St. Louis Incorrectly Rated America's Most Dangerous City (Florissant, Kirkwood: low income, public school)

[DespicableMe]

That's called an anomaly and not an example.

[aragx6]

No it's not an anomaly. It's not an anomaly that there are dangerous suburbs in every major metro in the country.

Seriously, try and name me one metro that has no dangerous suburbs.

[DespicableMe]

Well.. the context is within St Louis. I could name a metro where the suburbs are totally clean but I don't think crime is any issue in those cities anyway.

[flynavyj]

Originally Posted by aragx6

No it's not an anomaly. It's not an anomaly that there are dangerous suburbs in every major metro in the country.

Seriously, try and name me one metro that has no dangerous suburbs.

Are you saying kirkwood is a dangerous suburb?

When i lived in Creve Coeur, i used to go for an early morning jog (3-4am) and was typically a little "creeped" out on most of those runs...not because of crime in creve coeur, but being utterly alone on the entire route...There would be the occasional police car, but besides that it was just empty and dark store fronts, empty parking lots, and dark wooded areas to keep me company...not overly comforting, although i knew i was pretty darn safe the entire time.

I've also passed plenty of men and women on my morning commute to work, who are jogging in St. Louis City. While i rarely notice people taking a morning jog down Jefferson, it's very common to see folks running down Broadway, or through Benton Park well prior to sunrise.

[aragx6]

I'm definitely not saying Kirkwood is dangerous.

I'm saying all major metros have some suburbs that are dangerous and that the idea of knee-jerkingly declaring all suburbs uniformly safe is just as antiquated a notion as declaring all cities scary and dangerous.

That's simply not the world in which we live any more. There are completely safe neighborhoods in the city of St. Louis just as there are wildly dangerous suburbs in the county.

[flynavyj]

i think there's a connotation in the wording there though...most likely unintentional. If you said, "There are completely safe places in the city, and there are completely safe places in the county...Not to mention wildly dangerous places in both the city and the county" that would be free of any bias.

I'd be curious how a comparison of safe vs dangerous areas would compare, city to county....As was mentioned, you'll find very sketchy areas in both. I can think of areas of North County that i don't particularly enjoy. Same time (it could just be conditioning) i've normally felt better driving through Jennings, than Old North St. Louis. It's pretty much a tossup between ONSL and Welston, as that location doesn't have much if anything going for it.

[aragx6]

I really don't understand your read of my original post, but it can be hard to read one's own words as others do.

Regardless, I have been in ONSL many times as well as Jennings and Jennings is decidely more dangerous. ONSL, especially in the heart of the neighborhood near the mall is really pretty safe at this point. Of course ONSL is the exception and not the rule as far as north city neighborhoods go. It's the only I'd honestly consider living in. (If you haven't, look at some of the houses in the neighborhood -- there's some gorgeous stock!)

A dear friend grew up in Jennings and I used to go to her place on a fairly regular basis. I never really was all that scared, but I did certainly watch my Ps and Qs.

[Sean at Old North]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

...i've normally felt better driving through Jennings, than Old North St. Louis. It's pretty much a tossup between ONSL and Welston, as that location doesn't have much if anything going for it.

I'm wondering if flynavyj understands that Old North St. Louis is a specific neighborhood on the north side of the city and not a generic term for the older parts of north city. Which part of Old North St. Louis do you drive through? Or maybe you haven't been through lately to see the revitalization in progress, including the redevelopment of 27 formerly vacant buildings across St. Louis Avenue from Crown Candy, the opening of the Old North Grocery Co-op, Urban Studio Cafe, North City Farmers' Market, the dozens of individual home rehabs throughout the neighborhood, and much, much more.

[DespicableMe]

That's a beautiful picture. If only those neighborhoods were a bit more safe..

[Sean at Old North]

Originally Posted by DespicableMe

That's a beautiful picture. If only those neighborhoods were a bit more safe..

Which neighborhoods do you have in mind? Do you have any reason to believe that the community shown in the photo is any less safe than areas where you feel comfortable? I've heard Meacham Park in Kirkwood is tough, but I wouldn't use that or the shootings that happened at Kirkwood City Hall a couple years ago as a point of reference for all things Kirkwood.