North county (St. Louis, St. Charles, Florissant: crime rate, homes, safe area)

[zac100]

I keep hearing that it's a good idea to stay away from "north county" in St. Louis, in terms of crime/personal safety/etc. But I don't have a good sense of how far north one can safely go/live in the city? Is the bad part of town north of 270? North of 70? I'm wondering if places like Ferguson and Berkeley fall into this "bad" category.

Thanks!

[BoomBoxing]

North county is a mixed bag. I would say Hazelwood, Florissant and Bridgeton are almost all still good areas to live in. Other areas are more like "it depends". And you also have about a gazillion municipalities in north county that you never know which ones are good or bad. For example Bel Nor, right next to UMSL's campus is a very nice area for the most part. But Normandy, also nearby UMSL is on the rough side. Overland is pretty nice overall, but then you cross highway 170 and you are in Vinita Park, which isn't that great.

Ferguson is an area that seems to be rebounding but my personal opinion is that it isn't there yet, and Berkeley should absolutely be ruled out. Because it's so complicated most people will just say to avoid north county all together and move to St. Charles if you want to live north. However, there are some amazing gems in north county. I've spent a lot of time there over the years and have an affinity for the place.

My advice is to check out Hazelwood and Florissant and then check out what's available a bit south in areas like Creve Coeur and Maryland Heights (which most people don't really consider as north county).

[Pruitt Igoe]

North St. Louis County is a cultural and intellectual wasteland. It should be avoided at all costs. When you have to go to St. Charles to do something for fun, that in itself should be a fair warning. If you must live in metro St. Louis, I would choose West County, the Central West End or the pockets of Tower Grove that aren't crummy. South St. Louis County and Jefferson County are redneck heaven.

[davey123]

Florissant is a safe area. And, of course, there are areas around Florissant that people consider to be Florissant, but are really unincorporated St. Louis County that are incredibly nice and upscale. Some people stigmatize all of North County, but one has to question the motives of such broad generalizations. Florissant is the largest municipality in the county. Does anyone know what the crime rate is in Florissant, and how it compares to other municipalities that are not in North County? I'm sure it would be interesting to look at those stats.

[flynavyj]

There are pockets of North County (and all the other areas) that are desirable, the opposite is also true. Something i notice in North County is a somewhat diverse population, especially in comparison to West County. You can find all the Crime Stats on this website , just glancing and comparing Florissant and Chesterfield, the crime rate is higher, but nothing that I would be alarmed about. The rate in Florissant however is lower than the National Average. It's also higher than Maryland Heights, and lower than Bridgeton (other areas that were mentioned).

All in all, i wouldn't "avoid" north county, wouldn't necessarily be too cautious too. If you're driving through an area and don't feel comfortable, turn around and drive the other direction. That'll help you get a feel for the area.

[davey123]

Originally Posted by flynavyj

There are pockets of North County (and all the other areas) that are desirable, the opposite is also true. Something i notice in North County is a somewhat diverse population, especially in comparison to West County. You can find all the Crime Stats on this website , just glancing and comparing Florissant and Chesterfield, the crime rate is higher, but nothing that I would be alarmed about. The rate in Florissant however is lower than the National Average. It's also higher than Maryland Heights, and lower than Bridgeton (other areas that were mentioned).

All in all, i wouldn't "avoid" north county, wouldn't necessarily be too cautious too. If you're driving through an area and don't feel comfortable, turn around and drive the other direction. That'll help you get a feel for the area.

Thanks for looking up the stats. Because Florissant is more populous than many of the other municipalities, I think it may be hard to compare their crime stats directly to some of the other municipalities. That is, taken their size into consideration, their stats may actually be lower than many of the "non-Northern" municipalities. And, I actually think this may be the case.

[arch_genesis]

St. Ferdinand (North County's borough name) isn't bad. as far as crime goes, You'll run into burglaries and car break-ins, more so than violent crime. Aesthetically, it has some areas that are nicer than West County. Its more dense more diverse less sprawl. I'd say it has a better housing stock too than West County. More brick homes and buildings but they're vacated and crumbling. North County is a gem though. It just doesn't get the attention it needs. Old town florrisant is pretty cute but not a lot of it remains today. It also contains the airport in its area. So it would be my pick for more rail extension in the county, it would be easier to rezone. You have U-City, St. Ann, Bridgeton, Ferguson and others. After The City, St. Ferdinand is my favorite borough (mergeee) in St. Louis. Its not a wasteland.

[arch_genesis]

Bel-Nor is a beautiful neighborhood too, right near UMSL. It is not a wasteland, its going through disinvestment and a poorly managed region.

[flynavyj]

As far as size goes (in terms of Florissant) the reason i compared it to chesterfield was they're close in population, with florissant edging ahead by approximately 5 or 6 thousand residents.

[DemetriusHR]

open up Google Maps and go to street view. Keep going north until you stop seeing a mini Detroit (good luck)