Opinions on living in St. Louis (Washington, Clayton: lofts, low crime, neighborhoods)

[awkwardturkey]

Hi everyone!

Recently, I had an interview for a position in St. Louis, MO, and it went really so there's a possibly that I may get the job. Awesome right? But it's in St. Louis.

I've heard so many things about St. Louis. It's great city for sports, affordable living, a city with great music and food, beautiful parks and so forth. But what I've ALSO heard, and the one thing that sticks out the most to me, is the crime. I've heard and read countless stories, or maybe rumors, about how high the crime rate is in St. Louis. More so the issues I've heard about the crime revolves around theft, robbery, cars being broken into than murder or anything of that severity.

Now I understand that every city has its good areas and its bad areas. I live in Atlanta....well, outside the perimeter of Atlanta where it's safe, but I'm fully aware of it's bad areas and I make sure to navigate my around them when traveling downtown. What I want to know is, how bad are the bad areas in St. Louis? What is it really like living in St. Louis and, if I do get the job, what areas do you recommend to live in that is remotely safe? I've did a bit of research and I heard some good things about Clayton, CWE, Forest Park, Tower Grove South, and a few others. Do you recommend any of the neighborhoods I just mentioned or some place else?

By the way, the job is located downtown St. Louis off Washington Avenue. What is that area like, too? I know in the past few years, the city has been trying to rejuvenate itself by bringing some businesses to the city which in turn would bring back the residents that left. Has that helped in any way?

Your opinions will be truly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[chicagobear]

If I worked on Washington Avenue I would live in a loft closeby and have the world's easiest commute.

[awkwardturkey]

Originally Posted by chicagobear

If I worked on Washington Avenue I would live in a loft closeby and have the world's easiest commute.

Thanks! But what is your opinion on the city itself? Is it as dangerous as statistics claim it to be or is it just overblown?

[Cellar-door]

Originally Posted by awkwardturkey

Thanks! But what is your opinion on the city itself? Is it as dangerous as statistics claim it to be or is it just overblown?

I'm moving into downtown STL and did a decent bit of research on it.
Looking at places like crime report, downtown near the Washington ave area looks pretty safe, some assaults, mostly domestic or simple in the last 6 months, 1 homicide out near the bridge, all the sexual offenses listed were indecent exposure. STL has high crime rates in part because it includes the worst parts of the city (up north it looks like) but what would normally be the low crime areas in other cities are not included because of how the metro area is set up. The city has only 320,000 people in it of the 2.9 million in the metro area.

[Dawn10am]

My opinion on St. Louis is that I love it. It's a great, mid-sized city with just enough big city energy to keep me entertained but it's still small enough to be laid back and friendly. The reputation for crime is overblown, since most of the violent crime happens in the north side of the city and you'll never need to go up there anyway. That's not to say that violent crime doesn't happen anywhere else, but it's not as much of a chronic, day-in, day-out kind of situation like on the north side. That being said, you do need to exercise street smarts wherever you are because it is a big city and anything can happen. If I worked downtown I would probably live on Washington Ave. It's mostly lined with bars and restaurants, but there's also a few little stores sprinkled in, from convenience stores to boutiques. It's a very young area and draws a lot of people from across the metro area who go down there for fun, so the energy is there on weekends. I'd imagine that it would definitely be a change of pace from outside the perimeter in Atlanta. Clayton, CWE, and Tower Grove are also good places, but everybody I know who lives downtown loves it and it'd be super convenient for work.

[flynavyj]

St. Louis is a decent city, you'll be fine. There might be some culture shock coming from the burbs of Atlanta to the City of St. Louis, but that'd happen if you went from the suburbs of any American city and moved to an inner city area.

Downtown, near Washington Ave has had a population boom of drastic proportions, approximately a 300% increase in population from 2000-2010. There are plenty of bad parts in St. Louis, the most heavily concentrated area is North St. Louis City, but there is NO REASON for you to go through North St. Louis City to get anywhere in the area...unless you're driving down I-70 between the city and the county or airport.

It's amazing what a different "view" you get of St. Louis if you drive into the city via I-64/40 vs I-70. North St. Louis along I-70 looks pretty rough once you cross into the city limits...and rightfully so, once you reach downtown things turn for the better, and leaving out of the city headed south is great too.

I'd also recommend living close to work on Washington Ave, especially if you're into Sushi, Clubs, Bars, etc. and like having a short commute. The lofts down there are nice and newly renovated, a couple blocks North of Washington Ave, and a bit further West it can become a bit more sketch...but the Ave and South is perfectly fine. Soulard would also be a good location, as would Tower Grove South and the Central West End.

[billiken]

Crime is a serious problem in St Louis for those who have no choice but to live in some of the most poverty-striken areas of the city. There's no denying that the city tops many crime lists. However, I'd say that crime issues have minimal impact on the middle class and above. I'd say more people take precautionary steps with regards to crime (making sure a car doesn't have anything valuable in it, not leaving headphones in while walking alone later at night, etc). When I lived in the city, I always rented a place with secured parking for additional peace of mind.

Working right off Washington Avenue would be pretty nice--Washington Ave is definitely the center of everything that's going on downtown. Anywhere right off a light rail line would be pretty convenient.

[brewyourown]

There are pockets where it's safe. North of Washington isn't one of them. And I mean just North. For me, that's a little too close. Yes, Washington looks nice, but it's a demilitarized zone mere blocks from it. I'd say stay extremely close to Forest Park Ave, the nice parts of the CWE, West of Tower Grove and West and South of Forest Park.

[Nomadicus]

It's been a long time since visiting St. Louis but the food is great and we did enjoy the zoo with the kids. They enjoyed seeing real animals up front and personal. Especially the elephants. I got in a bit of trouble with wife for photographing a female elephant peeing. St. Louis ribs are just simply mouth watering.

[awkwardturkey]

Originally Posted by Dawn10am

My opinion on St. Louis is that I love it. It's a great, mid-sized city with just enough big city energy to keep me entertained but it's still small enough to be laid back and friendly. The reputation for crime is overblown, since most of the violent crime happens in the north side of the city and you'll never need to go up there anyway. That's not to say that violent crime doesn't happen anywhere else, but it's not as much of a chronic, day-in, day-out kind of situation like on the north side. That being said, you do need to exercise street smarts wherever you are because it is a big city and anything can happen. If I worked downtown I would probably live on Washington Ave. It's mostly lined with bars and restaurants, but there's also a few little stores sprinkled in, from convenience stores to boutiques. It's a very young area and draws a lot of people from across the metro area who go down there for fun, so the energy is there on weekends. I'd imagine that it would definitely be a change of pace from outside the perimeter in Atlanta. Clayton, CWE, and Tower Grove are also good places, but everybody I know who lives downtown loves it and it'd be super convenient for work.

Thanks Dawn10am! I'm glad you love the city, that gives me a little more confidence about it. I do agree with you that the crime may be overblown but whenever I see the statistics and numbers, it frightens me. However, as you mentioned you have to take in consideration of the population size and the areas where these crimes are occurring, and I'm seeing it's prominently north of St. Louis. What about the East and South areas of St. Louis?