Transformation in St. Louis! (Dixon, Benton: appointed, tenants, live in)

[BioMechanical]

Originally Posted by Caesarstl

What about the Mills? That's still an outlet mall right? Both way out in Chesterfield makes me a bit less excited though city wise...

Agreed. Chesterfield may as well be on the other side of the planet.

[BioMechanical]

I'm coming into St. Louis from Chicago on Amtrak, and sitting next to a couple of kids and their parents. We're all looking out the windows as we cross the river and come into town.

Kid: "Why are all the buildings so crappy?"

Parent: "I have no idea"

[1greatcity]

^The buildings they see out of the train windows look crappy because the areas along urban railway lines ARE crappy, for the most part. When I took Amtrak to Chicago, I thought the exact same thing, seeing miles of graffiti, vandalized buildings, and abandoned industrial sites out of my train window. Sorry, but this is the ugly underbelly of a city. It ain't pretty, nor is it supposed to be. To see the real beauty of most any city, you've got to get off the darned train/el/subway, and explore the entertainment districts, the parks, the streetlife...and especially the neighborhoods.

[BioMechanical]

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

^The buildings they see out of the train windows look crappy because the areas along urban railway lines ARE crappy, for the most part. When I took Amtrak to Chicago, I thought the exact same thing, seeing miles of graffiti, vandalized buildings, and abandoned industrial sites out of my train window. Sorry, but this is the ugly underbelly of a city. It ain't pretty, nor is it supposed to be. To see the real beauty of most any city, you've got to get off the darned train/el/subway, and explore the entertainment districts, the parks, the streetlife...and especially the neighborhoods.

I wish that was the case but they were comparing skylines, not talking about the dilapidated buildings on the side of the tracks, although St. Louis has plenty of that. In the short time I have been here I have really enjoyed St. Louis and the county. I would just like to see more life downtown. It's a ghost town down there during the work day.

[Caesarstl]

Originally Posted by BioMechanical

I wish that was the case but they were comparing skylines, not talking about the dilapidated buildings on the side of the tracks, although St. Louis has plenty of that. In the short time I have been here I have really enjoyed St. Louis and the county. I would just like to see more life downtown. It's a ghost town down there during the work day.

If the parents couldn't think of a single thing then that makes me not very hopeful for the futures of the children...

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by BioMechanical

I wish that was the case but they were comparing skylines, not talking about the dilapidated buildings on the side of the tracks, although St. Louis has plenty of that. In the short time I have been here I have really enjoyed St. Louis and the county. I would just like to see more life downtown. It's a ghost town down there during the work day.

You just can't compare St. Louis downtown to Chicago. St.Louis has many advantages, in my opinion, for livibility, but if you try to compare downtowns St. Louis will lose every time. Chicago is a great world class city I love to visit. St. Louis is a great midwestern town I love to call home and raise a family. Apples and oranges. With that said, there are some great things that are happening and that have happened in the city. Washington Avenue, for example.

Oh, and the Cubs suck.

[aragx6]

What makes most cities great isn't their downtown but the strength of the neighborhoods. This is particularly true in St. Louis which has some of the most urban, walkable neighborhoods in the Midwest.

[BioMechanical]

Originally Posted by aragx6

What makes most cities great isn't their downtown but the strength of the neighborhoods. This is particularly true in St. Louis which has some of the most urban, walkable neighborhoods in the Midwest.

This is very true. I have lived from one coast to the other, north and south, and St. Louis has some of my favorite neighborhoods from any city that I have lived in.

[stlouisan]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

You just can't compare St. Louis downtown to Chicago. St.Louis has many advantages, in my opinion, for livibility, but if you try to compare downtowns St. Louis will lose every time. Chicago is a great world class city I love to visit. St. Louis is a great midwestern town I love to call home and raise a family. Apples and oranges. With that said, there are some great things that are happening and that have happened in the city. Washington Avenue, for example.

Oh, and the Cubs suck.

St. Louis is a city, not a town.

[Tivi]

Originally Posted by BioMechanical

This is very true. I have lived from one coast to the other, north and south, and St. Louis has some of my favorite neighborhoods from any city that I have lived in.

This is what I remember from living there, of course that was a decade ago. I have a question, the area between Bates and Holly hills , Grand and Morganford is that neighborhood considered walkable, is there anything there? What about safety for a single woman living alone? What would the demographics be there, young couples with families, students, retired ? I was looking to relocate to south city, but am used to the Bevo Area where I grew up. Would this area be similar with shops and restaurants coffee houses etc?