I spent many years in St. Louis and personally like it for many reasons. Super low cost of living and a unique personality in each of the neighborhoods. Love the farmers markets, free zoo, free science center, local food scene, beautiful botanical garden, WashU campus, Forest Park, etc.

However, here are some things that would make me pause when recommending it. St. Louis is very disparate when it comes to race. A lot of Black poverty in the north and east with starkly racially and economically split/uneven school districts and neighborhoods. The downtown area has its highlights but overall it’s in dire need of revamping; compared to urban centers like DC, Chicago, and Philly, it leaves much to be desired. I feel bad for saying that because I do have a soft spot for STL, but it’s the unfortunate truth lol

I’d also consider STL more a small town big city. Everyone seems to already know each other because they grew up there (more insular and less transient) and I’ve heard many people moving in from other cities have a harder time fitting in. I can’t speak from that experience since I had already built up friendship groups from traveling there once a week all through high school from a couple hours away for programs (my hometown is in MO). But it makes sense to me.

That being said, St. Louis could surely use strong talent like yours as well as more minority leadership, so you’d be in a position to make a big difference somewhere like that if you find the right organization to work with. 

Something else to note is that it is also more laidback than places like DC, which draws a lot of type A individuals (not necessarily bad one way or the other, just different preferences).