I'm originally from St. Louis, and I think it's a fantastic place to live.

I'm not gay, but there is a great gay community there which is very supportive. Tower Grove is essentially the hub of gay culture in the city, but the city is generally a good place to be gay from what I've heard.

The St. Louis Art Museum is, itself, a beautiful, historic structure placed idyllically in the center of Forest Park. The collection is fantastic for a city of this size, and the museum is free to attend. We also have a great Contemporary Art Museum as well as several other galleries about the city. Live music of almost any genre can be taken in any night of the week, and the radio station 88.1 KDHX does a wonderful job of compiling nearly comprehensive arts and events calendars to help you successfully navigate through the culture. In short, the arts community is strong in St. Louis.

St. Louis has a troubled history of race relations, as did most larger cities. The results of this are still being played out today, so unfortunately racism does still rear up on occasion. However, I would say that, as a whole, the city is incredibly welcoming to all people.

Biking to work is possible, depending on where you lived and worked, but is generally somewhat difficult. I'm an avid bicyclist, and I rode in the city every day, but unfortunately was unable to ride to work. Most of the city would probably be described as "bikeable" and not really "bike-friendly."

The city is the most affordable larger city that I've ever lived in. Rent is relatively low, entertainment is relatively cheap, and parking is abundant.

Public transportation is available, but not great. The city rates highly in most other categories, but not this one.

Other positives: incredible architectural legacy around the city, a wealth of great local restaurants, roughly 17% of the total land area of the city is public parks, great people!!, good sports teams (sans the Rams), a rich and visible history