Moving to Collinsville, IL (Belleville, East St. Louis: apartment, crime rates, how much)

[txaggies08]

Recent grad moving to Collinsville, IL next month and wanted to get feedback on where might be a good place to search for housing.

thank you!

[doll lady]

Someone will probably be here before long to give you some ideas. Weekends are rather slow. But in the meantime, here are a few previous threads you might want to look at. Keep in mind that there may be negatives in these threads about the particular area, but you need to see if the positive posts outweigh the negatives.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illin...ille-like.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illin...sville-il.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illin...mmunities.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illin...e-schools.html



Here's some on Fairview Heights, Belleville and other east side of the river communities which are just a little way from Collinsville.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illin...eights-il.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illin...-st-louis.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illin...w-heights.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illin...e-west-st.html



I don't live in Collinsville but I go through there a lot, cutting through to the shopping mall in Fairview Heights. The one thing which is outstanding when I go through is the largest ketchup bottle I've ever seen. The water tower of a factory is in the shape of a ketchup bottle. In fact they recently had a festival centered around the Ketchup bottle. LOL

Good luck on your housing hunt. If you're not already an Illinois resident, welcome to Illinois. And if you are already an Illinoisian, welcome to city-forum. Come often and post with us.

[txaggies08]

I'm from Texas, Thank you Doll Lady for the nice welcome!

[linicx]

It is a lovely area that is not far from St. Louis. I believe once you learn your way around you will be quite comfortable.

[Central Illinois 1]

Collinsville is a down-home, laid back area. There's not much in the way of glitz and glamor. But downtown STL is only about 12 miles away, so, to me anyway, its a great location. You can be in the middle of the city in about 10-11 minutes usually or out in the sticks in about 10 minutes if you go in the other direction. The cost of living and crime rates are low and people are pretty friendly. Claims to fame: Largest ketchup bottle in the world, horseradish capital of U.S., and hometown of Michael Stipe (lead singer for REM).

[waldo]

Collinsville could use some refreshing. It looks like nothing has been done since 1965. The town is okay but it just looks run down. Go 2-3 miles north and Maryville is much better looking. Even further and Edwardsville is the nicest gem in the Metro East...but you pay for it in property taxes. But, as was mentioned, visit it and see for yourself...it may be what you're looking for.

[Central Illinois 1]

Originally Posted by waldo

Collinsville could use some refreshing. It looks like nothing has been done since 1965. The town is okay but it just looks run down. Go 2-3 miles north and Maryville is much better looking. Even further and Edwardsville is the nicest gem in the Metro East...but you pay for it in property taxes. But, as was mentioned, visit it and see for yourself...it may be what you're looking for.

I totally agree with these comments. Collinsville is OK, Maryville is better, but Edwardsville is best.

[txaggies08]

how much should I expect to pay for a 1 bedroom apartment?

[Central Illinois 1]

Originally Posted by txaggies08

how much should I expect to pay for a 1 bedroom apartment?

I haven't lived in that area for a number of years. But I would say that you can get into something on the lower end in Collinsville for $400 or so (older apartment building or duplex) and, of course, they go up from there to I would say around $750 - 800 or so for a really nice 1 br. I don't think I'm too far off with these prices.

[txaggies08]

Thanks for all the info guys, really appreciated. What about crime in this area? I've heard East St. Louis is pretty bad, does any of that spill over to these neighborhoods?