Military working in St Louis, MO, want to live in Belleville,IL: Where do I live that is safe (Springfield: apartment, rent)

[MLC2008]

I want to live in Belleville, IL due to it being close to the train and the Scott Air Force Base. I am trying to find a safe place to live in Belleville. What area should i stay away from? Thanks for the help. Read on here a couple of really bad things about it. Needs some help. Have to be there in June.

Thanks

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Belleville is generally fine.

I'd suggest posting this in the St. Louis, Missouri forum. I know some people there are very knowledgeable about neighborhoods. It's in the Missouri forum, but it usually deals with all St. Louis metro questions, including Illinois. It might get more attention there.

[Spree]

Try looking in O'Fallon, it's not far at all from Belleville and very convenient to the hwy access, as well as the base. It's a very safe community and resale might be better there.

[bgorrah]

Parts of Belleville are really nice but in the last few years parts of it have become very dangerous. By that I mean car-jacking, house break-ins, rapes, robberies, etc. I live in a small town about 5 miles outside of Belleville and with the Interstate Highway, buses and MetroLink you can get almost anyplace you want. You didn't say if you want to buy a house or rent but I would suggest renting until you find out more about the safe places to live. There are numerous little towns all around Belleville which have no crime or very little to speak of that I'm sure you would like. Good Luck to you.

[LisaSmith]

Try Swansea Illinois, little village so close to Belleville it often gets called Belleville. Also look at Wolf Branch School district, Ofallon and Shiloh Illinois. This area is really safe and best schools in metro east. Belleville gets a bad reputation but Swansea is super nice.

[mark1974]

Originally Posted by LisaSmith

Try Swansea Illinois, little village so close to Belleville it often gets called Belleville. Also look at Wolf Branch School district, Ofallon and Shiloh Illinois. This area is really safe and best schools in metro east. Belleville gets a bad reputation but Swansea is super nice.

Shiloh is really lovely, I like the rural scenery around there. Some of that area has a slight Bavarian feel to it....the Illinois side of Saint Louis is a weird mix of German Catholics and African-Americans

[CellarBelle]

Shiloh, Swansea and O'Fallon are all very nice communities, and they will put you in close proximity to the AFB. If you don't mind a 25/30 minute commute, look at Troy, Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. Good luck!

[ilikeairplanes]

If you reaaaly want to live in Belleville. Stay as far east Bellville as you can afford. West Belleville is a cesspool of filth.

[jh2008]

For anyone who has lived in a larger town, you will find that there are good and bad sections any place. This is true of smaller towns as well. I grew up in a small town 5 miles south of here that is generally a place that people love to move to. That wasn't my choice. Small towns are not immune to crime.

We have lived near the downtown area of Belleville for 8 years. My husband walks 15 blocks to the metrolink station at all times of the day and night. We walk downtown to all the festivals with our kids. The library is also within walking distance. Belleville has one of the largest concentrations of historic structures which is one of the reasons we chose to live here. There is a great bike trail system close by and many parks. Knock on wood we have had no issues with crime. Belleville has also spent a lot of money on the downtown streetscape making it more attractive to businesses.

Like anywhere this can change block to block depending upon your neighbors. I also lived in Springfield Illinois and experienced the same situation. I suggest for anyone wanting to find a residence they take a walk through the neighborhood (or any area of a town big or small) during the day and the night. Are there businesses that are going to create noise or traffic? Is there a lot of trash in the alleys? Are there apartment buildings that are not kept up? Are yards kept up? At night do neighbors have a lot of traffic coming and going? We happen to live in east Belleville but I think you can find good neighborhoods east or west if you do some checking. My sister lives in a neighborhood in the near west part of town near Memorial and she likes her neighborhood. I am biased towards the downtown area due to the larger historic houses but there are some neighborhoods with nicely kept houses in the west as well. Signal Hill is almost as west as you can get. It's school has a good reputation and it has some nice historic homes and neighborhoods. Of course there are also some west Belleville subdivisions inhabited by doctors but those houses are out of my price range.

[bls5555]

If you wanted to move out a little bit further you could look at Trenton, Breese or Carlyle.

I think Carlyle is a 30 minute drive or so to the metro station. Breese would be about 20, Trenton about 10.

Carlyle also has a lake there, if interested in that sort of thing. Those three towns are all smaller than the suburban areas.