Moving to St. Louis in 2 months (Florissant, Hazelwood: houses, neighborhood, theater)

[EmpressDivine04]

Hello everyone. I am planning on moving to the Hazelwood East area within the next 2 months. I am originally from Atlanta. After the death of my mom in October, I felt like I needed a change of scenery. Could you give me feedback on this part of town? Is it quiet? Clean? What is there to do? Any information will be extremely helpful. Thanks.

[aragx6]

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom.

The area of Hazelwood you're talking about that feeds into Hazelwood East high school is a mostly black, working class suburb about 20 minutes or so from downtown St. Louis (Hazelwood as a whole is more diverse because the western chunk of the municipality is still majority white).

It's not an area that comes up often on this forum, unless it's regarding a broader conversation about white flight in the area, chiefly because the schools are poor and it's an area that has seen its fair share of decline, but housing prices are very low, and I think it would be fair to argue that the area has reached somewhat of a stabilization point. There are not a lot of amenities or big box shopping in the immediate area, but nothing you'd need is particularly far away either.

Do you have family in the area or something else to draw you there?

[glamatomic]

EDIT: This is assuming you're talking about the area surrounding Hazelwood East High School, and not referring to Hazelwood itself!

Heya

My husband and I recently moved to North County. We looked at a couple of homes in the Hazelwood East area but eventually settled on the Ferg/Flor school district (which is just west of Hazelwood East). Hazelwood East is mostly known for the Spanish Lake community which is the subject of much controversy (a documentary about it's decline was recently made).

When DH & I were house hunting, I was actually shocked upon seeing Spanish Lake again (the last time I saw it was when I moved away from St. Louis in 2008)- it has taken a HUGE slide in just 4 years. Although some pockets still seemed stable, there was an overall feeling of 'unloved'. Yards were unkempt, houses were looking shabby, businesses were shuttered. Even our realtor, who is a huge proponent of North County (one of her websites is here) was shocked and disheartened by the current visible situation in Spanish Lake- and neither her or I disturb easily!

Another problem I have with the area, aside from the obvious decay and decline is the lack of amenities. For me, it's important to be very near a selection of grocery stores, retailers, etc. (It's equally important to me to be within 30 minutes of cultural amenities such as theater, galleries, museums, etc). Hazelwood East is a bit of a 'black hole' when it comes to retail. With Jamestown Mall (which I think is technically Ferg / Flor) shutting down, Spanish Lake's retail options are limited to a couple of Dollar Generals and a Schnucks (area grocery store). Activities and social amenities seem equally as sparse.

I'm assuming you have family or friends in Hazelwood East which is prompting you to move there- however, I don't think they'd hold it against you if you moved just a few miles west to Florissant.

My husband and I just moved into our house in Florissant recently, and I honestly love it MUCH more than I thought I would. I have the most amazing community of neighbors- better than I've had anywhere else in the world (literally). DH & I pulled up to our house with our UHaul late on a Friday night, on Saturday morning by 8:30am- a whole bunch of neighbors (including one with a hot pot of coffee and disposable cups) from surrounding houses had turned up to help us unpack! Seriously! The UHaul was completely unloaded and things in their relevant rooms by 10am! You do not get that kind of community support everywhere!

In my neighborhood, there is a diverse mix of Caucasian, African American and Asian- with a mix of ages from young families with small children to elderly couples. Everybody is an owner-occupier and extremely house proud- and what's more, all of my neighbors love it here, and love this community, which says a lot for it.

Also, I'm only about 2-3 minutes drive from Schnucks, Barnes & Noble, Target, Aldi, Ulta Beauty, a few sit-down chain restaurants (I'm not a fan of chain food but anyhow), an AMAZING Thai Restaurant, and other food options and many other retail amenities. I'm within walking distance of the James J. Eagan Center- which has an ice rink, gym, and other amenities for the community and Florissant residents. Plus, I'm only about 30 minutes from St. Louis City for all of the other cultural activities I believe are so important.

I love it here in Florissant! In spite of it's sometimes negative reputation, due to white flight etc.

So if you have the opportunity to just move a bit west of the Hazelwood East district, I believe that you will be doing yourself a HUGE favor. It's a lot cleaner, and a lot nicer here in Florissant than Spanish Lake.

Good Luck to you!

[EmpressDivine04]

Thank you both for responding. My boyfriend is getting a house in that area and I was thinking of going up there for a while for a change of environment. I have family in neighboring states. I think he's close to closing on the house, but from what I've read and am reading here about Hazelwood East, I'm a bit more hesitant. I really don't want to live in a declining area and away from entertainment in the city.

[glamatomic]

If he hasn't completed closing yet- SERIOUSLY ask him to consider Florissant instead. Florissant is still cheap (not quite as cheap as Spanish Lake) but isn't in as much of a downward spiral as Spanish Lake / Hazelwood East. If he has the opportunity to pull out and keep looking, I highly suggest he does!

In Florissant you'll still be about 25-30 mins from the city, but there are still some really solid subdivisions and a decent amount of amenities.

Like I said, my husband, realtor and I aren't easily phased people... but the current condition of a lot of Spanish Lake and surrounds was depressing

With that said though- there are some nice / unique properties with a lot of land in the Northern part of the Hazelwood School district (like, around Old Jamestown etc)- so I shouldn't be so quick to judge... but again, you'd be (in my opinion) lacking easy access to amenities.

[EmpressDivine04]

I've been hearing a lot of good things about Florissant. I'll see what he can do before he officially closes on a house.

[zach_33]

Spanish Lake has been getting a lot of press coverage recently due to the release of the eponymous documentary about the area. Has anyone seen the film and what did they think? The trailer made it look like some kind of a horror show.

[EmpressDivine04]

I've never seen it.