The funny thing is, in this dystopia, St Louis is actually a much better place to live.
Seriously, though, it's fun sci-fi. Earth isn't the same place it used to be. Solid 1-2 generations of those who have been born on the new earth. Also, at the beginning of the war, the alien races tried terra-forming earth to their liking, which is why it's all *expletive deleted*ed up. Oh, and as a result of getting their alien asses kicked, there is an epic amount of trash in orbit that comes down from time to time. And nasty alien critters and *expletive deleted*it that have been brought to earth, too.