Brooklyn Couple moving to St. Louis

[MOforthewin]

Also, once you get your Missouri IDs go to a gun shop and buy a pistol and carry it! Here in Missouri no permit is required to carry a firearm concealed unlike in New York or here in Florida. Just put it on and leave the house.

[inahandbasket]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

Also, once you get your Missouri IDs go to a gun shop and buy a pistol and carry it! Here in Missouri no permit is required to carry a firearm concealed unlike in New York or here in Florida. Just put it on and leave the house.

Hmmm.... no mention of getting *training* for said firearm. Might want to do that or have the gun fetishists in the MO legislature done away with requiring training, too?

[FrankMiller]

Originally Posted by inahandbasket

Hmmm.... no mention of getting *training* for said firearm. Might want to do that or have the gun fetishists in the MO legislature done away with requiring training, too?

That is correct, there is no training requirement.

However, you can't carry on public transit, i.e. if you're one of the working poor.

[kipfilet]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

There are several things to consider in no particluar order.

CWE is one of the most populous neighborhoods in St. Louis. This also includes the thousands and thousands of people who work there but do not live there, many of which work at the medical complex. It is a very high profile, popular neighborhood in the city of St. Louis.

Contact the Central West End Security Initiative, talk with them, ask questions. Jim Whyte is the Executive Director. They also have a website. There is a very large mix of both public and private security cameras on streets, alley ways that blanket the area, close to 100.

When studying crime stats, use a variety of resources for balance, SLMPD, Stltoday, NextStl (Alex Ihnen runs it and he is easily accessible for questions via email, phone, twitter, facebook), SpotCrime, etc...

The two biggest things I would do.....if you have a car, keep it locked, with all belingings out of sight, and get covered parking to avoid smash and grab type crime. This won't apply to you if you will not be having a car. Also, live in a secured, lock building, which sounds simple enough. Many crimes not just in that area, are domestic, where individuals know one another, or gang or drug related, or business related, which also won't be applicable to you. Common sense, later at night, also goes a long way.

Security and safety are fair, important questions. But I would not be deterred from living in the Central West End. It is not percived as dangerous, nor more dangerous at this time. It's a city, crime does happen, but statistics do not show a crime increase, nor does perception. Don't hesitate to seek some answers to questions, as well as get feedback from some of the people and places above. Good luck, welcome. You mentioned Wash U, and there have been, and are many New Yorkers on campus, or over at the Medical Complex, foand m New York, and the Northeast.

Thank you for the long and detailed response, it all sounds very sensible and those are very helpful tips.

Regarding buying a gun... no thanks (at the risk of sounding ungrateful).

[roycel]

kipfilet:

Something I noticed that no one seems to mention, is that St.Louis is very segregated. I went to WashU, moved away for 15 or so years, and am in the process of moving back (I should mention that I was raised in Missouri). When I lived in StL, you didn't venture north of Delmar. It's very noticeable that danger lurks on the northern side of that street. Every now and then there's crime that creeps south, but it's not that significant. I've lived all over in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver... I've never seen a city more segregated. ...just something keep in mind with the crime map you referenced. It really does not feel dangerous in the CWE when you're walking at night on Euclid. Drive up 5 or so blocks past Delmar after hours, and it's very very different.

Once you get to know the city, you'll find it offers more than enough to be entertained and then you'll find you actually have noticeably more money in your pockets.