North County? (St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters: housing, rent, work)

[aminah]

I read the post regarding North County that I previously posted, and I know what I am talking about. I moved to North County in 1995, and have lived ALL over the place. I am very aware of North City vs. North County, and would not live in North City EVER! I used to live in Aspen Wood Apartments (Cross Keys & New Halls Ferry) and it is HORRIBLE! The schools suck, and my son had nothing but stress. The children are not raised properly, and they cause trouble all of the time. I am not saying that all the kids are bad, but the good ones are limited in number. I also lived in Hazelwood, and my son attended Hazelwood West schools. I do admit that they were better than I expected, but that school district is going down too. The more the property value goes down, the more affordable the houses are. This simply means that disadvataged citizens are moving in FROM the city. It's crazy how bad living is in North County. There are nice (spacious) homes, but the occupants are causing the issues. In 2005, a TWELVE year old boy raped a SIX year old girl and left her for dead. They both lived in Spanish Lake (NORTH COUNTY), and it terrified me! I would not even let my son leave the front of our house fearing that he'd run into gangs. Don't let anyone convince you to waste time (and money) moving to North County. It will continue to get worse, and has little chance of getting better. I am very blessed that my family was able to get out of there, and give my son a chance to live peacefully.

Originally Posted by rawethe

Stick west and you'll be fine. This individual is probably talking closer to north CITY insteady of COUNTY....there is a big difference and just a few miles makes all the difference. However if you visit your location when looking at your house/rental you'll know immediatly. Hazelwood schools are good. I have lived in just about every corner of St. Louis- even the Illinois side.

Good luck!

[conovercourt]

I always loved the names of the suburbs I 70 passes through, particularly "Cool Valley". They always sounded like charming places. Not so any more, huh?

[aminah]

Don't let the "catchy names" fool you. Cool Valley is not charming by any means!

Originally Posted by conovercourt

I always loved the names of the suburbs I 70 passes through, particularly "Cool Valley". They always sounded like charming places. Not so any more, huh?

[stlsmoore]

North County is hit and miss really as far as which places are safer, for the most part Florissant and Hazelwood are the safest

[jayco]

I would have to agree with aminah for the most part. I grew up in Florissant and would NEVER move back there. The whole element is getting very bad. I moved to St. Peters and were very happy there. I will never go back to Florissant if I can help it!! You want the St. Peters, O'Fallon, Chesterfield, Ballwin (expensive in Chesterfield and Ballwin). Anything west of North County!

[aminah]

Trotwood Brittany does have spacious apartments, but they are filled with residents that you most likely DO NOT want to live around. North County is TERRIBLE, so don't let the size of the townhomes tempt you. They are affordable for a reason...please follow my advice. I have posted SO MANY times how bad North County has gotten. If you drive around you will see for yourself. The memories of me having to live there for so long makes me sick to my stomach! I wish I could have afforded to move out sooner than I did. It's a BAD decision to consider, so please DON'T DO IT!

Originally Posted by 21mm397

Does anyone have any information about Trotwood Brittany Apartments in Hazelwood? They have very large townhomes for rent. What is the area like? The arial photo shows them close to the interstate.

[isugrad]

Some areas of North County have crime issues, but that is true of all STL areas including the expensive West County and the Saint Charles OFallon areas. Examples being the home thefts in Chesterfield and the Walgreens robbery in O'Fallon. In my opinion, some of this is racial , since North County has more black residents than other surburban areas. If you look at the real estate listing you will see homes for over a million dollars in North County Don't be fooled into thinking all of North County is a terrible place to live. Also note that Boeing, Express Scripts, Tyco, and IBM all have main offices in North County. I have lived in North County for five years and I have not had any problems. I live in a new subdivision in unincorporated North County and I would highly recommend the area. The only drawback is that it is 35 - 40 minute drive to downtown or trendy city areas like Lafayette Square amd traffic on Lindberg or Shackelford road. Check out the 63034 area code. In my opinion, North County has some of the best housing values in Saint Louis.

[aminah]

You know, everyone is entitled to their opinion. There is theft EVERYWHERE, so you can't escape that. There are gangs forming in North County which I could not believe! Folks in the store yelling and cursing at their kids, shall I continue? My mother-in-law lives in an uninorporated area by Hazelwood East. Yep, her neighborhood is okay...BUT once she tries to go shopping in the area, it is FLOODED with too many ignorant folks. (white & black!!) Just IGNORANT! She leaves the area to shop!! Let's not even talk about the GHETTO WAL-MART on West Florrisant! I respect your position in defending North County, but the truth is...IT SUCKS. All of the companies that you mentioned EXCEPT for Express Scripts are located AWAY from the ghetto fab. (West I-270) I don't care how you slice it, the area is going down like Britney Spears and her "build a bear" bikini on the VMA show.

Originally Posted by isugrad

Some areas of North County have crime issues, but that is true of all STL areas including the expensive West County and the Saint Charles OFallon areas. Examples being the home thefts in Chesterfield and the Walgreens robbery in O'Fallon. In my opinion, some of this is racial , since North County has more black residents than other surburban areas. If you look at the real estate listing you will see homes for over a million dollars in North County Don't be fooled into thinking all of North County is a terrible place to live. Also note that Boeing, Express Scripts, Tyco, and IBM all have main offices in North County. I have lived in North County for five years and I have not had any problems. I live in a new subdivision in unincorporated North County and I would highly recommend the area. The only drawback is that it is 35 - 40 minute drive to downtown or trendy city areas like Lafayette Square amd traffic on Lindberg or Shackelford road. Check out the 63034 area code. In my opinion, North County has some of the best housing values in Saint Louis.

[Aisysmom]

We currently live in Florissant, and I love it here. Unfortunately we have to move soon, since my husband is in the miltitary.

One thing to know about St. Louis,(I grew up here) is that people are racist here. (I am white BTW) and people who brand North County as "ghetto" really mean that GASP black people have moved in. They see a group of black kids walking around, and they're a "gang". I have friends who live in the South part of St. Louis or in Wentzville who hate coming up here. My husband and I have lived near chicago, and in Virginia, and never have dealt with this kind of racism anywhere else. I actually get more annoyed with the "hoosiers" or the TFF (typical florissant folk) more than anything.

We love it here, we live minutes from community pools, great resteraunts, you can literally pick from several schools within walking or driving distance. One of teh few places where when I walk or drive through the neighborhood, and get waves. I too recommend sticking with the 63031 one area.

If you like a nice, quiet, mix of people I say Florissant is your place. In my daughters class she has all kinds of kids that have opened up a lot of conversations between us about difference and race.

Although we will miss it, I won't miss the close mindedness of some people here. The south is not dead in Missouri.

[stlsmoore]

Yea I def. don't agree that North County is a horrible place to live, especially around Florissant and Hazelwood. I like how diverse it is compared to other suburbs around STL I lived. I have not had one problem since living in Florissant.