Pewl said:
The St. Louis arch is cool, along with the FREE Budweiser Brewery tours and FREE beer samples at the end of the tour! The Zoo is free too!
The cardinals and rams suck though. =P
Ok, I'll give you the Rams this year, but the Cards? I wouldn't say that around here, man...
Also free: Art Museum, Science Center, History Museum.
More obscure, not sure of cost: Bowling Hall of Fame, Museum of Transportation
I also went to SLU for undergrad (all 4 years) and am currently working PRN at one of SLU Med's teaching hospitals. Several friends have gone through SLU Med, and loved it- I'm hoping to go there myself. Both med and undergrad campuses have changed drastically in the last 15 years thanks to Fr. Biondi. He's really made an effort to spruce it up, and there's a lot of "green space" now, as well as statues everywhere. He's also been gating off the campus to surrounding areas to make it more safe, and had the city close off several streets to make walking malls- fewer random people to be coming onto campus. And oh, the lighting- at least on the main campus, it looks like you could land an airplane on the walking mall. There's a huge campus police force, and when I was there, if you had to go somewhere and didn't feel safe- they'd take you. I don't ever remember smelling what Megboo mentioned, but I do remember smelling the brewery while on-campus (baking bread- could be worse). I can't think of any reasons why the med students would be spending much time on the undergrad campus. It's an easy walk, but due to traffic, weather, and safety, most people ride the shuttle bus between campuses.
The med students and residents I've worked with so far seem pretty cool, and to have good relationships with each other and their attendings. More importantly, out in the community SLU docs have a reputation for good bedside manner and high ethical standards. My full-time work has always put me in touch with lots of doctors, and it often turns out that the ones I really like- who are down to earth, who are excellent clinically, who are willing to work as a team- did either SLU Med or residency.
Regarding housing, I'd shoot for 10-15 minutes off-campus, and unless you're serious about needing to live in an apartment complex, I'd save money and go with a 1- or 2-bedroom in a 2- or 4-family building in South City- I paid $425/month for a 1BR with central air and brand new hardwood. There were several SLU Med students living down around me, incl my college roommate and her husband, and he said it was an easy drive on local roads to get to school. Areas to look at would include Tower Grove Park area (depending on the block), the Hill (very Italian), and the area bounded by Kingshighway, Chippewa, Fyler, and Jamieson (St. Louis Hills? some people still think it's part of the Hill.. some call it South City.. whatever). Hampton Gardens is right there, but I think they rip you off from what I've seen.
Feel free to PM me with any questions. Also echoed- yes, the ragweed, pollen, etc are horrible here. Sorry- not much escaping it in this part of the Midwest.
