The City of St. Louis

[Bardo]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I have an interview coming up at SLU and I am pretty interested in the school. I really don't know anything about the city however. I am going to stay for two days because I figure I want to see a bit of where I may be for the next four years. What's cool? what's not? where to stay hang out etc. Also any specifics about the school would be helpful too. Thanks

 

[kimmcauliffe]

I love St. Louis. I lived there for a few years after high school. As with any city, it's what you make of it... but since you'll only be there for a short time, I suggest hitting up Spaghetti Warehouse as well as taking a tour of the Arch. You can actually ride an elevator all the way to the top, too.

As far as the school, can't help you there, but I'm sure there's someone else on here who can. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Depakote]

Can't really help you with the school. But I live in St. Louis and I have for most of my life.

-Places to eat:

Steak- Tucker's in Soulard
Beer- The Taproom (downtown)
Favorite Irish Pub- Seamus McDaniel's in Dogtown

Don't leave the city without eating Toasted Ravioli, I can't believe no other cities have picked up on that one yet.


-Areas of interest:
Central West End
U. City Loop
Laclede's Landing

Forget the arch, it's for tourists and it really isn't that much to see. (no offense to previous posters). Forest Park, the Zoo and the Science Center are better areas to check out if you want to see the touristy stuff. You might actually go back if you live here. I've been to the arch twice, maybe.

Fair warning, the weather here in the summer is terrible. Hot and very humid.

That's about all I can think of, feel free to ask questions.

 

[1/2asser]

i spent semester there for undergrad. the city is pretty cool. check out soulard district and a bar called venice cafe, my favorite while i was there. as for SLU, i'm not to happy with them. if you have attended a jesuit school before then you'll be suprised at how much of an A$$ the president of the school is. he runs the place like a corporation. beware of hidden fees and getting screwed over. he pretty much goes against all of their mottos and vision statements. i'm not sure how much he is involved with the medschool so i'd check it out.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

St. Louis is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't live in the city. There are plenty of great suburbs to find housing in.

Honestly St. Louis is one of the best cities for quality food in the US. That alone makes it worth living in the general vicinity.....

 

[chintu]

I go to SLU med. Do a search on slu and you'll find some posts from current med students. When you are visiting the city go with what others have said. As for the med school, i can say that there's hardly any connection with the undergrad. What goes on there has absolutely no bearing on med school. yes, the tuition is high $39k/yr like any private school, but cost of living in stl is lot cheaper than places like ny,dc,philly, etc. As for medschool, there's hardly any jesuit influence if you are concerned about that. What I like about the school is the curriculum in basic sciences. Its organized in blocks with only 2 classes at a time. 2nd year is even better with focus on only 1 organ system for few weeks. There's some case-study group sessions about 1-2/week and laboratories, etc. on other days. But you still get a lot of afternoons off. Lecture time is ~2-3 hrs/day in morning. If you have any specific q's just pm me.

St. Louis is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't live in the city. There are plenty of great suburbs to find housing in.

Honestly St. Louis is one of the best cities for quality food in the US. That alone makes it worth living in the general vicinity.....

 

[ahumdinger]

I went to high school in st. louis, and I just returned last year to work at WashU. I live in the Central West End. If you end up going to SLU, the South Grand area is a cool place to live. The city has a lot of charm and living in the City is a lot more convenient than the suburbs (traffic will be a bitch soon since they're shutting down highway 40 soon, which is the main vein of traffic). Some people (*ahem* one of the previous posters) may say that the city's unsafe, but that's pretty exaggerated. Particularly around SLU and WashU, the schools are both very concerned with campus safety, so there's a lot of police patrol. As with any urban area, you just have to be street-smart. In medical school you'll need all the time you can get, so don't waste it commuting from the 'burbs.

You'll also notice that St. Louis revolves around FOOD. Whenever I have friends visiting, my list of things always ends up being eating at such and such place. For an uber-cheap meal around the south Grand area, try Pho Grand, it's a vietnamese place. Around the central west end, I'd recommend Dressel's or Llywelyn's for some welsh chips and a beer. The U-City Loop is a fun place to walk, and you can check out Blueberry Hill. As far as touristy things to do, you should go to the Arch (as a st. louis resident I don't think it's cool at all, but I've heard from quite a few med school applicants that they've enjoyed going up close to it), drive through forest park, the zoo is free, and if you have some time to play, go to the City Museum. It's like a giant jungle gym (if you go at a good time to avoid the masses of kiddies).


have a great visit!

 

[Pewl]

I did hear that the zoo and budweiser brewery tours are free, but are they free to visiting friends or just to Missouri residents?

 

[SuzieQ3417]

I did hear that the zoo and budweiser brewery tours are free, but are they free to visiting friends or just to Missouri residents?

Free to everyone, but you will have to pay to park at the zoo. It's only $5-7, though.

 

[stherling]

Honestly St. Louis is one of the best cities for quality food in the US. That alone makes it worth living in the general vicinity.....

Care to give specifics? 🙂 I was rather troubled by the lack of a Chinatown when I was there.... though I hear there's an Asian strip on Olive Road or something like that? (Pardon the ignorance, I barely spent anytime there)

 

[Depakote]

I went to high school in st. louis, and I just returned last year to work at WashU. I live in the Central West End. If you end up going to SLU, the South Grand area is a cool place to live. The city has a lot of charm and living in the City is a lot more convenient than the suburbs (traffic will be a bitch soon since they're shutting down highway 40 soon, which is the main vein of traffic). Some people (*ahem* one of the previous posters) may say that the city's unsafe, but that's pretty exaggerated. Particularly around SLU and WashU, the schools are both very concerned with campus safety, so there's a lot of police patrol. As with any urban area, you just have to be street-smart. In medical school you'll need all the time you can get, so don't waste it commuting from the 'burbs.

You'll also notice that St. Louis revolves around FOOD. Whenever I have friends visiting, my list of things always ends up being eating at such and such place. For an uber-cheap meal around the south Grand area, try Pho Grand, it's a vietnamese place. Around the central west end, I'd recommend Dressel's or Llywelyn's for some welsh chips and a beer. The U-City Loop is a fun place to walk, and you can check out Blueberry Hill. As far as touristy things to do, you should go to the Arch (as a st. louis resident I don't think it's cool at all, but I've heard from quite a few med school applicants that they've enjoyed going up close to it), drive through forest park, the zoo is free, and if you have some time to play, go to the City Museum. It's like a giant jungle gym (if you go at a good time to avoid the masses of kiddies).


have a great visit!

I went to High School in St. Louis and I'm working for WashU Med School now...

What High School? (Country Day here)

Where in WashU? (Bone Marrow Transplant here)

 

[Zymogen]

This past summer I worked downtown on Laclede's Landing. Its a great place to go out and eat. Morgan Street Brewery in particular is an excellent restaurant (try the lobster ravioli or the plantain chicken you won't regret it). Laclede's Landing is basically two cobblestone streets on the mississippi with bars, restaurants, and musical venues. Google Laclede's Landing to find more information.

Can't forget about the Brand New Busch Stadium.

 

[HoodyHoo]

I went to high school in st. louis, and I just returned last year to work at WashU. I live in the Central West End. If you end up going to SLU, the South Grand area is a cool place to live. The city has a lot of charm and living in the City is a lot more convenient than the suburbs (traffic will be a bitch soon since they're shutting down highway 40 soon, which is the main vein of traffic). Some people (*ahem* one of the previous posters) may say that the city's unsafe, but that's pretty exaggerated. Particularly around SLU and WashU, the schools are both very concerned with campus safety, so there's a lot of police patrol. As with any urban area, you just have to be street-smart. In medical school you'll need all the time you can get, so don't waste it commuting from the 'burbs.

You'll also notice that St. Louis revolves around FOOD. Whenever I have friends visiting, my list of things always ends up being eating at such and such place. For an uber-cheap meal around the south Grand area, try Pho Grand, it's a vietnamese place. Around the central west end, I'd recommend Dressel's or Llywelyn's for some welsh chips and a beer. The U-City Loop is a fun place to walk, and you can check out Blueberry Hill. As far as touristy things to do, you should go to the Arch (as a st. louis resident I don't think it's cool at all, but I've heard from quite a few med school applicants that they've enjoyed going up close to it), drive through forest park, the zoo is free, and if you have some time to play, go to the City Museum. It's like a giant jungle gym (if you go at a good time to avoid the masses of kiddies).


have a great visit!

My friend goes to school and he told me that 2 of his classmates have been held up at gun-point for their vehicles. In my opinion that's pretty unsafe. The area around SLU isn't extremely ghetto, but it's far from nice.

Don't mean to knock it though, I like st. louis, and I will likely be going to join my brother and do my residency at WashU. You just have to be careful.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Care to give specifics? 🙂 I was rather troubled by the lack of a Chinatown when I was there.... though I hear there's an Asian strip on Olive Road or something like that? (Pardon the ignorance, I barely spent anytime there)

You name a type of cuisine and there is probably someone in STL that has either perfected or surpassed perfection in it.

 

[stherling]

You name a type of cuisine and there is probably someone in STL that has either perfected or surpassed perfection in it.

Strong words! But if you tell me now that there's a good (and i mean good) restaurant that serves authentic malaysian/singaporean cuisine in St. Louis, I will literally dance a little dance of joy 🙂

 

[paceac]

When people say "SLU is in the ghetto", how bad is it actually? Are we talking drive by's and stabbings or just low income housing or old rundown neighborhoods? Where are these people from that call it ghetto? I'm from California and wonder how it compares to SF or LA.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

It's no comparison to LA when it comes to crime.


As for the Malaysian/Singaporean restaurant....I dunno....but if you find one I'll drive the three hours to come try out a cuisine I've never heard before....

 

[SuzieQ3417]

When people say "SLU is in the ghetto", how bad is it actually? Are we talking drive by's and stabbings or just low income housing or old rundown neighborhoods? Where are these people from that call it ghetto? I'm from California and wonder how it compares to SF or LA.

I'm sure there are some stabbings/shootings, but its not any worse than most other large cities. Honestly, you just have to be smart about where you go really late at night. My sister went to SLU undergrad for a year, and someone was stabbed a block from her dorm. But I don't think it was a student, and I believe the person was intoxicated and alone, making them an easy target for robbery. I think SLU realizes they are not in the suburbs, hence they have a lot of campus security and late-night escort services so you don't have to walk home alone. Besides, sometimes the suburbs can be worse than the city. I should know...I lived in St. Louis for 16 years (Spanish Lake...Hazelwood East). In summary, if you have even the slightest bit of street smarts, you should be ok.

 

[Bardo]

Thanks for the help eveyone, really appreciate it

 

[Boon Doctor]

I think St. Louis is an awesome city. I started my undergrad there at WashU, which is in a perfect location (smack dab in the middle of U-City Loop, Central West End, and Forest Park). The SLU/Grand area isn't as nice because although it is next to all the cultural stuff (Fox Theatre, etc.), next door is the ghetto. But there's always something to do. The club scene is really hot too, I'm surprised it hasn't been picked as a venue for "The Real World" yet. As far as food, if you're in the Soulard area, definitely check out The Chocolate Bar for dessert.

SLU is high on my list mainly because of the city, so take that for what it's worth.

 

[ahumdinger]

My friend goes to school and he told me that 2 of his classmates have been held up at gun-point for their vehicles. In my opinion that's pretty unsafe. The area around SLU isn't extremely ghetto, but it's far from nice.

Don't mean to knock it though, I like st. louis, and I will likely be going to join my brother and do my residency at WashU. You just have to be careful.

I'm not saying it's the same as living in suburbia, but it's not any more unsafe than any other urban area. To be honest, I was mugged at gunpoint while walking to a nearby restaurant with my boyfriend. But that could have happened even if I lived in Clayton (a hoity toity area in st. louis county)-- that is, I would probably be in the Central West End a lot anyway. Even when you live in the suburbs, on weekends and at night, you're likely to venture out to other areas of town, most likely in the city, so you're not really decreasing your chances of being a victim of crime. I still feel safe where I live, I live by myself, and I still walk outside at night alone. Schools like WashU and SLU know that safety is a huge concern for students, so rest assured that they put their full efforts into making students feel safe. For example, WashU has protective services that basically act like taxis at night-- lots of students get rides home from school if they live close by. I'm sure SLU has something similar.

 

[ahumdinger]

I went to High School in St. Louis and I'm working for WashU Med School now...

What High School? (Country Day here)

Where in WashU? (Bone Marrow Transplant here)

ahh! the age-old high school question!! I went to Clayton and I work at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center