great people, but I want to know about all the great things about what our city has to offer for raising kids as well. I want to know why some families decide to raise kids in the city. I want to know why some families decide not to. I want to know what others' solutions are. I want to know what others' concerns are. I want to know more about our great city, the city I love... St. Louis.

2 comments:

Sabra said...

I have two children and when I moved to Saint Louis I was very paranoid about sending them to public schools. Fortunately, I ended up living in Clifton Heights and my children were assigned to Mason Elementary school. This has been a blessing for our family. My son had behavior issues when he first started school and Mason staff have gone above & beyond to work with him through those issues. He is now doing so much better & has made friends finally! Don't always believe the negativity about the public schools. I truly believe that it matters WHICH school in the City's public system that your child attends instead.

Anonymous said...

This blog post showed up on Clifton Heights's facebook page this morning (over the summer I joined and have started getting info.), and I was so excited to see this particular post. My husband and I moved into the neighborhood in 2008. Both of us grew up in the suburbs and, like a lot of others, wanted a different experience and the opportunity to truly value city life (the diversity of our neighbors, plethora of locally-owned restaurants, the many parks, all of those things you mentioned). We both assumed we'd move back to the county once ready to start a family. Well, that time is around the corner now (years have a way of flying by), and I'm pondering that assumption now. A couple years ago, I started working at a charter school, and it's an AMAZING school! However, if we stay in our current home, my own children may not be able to attend due to zip code restrictions (administrators have gone back 'n forth on this policy). I do not know much about city schools beyond my own. I see that Mason is our local public school. Any info. on additional charter or private schools in the area. The idea of a neighborhood school is important to me. Further, neither my husband nor myself have gotten too involved in or know much about our own neighborhood albeit the best of intentions and goals upon moving here (time also has a way of getting away from you). My knowledge about the city has been more based in the Shaw and Botanical Heights neighborhoods due to wear I work. I would love to get more connected to my own neighborhood too. I see families and strollers pass by our house all the time, so I know there's young families who live here, but I never see older kids playing outside after school (which is something I loved about growing up in the suburbs) or info about 'parent groups' tacked on bulletin boards at local coffee shops. Granted I'm not at the stage of life where I'm looking hard for those things, but this blog post now has me curious about gauging the presence of these types of things in our neighborhood. It will help me when thinking about moving/staying, etc. when that time comes. Any insight would be appreciated.