Category: Saint Louis

Categories
Saint Louis uber-and-side-hustle

I want to give money to you rather than giving it to the casino

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Back to Uber Driving

I took a long break and now I am back. I was back driving for Uber on still fairly limited basis, after my CHN trip. And today is Sunday, and I am happy to report I am doing reasonable well this week. The most import thing among it all (in addition to the extra income generated), is to be happy. And I am happy to report that I am happy now.

This morning I have an slightly unusual encounter with a passenger (let me call me S). I picked up the gentleman S in south county near the Mercy South Hospital, and he was using the walker. I assume he is old (meaning old as my dad, who is in early 80s). To be surprise he is only 61 🙁

Alcohol Use Disorder

He told me he left his car at the casino last night, and now he is going back to retrieve his car. The reason he left his car there was he was intoxicated (drunk) last night at the casino. I think he is a person with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Google: what do we call people who failed to quite alcohol

I helped his walker, and he can walk without the walker, although quite slowly. In the end, he gave me $5 tip in cash. We talked a bit during the trip, and I told him if money is tight, don’t worry about the tip. He said: I want give money to you rather than giving it to the casino. He drunk too much last night, lost some money and had to leave his car at the casino parking lot as he was intoxicated. Now he is going back to get his car.

He also told me about “One is too many, twenty is too little” – refer to google search and explanation here (I copied below from the google search => Search Labs | AI Overview):

======

The phrase “One is too many, twenty is too little” is a common saying that highlights the nature of addiction, particularly to alcohol. It describes the experience of someone with an addiction where even a single instance of the substance (like alcohol) is considered too much, and yet, no amount of the substance is ever enough to fully satisfy the craving. This phrase captures the idea of a downward spiral associated with addiction, where the individual’s tolerance increases while the satisfaction decreases. Here’s a more detailed explanation: 

  • “One is too many”:This part emphasizes that for someone with a substance use disorder, even a single instance of consuming the substance can trigger a cascade of negative consequences. It suggests that the individual has lost control over their consumption and any amount can lead to problems.
  • “Twenty is too little”:This part highlights the insatiable nature of addiction. The individual may consume a large amount of the substance (20 drinks in this case), yet still feel a void or craving that is not satisfied. The tolerance of the individual has increased, and the substance no longer provides the desired effect.

This phrase is often used to describe addiction to alcohol, but it can be applied to other substances or even behaviors as well. It serves as a stark reminder of the destructive nature of addiction and the importance of seeking help for those struggling with it. 

======

Other background with this gentleman

He told me he got accounting degree from the Mizzou (University of Missouri at Columbia). I think it was 1987. He worked and lived at Myrtle Beach SC: I first learned about Myrtle Beach from this video about 6 months ago. He also said he separated from his wife for about 5 years. Looking to quit alcohol, he came back to St. Louis where he attended Hazelwood Central High School. Note St. Louis is a town with less party (or drinking) atmosphere than Myrtle Beach. He also intended to take care of his aging parents in early 90s. But the alcohol issue alone sunk the whole plan 🙁

Picking up my next customer

Next ride is from Holly Hills to Ikea.

I gave $2 during my next trip to a guy who was peddling in a traffic light.

Btw, I saw very impressive buildings at Holly Hills (could be Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet, could be anything else too), St. Louis between dropping off S and pick up my last passenger this morning.

Uber Rider App

I saw it on the car (the ride I took on 05/31/25 early morning from home to STL airport). And I just did a google search: uber driver provides ipad mini – Google Search 

I am guessing the driver is using this one Interactive tablets for Uber and Lyft drivers – Play Octopus “Drivers qualify for a free Octopus tablet if they are regularly driving rideshare trips. We ask that our drivers average more than 100 trips per month and have driven for at least two months.”

I would not be able to qualify because I drove 204 trips in about 8 months so far.

Drinking cultures in Asia

Recently I talked to a teacher at the Ladue School and we talked about the drinking culture in Japan 🙁

As I recall the drinking culture in China when I grew up was not good – especially if we use today’s social standards or knowledge and science. You can refer to this blog post I wrote in year 2022 – Alcohol. I am happy to report that I did give up hard liquor (whiskey) recently. I still drink a bit beer or wine (both white and red) from time to time 🙁

Bonus readings (ordered chronically)

Drove for Uber the 1st time – 我在美国开优步

More Uber driving and tips I learned

Uber driving tips

More Uber Driving Tips

Categories
Business Saint Louis

A cruise company I never heard about before

Reading Time: < 1 minute

I happened to meet the controller of the company yesterday evening. It’s a charter cruise company with a focus on music theme: jazz and country music in particular. The business is booming, apparently, America minted 1,000 millionaires a day in 2024 and it’s not slowing down helps too. I mean the older people, their main customer groups, are getting richer and richer 🙂

Also, this again reinforced my impression on the 行业细分 in the USA. I know there are large cruise companies such as Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, or Disney branded cruise etc. But this charter music cruise brings the specialty to another level. The mentioned cruise company (see below) has zero debt, and they survived the pandemic with 2 years of no cruise 🙂

Zero debt is a luxury and it’s something I am looking forward to see as well 🙂

LinkedIn: Signature Cruise Experiences

Official website

Portfolio website

Also Reddit: Best cruise lines for music

Categories
Fun Fun Video Saint Louis

昨天圣马20/21英里处的供水站

Reading Time: < 1 minute

油管短视频：YouTube Shorts

Categories
Saint Louis

Power outage II – 停电

Reading Time: < 1 minute

(Update 03-17-2025) The power is back as of 5:54 pm today 3/17/25 Monday – thanks to the folks at JF Electrics (contractor of Ameren) and Ameren the electric utility company.

(Original) 家里因前晚(3/14 Friday 星期五) 的大风💨停电了：主要影响是 heat, 冰箱，照明和网络🛜（Wi-Fi）。因为不是夏天还不用开空调。现在过了40多小时还没来电。我在圣村生活了二十几年，经历过两三次较长时间（24小时以上）的停电，我记得有一次，快二十年前，是非常寒冷的冬天：下冰雨压到树枝，断的的树枝进尔压到变压器或电线。有一个电工在那次抢修中不幸触电牺牲。后来电力公司和抢修队是列队给他送行。美国这个国家有这样那样的问题，包括在基础设施上缺少一个长期的统一的规划。但是在消防队员和警察因公殉职的时候，这种纪念活动还是很壮观。但是从家里人亲朋好友的角度出发，其实并不希望有这个结果。所以在还有机会的时候，多陪陪家里人吧：如果他们不讨厌的话。

先听歌 #时间不等你 #粤语歌 by #何璟昕 Ayen Ho 微博 油管

让我们回到停电和现代人对电力的依赖这个话题。

偷电

我不记得我小时候在几岁时农村家里通了电的。有一个说法是1973年。大概差不多吧。那时候家里的电就是照明，没有其它家用电器。农村大家都没啥钱，连这一点电费都想省。怎么省？用日光灯。四十瓦一个房间就挺亮：比那个同是四十瓦的白秩灯亮不少。还有不太规范的省法：偷电-就是在公共电线上直接去搭电线。有时候家里吃晚饭的时候，家里的灯会一闪一闪的，我们就会说：谁又在偷电了。我家三兄弟，我小哥最早近视，我爸有时侯就会说：主要是小时候做作业时我们家的灯太暗了。

偷电的事其实我也做过：这个已经是九十年代中期了，我在读研究生。当时我们每个宿舍房间都有一个保险丝，我充分发挥了我的零级焊工的水平，我焊了一根粗的铜线上去，这样子我们房间就可以用电炉了。我们研究生院后门外面就是个菜场，我自己当时的烧菜水平大概就是烧一个西红柿鸡蛋汤的水平。但是我的室友同学里有高手：这样我们就用这个电炉改善了伙食。

停电

我记得80年代的时候，我大概十几岁，夏天暑假在农村家里。我们还没有空调，86年我家好像也有电视机了。80年代电视在我们那里逐渐地普及。我记得我在我柴桥大舅家看84年洛杉矶奥运会：我正好看到朱建华跳高的决赛。夏天晚上农村有时候会经常停电。我估计可能是需求大于供给，供电所就会时不时停电。但是我现在想想这电老虎，因为是垄断的，权利也是蛮大的。我有高中和大学同学后来有在电力系统工作的，不过他/她们都是规规矩矩的技术人员，不是拉闸的电老虎。

我忘了上大学时，还有后来在上海工作学习时有没有停电经历了。应该也是有的，但是不记得详细情况了。倒是记得在工厂的时候有一个学校没有的福利：那就是可以天天洗热水澡（hot water shower). 有两个原因：工人们，尤其是铸造车间，锻压车间的工人一天工作下来不仅是汗流浃背，而且脸上身上会有不少工业粉尘，包括铁灰，煤灰；有工业余热。我们的办公室正好在锻压车间淋浴室的上面。近水楼台先得月。这个·福利后来来到美丽国以后继续享受。美国绝大多数家里有热水。

美国的电力系统

97年夏天来美丽国。一开始觉得美国的电力系统挺先进。可能电也便宜：在国内的时候一般的办公室和家里没人就会关灯；美国不少办公室，办公楼晚上没人也留一些灯。罗拉的大学还有自己的发电厂（火电厂）。有在国内电厂工作过的同学说这电厂污染比较小。我不知道。我不是电力系的：我是焊工 🙂

后来，后来就谁随便看看下面吧。美国大规模的停电我记忆中也是有的（近年里有名的是2021年德州大停电）。下面是我在圣村大概二十年来的个人停电经历。我家附近的电网非常脆弱，一个原因是五六十年代开发建设的小区，电线是走地上的。而且他们那时还种了不少树：good ideas but 我昨天才真正意识/体会到树大招风的意思。小区里至少有两棵树倒下。实际很可能不止：因为昨天电力公司的人在小区了找停电的原因：听说有树砸了变压器（小的变压器是装在电线杆上的：2021年那次就是变压器被砸，见下面）。

现在电力公司基本上是以蜗牛的速度抢修，我们就耐心等待吧。以后长期住的话，可能还是要添置备用发电机。

Old Posts or Tweets

I recall probably in summer 2021 (July) we had multi-day outage too, after a powerful storm. I could not find the tweet (btw, they have horrendous search capability now) or blog post. If my memory is correct, we lost power on Friday night, and got the power back on Monday evening: so almost 72 hours of outage (probably close to 69).

We Lost Power Again (01-19-2007)

Power is back (10-12-2006)

Power outage (07-20-2006)

Categories
Chinese articles Saint Louis

圣村华人教会的兴衰

Reading Time: < 1 minute

昨天一个偶然的机会，我开车经过圣查尔斯，看到圣路易斯华人浸信会教会 St. Louis Chinese Baptist Church 的教堂⛪️。我没有去过那个新教堂，但是多年以前我有去过他们在Page/Ashby 路上的老教堂。我记得出生于香港的黄英杰牧师讲道：我还蛮喜欢。我也记得在换教堂期间，就是老教堂已卖掉，新教堂还没落实的时候，他们每礼拜天租用了highway 64 旁边的美国人教堂：我还去过几次。前几年听说他们搬过去新堂以后，后来就有一些问题，好像黄牧师也搬到外州去了。我好像在脸书上还看到过教堂荒废的照片。

其实我听说村里的另一个华人教会圣路易斯华人教会 St. Louis Chinese Christian Church, 有时候华人会说CCC, 我记得当时是自己建新堂的，近年也因类似的原因衰落了。我也去过那个教会，参加过团契，英文崇拜，好像搬新堂的时候还去帮忙打扫卫生还是搬东西。08年汶川地震的时候我和我太太还去参加过那里的聚会/讲道。

这是两个我在圣村二十多年多多少少参加过的教会。村里还有其它的一些华人教会。有了孩子以后我们去过橄榄村的路德教会的基督之光教会，严格来说基督之花不是一个独立的教会，她是路德教会以马内利橄榄村教会 Immanel Lutheran Church Olivette 的分支。后来主要因为疫情和其它政治原因（华人教会里有较多的川粉），我们也就不去了。这个教会其实离我家非常近。

PS: 网上查询黄英杰牧师的时候看到一篇说他坏话的文章。我的直觉是北美保守评论是一个在美华人基督教徒的一个极右组织。

油管：我今天早上也在散步的时候想到这个问题，就说一下吧。

Categories
Politics Saint Louis

华人亚裔们如何在生活工作中避免川普2.0带来的一些弊端

Reading Time: < 1 minute

美国最近一个月，川普他胡汉山又回来了。他这一卷土重来，可谓是来者不善善者不来。基本上把联邦政府翻了底朝天。他最近半年来宠幸的世界首富马斯克，带着一帮美国红卫兵，直接关了两个机构（USAID和CFPB），裁了所有的试用期的联邦政府员工。同时所有的机构包括国防部都要裁员。对华人来说，在高校研究机构工作的人，有不少是拿联邦政府的grant, 一般是通过NIH（卫生部）和NSF（国家科学基金会）。她们中应该也/已有一些收到直接间接的影响。有点搞笑的是，其实华人中有不少是川粉，或者是投票给川普的选民。这下好，搬起石头，直接砸自己的脚。这个让我想到前两天看到一个博文下的两个有点意思的评论：

如果川普发动战争，让你儿子死在战场，川粉会说，如果没有川王保护，我们会全家覆灭。奴才永远没有清醒的能力；


川粉但凡有点思考能力就不会是川粉了。川粉醒悟不了，有个关于美国农民的新闻里说得挺好，被川虐待千百遍，仍待川普如初恋。

安全

我97年夏天来美国，经历过克林顿（三年多，小克第二任任期是从97年1月20日开始），小布什（8年），奥巴马（8年），川普 1.0（4年）， 拜登（4年），接下来不出意外川普2.0还有3年11个月。

其实我刚来美国的时候，我在罗拉 University of Missouri at Rolla (后来改名为 Missouri University of Science and Technology: 一般现在简称是 Missouri S&T). 罗拉是一个小镇，97年是美国发生9-11（2001年）之前，所以在那里当时总的来说我感觉并没有什么歧视。我现在想想，那时候没有感觉受到各种歧视，尤其是种族歧视。我猜主要还是因为我们那时就是穷学生，尤其从经济上来说，当地美国人心理上对我们其实是有优越感的。

Covid

I recall lots of unprovoked violence towards Asian and Chinese during pandemic, especially the early days (the shutdown phase). Note for many Americans (white, black and latinos), they cannot tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese.

这不，醉心村(Creve Coeur) 的高档超市 Dierbergs 上礼拜五就有人在打移民，嫌犯被警察给抓了 – Man arrested for ‘discriminatory’ grocery store attack in Creve Coeur。引用一下KSDK：

“I’m tired of foreigners, man. Walking all over the place, making our money cost so much more than it should. F—ing people trampling over us.”

这个应该就是在 Marshall’s, TJ Maxx 所在的购物广场，BJC West，醉心村 Millennium Park 的对面。我以前就住醉心村：醉心村是圣村/圣路易斯郡当中不错的居民区，也有不少移民，包括华人，印度人，其它亚裔等；犹太人也不少。

我也没啥好的建议：我想大家能低调还是低调吧。还有可以考虑练一下防卫术，美国尤其是密苏里不禁枪，所以。。。大家心里有数。实在忍无可忍的时候是要自卫的。

PS: actually, now I have read the KSDK article, and I recall I had a similar incident at the Busch stadium probably in year 2008. A white man said something racist to me, and I talked back. At that time, we didn’t have kids: just me and my wife. So, something to keep in mind, if you have small kids (hint: the safety of your kids is probably the most important).

Reference

Federal Shifts in Higher Ed: A Survival Guide for Academia Kindle Edition by Ruopeng An

西裔女童遭同学威胁向ICE检举“抓你全家” 轻生身亡 || School district confirms bullying occurred after investigation following Texas girl’s death by suicide (CNN) || After 11-Year-Old’s Suicide, School Confirms She Was Bullied — but Claims There’s More to the Story. Her Mom Denies It (People)

My point here is always pay attention to your kids’ mental health.

Categories
advice and tips Saint Louis

Not all urgent care places are equal

Reading Time: 2 minutes

And personally, I am not happy with Mercy Go Health

First some background. There are 3 urgent care places near where we live. In the order of opening:

St. Luke’s urgent care (next to a CVS).

Total Access Urgent Care (TAUC): an independent chain that has no affiliation with a hospital; they have X-ray and can run common tests/labs. I’ve been to a location where they have the CT Scan machine. I talked about them quite extensively here.

Mercy Go Health: they opened it almost across the street from the St. Luke’s urgent care.

Scenario: in Labor Day weekend our younger daughter S6 got sick. Tried to take her to TAUC, the appointment time is about 5 or 6 pm when we looked for appointment. In other words, it’s about 6 or 7 hours away. So, I took her to the St Luke’s, our 2nd choice. The estimate wait time was one hour or more. At that time, I decided to try out Mercy Go Health.

Two things I was not happy about:

  1. They didn’t diagnose my kid’s pneumonia. The doctor did listen to her lungs, but I am not sure if the doctor made a mistake or at that time her breathing is still normal etc. They don’t have X-ray, or they didn’t do X-ray on that day.
  2. The bills. I don’t know if their billing department has buggy software or something, I paid the bill on myuhc.com (yes, it’s the United Healthcare in the news lately) but later I received a paper bill with same amount. At this time, I am just too tired to call them – I just paid online. But I may call them later: maybe I would get a refund. I am not saying myuhc.com works 100% of the time. But it seems to me there is some issues or explanation between the provider and UHC. (Update 02-12-2025) I finally got around and called / contacted them. I will update the outcome. (Update 02-27-2025) I called them a few times, today I decided to get hold of them until the end. I am on the hold for one hour and 18 minutes now. Also, from Reddit, this doesn’t seem to be a complete isolate issue. (Update 05-23-2025) I finally got my money back, after about 3 months. What I did: I filled out the complaint form online, and they used Zendesk. I replied back to them when Zendesk asked me questions via email.

Lesson for me: Next time, I will probably go to Total Access Urgent Care. For kids, I think I would also consider going to a pediatrician first. They may have longer wait times, but I don’t want to waste my time at Mercy Go Health.

Earlier, I talked about this a bit here too.

Next, I may talk about “not all doctors are equal” too.

Categories
Saint Louis uber-and-side-hustle

Drove for Uber the 1st time – 我在美国开优步

Reading Time: 4 minutes

中文简体读者：这里有一个谷歌翻译的版本，可能不是最新的版本，但大意差不多。

Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon I drove for Uber the first time, after I thought and talked about it for a bit. Note I still have the day job – this is mostly to supplement my income, and also gain some experience/have some fun. I also wrote a Twitter/X thread here.

A few things to do or think before drive for Uber:

I did give some thoughts on the whole thing before my 1st trip. Here are just some of the things I wrote down on my iPhone notes (MX):

MX: read safety tips (here are Uber Tips for Drivers), I also read a bit more on safety at Google and Reddit too, for example, below thread at Reddit:

Safety : r/uberdrivers

Don’t accept any obviously fake names (Smokey, Mr. X, Princess, etc) and if you’re gut says it’s wrong, let rolling and cancel when you get around the block…

Oh, and buy a dashcam! I got one at Walmart for $75. I honestly believe just having it mounted helps avoid issues.

Re: dash cam, I actually did place an order at Amazon, but I decided to cancel the order today after I think more about it. I always get it if needed, down the road. I have a few items that I bought from Amazon that ends up didn’t get used. Try to avoid that mistake again – and I really need to use the items I bought or sell them on eBay (it it’s passed the time to return).

I also thought about Pepper Spray or carry a firearm: my understanding is that Missouri is an open carry state.

It is not a crime under Missouri law to openly carry a weapon into any place where concealed carry is prohibited, except for a church, school bus, school, or onto the grounds of a school function. According to RSMo Section 571.030, there is no age limit to openly carry a handgun, long gun or any weapon.

But I have purchased neither for now: I think the rearview mirror, along with some items near my driver seat are sufficient for me. Under any circumstances, if I feel that my safety is not 100% guaranteed, in most cases if I am driving and my car is good, I expect to get out of the trouble quickly.

MX: only drive days with daylights, no evenings or nights;

MX: tax or expenses tracking including: miles driven, gas receipts 🧾, and insurance.

But today’s two rides (one cancelled) is mostly around “finding the rider” at the starting point.

Some bugs in the Google Map abd Uber Driver App

For the 1st ride, it took me a few minutes to meet my rider. She had someone else called the ride. And it seems (according to her) Google Map also messed up her home address. I think the Uber Driver App too. But I was able to pick her up and drop her off at the right place. From Clayton road near Hanley road to a house near 270 and Manchester (via highway 64 and 270). My gross income for that ride is about $13.50.

Shortly after I complete my 1st ride, as I am driving back to the Manchester road near 270, I got another ride request, and the starting point is at Eureka. That one took time to drive, and unfortunately, the Uber Driver App pointed me to the wrong place (it was close, but not exact). I texted and called the rider, no response. After 5 minutes or so. I decided to leave, and drive back home. One thing because I followed Uber Driver App, and waited the necessary time, I was paid about $15.50 or the cancelled ride. But I do have some lesson learned and I documented in the Twitter/X as well:

use Apple Map for navigation; also pick the ride when I am stationary and have time to think about it. I picked the 2nd ride when I was just finished the 1st trip, and when I was driving. I think I can let the pass in a situation like this next time. Ideally I would stop accept my new ride when I have ample time.

Bonus points

I liked the view of fall leaves: not quite red or changing yet, but start seeing colors when I drove highway 44 west from 270 towards Eureka, MO (exit 264). I used to enjoy similar sceneries when I was working in an office, more specifically working for the Mastercard at their O’fallon MO office. I drove quite a bit of the Page (Missouri 364) Extension and part of the road was beautiful in the fall (autumn). I understand I may not be able to enjoy nice views everywhere I go – but since I work from home 99% nowadays, and yes sometimes I do miss driving (and not just driving with families, my wife and kids – hope they don’t see this comment 🙂

Also, Fatal crash closes westbound I-44 near Six Flags: note I was there about 2 hours before the accident. This again highlights the risk of driving including drive for Uber and drive on highways (high speed).

PS: I will likely write another post on “driving for Uber” or create a quick YT video hopefully soon: I will write down my thoughts after driving for them for the last 4 days (Monday 10/14 to Thursday 10/17), may include Saturday 10/19 too (if I have some free time).

(Update 10-29-2024) in this short YouTube video, I talked about my thoughts after driving 19 trips for Uber. Also, I noticed quite a few YouTube video in Mandarin on Uber 优步 too – collect them here and here.

(Update 11-04-2024) Reddit – Curious as to how well Uber drivers do here in STL?

(Update 11-27-2024) Realized it’s best to keep the Uber driver ratings (score) above 4.6, if applicable (and you are curious about the score).

Categories
math-and-edu Saint Louis

Where to stay in St. Louis – 圣路易斯住哪里比较安全

Reading Time: 2 minutes

(01-23-2025) Last Saturday I learned wustl has an area that its school shuttle covers (don’t know where to find it online). And I came across this one about why people (mainly students I assume) usually live.

(11-03-2024 更新) 我上载了一个油管视频，是关于这个主题的，欢迎各种意见反馈。

(有人在小红书上问 #圣路易斯 哪里比较 #安全，我猜可能是华大学生，以下是我的回答）：综合考虑，建议住 #Clayton, #Brentwood, #Olivette 等。如果有上K-12的小孩，学区来讲，Olivette (Ladue), 和 Clayton 是密苏里公立学校/学区里面第一和第二名。Brentwood ranked 12th in the state of Missouri on Niche.com.

其它也有不少地方是安全的,比如 Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Maryland Heights, 绝大部份的 west county, south county. West county 和south county 要稍远一些。

我自己的的经历

我从2000年秋天到圣路易斯。一开始在Bridgeton (机场✈️附近）住了一年。住在那里的主要原因是当时我刚到圣路易斯，我有一个朋友住在那个小区，那个公寓离我上班的地方（办公室）也挺近。This is the apartment. I think it’s generally okay to live there – besides 2 or 3 unpleasant things or exceptions I experienced. I can elaborate later if needed.

A year later, I moved to Park Forest Apartments, off River Des Peres and once the river flooded to the road, and I had to abandon my car on the roadside, and walked uphill. My car was damaged or anything. It was just a flash flood. It’s not perfect, but it’s better in general. Also, a bonus point, that place is about one mile (one way) walk to the famous Ted Drews: arguably the most famous ice cream shop on the route 66.

In April 2005, I moved to the Briarcliff Condo in Creve Coeur. And I lived in the area since then – I mean the Ladue school district. I moved to Olivette in August 2019 – essentially I moved from near the west side of Monsanto/Bayer campus to near the east side of Monsanto/Bayer campus. Note Bayer has since sold the west campus (Olia Villiage, currently under development), and currently they are looking to sell majority of the east campus too.

Graduate Students in WUSTL (Washington University in St Louis)

A little over 20 years ago (fall of 1999 and 2003), I helped my friends find apartment at University Square Apartments (could not find their website, this is just the google map). Both friends are graduate students originally from China. Recently I heard college students (some are likely master/graduate students) are staying at Clayton on the Park – which is a high-end/luxury apartment in downtown Clayton (right across the street from the Shaw Park). This seems also can be an indicator of the economy development of China in last 25 years.

【St.Louis | Housing】圣路易斯华盛顿大学租房 | 全美犯罪率最高？| St Louis 生活学习 (YouTube by Kath Y.)

Some other places (apartments) I visited recently

This is for comparison purpose only. One in Overland (this apartment), this unit in a duplex in St. Ann, and one in Berkeley (near UMSL). Note I don’t recommend those. I visited those places because I was helping a neighbor looking for place to stay.

If you are shopping for houses in the St. Louis Area

Personally I like to get an quick overview if I am moving to a new place. Below are two excellent sources.

YouTube: If You’re Moving to St. Louis, MO WATCH THIS – St. Louis Area Explained (Jacob from the Living in St Louis YT channel, note Jacob is a realtor and a content creator)

St. Louis’ hottest neighborhoods for singles, professionals, and families (by Peter Lu Team)

Categories
Edu-and-Ladue-School Saint Louis

Gentrification of Olivette 橄榄村的绅士化?

Reading Time: 3 minutes
1006 N Warson, original built in 1894, probably one of the 1st houses in Olivette, not sure if Warson road existed then

Gentrification:

The process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, typically displacing current inhabitants in the process. Oxford Dictionary via google

Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been used to describe a wide array of phenomena, usually in a pejorative connotation. Wikipedia

Also see Google Chinese translate for gentrification (not very good, in my opinion. But 绅士化 is actually the official word on Wikipedia :-). I usually translate Olivette into 橄榄村, btw.

I don’t know how you think, personally as I lived in the area (Creve Coeur, Olivette) for almost 20 years or so (since April 2005), I saw quite a bit development in the city of Olivette recently, both commercial and residential, and government as well (the city hall, police/fire station, and the new community center, Five Oaks on Warson). That pushes up the home prices in the area too (see Zillow), which has both plus and minus. Keep in mind Olivette also has one of the fastest population growth from 2010 to 2020 in the St. Louis county, per the census.

Five year home price chart from Zillow – Olivette

About Olivette (City of Olivette website)

History of Olivette (old PDF file from Olivette website, copied something I liked here, “diversity”, page 10):

In the late ’60s and early ’70s a fair housing commission called the “Freedom of Residence Program” helped stabilize the community. Core values such as good education for children, high housing standards and safe neighborhoods brought different ethnic and social groups together around a common cause. It is partly due to this program that Olivette today enjoys a diverse yet cohesive population.

The PDF file above talked about this building, note I took picture from the back road (opposite of the main road Olive Blvd). It’s still the tallest office building in Olivette as of Feb 2024. I’ve beeing to the building once or twice (Gateway Tour Travel Agency)

Recent development in Olivette (my blog post written a few years ago, updated many times since then).

Also YT Video – Olivette retail center across street from USPS (中文解说）

New Apartments Developments Along Olive Road And Its Impact On The School District (more recent blog post from yours truly)

Jacob Peistrup is a realtor in St.Louis, I just noticed his YouTube Channel and the above video is about Olivette

Noticed Jacob has a nice and comprehensive video introduction on YT the St. Louis city, St. Louis county, St. Charles county and Jefferson county, mostly from residential real estimate point of view. The video is 43 minutes long: in the order of St. Louis city, county, St. Charles county and Jefferson county.

PS: gentrification is a new word I learned over last few years… it has both good and bad. For example, in Frontenac they used to have a trailer park, it was developed into new homes in recent years. I read an article on the topic, and I hope the families (people) especially the kids got impacted are doing fine.

Latest newsletter from Olivette (this march 2024 issue), quote a bit here:

The 208-unit apartment complex
now known as Irvington Place,
located off of Alice Pl. between
Hilltop Dr. and N. Price Road and
the new Aldi grocery store and the
multi-tenant Lot 3 of Olive
Crossing should begin initial
construction work this spring.

Initially I was worried the builder may have backed out. I recently walked by and this is the YT shorts I got. I took a YT video last year too.

All newsletters are here.

(Update 02-26-2024)

Paris Baguette looks yummy 🙂