From Chicago to St. Louis? (Memphis, Oakland: 2015, violent crime, neighborhoods)

[SJbust]

Originally Posted by Someboyelse

Creve Coeur has plenty of restaurants, and it does have apartments that would suit you. There are grocery stores, public bus routes, and depending on where you live, a lot might be within walking distance. That said, the vast majority of residents there will own a vehicle.

I'm not sure about your price range though. 1 Bedroom apartments tend to be in the mid-$900's and up (sometimes way up). There is one older apartment complex toward the East edge of the city, "Village Park Apartments". If you move there this time of year, you should be able to get a lease for ~$700. On the West edge, expect to approximately double that.

Nature/Hiking in Creve Coeur: None. It's pretty fully developed. There is a golf course, and two parks.
Millennium Park. Millennium Park |

Conway Park. Conway Park |


You would be about a 20 minute drive from the best hiking in the greater St. Louis Metropolitan area, though! Both Castlewood & Rockwood are reasonable distances with a vehicle.

Diversity: You'll find a large number of Jewish persons, and larger-than-usual number of Asian/Indians. It's an older city, at 55 you would probably be toward the middle, maybe on the young-side. There are plenty of gay people, but again, they will be older and likely fairly discrete. It is also a wealthy city, with very little or no poverty and six-digit incomes being common.


City Website has a New Resident pdf, if you are interested: https://www.creve-coeur.org/




Edit: I was wrong about the parks. Apparently they have Malcolm Terrace Park in their city limits.

Thanks for all the useful information on Creve Coeur. Judging from your description and the link you provided it doesn't sound like the place for me. I will buy a car and drive there a few times a week.

[SJbust]

Originally Posted by STL74

You'd likely want a car. Getting by without a car here would require some very good planning for sure. People do it, but not commonly. I lived in Chicago without a car, things are definitely different here. It's way too easy to own a car here, it was such a pain there.

Creve Coeur is a great area, may be a little above price range. Look east to unincorporated county (63146), Olivette and see what you can find. U City is going to be a bit more artsy and crunchy (for lack of a better term...more yoga studios and health food stores, a little more walkable, diverse...it does have much safer and less safe areas, so know what you are looking at). Maplewood could be a consideration too (very walkable downtown), Richmond Heights, areas in the city already mentioned...Tower Grove, Benton Park. Biggest gay concentrations are Central West End (pricey) and The Grove in the city.

Some of my favorite hiking destinations are Castlewood and Powder Valley. Love walking my dog in Laumeier Sculpture Park or Forest Park. There are a lot of great state parks and hiking destinations close to the city as well as within an hour or so drive.

I know the pain of owning a car in Chicago. And car jackings have risen some 60 percent. Even renting cars I'm become nervous.

I will most likely buy a car. I'm trying to avoid mostly-gay, mostly-blk, etc. scenarios. I really want to live where diversity is prevalent. Are Tower Grove and The Grove the same? Thanks!

[SJbust]

Originally Posted by Scottiegal

My family and I just moved from the Chicago area to the St. Louis area this summer. You will find St. Louis a lot easier to get around, and quicker. Maryland Heights might fit your budget and right next to creve coeur. The taxes are such a welcome relief for sure! It’s not as flashy or grand as Chicago but certainly has some charm. The bbq is very good here, mods pizza seems to be the best, but steer clear of St. Louis pizza, it’s awful.

As far as fitting in..it’s more conservative than Chicago, anything liberal will be on the lite side. But you should do fine here, drive around and really get to know the area...street names change to different names frequently and abruptly...so use landmarks as a guide as well.

Hey Scottiega, you get it! I just want to simplify my life, have access to Chicago if I choice without being in the midst of it. Two weeks ago I was sitting at my dining room table and heard a series of what sounded like automatic rounds. I stepped outside to see a 19 year old lying on the sidewalk with a bullet through his skull. I've been trying to get that vision out of my head ever since. I know crime and mayhem is in all major cities but 3,246 shot in a year is ridiculous, and I don't think it's going to stop anytime soon.

I'll check out Maryland Heights and I'll avoid pizza, lol.

[SJbust]

Originally Posted by Old Trafford

Second for U-City - it meets a lot of your criteria and at your price point and is a 10 to 15 min drive to CC depending on your destination

Awesome. That'll be tops on my list. I'm now very curious. Thanks for your input; very helpful!

[SJbust]

Originally Posted by Roman Kindle

The hell with boring U City and Creve Coeur -
Live in the Grove, the most hip and fantabulous neighborhood in the Lou, and take the Metro Bus/Metro Link to your destination. The STL Metro transportation is a clean, modern and safe means of public transit.
If you're mixed, single, gay and active, the Grove neighborhood in St. Louis is where you should be, punkin!
Just use caution - although St. Louis recently fell to second in the U.S. in STDs (damn you Alabama, STL can't win at anything!), it's still a good idea to exercise risk management. This also applies to
homicide - do your homework on where to go and where not to go!


St. Louis drops to second place for nation's highest STD rates | Metro | stltoday.com


Welcome to St. Louis - where did you go to high school?

Hi and thanks for your enthusiastic post. I'm so confused though. Is St. Louis' crime rate near Chicago's? If that's the case, I might as well stay here. Would I experience a little bit milder winter at least?

I went to high school at Roberto Clemente in Humboldt Park.

[mjtinmemphis]

You will need a car in the suburbs! There is no way of getting around it. Just as in suburban Chicago and depending on Pace isn't anything I would recommend. 0 walkability. Will make it difficult to find a car free lifestyle in Maryland Heights and Creve Coeur.

St. Louis is very easy to own a car due to a great freeway system, ok grid and lower cost of car ownership.

Safety depends on where you live and how you live. Judging by your age and lifestyle, you are not a high risk demographic. You don't have to live in a high crime area. Being a transplant, you would have to go out of your way and desire a high crime area. Any of the areas you mentioned will for sure give you a better experience then you described in Chicago. Otoh, If you want a high crime area you can find it.

If you decide to live in Maryland Heights, Creve Coeur or even University City, you will not have a problem with living in a diverse environment.

I would second stay away from St Louis pizza being from Chicago. Soul Food and Bar B Q is king here. Great Frozen Custard and Burger joints as well.

I am a mid 40s gay black male and love St Louis. I live downtown and hang out with a diverse group of people. Don't have any problems with safety or making friend and enjoying life. I can live a car free lifestyle because I live downtown and much of my day to day life is in Clayton and the Central Corridor. It doesn't read as if that will be possible for you.

Good luck.

[Scottiegal]

Originally Posted by SJbust

Hey Scottiega, you get it! I just want to simplify my life, have access to Chicago if I choice without being in the midst of it. Two weeks ago I was sitting at my dining room table and heard a series of what sounded like automatic rounds. I stepped outside to see a 19 year old lying on the sidewalk with a bullet through his skull. I've been trying to get that vision out of my head ever since. I know crime and mayhem is in all major cities but 3,246 shot in a year is ridiculous, and I don't think it's going to stop anytime soon.

I'll check out Maryland Heights and I'll avoid pizza, lol.

The crime here will seem lower than Chicago. 6 shootings a day is high here. We are used to 40! However as you know it’s per capita. It’s sound just awful what you experienced in Chicago! So sorry you went through that. What I find strange is the police seem to have a different response than Chicago police.

The weather is is much nicer! Now the summers are hot yes but I’ll take the longer falls, warmer winters, and earlier springs!

[Someboyelse]

Crime rate is going to be worse than Chicago if you live downtown.

In fact, outside of Detroit, it's hard to find populations over 100,000 that are worse.

St. Louis named 2nd most violent city in America | FOX2now.com

You are about twice as likely to be killed here than in Chicago:
https://www.thetrace.org/2017/01/chi...-city-america/

[billiken]

Originally Posted by SJbust

Hi, thanks for your reply. I'm trying to find Tower Grove and Benton Park on the map and I don't see them. And, again I will buy a car outside of Illinois.

I forgot to ask is crime at least a bit better than Chicago?

They are both neighborhoods in STL City. When I say Tower Grove, I mean the neighborhoods north and south of Tower Grove Park (Tower Grove South and Shaw, specifically). Benton Park is also a neighborhood.

Crime is a problem in STL, no doubt. But I've lived both places and I don't really worry about it on a day to day basis because I have the resources to avoid higher crime areas and activity. I'd say that car window smash and grabs are not unheard of though throughout the entire city.

[SJbust]

Thanks for everyone's valuable input. It is very helpful for me to make my conclusion. I'm going with a plan B. St. Louis doesn't sound like the place for me.