Good Areas near St. Louis Airport (St. Charles, Florissant: apartment, rental, crime)

[dangl]

I will be moving from PA to the St. Louis area in the summer and looking for advice on good areas to live in. I'll be working near the airport and looking for a short commute time, no longer then 20 minutes. I am looking to rent a house with a garage and basement for no more then 1,300 a month. Also I do not have kids, etc. so schools is not a huge factor. Any insight/advice would be great! Some places I have looked at include Florissant, Bridgeton, and Ladue. What do you guys think of these areas?

[chicagobear]

Maryland Heights and St. Charles come to mind.

[glamatomic]

Maryland Heights would be my first pick. I used to live there and it was awesome and *very* close to the Airport. Will you be renting or buying? Also, what is your budget and house/apartment size requirements?

[Old Trafford]

Check out Ferguson-

Ferguson, MO - Official Website

an older suburb with good building stock that is doing a nice job upgrading its little downtown, very close to airport

Just down 170 - you have Olivette and U-City, it you can afford Clayton or Ladue, do it.

I think most of St. Chuck will take you more than 20 mins to get to airport, its just a bear getting out of those new subdivisions to the highway

Flynavyj can help you out, as he knows that area better than most.

[glamatomic]

Sorry I didn't read your initial post properly- I just saw that you were looking to rent and what your budget was (duh, serves me right for not reading correctly and replying too quickly!)

What you're asking for would definitely be doable in Maryland Heights, Ferguson (like Old Trafford suggested), Bridgeton, St. Ann and Florissant. Maryland Heights would probably be the most expensive of the above listed however. In the others, you can definitely get a lot of bang for your buck while still remaining very close to the airport.

I personally wouldn't consider St. Charles as an option- depending on what times you'll be commuting, traffic across from the St. Charles side can be a nightmare, especially with the current work going on with the Blanchette Bridge.

Good Luck

[Amercity]

Hazelwood is okay.
Maryland Heights is probably the best option if you want a school district and a good house in a decent neighbourhood.

[flynavyj]

The areas you looked in are all very different. I happen to like Maryland Heights in this part of the county, and have grew up in Bridgeton so it's always on my list too. I'd avoid St. Charles as others posted simply because crossing a river adds a complexity to the commute (it could be no big deal, or you could be stuck in traffic depending on the day, construction, accidents, etc).

Fergeson is cool, has a bit of an "up and coming" vibe to it. I don't spend much time out there, but have been to the brew house a few times, and the whistle stop ice cream shop for dates w/ my wife.

St. Ann has an awful lot of rental properties, but the homes are small (800-1000 sf). If your single and w/o a ton of furniture it shouldn't be a problem, most homes have basements and are older (1940's) there's also a decent mix of brick or frame construction depending on what's available and what you'd like.

All in all, NW County is still pretty decent. Bridgeton has had an increase in crime along it's Northern edge following the airport expansion, and while it's not something I'd worry about it did really destroy much of the fabric of that community, with the removal of it's largest neighborhood.

Also, you can find almost every store you need for shopping along St. Charles Rock Rd between St. Ann and Bridgeton, and the Mills Mall isn't bad for some of the brand outlets. Close access to I-70 and I-270 makes for quick commutes to the rest of St. Louis as well! Good luck in the hunt!

[FromIllinois]

Check out St. John/Overland area off of Brown Rd. also if no one has mentioned it. I'm new to St. Louis and but have family that lives there. Lots of really nice older homes with tree lined streets that younger singles and couples are buying/renting out and flipping. And it's just south of the airport. Good luck!

[matzoman]

I always thought "The Hill" was nice. Quiet, Well kept homes, tree lined streets, Italian-american history and still close to other St Louis city attractions.

[flynavyj]

Originally Posted by matzoman

I always thought "The Hill" was nice. Quiet, Well kept homes, tree lined streets, Italian-american history and still close to other St Louis city attractions.

Nothing wrong with The Hill. It's just not a location that comes to mind when people say they'd like to be close to the airport. If The Hill was being considered, there are tons of other areas that would be highly recommended.