Hello (St. Louis, St. Charles, Chesterfield: for rent, homes, safe area)

[aragx6]

^The slang isn't so old. You still see it used a lot, particularly with vintage apartments. I live in a shotgun!

[flynavyj]

Yeh, that was my first thought when i saw the picture...cute renovation, but a shotgun house. A friend of mine lived in one, and i was never impressed with the layout.

[Sunflower82]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

What made your husband and you look at St. Charles? Just out of curiosity, I was trying to get a feel on what attracts you to certain areas. We'd also probably need a definition of what you call "perfectly safe". Have you lived in a major metro before? Suburbs? Urban?

What types of activities do you guys enjoy most? And what type of living situation do both of you want to experience. There are great options for everyone in St. Louis, just don't want you get opinions that favor one area when it's absolutely NOT what you were looking for.

It's near our roommates Job, also we've heard St. Charles prices on homes are a bit less expensive vs other subdivisions in St. Louis. (Along with St. Peters), I haven't ever lived in a Major Metro, Suburbs, Urban before; Mostly lived in "country' type small towns (Middle of no where type towns), I'll be working in Chesterfield and so will my husband, we were thinking of getting a place that meets in between in a way if that's even possible. (In the middle of St. Charles-Chesterfield) Perfectly safe for me would just be a quiet area, Not any violence, break-ins, etc.. Though I know most places do have violence and such at least trying to find an area that doesn't have a whole lot of it, if that makes any sense?

We're open to different area's, as long as we are not having to drive 30+ mins to work.

as of now, we're looking at 3 bedroom 2/bathroom apartments. My husband is wanting to wait a bit before buying a house to see if the housing market changes in the future.

[Sunflower82]

Sorry for posting twice- (can't figure out how to add more to current above post).

Looks like we're keeping our options flexible- we're either renting a 3 bedroom/2 bath house, a Town House, or an Apartment, I've found a few in area's of Ballwin, Manchester, Saint Charles for between 1300-1500. I pretty much just went to rentals.com and in put the only zip code I knew in the area lol.. For the houses I found to rent, only issue is I'm not sure if they are in sketchy areas or not, I think just to get an idea I might do a street view to get a semi-idea of the neighborhood..well most of it that it will let me. Then pick the Homes, Town Homes or Apartments that I like and then visit them on our days off.

[flynavyj]

For the most part St. Charles is a decent area. I don't think there's significantly high crime any much of St. Charles County, however as stated there are some run down parts and economically strained parts of town and while there you might notice more crime (typically property crime, vandals, break-ins, and general youth mischief).

Ballwin and Manchester are pretty good areas, and crime as a whole should be pretty limited. There are some affordable homes just south of Manchester Rd too, in the Manchester area along with some older homes throughout Ballwin that would suit your needs. Most all of the areas you mentioned will be suburban living, strip malls, highways, and pretty car-centric culture. There is bus service throughout the county, as long as budgets are met. A couple years ago, bus service was stopped in parts of St. Louis County, and I believe Chesterfield/Ballwin area was affected by this.

St. Louis City is a mixed bag of nuts, there are some very nice very safe neighborhoods...and then a block or two away is a neighborhood you wouldn't walk through if you had to. The Southside of St. Louis is relatively safe, but urban living is very different than rural living. If you think you guys would be interested in something like that, you'll find tons of support for it here, but if you're hoping for something a little closer to work in St. Charles, plus significantly less "urban" I'm sure you'll find people willing to give you some advice.

Do you have any cross-street references for places you're curious about? We can probably give you a general idea of the area if we have a better idea of the areas your targeting.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

Yeh, that was my first thought when i saw the picture...cute renovation, but a shotgun house. A friend of mine lived in one, and i was never impressed with the layout.

My mom wants to buy it now, lol. She won't right now because she's got one more year until retirement and a house in St. Peters to sell, but for an empty nester looking to downsize, I think this is exactly the kind of place that would be a good option. She'd use the tiny bedroom as an office -- everyone she knows at this point pretty much lives in St. Louis so overnight guests aren't a priority, and lving within walking distance to some of her favorite places gives her happy fuzzy feelings!

Regardless, back to things that are actually useful for the OP!: Although I agree with you flynavy that much of the city is "block by block" in the way you described it, that's really not true for the southwest city -- essentially all the neighborhoods west of Kingshighway and south of 44. That is a vast swath of the city that is incredibly safe and stable.

But all of that is likely a moot point for the OP because with the jobs so much farther west, the city probably isn't the best all around plan -- you'd definitely be above the 30-minute mark. Probably up closer to 45-60 depending on where exactly you have to go.

But there are some nice places farther out -- Ballwin and Manchester are certainly good bets for renting, but there's nothing anywhere near your originally stated price point to buy; except maybe a condo. If you have any questions about a specific location, don't hesitate to ask!

[Sunflower82]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

For the most part St. Charles is a decent area. I don't think there's significantly high crime any much of St. Charles County, however as stated there are some run down parts and economically strained parts of town and while there you might notice more crime (typically property crime, vandals, break-ins, and general youth mischief).

Ballwin and Manchester are pretty good areas, and crime as a whole should be pretty limited. There are some affordable homes just south of Manchester Rd too, in the Manchester area along with some older homes throughout Ballwin that would suit your needs. Most all of the areas you mentioned will be suburban living, strip malls, highways, and pretty car-centric culture. There is bus service throughout the county, as long as budgets are met. A couple years ago, bus service was stopped in parts of St. Louis County, and I believe Chesterfield/Ballwin area was affected by this.

St. Louis City is a mixed bag of nuts, there are some very nice very safe neighborhoods...and then a block or two away is a neighborhood you wouldn't walk through if you had to. The Southside of St. Louis is relatively safe, but urban living is very different than rural living. If you think you guys would be interested in something like that, you'll find tons of support for it here, but if you're hoping for something a little closer to work in St. Charles, plus significantly less "urban" I'm sure you'll find people willing to give you some advice.

Do you have any cross-street references for places you're curious about? We can probably give you a general idea of the area if we have a better idea of the areas your targeting.

Actually I do! I found a really nice home that is in our pricing range that we're looking into today, its on Wyncrest Drive in Ballwin zip code 63011, not sure of any of the cross street names in that area however. My husband used to live in Ballwin and he said he really enjoyed it, its 8 mins to our jobs and about 20 mins to our friend/roommate job, so its almost perfecto! lol Just hoping it will still be there when we arrive, I might call to make some arrangements to see it when we get into town...but Ballwin/Manchester/Chesterfield area is what we're looking at for renting a home.

Edit- Another area we're looking at too is Weatherton Plc, Ballwin, MO

[aragx6]

There is no bad place in Ballwin. Unless it's on a super busy road or something I can't imagine any dealbreaker locations out there.

[flynavyj]

Arag, wasn't trying to dismiss the city, I just didn't want to paint the entire south side with the same brush. I know the vast majority of South St. Louis is safe, and is pretty nice West of Kingshighway, and almost West of Grand is pretty good...East of there however, I've gone through some very rough neighborhoods that didn't leave any warm fuzzies.

Sunflower,

I have family in that general area (Weidman Rd) and it should be perfectly safe and fairly convienent(depending on where you roommate will work in St. Charles). There is a new Walmart / Costco that was built at the corner of Manchester and 141, and about every fast food resturant you could want up and down the Manchester strip.

The location by Weatherton Pl, is a tad further south and would be less convinent to get towards St. Charles for work. Either way will still take about 25 minutes though, if I guessed a location of halfway down Mo-94 in St. Charles, Co.

[Sunflower82]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

Arag, wasn't trying to dismiss the city, I just didn't want to paint the entire south side with the same brush. I know the vast majority of South St. Louis is safe, and is pretty nice West of Kingshighway, and almost West of Grand is pretty good...East of there however, I've gone through some very rough neighborhoods that didn't leave any warm fuzzies.

Sunflower,

I have family in that general area (Weidman Rd) and it should be perfectly safe and fairly convienent(depending on where you roommate will work in St. Charles). There is a new Walmart / Costco that was built at the corner of Manchester and 141, and about every fast food resturant you could want up and down the Manchester strip.

The location by Weatherton Pl, is a tad further south and would be less convinent to get towards St. Charles for work. Either way will still take about 25 minutes though, if I guessed a location of halfway down Mo-94 in St. Charles, Co.

my husband said the same things too We all think it will work out, the house is worth a bit of driving, I'm just hoping its still available...waiting to hear back from the real estate agent. If its not I'm sure I can still find other homes for rent in that general area...