Safest neighborhood close to Barnes and Jewish Hospital (St. Louis, St. Peters: apartment, condo)

[jnla]

Any input on neighborhoods would be welcome! Thank you in advance.
I'm moving my family to Barnes and Jewish Hospital for a new job and want to find a neighborhood that is close, but incredibly safe. I'm talking safe enough that my wife and 2 yr old can walk out the front door at any time of the day without reservation. Safe enough to park our cars on the street overnight without worrying about them being broken into.
I would prefer to be within 10 minutes of the hospital, but am willing to drive further out if there are specific neighborhoods that are really safe and nice.
Thoughts?

[billiken]

I'm going to go with Brentwood on this one. 6 miles/around 10 minutes from the hospital. Not sure how much more during rush hour, because the entrance to the highway right around Brentwood gets congested due to the highway configuration.

[dabeags]

Originally Posted by billiken

I'm going to go with Brentwood on this one. 6 miles/around 10 minutes from the hospital. Not sure how much more during rush hour, because the entrance to the highway right around Brentwood gets congested due to the highway configuration.

First area that came to mind to me too.

My wife is about to start residency at Barnes so I have done extensive research for the move. We also want to be within 10-15 mins of Barnes and in a relatively safe area.

Areas within 15 mins that would fit what you are looking for are Brentwood and the eastern parts of Webster Groves. If you have the money, the southern part of UCity as well as Clayton would also fit the bill.

[MUTGR]

I'd loosen up the 15 minute requirement and include Kirkwood, Glendale and Webster.

[Dawn10am]

St. Louis Hills comes to mind. Also see: Clayton, Brentwood, and Webster Groves.

[wustu87]

To be 100% upfront, I would not include the "parks the cars in the street overnight without worrying" part since those kinds of break-ins do occasionally happen in Brentwood, Richmond Heights, and even Ladue or Chesterfield or St. Peters these days. I know it happened in our typically very safe Richmond Heights neighborhood last year, and it was a bit unnerving. It seems the "criminal element" has been getting much bolder lately and driving further out to quiet, more affluent neighborhoods right off the highways to try to find quick and easy theft targets. I am still a big fan of the inner suburbs for you and your family, though, and a few car break ins and thefts are not going to send me fleeing out past 270 in terror.

If you were to poll the literally thousands of young families with children whose wage earners work at BJC/WUSM in the Central West End, you would find the vast majority live in the areas already mentioned here (Brentwood, Clayton, Richmond Heights, Maplewood, U City, St. Louis Hills, South/Southwest City), with others living further out depending on how far they are willing to commute and how much they are willing to spend on housing.

[Hector2]

It would help if you would give your price range, what type of house/apartment/condo you want, and other things you value besides safety. There are plenty of safe places. But, within a 10 minute drive (I am going to stretch this to 15) generally look at (from closest to BJC to farthest): Richmond Heights, Clayton, parts of Maplewood (bordering Richmond Heights), southern parts of UCity, Brentwood, Ladue, Webster Groves, StL Hills, Glendale, and Kirkwood.

As others have pointed out, your wish for a neighborhood where no cars are broken into is close to a fantasy in any city.

[FrankMiller]

Well, there is a difference between "your car might be broken into" and "you constantly worry about your car being broken into", although that difference can admittedly stem from the person as well as from a difference in environment.

Having said that, I doubt anyone is recommending places where you should expect your car to be broken into on a monthly basis.

[RubyJune]

I live less than 5 minutes from the hospital and my neighbourhood is fantastic. Look into Shaw, The Hill, Southwest Garden, or even Kingshighway Hills and Northampton.

Car break ins happen everywhere. I've lived in this neighbourhood (Southwest Garden) almost two years and not had a problem with my car. I've walked my dogs at midnight. When I lived in Shrewsbury a few cars in my parking lot had been broken into, but not mine. My friends in Northampton had their car broken into every holiday. They found the trick was just to leave it unlocked with nothing in it. It's kids looking for stuff, not professional car thieves. If it's unlocked, they open the car, find nothing, and move on.

[Brickmama]

Cwe