What are the bad parts of St. Louis? (Florissant, University City: apartments, violent crime)

[London16]

I always hear about St. Louis being such a bad city. Just yesterday I read about it being in the top 5 for the most dangerous cities in the U.S. Since I'm not that naïve, I know the WHOLE St. Louis can not be full of crime. I know there are good and bad parts of a city. Can someone please inform me about which parts of St. Louis I should stay away from? Information like this is needed because I am thinking about attending UMSL soon and staying off-campus.

[Dawn10am]

North City (north of Delmar) and inner North County (roughly bounded by Olive Blvd./North City to the south, I-270 to the north, I-170 to the west, and the river to the east). UMSL is actually within that area, so I'd look at places to the south and/or west of there. The usual suspects are UCity, Clayton, Brentwood, the Central West End, and Skinker-DeBaliviere.

[glamatomic]

There are actually some nice neighborhoods around UMSL- such as Pasadena Hills, Bel Nor, Bellerive, etc, with some stunning, beautifully maintained housing stock. However, I believe most of it is single family homes, so if you're looking for apartments, I agree with Dawn10am to look at Skinker-DeBaliviere and University City in particular (which are generally cheaper than the Central West End if you're budget minded). Skinker-DeBaliviere may be your best option though as it's right on the Metrolink, and as UMSL also has a Metrolink station, you wouldn't have to commute via car every day if you didn't want to

Other than that, pretty much stay well away from the majority of North City, as Dawn10am already mentioned.

Honestly, St. Louis isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be, and I'm sure you'll figure that out for yourself when you move here. It's a wonderful city, with plenty to do and a lot to offer if you give it a chance

Good luck!

[Provelkative]

In 2011 there were less than 500 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, according to a quick google search. That gives you a 0.5% change of being a victim of a violent crime in a year for the "most dangerous city". I'm sure if you take reasonable precautions you can substantially lower the risk further. My point is: even in the worst city your chances are pretty good that nothing at all is going to happen to you. Crime is an overstated risk.

Oh, and by the way... I went to UMSL for 6 years and nothing ever happened. I lived in the dorms for one year, in Bridgeton for 2, in Ferguson for 1, and Skinker-DeBaliviere for 2. The most unsafe I felt was walking by groups late at night by the bus stops and metro link at Skinker-DeBaliviere, but nothing ever happened then either. My car was broken into right before I moved and the only thing they stole was the gate opener. My gf's car was broken into as well and they didn't take anything. The locks were broken out though. That's the worst that happened in 6 years.

[jribe]

it really depends on what you're used to and what you're comfortable with. What i may think is dangerous, and safe may be different than you. Generally i like clayton, webster, kirkwood, and brentwood.

[glamatomic]

The most that has ever happened to me anywhere in St. Louis, is I've had my car broken into a couple of times while parked downtown at night. That can happen in any city in the world! I've never actually felt unsafe anywhere in St. Louis, even in the more rundown North.

[zach_33]

This guy (whose blog I will post in below) writes up some of the most insightful, first hand accounts of his tours through St. Louis city neighborhoods. He seems to have a high tolerance for cruising around sketchy areas, so if he says it is rough, I would be inclined to just take his word for it (read, for example, his description of the Fairground Park neighborhood).

St. Louis City Talk

[STLviaMSP]

My understanding is a very high chunk of STL's violent crime happens in College Hill and Walnut Park, with the next big chunk occurring mostly north of Page, and a hotspot in south City in the several blocks surrounding Gravois Park. Those few areas being bad enough in themselves to massively skew up the crime numbers. Even North City has its good parts.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by zach_33

This guy (whose blog I will post in below) writes up some of the most insightful, first hand accounts of his tours through St. Louis city neighborhoods. He seems to have a high tolerance for cruising around sketchy areas, so if he says it is rough, I would be inclined to just take his word for it (read, for example, his description of the Fairground Park neighborhood).

I think that the blogger has some phenomenal pictures on the website. He has done a lot of homework and some great photography.

However, his narrative on Tower Grove East is almost the same stuff that I was fed by a Clayton -based realtor who sold me a home on Magnolia Ave. in 1988. It is an "up and coming neighborhood, where there is a lot of investment ...". That is true.

However, in TGE as in many of the city neighborhoods, It is a "block by block" situation. There is still significant blight and significant drug activity throughout the area. Some blocks do OK as there are some pastors in the area willing to eliminate some of the social problems. However, support from the political leaders and the police department is minimal.

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OP-

I do not believe that you can make up a complete list of bad neighborhoods. (I will admit that I did have a visiting teacher from Frankfurt, Germany who had maps of Cleveland and St. Louis with a pretty good map of the good areas and bad. She was good.) I don't avoid any area is I have a reason to head into a neighborhood. However, I do not head into an area just to sightsee.

I would suggest that if you are interested in an area, park your car there on Saturday night and watch the street activity. It will generally give you some idea of what the neighborhood is like.

[heidimp]

I live in North County (what SOME deem bad) but I love it. I live in Ferguson, but grew up in Jennings in one of the few white families there, I wouldn't change my experiences of growing up there for anything. However, times have changed and parts of the North County area are seeing crime migrate in from the city. Something not a lot of people know, is that St Louis City is its own county. St Louis County is a completely separate entity. So when you hear about the crime, they are talking about the city itself. But like you said, its not ALL bad and its not all the time. St Louis city is small in comparison to other urban areas, to the crime per capita is higher, but the numbers aren't that high compared to Chicago or NYC, its just because there is more crime in a smaller populated area. But the areas that tend to be higher in crime are north city and the parts of north county that border the city. There is crime in south city as well, but its more theft and vandalism. The violent crimes tend to be north city and half of north county. I don't agree with the 270 approach to the crime stats, because there are municipalities that have very strict ordinances and police presence, Ferguson is one of them. while some say that Florissant is the best part of north county, it has its bad pockets too. But i would never live in south county, everyone i've ever met down there or who grew up there seems to think their $hit doesn't stink, they are really worse than the west county "rich" folks about status (in my opinion). The fact is, you have to experience it for yourself and make that determination, I used to be weary of the city, but since I started working in south city, i've fallen in love with the diversity and culture, you get the historic beauty of north city (seriously, its a shame what's happened to the historic architecture of that region) but less violent crime. I mean, it happens, but not nearly as much as you'd think. Tower Grove Park and Grand Ave area is wonderful. But also, the Delmar Loop is a part of North City/County border but is rich with culture and diversity despite what is to the east and north of it. St Louis is very weird in its lay out, you can be driving down Jennings Station rd where is changes from Jennings Station Rd to Kienlen to Skinker or the stretch of Union between I-70 and Forest Park and the neighborhoods change so drastically from inner city/urban to mansions that it would SHOCK you. Long story short, you have to experience it for yourself, don't take my word or anyone elses, because perception is a tricky thing.