please help! (St. Louis, St. Joseph, St. Charles: loft, crime rates, home)

[gobucks123]

Hi, I currently live in Dublin, OH (suburb of Columbus) My fiance and I may be moving to St. Louis very soon for his job. I've been looking online at suburbs and it seems like Chesterfield and Ballwin look nice. Any other suburbs you would suggest? Is St. Louis really as scary as they make it sound? As long as we stay away from East St. Louis, we'll be okay right?
I am a paranoid person and this is all very overwhelming for me. Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Northwoods Voyager]

Originally Posted by gobucks123

Hi, I currently live in Dublin, OH (suburb of Columbus) My fiance and I may be moving to St. Louis very soon for his job. I've been looking online at suburbs and it seems like Chesterfield and Ballwin look nice. Any other suburbs you would suggest? Is St. Louis really as scary as they make it sound? As long as we stay away from East St. Louis, we'll be okay right?
I am a paranoid person and this is all very overwhelming for me. Any advice would be much appreciated!

St. Louis has many great neighborhoods and suburbs. Ballwin has grown by leaps and bounds, as they say. Very bustling area. Many subdivisions within the city. Many malls and excellent shopping areas. Good schools. Chesterfield also has grown over the years. A little bit more 'pricey' in parts and also has great shopping areas and schools.

Not that schools may interest you at this point, however, if you are planning on making a home purchase, good idea for any resale.

Pricer neighborhoods/suburbs are the Ladue, Town and Country area, Many fine, older mansions and some smaller gated communities. Depending upon where your fiance will be working, almost any area of the west city and county areas are usually within 20 minutes drive time. Usually!!!

As far as East St. Louis goes, yes, there are pockets of the city and surrounding areas that have seen some unpleasant changes over the years.

Now, an area worth mentioning is the University City area. Lots to do and a little bit diverse. Close to Washington University and different cultures and ethnic groups. Great area. Any area may experience crime in some form or another. Safest areas? Hard to say, really. Personal crime is supposed to be down according to some. Would suggest that you go on line and check on the statistics of any given location.

All in all, St. Louis is a wonderful city and has just about everything and anything to offer. Arts, theatres, shopping, entertainment of all types.

Downtown offers choice loft style living. Good luck on your pending move and keep reading here. Many others will respond to your inquiry in time.

[Northwoods Voyager]

Might like to try this for some other information:


St. Louis, MO - The Official Travel Portal of St. Louis, Missouri

Again, keep checking here.

[gobucks123]

Thank you for the information!! Really appreciate it!! It's nice to be able to get insight from someone who lives in the city, rather than all the info I've read on the internet. Everthing you stated is very useful and helpful! I am looking forward to the move!! Sounds like a great city-- Thanks again!!

[CellarBelle]

And don't forget to look at the Illinois side. I recomend my town - Edwardsville. We are 30 minutes from Cards Baseball and Blues Hockey. And don't be nervous about St. Louis! It is an AWESOME city. Check out my other posts about St. Louis and Edwardsville. You and your fiance will like it here or I'll eat a worm! St. Louis folks are the best! Good Luck!

[ibcwife]

St Louis is a wonderful place. Chesterfield is a beautiful community. When we live in the area we lived in St Charles which was a great place for kids. They have year-round schools which we liked after the initial shock.

The zoo is top notch and free, the science center is top notch and free, the botanical gardens.. just a ton of stuff to do and see. My kids have always regretted the move.

Good luck on your move... and don't worry. It is a great place. Of course like every big city, there are areas that it would be good if you stayed out of... especially at night. That is just common sense...

[northbayeric]

If you haven't been to the St. Louis forum threads, do check them out too! I was born and raised in the north county suburb of Florissant, and moved to California in 1986. My wife and I have been back to visit St. Louis and other places in Missouri twice since 2004. Last year, we were seriously considering moving to Fenton, and have since decided to get ready to move to St. Joseph, clear across the state.

I really like the Fenton area. Both Fenton and Ballwin boast some of the lowest crime rates of any city or town not just in the St. Louis area, but I think in all of Missouri. Incorporated Fenton has only about 4,500 residents, but has five nice city parks as well as an outdoor Heroes Memorial that honors our fallen military troops, law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, and those who died in the 9/11 attacks. Unincorporated Fenton covers a pretty large area along State Highway 141 from Highway 30 almost down to Highway 21. The Gravois Bluffs shopping area is a great place to shop, whether for groceries or many other items.

Ballwin is in a nice area, too. You're a bit farther away from any freeways, but it's not far from Castlewood State Park, and it's not as super-rich as Chesterfield, Town and Country, Des Peres or Ladue. In St. Charles County, you have a lot of new development in O'Fallon, Dardenne Prairie--and I think Wentzville is starting to take off as well. Here you're starting to get a bit further out from the city of St. Louis, and traffic can get pretty heavy commuting from those places.

My aunt and uncle live close to I-270 and I-55 in south county, and enjoy this area quite a bit. I think the general consensus among all of us is that North County is going rather downhill, particularly from the eastern half of Florissant going east to and through Spanish Lake near the Mississippi River. I've heard mixed things about Hazelwood, where I lived back in the mid-1970s. It's not too bad, I don't think--heavily blue-collar and pretty inexpensive housing around $80K to $120K on average. Stay north of I-270 if you're looking at Hazelwood.

Places like University City, Richmond Heights, Webster Groves, and Shrewsbury-all closer to St. Louis--I don't know as much about. I just never got down to those places when growing up in Florissant. Of what I am familiar with, my favorite spots are Fenton, followed closely by Ballwin, Eureka and Manchester--that whole general area.