Give it to me straight (St. Louis, University City: apartments, crimes, credit)

[paulfortner]

Wife from suburbs of Chicago.
Husband from inner city of Chicago.
Baby from small town in Southern Illinois.
Looking for cheap inner city apt. in area that is safe as per standards from individual from inner city. (i.e. drug dealer every couple of miles not every couple of blocks. Purse snatching crimes commonplace, murders uncommon.) I know East St. Louis is off limits. What about across the river from East St. Louis and the south side of the city? I have been seeing some nice places on line for that area.

[aragx6]

As a (very) general rule, stay south of I-64 (most people around here call it 40) or west of Kingshighway and you'll be fine. Stay away from the area east and north of St. Louis University (SLU) and anything in North city.

Again, that's a massive generalization, but it will give you an idea. If you list some of the apartments you have seen we could give you a better idea of the flavor of the neighborhoods they fall in.

[ShadowCaver]

Besides what aragx6 mentioned, do you have desires to be w/in a certain distance/time of any particular place?

btw, welcome to StL!

[anduarto]

I'd make a few exceptions to what you've heard so far. The Central West End is both north of 64 (40) and east of Kingshighway but it's a beautiful, sophisticated and integrated part of the city with great street life. I'd move a young family there in a minute.

Soulard would also be a great place to raise a family.

Unfortunately, St. Louis public schools often leave a lot to be desired. Inside city limits I really would consider a private school or one of the few "gifted" public schools.

The area around Tower Grove always seemed nice to me too, but it's been awhile.

Clayton, University City, Richmond Heights, Maplewood (the near suburbs) also offer varied diverse city living and perhaps better public schools. Webster Groves and Kirkwood are both lovely.

But like the other posters said, there are numerous fine neighborhoods south of 64 and west of Kingshighway.

I'm embarassed to say I know very little about North St. Louis city once you get north of, say, Washington Ave. It has a very rough rep but I'm sure there are nice areas there too. Maybe someone can educate me.

[paulfortner]

Hi folks- this is the suburban wife here. We are looking in the tower grove area, but everything in our price range is south of 40 and east of kingshighway. If it's just a couple of blocks from tower grove park, is that still an ok area?

[anduarto]

Tower Grove and surrounding areas contain some truly beautiful neighborhoods. I have heard rumblings of some decline in some of the neighborhoods in the area. Not sure how much credit to give everyone's – everyone's notion of "decline" is different. And, on the otherhand, I know some of the area's neighborhoods are said to be having a "renaissance".

Overall, I think it's definitely worth checking out. It really is beautiful. Try contacting some neighborhood organizations or doing searches online for Tower Grove.

[aragx6]

I think it would really depend on your comfort level. I think it's a fine area and I would live there in an instant with no problem. I would suspect your city-bred husband would feel the same way. As a suburbanite you might feel a little more uncomfortable. The best advice is to spend some time there (including at night) and see how you feel.

[paulfortner]

What neighborhood is S. Grand and Bates? Is that a good area?

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by paulfortner

What neighborhood is S. Grand and Bates? Is that a good area?

I don't know exactly for sure which part you may be looking at, due to various 'regions' there, but maybe the following may help ya:
http://stlouis.missouri.org/neighbor...ord/text19.htm
http://www.grandsouthgrand.com/
http://stlouis.missouri.org/hollyhills/

This may help also w/ other areas: http://stlouis.missouri.org/neighborhoods/ which has this handy map: http://stlouis.missouri.org/neighborhoods/neighmap.html

Good luck...

[paulfortner]

It's on Grand between Chippawea and Bates...........does that help?