Relocating from Richmond, Virginia (St. Louis, Washington: apartments, to rent, lofts)

[CityBurb]

I am relocating to Saint Louis from Richmond, Virginia later this summer. I am originally from Boston, but I have lived in Richmond for the past 10 years. I am getting married before we move to Saint Louis and I'm looking for advice on places to live. She is in her upper 20's. I am in my low 30's. We don't have children and we like the nightlife, but we keep it to the weekends. We are looking for a place to rent a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, recently renovated apartment/condo/loft. We are hoping to live somewhere where we can walk to restaurants, bars, shops, etc. But, we don't want to live where our car will be stolen and we can't walk around at night. Does anyone have any suggestions? We have been to Saint Louis twice and we like the Central West End and we want to know more about Soulard. Thanks in advance for your help!

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Soulard's fine, though maybe a bit more away from the action. And I think there's only buses, not MetroLink downt there. The Central West End is a great area as well, and I'm sure you'd do fine there. Downtown has more to do, and plenty of loft developments. And some of them sell parking spots so you can have a private one in a secured garage. Washington Avenue is nice as well. I mostly like that area of the city because of the older beautiful lofts and the ballpark, Scottrade Center, and Edward Jones Dome.

Try St. Louis Lofts, Saint Louis MO There are some loft developments there, and maybe you can get some ideas. It may not be the most up-to-date, but you can probably get some ideas.

I've walked around downtown at night before and never had a problem, but I was with my family and it was after a Cards/Blues game, so there were a lot of people around. But downtown has improved in recent year. I don't live in St. Louis, so I can't tell you any more than that. Probably most of the loft developments you will find will be downtown. And I would suggest getting one with a private parking space.

Soulard does have the Farmer's Market, which I've heard is pretty nice. Local Growers sell food and all kinds of things there. Here's a 2 BR in Central West End for $800/month
Very nice conversion into Condos across from Barnes Hosp. (broken link)

I wish I could help you more, but I must get to bed.

And somebody who has lived in STL I'm sure could help you more.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by CityBurb

I am relocating to Saint Louis from Richmond, Virginia later this summer. I am originally from Boston, but I have lived in Richmond for the past 10 years. I am getting married before we move to Saint Louis and I'm looking for advice on places to live. She is in her upper 20's. I am in my low 30's. We don't have children and we like the nightlife, but we keep it to the weekends. We are looking for a place to rent a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, recently renovated apartment/condo/loft. We are hoping to live somewhere where we can walk to restaurants, bars, shops, etc. But, we don't want to live where our car will be stolen and we can't walk around at night. Does anyone have any suggestions? We have been to Saint Louis twice and we like the Central West End and we want to know more about Soulard. Thanks in advance for your help!

Walking neighborhoods include Downtown, Soulard, CWE, Tower Grove, U.City Loop, and Clayton if you prefer inner ring burb.

You can walk around any of those areas. Get covered parking. The Soulard is actually "in" the action of its own neighborhood. Lots of nightlife in terms of bars and restaurants and the mentioned farmer's market. It is 5 minutes from downtown. It can get a bit rowdy on the weekends and of course for Mardi Gras(2nd largest in U.S.) There are some very good and fun places to hang out in the Soulard. You won't be able to walk to other neighborhoods from there except a few. Otherwise it's public transit or very short neighborhood drive to other city locations.

[Brickmama]

Take a look downtown. Lots of new lofts and condos with a lot of nightlife nearby.

[RickMG]

Hey, I've spent the last three Saturdays showing people from Richmond around the area. Picked them up at the Chase (was one of them you?). There are many areas in St. Louis that fit the description of what you're looking for, including the areas you mentioned as well as the Loop area. In fact, in all the driving around, the loop was always the most lively area, but that's mostly with the Wash U crowd. With any of the better apartments and condos, you will have either a garage or gated parking, so you shouldn't have any problem with your car getting stolen. And, as you probably know, a car can get stolen anywhere.

[shmata]

We are also a couple relocating to STL from Richmond VA in the near future and want to live in the downtown area in the midst of shopping and services. But we also have a dog who needs his exercise. Any suggestions about dog-friendly downtown living?

[Alexius Jamerson]

Look in Dogtown in St. Louis. It is about 10 minutes to downtown, in the city, and very safe for walking late night. You can rent a house or apartment fairly cheap here as well.

For clarification, DOgtown is not an official city neighborhood, but it is actually made up of 3 city neighborhoods; Franz Park, Hi-Pointe, and Clayton-Tamm. But, most apartment or home listings you find will say "Dogtown." It's the more popular name for the area.

[aragx6]

shmata I always see a lot of dogs in the Central West End and that would put you close to Forest Park, perfect for running/walking a dog.

[montereymadi2]

If you don't end up downtown, the area where I live has a dog park. SW City Dog Park There is also Francis Park....lots of dogs there, and we're close to Forrest Park, too. We live in the Southampton neighborhood in the southwest part of the city. Lots of small gingerbread like homes with lots of character. There's low crime here, people are great and it's affordable. You can walk to a few restaurants and to Target but it's not like downtown. Saint Louis Hills is also nice and they have some apartments and duplexes there. I'm from VA too (VA Beach area), so welcome. I think you'll find a lot of similarities between Richmond, Va and STL.

[01va571]

I lived in St. Louis as well. Off Loughborough avein Southside. I wasn’t too fond of that city. But as far as Virginia goes.......Id pick another city.


Ok anybody who doesn't think Richmond is a complete dump is either out of there mind or have never been outside of Richmond.

"Coming from someone who has lived in a terrible area in NE Washington D.C." Richmond is disgusting!!!

When I entered Richmond from Chamberlayne road off of I-95 it was almost as if I had driven right into Martin Luther King Jr drive in Southeast D.C. This progressively got worse as you entered the city. It was actually dirtier than area’s of Baltimore or DC. I got flicked off and yelled at by some thug looking guy for glancing at him for less than a second. Wow. Not even in Baltimore has that happened to me.

Most of the buildings in the city looked eaten away, boarded up, or graphitized. It stunk badly. It was reminiscent of Gary Indiana.
I was hungry. I decided to go to a McDonalds. I sat in the drive threw for about 25 minutes. Even someone had written on the side of the building. "I have been sitting here a long time". Then a reply from someone else under it read: "Me too, Steve!". I also noticed a large amount of crusted spit all over the side of the McDonalds.


The skyline was pitiful. The buildings looked big at first and I was excited. The closer I got into the city I noticed the big skyline wasn’t close together but spread out to make it look big. Everything in between was trashy... I even heard on the radio that there was a part at the “Wal-Mart”. I have never heard something like that broadcasted over the radio in my LIFE!

The most exciting thing I saw was the White house of Confederacy. As well as the museum.

I will probably never go back.

Also, Richmond Virginia in 2007 ranked #5 for violent crimes for cities with populations of 100,000 - 250,000 based on Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports.

sources:

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data...ts/07tbl08.xls[/FONT
Crime in the United States 2007[/font][/SIZE]
[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate_(100,000_-_250,000"][font=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate_(100,000_-_250,000