Help on St. Louis neighborhoods (O'Fallon, Clayton: rent, condos, homes)

[STLMetro]

Originally Posted by jules1966

If you really want a good safe neighborhood try the hill or dogtown or even clifton heights. Those are the last of the good neighborhoods in st louis.

Ive lived in the city my whole life and downtown is not a safe place to live. Keep fooling yourselves. LOL Werent cars just recently being broke into on the landing? And how many have been mugged down there? People look at your statistics!

In terms of safe neighborhoods, you forgot to mention Central West End, Shaw, Tower Grove Heights, Soulard, Lafeyette Square, Holly Hills, etc.... I attached a map of crime so you could see how you are generalizing. All of the places listed above are as safe as the Hill or Dogtown. I agree that some people like to come downtown and cause trouble, but it's not as bad as many people think.

St. Louis Crime Map - Showing Crime in St. Louis, MO - Crime Statistics - Crime Alerts - Crime Stops Here

[STLMetro]

Originally Posted by CarrieNeno

Wow. Just wow.

Note that I live in West Co and would move down to the city in a heartbeat, my 2 little boys in tow, if I wouldn't have to pay a fortune in private school in order to do so. So many egocentric generalizations in this thread it's terrifying.

Carrie, you are correct and I apologize for lumping everyone who lives in West County into my comment. I was just angry at some of the negative things being said, I shouldn't have commented as I did.

[ktCakes]

Originally Posted by jlh4480

Hello everyone and thanks in advance for your help. My gf and I will be relocating to St. Louis in the near future. We know very little about the area, and it's hard to narrow an apartment search via the internet. We are in our late 20s, and our budget is about $2000/month. We are looking for a condo/apt over a house and really like the feel of a downtown area. We want to be able to walk to shops, bars, restaurants, etc. Any information you could provide to narrow our search would be very helpful.

Thanks.

There are a lot of great lofts downtown. The nightlife and restaurants are very diverse. They just put a nice big grocery store in but other shopping is still a bit sparse. But, it is definitely increasing.

I agree that the CWE would be a great place based on it's walkability. I live in Shaw, and while I absolutely love it here (and my children love it and play outside *gasp* safely with all the neighborhood kids) it doesn't have as much in terms of shops etc accessible by walking, that's changing and we have some great stuff here. But, we are a short drive/bus ride to Grand South Grand, the Hill, CWE, Tower Grove Heights. Many late 20's here because it is less expensive than CWE.

[stlcitygirl]

I have been in the city for 3 years, no problems. Some people on this forum have never lived anywhere else so they have nothing to compare it to. You will be fine in most neighborhoods if you are smart. Again, I suggest Central West End, Downtown or Soulard. I would feel completely safe in any of these places.

[CarrieNeno]

Originally Posted by STLMetro

Carrie, you are correct and I apologize for lumping everyone who lives in West County into my comment. I was just angry at some of the negative things being said, I shouldn't have commented as I did.

I appreciate the apology, but honestly I had more problem with all of the commentary about all of the "dirty, needy people in the city just looking for money". I mean, seriously? I find statements like that extremely sad.

[Brickmama]

Originally Posted by jules1966

If you really want a good safe neighborhood try the hill or dogtown or even clifton heights. Those are the last of the good neighborhoods in st louis.

Ive lived in the city my whole life and downtown is not a safe place to live. Keep fooling yourselves. LOL Werent cars just recently being broke into on the landing? And how many have been mugged down there? People look at your statistics!

Jules, I live downtown and have never had a problem just like most others that live down here. Please make sure your facts are straight before you post.

[BoomBoxing]

My neighborhood is plenty safe, thanks for anyone's concern. Perhaps you would like to meet sometime and I can give you a tour of my neighborhood, and various others and you can convince me and my neighbors that we are putting our families in danger? Living in the city is less about being "hip" and more about being a part of a vibrant, diverse, community with amazing parks, historic architecture, historic neighborhoods, and unique/quirky places to hang out. But if you think living in the city is hip and cool as well, then hey I will take that! .

[inahandbasket]

I cannot wait to get out of West County (just south of Town & Country) and nearer to the city.

I lived in the Shaw neighborhood in the early '90's, walked around alone in the neighborhood as a young, single white gal. Never was bothered, my car or apartment was never broken into. Sure, I heard gunshots occasionally. Big deal.

To me, being out in West County is the most mind numbing, car driven, anonymous, milque-toast, boring place I've ever lived. It works for raising kids.

University City or Tower Grove South, I'm almost there.

inahandbasket

[zach_33]

Yeah, it's a no-brainer imo. If you are in your 20s and and without kids, and you want to live in a vibrant, urban area, you have at least 5 good options, and I think they have all been mentioned. With a $2000 budget you get the pick of the litter. I would consider (in the following order) CWE, U City, Wash Ave Loft District, Tower Grove (along south Grand), maybe even Clayton if you want something a bit more homogenized. Soulard and Lafayette Park sort of fit the bill, but they don't have as much as the others in terms of a large, walkable, centralized entertainment district. Lafayette Square has a handful of nice shops and cafes on the Northeastern corner of the park, but Soulard's entertainment is mostly bars/restaurants and they are dotting all the corners - a little more spread out. There are some other great choices I have certainly left out - Maplewood, parts of the Hill, Dogtown, etc.. but these are quieter residential neighborhoods with a few good nightlife spots strewn within. From there you kind of have to see for yourself and see which area has the vibe you prefer. Suburban living in St. Louis for a person with your search criteria would be depressing.

[AJohnston_STL]

You can live anywhere in STL for $2,000/mo. If you want hip, vibrant, eclectic, and walkable, while I love my neighborhood, I wouldn't recommend it for you. WIth that budget and what you are looking for, I would definitely first consider the Central West End, second downtown, third Soulard. University City is fine as long as you end up right on the Loop, but even then, I would definitely find something in the first 3 (which won't be a problem for you) first.

I still like going to the Loop (in U City) occasionally, but the services offered there in comparison to the other neighborhoods is not good. The Loop lacks grocery, pharmacy, etc, and it keeps becoming more and more franchised. Qdoba, Chipotle, Subway, Jimmy John's, etc. Would I consider University City to be "urban?" Yes. But walking to shops, restaurants, and bars is pretty well going to be concentrated to the Loop. I would consider Dogtown to be an urban neighborhood, but where I live it's far from convenient to walk to anything urban. I can walk to the extremely suburban K Mart/Taco Bell/Dollar General and one single mom/pop restaurant. If you live around Tamm, you at least have a few restaurants, a coffee shop, the zoo, a barber, a liquor store, etc, but as hilly as Dogtown is, you can live a mile away and it will be extremely inconvenient for you.