Best areas in St. Louis

[StL2Tulsa]

Ocean, with the exception of a few years in Tampa and 5 years in Santa Fe, I have lived in the St. Louis Metro Area my whole life. My husband is from Brooklyn and it took him several years to figure this City out. I love St. Louis, but it really is a puzzle to figure out.

We were recently placed in the top 3 crime ridden cities in the US and you definitely saw some of it. The Mayor of St. Louis argued that the study wasn't done correctly since the entire Metro Area wasn't included. The bottom line is that the study was probably accurate when it comes to the City. Businesses have moved out of the City and into the County because of a city income tax and many people who have moved to the County don't go into the City except for an occasional baseball game. I live in South County and I don't remember the last time I was in the City.

The City of St. Louis is no place to be sight-seeing from a bike. Yes, we have our more crime-ridden areas, generally North St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois.

The largest population lives in St. Louis County (St. Louis City is not within the County -- it is a separate entity from any county -- long explanation -- won't go into that). The entire metro area is somewhat spotty, but the City's spottiness goes by block. On one block you will find gorgeous mansions, beautifully restored, then vibrant artsy communities or an area filled with unique ethnic diversity and two blocks down you are in the ghetto. The St. Louis City Schools have been mismanaged for years and recently lost their accreditation which will probably lead to more people moving their kids into the County. The population of the City has decreased by nearly half in the past 20 years. While there are wonderful places to go there are also some which are only safe during the day.

Forest Park is a beautiful place and within it is the wonderful St. Louis Zoo, the Science Center, the Jewel Box, lovely bike paths, golf course, etc., but I wouldn't ride my bike there at night.

The botanical gardens are absolutely a MUST see and the adjacent Tower Grove Park is a great place for a short bike ride. The Hill is a fun place to eat and soak up some Italian heritage. A brewery tour at AB is really fun (more than it sounds) as is a trip to Grant's Farm. A visit to the St. Louis Basilica in the Central West End will amaze you and makes a trip to St. Louis worthwhile in itself. The St. Louis Symphony is also world class.

There are some great tucked away blues bars, but you really need to know where they are.

The bottom line is that all of these things are pretty well spread out and you can't travel from one to the next on a bicycle without going through a scary part of town. The view from the highways (all of them, but particularly I-70) is terrible and does not paint an accurate picture of our City.

St. Louis is a wonderful City and there are vibrant, wonderful areas to visit if you drive to your destination and park your car. We need to work on the the root of the problem which is severe segregation of black and white, rich and poor, City and County.

[aragx6]

Funny how you think

We need to work on the the root of the problem which is severe segregation of black and white, rich and poor, City and County.

when you say yourself you can't even remember the last time you were in the city.

[anr_black]

I live in the city and we bike with our kids probably once a week. If you try googling it, there are a couple biking organizations that outline specific routes on their sites. I would suggest starting in SW city, in the St. Louis Hills area. There is a striped biking lane marked with "bike st. louis" signs to guide you. The route we take winds through our neighborhood, Southampton, then on to Holly Hills, Carondolet Park, into south county and hooks up with the Grant's Trail, directly behind Grant's Farm. The trail is paved and continues on for several miles. I think it's in the works to connect it with a park bordering the Meramec River, but it's not finished yet. This route will take you through safe neighborhoods full of charming homes and small, neighborhood shops. You seem serious in your request, so hopefully this will give you a starting point next time you're in town.

I did read your last post, and can't help but comment on your thoughts on Chicago...how long did you live there? I was only there briefly (2 years) in the late 90's, but even that was enough time to see that city is an enormous patchwork quilt. I lived in a high rent apartment bordering Old Town/Lincoln Park, and was within a mile of Cabrini Green. I also lived in Evanston, where you couldn't buy a house 10 years ago for less than 300K, but was robbed twice trying to pay my rent in Ravenswood, about a mile away. Wrigleyville and the ball park is one of the city's foremost tourist desitnations and money makers, but is literally surrounded by the ghetto. I could go on, but I think you get my point. The difference between Chicago and St. Louis is the economic base. Development occurs at a lightening pace when multi-million dollar companies move in to a depressed area, buy up several blocks and completely renovate it, and the real estate flippers and speculators follow. A neighborhood can be transformed in literally a couple months. That doesn't happen here.
It's unfortunate you didn't do your research into St. Louis and plan a better route for your bike trip. You did see some of the worst of downtown, but you missed the areas that make residents like myself want to live here. Hopefully you'll have better luck next time.

[StL2Tulsa]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Funny how you think when you say yourself you can't even remember the last time you were in the city.

I thought there might be some people who would take offense at my opinion, but it is my opinion and I am someone who would love to move back to the City, but won't because I do not feel safe in the City. You could say to people like me "good riddence" or "we don't need you", but you do. The population of the City has declined to less than half of what it was when I was in college and with fewer residents and businesses in the City it can do nothing but continue to decline until the root causes are addressed.

Actually, after I wrote that I was trying to think about the last time I was in the City and it occurred to me that we spent a great deal of time in the City looking for a home not too long ago. About a year and a half ago my husband moved his warehouse and office from Collinsville, IL to Dupo, so we needed to move south. We looked in the City, in areas such as St. Louis Hills (too expensive for us at the time), South Hampton, Clifton Heights, the Hill and Carondolet areas. We loved the homes and the warm feel of the neighborhoods and thought it would be helpful to do our part to move back into the City (I have lived in 3 different parts of the City during my life). We really did our research and did in fact spent a great deal of time looking at homes and neighborhoods.

The result: the City tax, together with the significantly higher auto/home insurance in the City really affected the amount of house we could afford. That was a big deterrent, but we were still pressing forward. After checking the crime statistics surrounding those great neighborhoods we found that we could be in a great neighborhood, but a couple of blocks in any direction would have abysmal crime rates. That was the clincher. We could move to the City and feel comfortable in our neighborhood, but leaving the neigborhood to go shopping could be dangerous. And the patchwork and block by block lines of some of the neighborhoods is not comforting to me. I don't feel comfortable knowing that three blocks over the crime rate is high, but that the "bad guys" will stay on their block.

My husband reminded me that we have been to the Hill for dinner 2 or 3 times since then. I have not been to the City for any other reason, and that is not a statement of pride, rather sadness.

[JaySTLouis]

If that's your opinion then we can't fault you for it. Honestly, parts of the city have taken the turn for the worst but for a lot of people, it's obviously a great city for them. Wherever they decide to live that's not crime ridden works best for them. They love their neighborhoods like you would love yours.

My opinion of the city is drastically different from yours though. I love various areas of the city even some of the hoods. Some neighborhoods on the northside are just as beautiful as their southside counterparts. Old North is a perfect example.

All in all though, I love the city of St. Louis. Some of my thoughts may come across biased but that's just from my personal experiences quite honestly. I think STL is a beautiful and underrated city. Some like and love it and some dislike and unfortunately, hate it.

[mtnbkr]

your original bike route suggests that you didn't get to most of the places folks have mentioned in this thread. Ride further west on lindell to get to forest park. ride further south on grand to get to tower grove park and then west along magnolia to get to the botanical garden (and the rain forest inside the climatron).

if you get to forest park and enjoy art the art museum

Saint Louis Art Museum: Home (http://www.stlouis.art.museum/ - broken link)

is a good place to spend a few hours.

if you get to the south side (botanical garden -- which i'd strongly encourage visiting, etc.) ted drewes frozen custard (2 locations)

http://www.teddrewes.com/Drewes.asp (broken link)

is a great treat after a ride.

and if you make it to west county and like big and kinetic sculpture, laumeier sculpture park is a great place (though perhaps not the easiest place to get to by bike and 10+ mi one way).

Laumeier Sculpture Park

if you visit the arch plan to ride to the top as it's something you probably won't ever forget. the tram tickets are purchased by time and there is typically a wait unless you're there first thing.

and if you already visited the arch and gateway to the west museum and other things that are in the center of downtown, you might try finding a b&b closer to where you want to bike tour.

hope your next visit is more enjoyable

[northoceanbeach]

I went to the top of the arch when I was a kid on a school field trip. WHen went there and sepnt the night at the drury in and also checked out the union stations mall on out way to Hannibal. I thought it was cool when they told me how the arch sways.

[aragx6]

I was up in the arch during a tornado warning, and the winds were blowing and you really could feel it sway. Very trippy.