<p>Hoping for the usual great ideas generated by the cc community:</p>
<p>Son is moving to St Louis area in a few weeks. Would like to find a safe area in a nicer apartment somewhere between Lambert Airport and Washington Univ. Open to other areas. Just working near the airport and hoping to take night classes at Univ Wash St Louis.</p>
<p>Any ideas where or where Not to look? </p>
<p>He is hoping to find an area where he can walk and maybe bike safely when he gets home from work.</p>
<p>sax - When DW and I went to UC San Francisco the Post-Docs provided invaluable guidance on where to look for housing. I think that approach would work for you son as well. The problem is that what feels safe for one person might not feel safe enough for another. For example, some parents think the area around UPenn (in Philadephia) is dreadful … others think it’s fine so long as one is city-smart. Residential areas in St. Louis vary greatly, as you probably know.</p>
<p>Good luck to your S on this next phase of his life.</p>
<p>sax
D just finished living in St Louis for 6 years while doing her PhD at Wash U. Vacated a nice apt…not flashy or so up to date but safe and roomy and well priced.She found it by accident while looking at the grad housing provided from Wash U. Theres lots of good areas and price ranges. We asre New Yorkers and were impressed by St Louis!PM me with his budget and I’ll throw back some ideas for you and the name of her landlord if you want it…
does he want to be able to walk to Wash U, or the downtown area, or Forest Park?</p>
<p>D just graduated from WashU. The Clayton area is very nice and safe. Lots of great restaurants and shops. Forsyth Street between the Clayton area and WashU has a lot of apartment buildings. The Central West End area is also a great area - again, lots of great restaurants and a lot of young people live there. I agree with others who say to look at apartment listings for WashU students. Those would most likely put him close to Forrest Park (which borders WashU) and would be a great place to ride.</p>
<p>D in grad school- loves the De Mun area (clayton)- can live in a very nice area in inexpensive apartments . walks or bikes about one mile to wash u and yes at night. kaldi’s is a great coffee shop there and it is a nice area to look for apartments. not sure about the airport- she goes by rail to the airport from the campus. north of campus hmm- not so sure</p>
<p>My high school friend is a realtor in St. Louis. She says:
Richmond Heights, Brentwood, and $Clayton would be safe choices. May be a little on the high side, but if you look hard, especially since school has already started you can probably find a great deal. In these places you are just a skip away from 170 to the airport and university. I would recommend craigslist to find a place. And better to pay a little more now for a year and get to know the areas and then find a less expensive place that you may be comfortable in, in the area. Hope this helps… St. Louis has many pockets, these areas are great all around.</p>
<p>D was in Richmond Heights area. it may skew a little cheaper than DeMun/central West End. DeMun is charming and Kaldi’s is my fave (breakfast burrito!) The Wash U listings may include many buildings owned by the U which this person wouldnt be eligible to live in. Clayton is great but pricey…perhaps…we need to know a price range. The Central West End is a happening spot for evening activities and skews to non Wash U young people.DeMun may skew towards young families.Dogtown is nice also.The Loop area/University City is peppered with Wash U owned buildings and safety can be an issue at night,think car breakins,bike thefts…some of D’s friends had Wash U apts there and “gave up” and moved on.If he wants great biking after work, put a circle around Forest Park and work outwards from there. The area around the City Museum/Symphony Hall seems to have lots of new apt conversions from former office/manufacturing space…I’m not sure of the neighborhood name …Washington Ave?? Very Urban vibe,D would have looked there if she had wound up staying in the Lou.She has friends who own a home in the Tower Grove Park vicinity and its cute around there also, think apts in brownstone type buildings rather than large apt houses. Nice thing about St Louis, areas/neighborhoods are close together and you can get anywhere really quickly!
You can find stuff by being there and looking in a neighborhood for “for rent” signs on houses and buildings…its still done the old fashioned way there!</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your responses. Wow. It appears there are several nice areas to look at. You all have been a wealth of info. Great guidance.</p>
<p>Is Forest Park near central west end? He will have to pull up a map and look closer at these areas.</p>
<p>He can easily go $1000 a month range for rent and utilities if needed. (Hahaha…easy for me to spend his money)</p>
<p>Cathymee I or he will definitely pm you. Great info.</p>
<p>Thank you all again for taking your time to give us a look into St Louis…</p>