stl: that bad, huh (St. Louis, Ozark: crime rate, to live, most dangerous)

[stlcitygirl]

Parks are better? I will put my money on Forest Park and Tower Grove being better than any park in the region, or state for that matter.
Side Note: Webster is fabulous, great place to live

[topospace]

Originally Posted by stlcitygirl

Parks are better? I will put my money on Forest Park and Tower Grove being better than any park in the region, or state for that matter.
Side Note: Webster is fabulous, great place to live

You should jump off your high horse. He didn't say anything about the parks being better in Phoenix.

Believe me, there are many city, state and national parks in Arizona, some world famous, that simply blow away Forest Park and Tower Grove for natural beauty. It's not even close. But I'm sure you've "spent A LOT of time" (as I have seen you write in numerous posts about many places) in Arizona, so you surely know that.

[flynavyj]

The simple number of amenities in Forest Park are hard to find anywhere else! Which really makes it difficult to simply compare it as a park with the vast majority of other parks in the region, or even in the state. Not only do you have a world class park, it also contains several excellent golf courses, small boating, walking/running/biking trails, a world class Zoo, Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Science Center/Planetarium, and the list goes on! It is, quite simply an amazing park!!! And one of the best features of St. Louis.

Tower Grove is a decent park, and has some nice architecture, plus the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Besides that, it basically has the same amenities I'd expect of any other City or County park (i.e. softball fields, soccer fields, trails/paths, tennis courts, etc).

For myself, when people come in town to visit I never take them by any of my city (St. Ann) owned and operated parks (unless they need an ego boost, and we're going to play our ridiculously easy golf course). I also don't take people on a tour of Tower Grove Park, unless they've got a thing for flowers and we essentially stop by the park on the way either to or from the gardens. I do however make it a point to show Forest Park off to EVERY friend who comes to town, simply because you can easily spend a day there. For me, I'll normally plan to stop in the loop for lunch, walk around there for a few checking out shops...head to the park, where we'll either choose to stroll around, head to the art museum, natural history museum (rare), or the zoo. Make our way to the boat house for dinner, and finish off the evening with free seats at the Muny! Really gives people a sense of all the cool stuff St. Louis has to offer, and you can experience all that in one day...really blows the minds of our visitors.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by topospace

You should jump off your high horse. He didn't say anything about the parks being better in Phoenix.

Believe me, there are many city, state and national parks in Arizona, some world famous, that simply blow away Forest Park and Tower Grove for natural beauty. It's not even close. But I'm sure you've "spent A LOT of time" (as I have seen you write in numerous posts about many places) in Arizona, so you surely know that.

I am so sure the various city parks in Arizona blow Forest Park out of the water.
Links to prove your point, I'm calling BS here.

[flynavyj]

The biggest difference you're going to see in Phoenix (besides climate) is the terrain. St. Louis simply can't compare. As such, if you're more into Hiking, or Mountain Biking, Forest Park will come up short compared to many of the parks in Phoenix, particularly if they're around one of the numerous mountains within the metro area.

When my wife and I went down to Scottsdale for a wedding several years ago, I noticed a mountain/park in the middle of town on our rental car map. Decided to make a day of hiking through the hills, which we found incredibly enjoyable, and the views were spectacular to say the least. Not quite as good as they were from the cockpit of the A320 I rode down there in, but still significantly better than street level, and better than the top of the arch as well...you simply had a higher elevation, and better vantage.

[stlcitygirl]

Originally Posted by topospace

You should jump off your high horse. He didn't say anything about the parks being better in Phoenix.

Believe me, there are many city, state and national parks in Arizona, some world famous, that simply blow away Forest Park and Tower Grove for natural beauty. It's not even close. But I'm sure you've "spent A LOT of time" (as I have seen you write in numerous posts about many places) in Arizona, so you surely know that.

I actually was saying the parks are better in the city than the county, not a word about AZ. I think Sedona is one of the best places on Earth.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by topospace

You should jump off your high horse. He didn't say anything about the parks being better in Phoenix.

Believe me, there are many city, state and national parks in Arizona, some world famous, that simply blow away Forest Park and Tower Grove for natural beauty. It's not even close. But I'm sure you've "spent A LOT of time" (as I have seen you write in numerous posts about many places) in Arizona, so you surely know that.

Your immediate jump to rude and confrontational in the above post even when it was you who read her response incorrectly really shows off your personality.

I have no doubt that there are plenty of people who do prefer new construction and bog-box housing to the historic homes and independent businesses of inner-ring and city neighborhoods, but the idea that it's some vast majority is silly. We get a ton, arguably more, potential transplants to St. Louis who ask about Clayton and U City and Benton Park and the Central West End and Kirkwood and Richmond Heights and Downtown and Tower Grove and Soulard etc. etc. than Ballwin, St. Charles, Chesterfield or Arnold.

[marigolds6]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

The biggest difference you're going to see in Phoenix (besides climate) is the terrain. St. Louis simply can't compare. As such, if you're more into Hiking, or Mountain Biking, Forest Park will come up short compared to many of the parks in Phoenix, particularly if they're around one of the numerous mountains within the metro area.

Other than Camelback (which it sounds like is the park you went to), Phoenix is pretty much a big flat desert valley.

You can drive only a couple of hours and find amazing terrain just east of AJ, but Phoenix itself looks like the starting map in SimCity terrain wise.

[1greatcity]

I don't think we've given Tower Grove Park justice in this discussion. TGP has been called "the finest example of a Victorian walking park in the nation". The areas around the "ruins"-- the basin with fountain, lily ponds, gardens, etc.-- are probably the site of more wedding photos than anyplace else in St Louis. The Victorian-style bandstand and all of the pavillions/gazebos are very popular. There's a lot more beauty to discover as you walk through the park. Although it lacks the institutions that Forest Park has (museums, zoo, etc.), TGP is just as picturesque (perhaps even more).

[BoomBoxing]

Originally Posted by marigolds6

but Phoenix itself looks like the starting map in SimCity terrain wise.

LOL I love any shoutout to SimCity and this is perfect