plus i get access to the soulard market down the road from me, where i get fresh groceries from local farmers around the state. haven’t been to a traditional grocery store in almost a year 

 This! This is fucking goals. I'm pissed cuz my city's farmer's market is only open certain days of the week, certain hours, during which I'm almost always stuck in the fiat mine 

 Homesteading doesn't have to be expensive. It can be done pretty cheaply, the hard part is getting the property to do it. Cuz unless you have the ability to work remotely and can live in a very rural area, hours from a major city (which presents its own problems for working remotelyl, property is not cheap. 

 That is one of the great things about St. Louis. We have places for small scale homesteading less than an hour from the city. And even closer to the suburbs.
Not saying you will get 10 acres. But an acre or two can produce a lot. 

 would love to hear about some of those areas for home and land searches if you are willing to share! 

 So many factors depending on what you are looking for.

We just saw an 80 acre tract get divided into 4 parcels of 20, 2 of them open pasture. They went at auction for ~$150,000. I think the 20 acres with house and other buildings went for $250,000.

This was about an hour from almost everything in St. Louis. 25 minutes from Festus. 

 Absolutely. St. Louis city housing is a great start for many people.
Know several who started honing their gardening skills in south city.
Then as they continue to pay down a mortgage and start their family, they have to decide. Stay in the city where they are outgrowing the house, move to the suburbs where they can’t afford to live, or move 30 minutes out to something they can afford and space for the bigger garden with room to grow.