Maryland Heights or Hazelwood? (St. Louis, Florissant: apartment complexes, crime, YMCA)

[MeetMeinSTL]

After summer school ends it will be time for me to move again. I'm down to Maryland Heights or Hazelwood. When I first moved to STL, I lived in West County so I'm leaning toward Maryland Heights. However, it looks as if Hazelwood is cheaper, but, I'm not familiar with that area at all. Can you all tell me why Hazelwood is cheaper? Is it safe?

[MeetMeinSTL]

Also what are the racial demographics? I always thought Hazelwood was a Black area, but I'm looking at wikipedia and apparently it's not?

[aragx6]

Hazelwood is definitely cheaper simply because it's not as desirable (not that Maryland Heights is particularly special per se). And H-Wood's schools are pretty bad. There's probably a much higher percentage of nasty apartment complexes in Hazelwood when compared

Racially it's an area in transition -- it's grown considerably more black over time -- it's hard to say what that means for long term, but as a white person you definitely wouldn't be out of place in Hazelwood.

I would suggest looking in Florissant or Ferguson -- I think both are nicer communities all around, but will still provide that "north county discount" you're looking for in rent. Florissant actually has a pretty cute old downtown area.

If you share what your budget is and what you're looking for (and where you work) we could probably offer better suggestions.

[MeetMeinSTL]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Hazelwood is definitely cheaper simply because it's not as desirable (not that Maryland Heights is particularly special per se). And H-Wood's schools are pretty bad. There's probably a much higher percentage of nasty apartment complexes in Hazelwood when compared

Racially it's an area in transition -- it's grown considerably more black over time -- it's hard to say what that means for long term, but as a white person you definitely wouldn't be out of place in Hazelwood.

I would suggest looking in Florissant or Ferguson -- I think both are nicer communities all around, but will still provide that "north county discount" you're looking for in rent. Florissant actually has a pretty cute old downtown area.

If you share what your budget is and what you're looking for (and where you work) we could probably offer better suggestions.

Thanks. The cheap prices made me suspicious.

[flynavyj]

Hazelwood's cheapness is most likely as a result of it's schools. While decent (Hazelwood West) and Mediocre (Hazelwood Central) are ok, the sore spot is Hazelwood East HS which hasn't been even on par with the other two in ages. As far as safety goes, i wouldn't feel unsafe in any of those areas, crime shouldn't be to out of hand, and the ethnical makeup probably isn't as one sided as you think.

Maryland heights is a nice suburb too. They have a local YMCA, Creve Coeur Lake/Park, a waterpark, golf course (non-city owned, but very nice) plus close access to the major beltway of I-270. They're also served by the Pattonville school district which would typically be viewed as superior to Hazelwood, parts of Maryland Heights MIGHT be in the Parkway district as well, but those areas might just be unincorporated. It'll cost you a little more money to live there, but that'd be my choice as opposed to hazelwood or florissant.

My big issue with the far reaches of North County isn't safety, but traffic...At rush hour the further East you go on I-270, the more of a nightmare it can become, especially if you decided to go further East than Lindbergh, gah!

[MeetMeinSTL]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

Hazelwood's cheapness is most likely as a result of it's schools. While decent (Hazelwood West) and Mediocre (Hazelwood Central) are ok, the sore spot is Hazelwood East HS which hasn't been even on par with the other two in ages. As far as safety goes, i wouldn't feel unsafe in any of those areas, crime shouldn't be to out of hand, and the ethnical makeup probably isn't as one sided as you think.

Maryland heights is a nice suburb too. They have a local YMCA, Creve Coeur Lake/Park, a waterpark, golf course (non-city owned, but very nice) plus close access to the major beltway of I-270. They're also served by the Pattonville school district which would typically be viewed as superior to Hazelwood, parts of Maryland Heights MIGHT be in the Parkway district as well, but those areas might just be unincorporated. It'll cost you a little more money to live there, but that'd be my choice as opposed to hazelwood or florissant.

My big issue with the far reaches of North County isn't safety, but traffic...At rush hour the further East you go on I-270, the more of a nightmare it can become, especially if you decided to go further East than Lindbergh, gah!

Thanks. Yeah I'm thinking that North County will just be too far out of my way.

[MeetMeinSTL]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Hazelwood is definitely cheaper simply because it's not as desirable (not that Maryland Heights is particularly special per se). And H-Wood's schools are pretty bad. There's probably a much higher percentage of nasty apartment complexes in Hazelwood when compared

Racially it's an area in transition -- it's grown considerably more black over time -- it's hard to say what that means for long term, but as a white person you definitely wouldn't be out of place in Hazelwood.

I would suggest looking in Florissant or Ferguson -- I think both are nicer communities all around, but will still provide that "north county discount" you're looking for in rent. Florissant actually has a pretty cute old downtown area.

If you share what your budget is and what you're looking for (and where you work) we could probably offer better suggestions.

I'm a student, so I only work in the summer. I do need suggestions on finding clean, modern apartment buildings anywhere in STL. My budget is 500-650.

[STLCityMike]

Where is school for you? It seems you are ruling out St. Louis City -- if school is in the county, I can uderstand.

[stlcitygirl]

She wants new construction.

[aragx6]

^Under $650 the OP's options in newer construction would be pretty limited no matter the area they're looking. So they're probably either looking at an older '70s or '80s era complex in the county, or, if interested, a nicer, possibly mostly redone, apartment in the city.