Life in St. Louis

I'm a newcomer to the land of the Arch. I moved up north here from a little town called Chattanooga, TN. I had some expectations of what the big city of St. Louis, MO would be like, and I'll have to say that I was surprised.

1. First of all, even though it's hundreds of miles further north than Chattanooga, it's just as hot - if not hotter. And just as humid. I'm sure Winter will be colder - but come on - 2 weeks of higher than 100 degree weather is a bit much!
   
2. You have to PAY for grogery bags. I'm not kidding! They freakin' charge you for grocery bags. I'm paying $3.50 for a box of cereal, and you want me to PAY you for the priveldge of a bag?!? --- Oh, and the kicker is - I have to bag it myself! Shop n Save - I'm looking at you.
3. Downtown isn't where downtown should be. It's no where near the center of town. In fact - it's on the exact edge of the city. The just-south-of-the=middle-of-the-far-east-wall-of-town. It's right on the river - right on the state line. There's a city called "East St. Louis" - but it's in Illinios, and therefore, not actually St. Louis. (What is it with Missouri sharing cities with other states? There's the East St. Louis thing, and the "Kansas City, K & Kansas City, MO" thing. It's just plain weird!)
4. You can walk down the street at night without getting killed. Well, in some parts of town at least!

I'll have more St. Lewy thoughts to share later on, I'm sure.