Google Map of Apts In My Budget On Craigslist Over the Last 2 Weeks--Thoughts on Locations?

[BoomBoxing]

Originally Posted by aragx6

This is a great all-around post with some excellent info, but the bolded part is wrong (it even sounds wrong, really). Jefferson is the dividing line between BP and BPW. You can see it on this map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...th_numbers.PNG 22 is BP and 30 is BPW.

Err you're right...that does make sense. I spent a lot of time in that area and saw a stark contrast between north of Arsenal and south (particularly the further south you go) so I guess I assumed they were two different neighborhoods.

[Dr_Pepper]

Originally Posted by BoomBoxing

You will probably find the neighborhoods to the west of Kingshighway too sleepy and not quite diverse/urban, but North Hampton near Kingshighway is a pretty cool area with a ton of excellent two and four family flats.

Yes, that's exactly what I found once I walked out that way. Further, if it's any help, I pretty quickly realized that I did not fit in in the area around the botanical gardens at all. Frankly, I want to live around people like me--poor, from the school of hard knocks, but to some degree, civil with each other and maybe even with a few friendly people scattered throughout. If any of you are somehow familiar with the neighborhood of Warrendale in Detroit ( http://www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...etroit-MI.html ), that's what I come from and its rough-but-not-too-rough atmosphere is what I'm looking for, at least when you consider the neighborhood north of Warren. As an outsider, however, I know I need to tread carefully .

When I was in StL for the labor day weekend and again for last week, I gravitated toward the Grand/Gravois intersection and the residential streets surrounding it, as well as the blocks north and east of there up to Jefferson, as a general rule.

**As an aside, I've been repeatedly genuinely surprised by how nice random folks are in StL, but not in a pretentious way like what I find in the south. Back home, we just don't talk to each other and really, don't even make eye contact unless it's at a business or something, so it was pleasantly surprising to have a variety of men and women--some walking around, some sitting on their steps, etc--asking about me/my day/etc and not asking for a cigarette at the end of it all. Just a thought. I liked that a lot.

[Dr_Pepper]

Originally Posted by aragx6

^Agreed. My advice is always to try to stay West of Compton in TGE and East of Jefferson which is the Benton Park/BP West line. And Gravois Park is really, without a doubt, South City's worst neighborhood, so I would try to avoid the triangle North of Chippewa, West of Jefferson and Southeast of Gravois.
really dig in and spend some time looking at apartments in them.

For what it's worth, if, sight unseen, I had to pick one apartment from that list based solely on neighborhood it would be #365 without question. It's a quick walk to some great bars on Morganford (that area has really blown up in the last few years and is one of my favorite little strips in the city), gorgeous Tower Grove Park is nearly at your doorstep, and you're a long walk/easy bike ride to everything the South Grand strip has to offer.

That's exactly the area whose residential streets I found myself revisiting again and again. Eek. That said, I avoided a lot of Gravois Park (esp. when I was out between 11 pm - 3 am with nothing but my ID, phone, and hostel key in my possession a few nights) except for the area south and west of the park because of all the rumors I heard (i.e. "you'll wind up face down on the concrete").

**edit--the triangle you describe, I mean.

[aragx6]

^At the end of the day, crime is what you make of it. If you liked those areas and think you would feel at home there, I say go for it!