Moving to St Louis?!?!? help!?

Hey ya'll .. was wondering if i could get a bit of advice.. My boyfriend and I are moving to St Louis in about 2 months.. now with him being in the military we are not able to go and get a feel for the area.. We are hoping to get a decent apartment. and ive been doing some research but I cant seem to figure out where the good neighborhoods are and which areas to stay away from.. He has a job lined up in St louis .. which areas are suburban and or city but nice?? I keep seeing the term Gravois ... and is south county/city a nice area??? Any help would be soo appreciated since we cant go down there to look around.. thanks so much!

Stay away from North County, East Saint Louis, and all of the state streets. They're full of crime.

South City is okay depending on what area of S. City you're looking into. I would stay away from the Kingshighway area.

South County is nice. West County is nice. Closer to the city; Richmond Heights, Webster Groves, Clayton, University City, and Central West End are all pretty nice.

If you need more info about moving here, you can email me. Me and my boyfriend just moved here 3 years ago and we were clueless. It would've been nice to have someone help us with some of our questions. :) My email address is keekstagarza@sbcglobal.net.

Good luck!

You need to get a map of the greater St. Louis area. Then mark where he will be working and THEN try to find a decent place close to it. It can take 2 HOURS to drive from one end of St. Louis to the other during rush hour and an hour when it isn't rush hour.

Try to locate near one of the main arteries that leads to somewhere near when his office is.

St. Louis is BIG and it's CROWDED and the traffic is unbelievable... bumper to bumper 24/7

Move to Ballwin. nice

Where will he be working?

There are lots of good neighborhoods but you don't want him to have to drive 2 hours each way to work.

If you post it, I'll check back and give you more information and some links.

here's the summary on areas in st. louis:

Where I recommend living...

Central (St. Louis County)--

This is where I live and where I recommend living. Includes-U-City, Clayton, Brentwood, Central West End, Washington University area, Forest Park area. Many young professionals, students, etc. Can be very affordable (basically depends on the street) or very very pricey. Close to everything you'd want to see in St. Louis. Many apartments buildings, row houses, high rise apt buildings, olded, rehabbed homes, but you can still find suburban type neighborhoods as well. I highly suggest checking out apartments in these areas, as you can find some real deals for the location. It's the center of everything!

Downtown=

Soulard/Lafayette Square/Loft District/Benton Park, you can find very nice places to rent in these areas. From very affordable to very expensive. St. Louis is going through a complete revitalization right now and downtown living is getting much better and really beautiful.

Areas to stay away from--South County, North County, the North side of St. Louis City, The East side of St. Louis city.

The area where I grew up is West County. I would never go back there now, but growing up there was great. It's the wealthier part of St. Louis suburbs. Includes Creve Coeur, Chesterfield, Webster Groves, Kirkwood (I actually DO recommend Webster Groves and Kirkwood), Wildwood, Des Peres. Much pricier for what you get and not worth it in my books, it's far from all the good stuff in St. Louis.

FYI---Highway 40(one of THE major highways connecting everything in St. Louis is under construction for the next some odd years. right now, a giant section is completely closed and will be for years. I suggest living east of interstate 170, which runs north and south. HWY 40 runs east and west. to the east of I-170 is central st. louis(where i recommend living) and east of that is downtown. living west of I-170 would be very inconvenient for getting around st. louis. sorry if this is confusing... hope i helped :) you can email me if you have anymore questions! welcome and best of luck!!!

A lot depends on where his job is located and how much you want to pay for rent. Most of the suburban areas are nice. However, I would avoid many parts of north county even though they are less expensive on rent they also have a higher crime rate. I would not consider moving to north St. Louis which is an area north of Forest Park or north of Highway 44. Each type of suburb has its own special traits. Some of the inner suburbs such as Afton, University city, richmond Heights, Maplewood, Kirkwood, Webster Groves etc have more affordable older type housing and are more ethnically diverse. West County is more new construction and higher priced and more young professionals. South County is more family oriented and while the housing is still a little pricey its still affordable in an extremely safe area. There are some nice areas in South City especially in St. Louis hills around Chippewa and Jamieson and also close to Holly hills which is at the far tip of the south city area. Most of these are older construction but usually have lots of space for a very good price. Thre are parts of Gravois that are very nice but there are also parts that are a little iffy. The further south the better the area.Check out the ads in the St. Louis Post Dispatch and on Craigs List to get some idea of what is being offered.

You should look in the Ballwin area. I used to live there. It is about 20 min. away from downtown st. louis. perfect location for a family or just for a nice apartment. very little crime which is also good.
=]

I live in the Garden District right across the street from the Missouri Botanical Gardens. It is south of downtown. It is a beautiful area but the landlord I have is HORRIBLE. Do NOT rent through anyone with the last name Rosenthal!! He is a nice guy but does not take care of his buildings! We have had so many problems, which is a shame because it is a beautiful area with a huge park close by. I cannot wait to move out of this building!
My advice also, look around on craigslist! in the apt section-

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/

Good luck~