Questions about Alton

[krisinator]

I've grown up in the Alton/East Alton area my whole life, minus the time spent in southern IL going to college. Alton and East Alton are both having a slow time economically, and there are places in Alton that you want to avoid. But, Alton is also trying to rejuvinate the beltline area with tons of new stores and restaurants. They also reopened the steel mill and like one of the previous posts mentioned the refineries in the area are refurbishing and doing quite well (no suprise with gas prices!). Granted, Alton still doesn't have as much to offer as the Belleville/Fairview Heights area (where I live now), but they have gotten a lot more going up there. If you are looking to the area in general I would recommend Belleville/Fairview area if you like to shop and need all of the modern aminities that new suburbs have to offer. It's about a 20 minute drive that never has much traffic to Alton. Alton is much more historic and there are lots of gorgeous refurbished houses there in the right areas. These will cost you a pretty penny, but if you're into that then it's worth it. Alton is always going up and down as far as where the good areas are located and where eveyone is moving to. It never stays the same from year to year. East Alton/Wood River is pretty much going down hill rapidly except for the few nice neighborhood that remain like Rosewood Heights. The taxes here are higher, but the houses are nice and the school systems are safe and smaller. The Edwardsville area is very up and coming, but also very expensive and has a snobby feel to it. This area also has all of the suburbia aminities. If you are a city person you should really move to MO. There is nothing in this area of IL that has that "city" feel. I would stay away from Granite City area. I have family that work there and friends that live there and there is not much but the Steel Mill and a lot of drugs and prostitution. There are a few nice neighborhoods, mostly around the park in the center of town, but they are far and few between. If all else fails there are also areas like Brighton which offer small town and rural life if that is what you're into. Hope this helped!

[Altongal]

I moved to Alton from Atlanta. Personally, I like it here, though I don't want to live here forever. Coming from Atlanta, I think it's absolutely hilarious when people talk about how "dangerous" Alton is. If Alton scares you, do yourselves a favor and don't move to a large city, guys. This place is freakin' Mayberry compared to Atlanta - and I grew up in one of the nicest suburbs there.

Meanwhile. I like Alton in general, but it really depends on what you're looking for. We like it here because the housing prices are good and you can get an absolutely beautiful home for a decent price, though from what I've seen the prices for historical homes here are going up, even with the lull in the housing market. The drive, for us, is nothing because coming from a place where it takes forever and a day to drive anywhere. I've met some lovely people and some not-so-lovely people here, and the good ones tend to outweigh the bad. The high school was a very nice experience for my daughter, so I'm not sure where the "prison" remark comes from. That did not seem to be her impression; she liked it better than her high school in Georgia, and she rated it equally with Ladue High, which she attended for a year.

We live in the Middletown area, and I particularly like the sense of community here. It's a good place to raise kids. If you're young and single and looking for an active, faster moving lifestyle, then I recommend something in the city (meaning St. Louis).

That said, I am a bit weary of the small-town mentality here. You do run into some big fish/small pond syndrome, and it can be rather annoying. But, again, that's not everyone.

The main thing about Alton is you've got a real mix of people, in terms of race and attitude (though religiously, it tends to be a bit monotonous). I did find when we were checking out Alton that a lot of the "oh it's so dangerous there" stuff was actually closet racism (because, ya know, there's black folks living in Alton and stuff), and every person we heard it from turned out to be from smaller, 99% white areas and were only in Alton to go to a bar or some such. That said, there's areas you don't want to live in, just like anywhere, so make sure you have a real estate agent who's familiar with the character of Alton.

If you do come to Alton to check it out, I highly recommend that you stop by Bossa Nova and Thymes Past as places to eat. Wonderful food and lovely service.