info on Alton, IL (St. Louis, O'Fallon: real estate, renting, sex offenders)

[montereymadi2]

Hi. We're new to the area and considering buying a house in Alton, IL. The houses are old and beautiful and are in a good price range for us. Locals have told us not to buy because we'll have a hard time re-selling it in a few years, when we will have to move again. Does anyone have any opinions about the area? How are the schools? We're in our mid thirties. We have a two year old son so we'd like somewhere family friendly, but we also like to have date night and go out to bars and restaurants in town a few hours each weekend so we'd like a town with some things to do. My husband works at Scott Airforce base and would have a bit of a commute but not much more than he currently has from South Saint Louis. We've looked all around O'Fallon, Shiloh, Edwardsville etc. (IL) and in Southampton area of Saint Louis. We just don't feel like we're finding the houses we want in our price range. We also don't really care for the suburbs of the base...just nothing to do there unless you love chain restaurants; plus the area seems so saturated with homes. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!! Madisson

[Bobster]

I personally LOVE Alton! While I'm a real estate agent, I don't really know that much about the market there...especially right in town, but there are some REALLY cool houses there. I would think that if you could get one of them, that the same things that appeal to you now will appeal to somebody else later.

[aragx6]

Did these folks give you any reason they think it's be hard to sell a home in Alton? I don't know much (if anything) about the market there, but it is a lovely river town with some beautiful homes.

[montereymadi2]

Well, we talked to one local shop owner. I hate to base my opinions on what he said, but he did have an impact. He said that the economy is really slow there. He said there used to be major steel business there but that when that closed up, everyone left. I know there are still people there, but we're just wondering if it's a good investment or not. He said that a friend of his bought a house there and made major improvements but wasn't able to make any money on the house because the values of the other houses in the area weren't as high as his would be with the improvements.

The town brought in the riverboat casino to bring in some business but it may have brought some crime to the area too. I looked up the number and location of sex offenders in the area an it amazed me. It was just as bad as Saint Louis. I thought that in Alton, a smaller town, crime might be better. We do love the old houses (as long as they aren't haunted) but not if the crime will be high there. We're just trying to make the best decision for resale and a safe decision for our family.

[aragx6]

Alton definitely doesn't have high crime, though I know little to nothing about the schools.

Alton struggled a bit, as did much of the midwest, in the last 40 years or so, but it's proximity to St. Louis will always guarantee it a better fate than middle of nowhere towns.

What the store owner said about his friend is probably true- it's a rookie mistake to overimprove a house - you never want to be the best house in the neighborhood.

I would always suggest having a Realtor come in before you make any major improvements to get their opinion on how much you should spend and where.

[Bobster]

A buddy of mine has lived on 4th street in Alton for over 15 years and from what I've seen, a LOT of the homes around his have been getting rehabbed. One of them, across from a park from his house has got to be one of the coolest rehab projects that I've ever seen (and I've been involved in rehabbing since for over 30 years - I was a baby when I was used as child labor).

Sometimes I wonder if certain areas being labeled "bad" isn't kind of a racist code word for racially mixed?

[RhondaHMo]

Originally Posted by montereymadi2

We do love the old houses (as long as they aren't haunted)

Guess you haven't heard, that according to Troy Taylor, Alton is the most haunted litte town in America?? Check out his books, the history of the area is fascinating.

Can't give you much unbiased info, because I haven't physically lived there since I was in 5th grade (moved to an even SMALLER IL town then, Worden, where I graduated from) but I LOVE that area. I guess it's just remembering all the places we used to go, eat and friends there. I get a warm, fuzzy feeling when we drive up the 'river road' and pass the piasa bird. I reconnected with a couple of friends I had when I lived in East Alton and they still live in the area and couldn't think of going anywhere else. I love to visit them and rediscover the area. But it IS a very blue-collar, working-class place to be. Which isn't bad to me at all, but I've noticed quite a few of the folks on this board will try to lead you away from any such areas. <shrug>

I left the area in '88 and didn't come back much until I talked my husband into moving back a little over a year ago (we spent the last 15 years in TX) and don't regret it a bit. My family is here, his is in the boothill of MO so our son is finally getting to know his whole family. We're renting right now, so not sure where we'll finally end up for the long run. Hubby works up by the Mills Mall, so we want to stay pretty centrally located to that, as he got very tired of his long commute in Dallas so not sure if the IL side will ever be an option for us, but I sure visit whenever I can!

-Rhonda
Olivette, MO

[jojojohnson76]

"Almost as bad as St. Louis"

Please.

[WalnutPark829]

[quote=aragx6;2907280]Alton definitely doesn't have high crime, though I know little to nothing about the schools.
[quote]

Altons crime numbers are pretty similar to Jennings (Jennings usually a bit higher but not by much), a place I remember you saying in the past you would "never live" and are deathly afraid of.

Alton, IL crime index was 638 in 2006 Alton, Illinois (IL) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders, while Jennings was 662. Alton has a pretty high number of rapes, robberies and assaults for as small as its population is. Jennings has its crime problems as well. I just see a double standard here. All of these crime numbers are available on this site.

But to be fair there are many lovely parts of Alton I would live, some great history there. I would not steer anyone away from Alton, just be careful because there are some higher crime areas in Alton as there are with most cities. And you can't go wrong with Fast Eddies, love that place.

[WalnutPark829]

or sorry you didnt say "deathly afraid of" it was "Yeah I wouldn't go to Jennings on a regular basis...it makes me nervous as hell." My fault. But still Alton has comparable crime numbers.