Looking for apartments near SLU med campus (St. Louis, Manchester: affordable apartment, rent)

[zellygurl39]

Hello!

I am moving the move from Detroit to St.Louis in August. I am going to attend SLU for graduate school at the school of public health. I will be attending classes at Salus Center which is right down the street from the hospital. I am looking for housing near that area. I would love to be closer enough to take a shuttle but safety is my number one concern. I think 15 minutes away would be as far as I would want to know.

I really want to know about the Southwest Garden area, Central West End and Downtown. Which area is best? How is safety in those areas?! How is the parking?

I am VERY open so all suggestions are welcome

Anyways, what are some other good areas or apartment complexes?

THANKS!

[glamatomic]

Southwest Garden (known locally as 'The Grove') is still considered an "up and coming" area. There are some really nice parts, and also parts still in the process of rehabilitation / gentrification.

Central West End (in my opinion) would be the pick of the three. I've had numerous single female friends who have lived there, and never had an issue with safety, even walking back from the metrolink at night. There are a *lot* of amazing old apartment buildings and some great apartments, but you'll probably pay more here than in The Grove, mainly because the area has already come leaps and bounds in revitalization.

As for downtown- there are some absolutely stunning Lofts downtown. Like Detroit however, our downtown has struggled over the past 30-something years, but is thankfully in the process of making a 'comeback'. I used to work downtown (including night shifts), and although I never had any issues being in or around downtown at night, I sometimes used to hear horror stories from people who did live downtown. That was a few years ago now (2008), when I was last in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago to do some house hunting (can't WAIT to move back- I keep saying that on these boards but I'm just so excited!!!), I really did notice a huge difference in the "feel" of downtown. It feels a lot more 'Loved' than it used to. It still hasn't quite reached it's full potential yet, but it's come along way- and my inclination is that it will still improve more. More resident-friendly businesses (such as grocery stores) are moving back to downtown too, which will make living here even easier (when I last lived in the Lou, the only grocery store downtown was a small store called City Grocers- but I believe they closed down due to the bigger and better Schnucks opening a block away).

Anyway, if I were you I would look at the Central West End and Downtown first, and only The Grove if you find a really awesome, very affordable apartment.

The best thing for you to do at this stage though would be to take a trip to St. Louis, take a walk around the areas (not trying to be funny- but look at them at night as well because the feeling of a neighborhood can change significantly between daylight and night) and see what feels right to you.

Good Luck! And I hope you love St. Louis!

[glamatomic]

P.S. I had friends living in apartments in the Skinker Debaliviere neighborhood- and they absolutely loved it there. There are a lot of really neat, old, apartment complexes along DeBaliviere itself. They can be kind of quirky in the respect that they're in old, old buildings so the layouts are often unique / different- but if you like places with character you'd definitely be happy there.

Best of luck again!

[Sundaydrive00]

Originally Posted by glamatomic

Southwest Garden (known locally as 'The Grove')

I always thought The Grove was the area around Manchester between Kingshighway and Vandeventer. Southwest Garden is the neighborhood directly West of The Botanical Gardens the Tower Grove Park. They're close to each other, but I don't think they're the same thing. I think the Grove is Forest Park Southeast.

[glamatomic]

Originally Posted by Sundaydrive00

I always thought The Grove was the area around Manchester between Kingshighway and Vandeventer. Southwest Garden is the neighborhood directly West of The Botanical Gardens the Tower Grove Park. They're close to each other, but I don't think they're the same thing. I think the Grove is Forest Park Southeast.

You're right

That was my "just woke up slightly hungover" mistake. I would edit my post but it will no longer allow me to

SORRY!!!

In that case, discredit everything I said about the Grove aka 'Not Southwest Garden'

That'll teach me to post when not at my brightest!

[zellygurl39]

thanks so much for all the good info!

[aragx6]

Yup, SW Garden is safe, quiet (perhaps a bit too quiet for some) and walking distance to the Italian restaurants in the Hill neighborhood. Forest Park Southeast is the neighborhood directly south of the Central West End that is colloquially called the Grove and it's still fairly sketch.

CWE is gorgeous, walkable and easily one of my favorite St. louis neighborhoods, but it can also be pricey -- and downtown is the same way. For the money, downtown would get you a newer, nicer and likely larger apartment, but there is little there under about $900 a month.

CWE gets sketchier the farther north or east you go, so stick to the heart of the neighborhood and don't let realtors and property managers on Craigslist fool you with their neighborhood creep --I've seen listings grom Midtown to Academy to the Grove listed erroneously as CWE.

Both Shaw (again a little sleepy) and Tower Grove South would also be great options for you -- you could ride your bike or take the Grand bus to the Salus Center really easily from either of those neighborhoods. Grand between Arsenal and Utah has a great stretch of restuarants -- some great ethnic ones! -- bars and shops.

The neighborhood guides on this blog are great for newcomers: St. Louis City Talk

[zellygurl39]

I really would like to keep my rent under $800. When I was in undergrad, I had a huge, expensive one bedroom apartment that I now see was a waste. I want my new apartment to be in a safe neighborhood that is close enough to take the metro to class. I also would prefer assigned parking and washer/dryer in the apartment. I honestly, think my list is simple. It is just REALLY hard trying to find an apartment when I am not in the state.

[Dawn10am]

From the looks of it the Salus Center is about a mile walk from the Grand MetroLink station, so either plan on leaving for class really early or doing a Metro/SLU Shuttle combination. My suggestion would be to look at the apartments on Lindell right across from the main campus (they're all rented out through FrontDoorSTL), and take the shuttle to class, which I'm sure will stop at the Grand station once it reopens. And if you don't have a car at all I'd definitely bring a bike--it'll come in handy. Of course you could also always live in the CWE or Downtown, I just think it'd be easier to only have to take the shuttle and not the MetroLink as well.

EDIT: $800 wil also get you a very decent studio in pretty much any neighborhood. Probably not in-unit laundry decent, but still very nice.

[billiken]

Originally Posted by zellygurl39

I want my new apartment to be in a safe neighborhood that is close enough to take the metro to class. I also would prefer assigned parking and washer/dryer in the apartment. I honestly, think my list is simple. It is just REALLY hard trying to find an apartment when I am not in the state.

In unit laundry is typically found in more upscale apartment units...good luck!