Possibly relocating to Scott AFB area

[KewlKat]

My husband and I are thinking of relocating to the Scott AFB area. My intent is to work at the base, his may be retirement. We currently live in WI, we're tired of the cold winter weather and my job is a huge dead end. At Scott I would have more opportunity to move up. Does anyone know what the weather is like down there? I've been googling, but not finding much information about year round weather. We're hoping for a bit warmer winter weather. Also, any suggestions about towns to live in? Like O'Fallon, Shiloh? etc.

Thanks

[Critters2]

1. In that part of Illinois, you'll get ice storms in the winter.

Frankly, I'd rather have snow, but that's me. The winter will be a bit shorter.

[nickinSTL]

2. winter - more ice storms

The winter is warmer, probably a bit shorter, and has less snow, but this area is right on the line where winter storms deposit snow north of here, rain to the south, and lots of freezing rain here.

[KewlKat]

3. Thank you for the feedback

We're very tired of the extreme cold and each winter seems worse then the last. Many, many days like 40 below or 48 below with windchill and oh the snow the last couple years. Our heating costs are huge and we need to re-evalute where we're living if we ever hope to afford retirement. The property taxes are extreme as well. I'm dead ended in my job with uncle sam here and have around 5 yrs to go before I should retire. There are many job opportunities at Scott so I was thinking of applying and if I'm offered a job I needed to be as informed as I can on the area. We're thinking of running down there next weekend to check the area out.

[davsand]

4. Expect to see hot and humid in July and August with cold in January.

Lots less snow than you get in Wisconsin or even what they get in Chicago area, maybe more ice in winter than you usually get in Wisconsin.
The big change you are gonna see if you are living there in the bottoms, however, is lots of humid HOT weather in the summer. As an added bonus, Spring will arrive earlier, too!

Hubby (kevsand) suggests Fairview Heights as a good town to look at for a place to live. He admits he's biased since that is where he grew up, but I have to agree with him that Fairview is a nice town. You might be able to get some good housing deals in Belleville so do not rule it out either. Shiloh and O'Fallon both underwent explosive growth in the last few years so they may be a bit more expensive--dunno for sure.

My inlaws are still there, so let us know when you get settled. Coffee is always a possibility!

:hi:


Laura

[KewlKat]

6. Thanks for the info

I ran across the city data website and have compared O'Fallon with where we live. Our humidity is nearly the same as O'Fallon throughout the year. It does show about half the snowfall we get up here and more sunshine, which I REALLY miss. The temperatures on the chart reflect that O'Fallon would be 10 degrees warmer in the summers but 20 degrees warmer in the winter then here. I'm not out too much in the weather but my husband's a golfer so I was hoping to find a place where he might get more time on the courses. His season is short here. We lived in AZ for 20 yrs and moved east to WI when I became ill. He's from this area. I have no desire to move back to the desert nor does he. I still have family in Northern IL and he still has some in WI but we're looking for a better quality of life, more affordability and since he's retired AF we could utilize the commisary and hopefully he could find others in the community he can relate to having also served in the AF. I also like the idea of the Metro to St Louis. I'm very limited in driving ability so it would allow me to hop on the Metro, head to the big city and if I had to move around I could at least use taxis. I really miss my independence.

The ice storms concern me, but we had quite a few the past couple years around here. We have a 4 wheel drive and never had issues with travel, only walking.......lol. I was pleased to see the lower cost of housing compared to here and other places I've checked. That is also a must for us. We don't want to downsize in home size but in mortgage. I've relayed the comments to him on humidity, heat and ice storms and he still wants us to come down this weekend and check out the area. I'll think on it this weekend and make a decision on whether to go or not. I'm not the worlds best traveler.

Thanks again........

[Critters2]

5. Davsand is right. Ghastly awful humidity in the summer.

Think of the worst humidity you can imagine, and multiply it by ten.

[KewlKat]

7. How does it compare to Little Rock?

I compared the weather charts from city data and the humidity in the Scott area is the same as where we live. The difference is in the Highs and lows of temperature. It looks like 10 degrees warmer then here, but 20 degrees warmer in winter. We're tired of 40 below plus temps here.

Is the humidity in that area any worse then say Little Rock AR in July or August? We've been down there during those times. I immediately noticed the heavy air compared to where we are now.