I'm going to express an opinion halfway between the OP and those who are rebutting him (or her). I'm not familiar with St. Louis, but I recently moved from San Francisco to Columbia, SC (didn't really want to, but I'm an academic, my postdoc ran out, and USC offered me a good tenure track job) and am sympathetic with both sides.
One person responded by saying St. Louis is "a city like any other", and that's misleading. There is no baseline to compare to. I've lived in a half dozen cities for long enough that they have very different cultures, and people living there have different priorities. San Francisco, for example, is much more intellectual, much more lively, and much more exciting than Columbia. Here in South Carolina most people like predictability and routine.
But not everybody. For example, I know one high school teacher who just flew his students out to Stanford for a math competition. The cocky bastard believed they have a chance of winning -- and after seeing them in our local competition I believed him. I have met some interesting people, and people who have some intellectual interests, and there is no way that "there is no intellectual scene" in St. Louis or in any other city bigger than 1,000. It might well be smaller, more marginalized, or less intense, but it will be there.
But that said, some cities are definitely more conducive to intellectualism, entrepreneurship, and having an exciting life than others. If I wanted to start a startup, I would do it in the Bay Area or maaaybe Austin, Madison, Raleigh/Durham, Boston, New York, or Boulder. If you have a choice, then you should go to the best place for the best opportunity. Why wouldn't you?
I have no idea what cultural rock you have lived under, St Louis is a city like any other. If you make an effort to look for it, it does indeed a cultural scene (St Louis symphony, Fox theater), and an intellectual scene (Washington University.)
I'm sorry you haven't found more than a couple people who "enjoy thinking", but with that kind of arrogance it's more likely they're just avoiding you.
I have lived in Kansas City for several years and would partially agree with your statements. I have seen most of the best people I know move elsewhere, primarily to larger cultural hubs, leaving behind a large portion of people who lack vision and tenacity. There are definitely still bright spots, they are just more difficult to find.
I opened this page a while back, just read this post, then refreshed to look for new discussion. Now it's gone.
A) I've never been, but a good friend came from there. He was back and forth on the quality of St. Louis, but he's a damn smart guy. That said, he's not there anymore.
2) Consider that your post was chided in the comments, but it wasn't being downvoted. That's how you know if you're facing disapproval versus loud conversation.
Lastly) The problem of finding no compatriots is not a unique one. I face the same problem where I live, rural Georgia. But it's not a matter of no one here being worth knowing, it's just a matter of getting to know the right people in the appropriate context. That's harder to do sometimes. And it's not a problem easily solved for everyone. Your post did come off as angry, but I'm not going to judge the validity of that anger. Just know that, well, like I said. It's not unique. Many people feel that way, many of whom are right and wrong about their situation. Realize that if you assume the outcome (that no one there is worth knowing) then you may be looking at the wrong problem (how to meet them) and just become jaded that you never see the solution.
Realize that if you assume the outcome (that no one there is worth knowing) then you may be looking at the wrong problem (how to meet them) and just become jaded that you never see the solution.
Agreed -- that was primarily why I redacted myself. I was being an idiot.
It would be pretty amusing to walk around the local campuses aimlessly repeating "Hi I'm Shawn, I'm looking for someone who thinks Quantum Mechanics is cool!" ... maybe it would even work. Who knows.
I disagree on the intellectual scene - it depends where you are in Saint Louis. The Metropolitan Area is most definitely socio-economically segregated and that is going to have an impact on the distribution of intellectuals. In the area there are some fairly solid institutions as well with intelligent researchers and employees working at them - atleast two med schools, two business schools, a handful of other misc. universities, a world class hospital system (BJC), some renown programs (e.g.,WashU DPT), and some respectable companies based in STL (e.g., Monsanto). Startups might be another issue but I imagine with the business schools there would be some, albeit small, community.
Whenever I meet people that come to STL to study, I find they rarely leave the immediate campus area and if they do they usually only go downtown or to the big college spots like the Loop. The city has the worst of the urban elements, and if you go too far out into South county, you can get the country-folks stereotype. North County is pretty desolate these days as well - but there are a lot of good areas here too. "STL" means more than the city proper and a lot of people live in the counties. We're spread out. Where exactly did you live in the area?
Hi! Thanks for the kind reply. Would you mind putting an email address into the "about" box in your profile? I had a question or two, if you have time.
(disclaimer: I go to Saint Louis University, but spent last semester in SF)
I don't know what you're talking about - it's really not that bad.
For example: the STLJS meetup just started less than a year ago and had over 50 people at our last meetup. Granted - it's not SF or SValley, but it's not the hell hole you make it out to be. There are some of the most genuine and kind people I've ever met that are here in STL.
We're not a bunch of dumbfucks. Hell - WashU is ranked the 14th best university in the country. I'm not one that thinks a great school is equivalent to intelligence, but c'mon - there are people here that think. A lot of them. Just not the same way a bunch of HNers do.
It's just a different culture here. People are much more corporate and family-focused, which isn't a bad thing to a lot of people.
With that being said, StartupWeekendSTL was here a few weeks ago, and there were too many people to fit in the place we had. It was awesome!
Think what you want, but if you really think St. Louis is that bad, then you're just not reaching out for the culture you're looking for, sorry.
I also live in St. Louis (moved here about a year ago after six years in SF), and I'm quite fond of thinking. Shoot me an email if you want to meet up sometime, if nothing else I can probably introduce you to at least one other person here who is into quantum mechanics.
I don't know whether one should move one's company to STL, but it is neither culturally nor socially barren. I moved to town in 2009 and my experience is quite different from palish's.
