30-something single female considering a move to STL from Boston (St. Louis: apartments, homes)

[moorlander]

Originally Posted by charleschap

I think Zach makes a good a point about the salary increase. It is true that everyone has their price. For example, if the OP is making 100k in Boston, it would be tough to turn down 150k in St. Louis/Detroit. Or for that matter, how about 500k in Baghdad or even $1.2 million in Mogadishu? You could get an awesome apt in St. Louis on 150k per year, and a palace with armed guards in Mogadishu on $1.2 mil.

The homers are getting upset and ganging up on me. I am going to sign off now because I think OP will get the message and conduct her due diligence. FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED!!!

You completely missed Zach's point.

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by charleschap

Regarding the City is separate from the County thing, a young 30 something women will want to live in the City, not in a far flung suburb with all families. In Boston, a young person can live downtown OR in many nearby areas (Brookline, Brighton, Cambridge, etc). In St. Louis, the nearby areas are dangerous.

OP -
If you are visiting there, go to more than the tourist areas. All of the surrounding areas to the North and especially East St Louis are incredibly dangerous. Bostonians don't realize how safe their City is compared to many rust belt cities. Imagine if Boston was surrounded by Roxbury on all sides, with the only safe areas being Back Bay and Beacon Hill. That's what it's like, a seige mentality. I give you this advice as I would to a sister or any single woman that was a friend. If you move there for the job opportunity, seriously consider your safety and do the following:

- move into an apt bldg with a door man
- get mace and learn how to use it
- consider getting a conceal carry permit and learn how to use a firearm. Only do this if you are going to train and feel comfortable with it.
- get a large dog like a german sheppard
- act quickly to meet a large boyfreind and move in with him

You don't want to end up a statistic.

you missed the point. The point of the county/city argument is not to say that you must live in the county to live in a safe area. The point is that the city limits are so small (60 sq miles) that it equals just the urban core of many typical cities. The urban core usually has the most crime, in any city, but that's masked in most cities because their city limits include much more than just that. In St. Louis, that's not the case. If St. Louis were like a typical sized city, then it would include much of the County, and the crime rate would go way down. In fact, the St. Louis metro area is pretty far down the list for highest crime rate. Metros like San Francisco, Nashvlle, KCMO, Jacksonville, Sacramento and many others are even ranked above it. So St. Louis urban core compared to urban cores of many cities would have about the same crime rate.

Boston is a different story because it's small and dense with a very low crime rate. I'm not saying St. Louis should be compared to Boston, because it's in a different league. But St. Louis is no more dangerous than cities like KCMO, Indy, Nashville, etc, yet it gets a very bad rap when those other cities dont get nearly as much criticism about crime

[Dawn10am]

I think this OP has gotten WAY more information and commentary about St. Louis than she was expecting! She could almost be an expert at this point without ever having visited!

[glamatomic]

I hope the OP comes back and lets us know how her visit to St. Louis went. Didn't she visit this past weekend or did I misread that?

[BioMechanical]

Boston is a nice city, but I wouldn't consider it a world-class city by any means. I reserve that title for the big three New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. All of which are more dangerous than St. Louis imo.

[IDASpaceman]

^ Really? Chicago is world class as opposed to Boston? LOL

[charleschap]

Originally Posted by Smtchll

But St. Louis is no more dangerous than cities like KCMO, Indy, Nashville, etc, yet it gets a very bad rap when those other cities dont get nearly as much criticism about crime

There may be some statistical variation that makes St. Louis look worse than it actually is. However, it is still pretty bad. I wouldn't recommend that OP move to KC or Indy either. Again, it really comes down to how good the job offer is. I would give it a 35% over under. If the raise is more than 35%, I would say go for it. Under 35%, forget about it.

[glamatomic]

Good job offers aren't always about the money- they're about the opportunity. Sometimes, it may mean a step up the corporate ladder which will look good on a CV and lead to further and better opportunities down the track, even though it may not initially come with a significant salary increase. Plus, you've got to remember that the cost of living in St. Louis is a LOT less than Boston (according to a cost of living calculator, 42% cheaper overall) so even if the salary offer was dollar for dollar on her current job, she'd totally be coming out ahead.

Btw, KC isn't bad at all- nor is Indy.

[Brickmama]

Charleschap, I have lived downtown for over 10 years. Quite frankly I don't think you have the slightest idea what you are talking about.

[olinjoseph]

Originally Posted by charleschap

Regarding the City is separate from the County thing, a young 30 something women will want to live in the City, not in a far flung suburb with all families. In Boston, a young person can live downtown OR in many nearby areas (Brookline, Brighton, Cambridge, etc). In St. Louis, the nearby areas are dangerous.

OP -
If you are visiting there, go to more than the tourist areas. All of the surrounding areas to the North and especially East St Louis are incredibly dangerous. Bostonians don't realize how safe their City is compared to many rust belt cities. Imagine if Boston was surrounded by Roxbury on all sides, with the only safe areas being Back Bay and Beacon Hill. That's what it's like, a seige mentality. I give you this advice as I would to a sister or any single woman that was a friend. If you move there for the job opportunity, seriously consider your safety and do the following:

- move into an apt bldg with a door man
- get mace and learn how to use it
- consider getting a conceal carry permit and learn how to use a firearm. Only do this if you are going to train and feel comfortable with it.
- get a large dog like a german sheppard
- act quickly to meet a large boyfreind and move in with him

You don't want to end up a statistic.

Rolling on the floor laughing at how ignorant of a statement this is. If anyone feels threatened by living in downtown STL or many of the surrounding neighborhoods.. then you need to move to Florida with the retired snow birds or North Dakota. STL is just like every other mid-sized city I've lived in and/or traveled int he US.

And what's with the East St Louis call-out? I would not walk through Harlem alone on a New York night. Is that, at all, an indicator of what it is like to live in the East Village of Manhattan?

You're comments are completely erroneous. Go back to Fargo.