Name: St. Louis, MO
Rating: 0.0

( 70 Ratings )

Living in St. Louis, MO

Ranks better than 74% of areas Follow

Population

304,709

Median Age

36.0 Years

St. Louis Area Facts

St. Louis has a Livability Score of 74_/100, which is considered excellent
St. Louis crime rates are 209% higher than the Missouri average
Cost of living in St. Louis is 2% higher than the Missouri average

What do the locals think about St. Louis?

30%

Family friendly

61%

Public transit is accessible

44%

Walkable to grocery stores

26%

Yards are well-kept

59%

Lots of parks

52%

Walkable to restaurants

Friendly neighbors

Safe at night

Pet friendly

Streets have sidewalks

13%

A quiet area

34%

Sense of community

Based on 61 votes from AreaVibes users. Take the poll

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St. Louis Reviews

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If you want family friendly don't move here... 2 rating By Anonymous ( Aug 05, 2021) I have lived here all my life and it breaks my heart to see the decline. Yes there are a lot of nice things to do, especially for free when it comes to children. The zoo, forest park, and science center...all wonderful. The city musem is also a blast and I haven't been downtown t ...Read More o the ferris wheel or aquarium yet. I think I will as I bid my farewell to this city . Yes it is a diamond in the rough for a lot of things. There is good food no matter what you're in the mood for. My personal favorite is asian cuisine. Fried rice and saint Pauls lol . I could go on and on. Cherokee street has an awesome vibe if you're looking for diverse cultures. and a decent art scene is present in st Louis. many amazing artists reside here. I love the st Louis art wall down at the riverfront. I love saint Louis in general and I will for the rest of my life. I just have concerns with the rise of violence and complacency surrounding it.

The cons
Deteriorating abandoned buildings, many businesses are no longer in operation, horrible unkept roads show me this city is dwindling... Also theft and drug use is a huge problem. Apparently all the young children being killed via gun violence doesn't seem to bother people here. I don't see angry protests demanding justice for children. Their lives and futures don't matter to the selfish who just retaliate in anger or just want to get high. Strange mentalities reside here. You will often feel alienated if you think logically since alot of people here have a victim or a woe is me mentality. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse,

(*TRIGGER WARNING) a percentage of people here will take up for negligent parents of a child who could have been saved but unfortunately passed away due to an OD on fetanyl. My heart aches for children that reside in st louis.. Things like this should not be the norm, but for st Louis it is the norm. A suburb like Maplewood , Webster groves, rock hill, town and country, Creve Coeur , Maryland heights and other counties would be better suited for a child . School district are better and those areas are low in crime Read Less

Diamond in the rough-easy place for visitors 3 rating By Anonymous ( Jan 11, 2020) I grew up in a small Southern Illinois town and have happily lived in three areas of St. Louis City for 22 years. St. Louis requires effort and care to live well. It helps to be community-focused; willing and able to volunteer and get involved to improve things. You can easily ...Read More get plugged into some really vital work being done by a range of interesting people on behalf of our region and urbanity overall. For visitors, St. Louis is extremely easy to stay in a suburban hotel and drive into the city to partake in all our tax-payer funded amenities we share with you for free (Zoo, Art Museum, Science Center, History Museum). I really love St. Louis, and try not to be a complete "homer". FWIW, my favorite city is NYC, followed by Seattle and Toronto. I've traveled extensively enough to know good and bad when I see it. Be aware of your surroundings as a visitor, just like you should be anywhere. Random crime is a statistical rarity, but you do have sensationalized reporting of the few tragic occurrences brought on by the most knuckle-headed criminals among us. Experience and statistics say, my white, upper middle class, non-drug dealing, non-drug buying, and non-thieving family is extremely unlikely to fall victim to the crime that jacks up our crime statistics. And I have purposely not insulated myself from the reality of the city. I've owed a home in the melting-pot Dutchtown neighborhood on the south side for 17 years, and from the news some people would think I have a death wish to live in Dutchtown. My neighborhood has huge trees, solid brick houses (cheap), and enough friendliness and neighbor involvement to show my kids the good parts of small town life in the big city. My suggestions for a visitor to get a feel for St. Louis would be to include these walks in your visit: 1) Ice cream at Clementines followed by jaw-dropping Lafayette Square stroll. 2) Schlafly Brewery (or other nearby micro-brews) followed by stroll to and around the fabulously refurbished Union Station. 3) Arch, Courthouse, City Garden, veer off north or south by 2 blocks for a beer or food along Washington, Ballpark Village, or the former Cupples Warehouse area, or reverse course and veer north to Laclede's Landing. 4) Food of your pick centered around Lafayette and 9th Street followed by a stroll through historic Soulard streets. 5) Central West End at Maryland Plaza, explore all the good stuff and then short drive or Metrolink to IKEA. St. Louis will never knock your socks off with shopping potential at luxury flagship stores. Our culture is not overly materialistic like most of the U.S.; we even had a suburban American Girl store go belly up. This got long, I just wanted to let people know the stats say whatever negative about STL, but you can really enjoy yourself in this town and have money left over to visit and do whatever else you might want while still saving for the future. Read Less

St Louis You Have A Real Image Problem 1 rating By Anonymous ( May 05, 2019) 17 shootings so far this weekend, and it's only Sunday morning. Yesterday I drove up through north St Louis to visit my father and grandparents graves and it looked like a war zone. Folks there don't seem to understand what red lights mean and drive right through them (with no pl ...Read More ates on their cars). One time might seem unusual but I witnessed this enough times to think this was a local driving style. Made me wonder if there was a local ISIS Chapter active in the area. Reminds me of things I have seen in the Drug Cartel controlled areas of Mexico (no machine guns on the backs of pickups though, at least none that I saw).

I grew up here and though it was a pretty good place. Then I lived out west for a long time and was spoiled, only returning about 2 years ago. One positive change I see is the strong sense of neighborhood and community. Many downsides though, the County Exec was just forced to step down because of a Federal Corruption investigation. Highway construction projects locally take forever - makes you wonder who is getting a percentage of the project cost. The area is contemplating a City - County merger, but I can't really see that happening. Why would the County want to take responsibility for the City's problems. That's why many people fled to the County. The City had around 800,000 residents when I was growing up, now it's down to around 300,000.

One thing that St Louie does have in its favor though, is cheap housing costs. Lots of job openings now, not enough skilled workers though. If you can stand the frigid winters and sweltering summers, that is. As you can tell I have a real Love - Hate relationship with this place. It does have wonderful attractions though one of the best zoos and botanical gardens in the world. Great museums. The Arch. The Zoo - Museum district, makes many of these attractions free (zoo and museums, not Arch tram, or MO Bot Garden). A lot of history, some of which is not something to be very proud of. Read Less

Great place to be as long as your not a domestic abuse victim 0.5 rating By Kimmykira ( Apr 12, 2017) What kind of city punishes a domestic abuse victim for calling the police. A city that stands by and let's her be evicts for having the nerve to ask the police to stop her abusive ex for hurting her again? Does your community just get off on kicking people when they are hurting t ...Read More he most. Read Less

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St Louis You Have A Real Image Problem 1 rating By Anonymous ( May 05, 2019) 17 shootings so far this weekend, and it's only Sunday morning. Yesterday I drove up through north St Louis to visit my father and grandparents graves and it looked like a war zone. Folks there don't seem to understand what red lights mean and drive right through them (with no pl ...Read More ates on their cars). One time might seem unusual but I witnessed this enough times to think this was a local driving style. Made me wonder if there was a local ISIS Chapter active in the area. Reminds me of things I have seen in the Drug Cartel controlled areas of Mexico (no machine guns on the backs of pickups though, at least none that I saw).

I grew up here and though it was a pretty good place. Then I lived out west for a long time and was spoiled, only returning about 2 years ago. One positive change I see is the strong sense of neighborhood and community. Many downsides though, the County Exec was just forced to step down because of a Federal Corruption investigation. Highway construction projects locally take forever - makes you wonder who is getting a percentage of the project cost. The area is contemplating a City - County merger, but I can't really see that happening. Why would the County want to take responsibility for the City's problems. That's why many people fled to the County. The City had around 800,000 residents when I was growing up, now it's down to around 300,000.

One thing that St Louie does have in its favor though, is cheap housing costs. Lots of job openings now, not enough skilled workers though. If you can stand the frigid winters and sweltering summers, that is. As you can tell I have a real Love - Hate relationship with this place. It does have wonderful attractions though one of the best zoos and botanical gardens in the world. Great museums. The Arch. The Zoo - Museum district, makes many of these attractions free (zoo and museums, not Arch tram, or MO Bot Garden). A lot of history, some of which is not something to be very proud of. Read Less

Great place to be as long as your not a domestic abuse victim 0.5 rating By Kimmykira ( Apr 12, 2017) What kind of city punishes a domestic abuse victim for calling the police. A city that stands by and let's her be evicts for having the nerve to ask the police to stop her abusive ex for hurting her again? Does your community just get off on kicking people when they are hurting t ...Read More he most. Read Less

Gateway To The Worst 0.5 rating By EST ( Mar 30, 2017) My experience in St. Louis as a business owner, employee, and long time community member has been mixed. Downtown St. Charles is very nice, quite safe, and fun on weekends. Unfortunately, St. Louis is another story.The racial tension in this town will take your breath away. My ...Read More friend and I went to a little spot on Jungerman rd called Night Moves, and we were definately not welcome there. We got obvious glares when while parking our car. My friend insisted it was ok, so we walked in, ordered our drinks, and went to find seats. I was not comfortable, so we got out of there. As we went back to our car, we noticed that someone had put glass bottles behind the tires and keyed the door. That's St. Louis. The lines are drawn here. Black & white. Rich and poor. If trouble erupts and your white, black, or blue behind gets hurt, they'll tell you it's YOUR fault for being in the "wrong place". It's like we're in 1957 all over again. So much hatred and separation.. We moved from North County after my son was held up at gunpoint INFRONT OF OUR HOUSE. Crime is off the charts there. I cannot tell you the true height of my horror. Needless to say, We got the hell out of there.Every once in awhile, friends and I meet in Clayton, where we all work. It's the financial district, and has very little crime. There are also quite a few fun spots there - on Friday night mostly. You can have a quiet drink at Max's - if you don't mind drinking across the street from the county jail.We rarely go out anymore to enjoy the so called amenities this city offers because it's scary as hell. Segregation rules in St. Louis, and the attitudes reflect it. Things seemed to be getting better in the 90s but now hateful rhetoric can even be heard in sermons. This city lacks progression, growth and harmony. I believe St. Louis will shut down, just like the minds that run it, and it will be the fault of the top heavy administration(s) ignoring, incarcerating and exploiting massive populations of the underserved, undereducated, poverty strikken & enraged generations that are a large part of this city's culture.But there is a bright side. If you have a medium income and are white you can pretty much do anything and go anywhere and be welcomed with open arms. St. Louis takes itself very seriously. As gor me, the Gateway can't go away too soon. My husband and I are educated professionals who are frustrated by all the negative impulses here and we have had enough. It's time to leave the hell hole we unaffectionately call "Detroit Jr". Read Less

Bad Experience at the Aqua Bar, St. Louis Lumiere Place 1 rating By Jay Mall ( Jan 11, 2016) ON THE NIGHT OF JANUARY 9, 2016, MANAGEMENT AT THE AQUA BAR OF THE LUMIERE PLACE CASINO REMINDED ME THAT I WAS BLACK!!

After a paint night at Morgan Street Brewery, a group of us(all African American) headed over to a place called Wet Willies in the Lumiere Casino of St. Louis, ...Read More MO. After we purchased our drinks, we walked around the casino to find seats. We came upon a bar called Aqua, which had a number of vacant seats. We decided to sit in this place called Aqua and converse amongst each other. After about 10 minutes, we were swarmed and surrounded by Lumiere security. Their words to us was that the management of Aqua did not want us there. I asked one of the security guards for more detail about why we had to leave. His response was that he was only doing his job, management wanted us to leave and therefore we had to get out!! Everyone complied. But after looking around and not seeing any policies posted about anything, I decided to speak with management. I told the drink manager that I wanted the contact information of whom to relay a complaint to. He told me the guys name was Bob P and he was supposed to obtain Bob's email address and contact information. Seconds later, a manager named Mary Ann appeared asking how she can help me(as if she didn't already know. After all, she is the head manager and made the decision to throw us all out). I informed Mary that the action she performed was unfair and unjust. I told her that her business didn't have any visible policies about anything. Assuming that we weren't patronizing the bar, I told her that we just might have purchased drinks from the bar after we finished the drinks we already had. I also told her that if she had a problem with us being there and not patronizing the bar, she could have come over and said anything along the lines of, "Ladies and gentleman, in order to sit here you all need to patronize the bar". Not what she did, which came across to us as get the f*** out because we don't want you black people here!! Her response was that in the past when they confront groups of people as such, it results in aggression and/or confrontation. So as a result of that, they now notify security. She claims that security should not have delivered the message as they did, but the fact is that they did. She went on explaining policies regarding patrons of Wet Willies that were quote on quote in effect, yet no such policies were visible. Legally if a policy is not documented, then it is not policy! So basically, the management at Aqua were intimidated by a group of blacks. Being afraid of speaking to us directly, they called about 15 or 20 Lumiere security personnel, who surrounded us and ultimately threw us out. I am asking every black greek affiliated person, every family member, friend etc., to send this account to everyone you know. This was unfair and unjust. If you are Black, please refrain from patronizing "Aqua", located in the Lumiere Place Casino of St. Louis, MO. Read Less

Crime is such a shame in this fun city 2.5 rating By VictoriaZiglar ( Aug 19, 2015) I was born and raised in St. Louis county and moved to St. Louis City in adult years. I love the free attractions, am spoiled to the low cost of living, and enjoy all the great restaurants. The crime is out of control, though. Living in South City, my husband's truck and my car h ...Read More ave both been broken into and had everything inside stolen. The stories of break ins, theft, murders, & gun shots that I hear from almost everyone I know are very frightening.

I used to think I would never leave St. Louis and it saddens me that my hometown has lost its mind.

If you're thinking about moving here, I would definitely recommend asking locals where to live. One block of a neighborhood can be beautiful, huge houses and parks and the next block is sketchy. Kirkwood, webster groves, maplewood, Shrewsbury, South Hampton, & Dogtown would be on my list of good places. I live in South City and though I love Tower Grove Park and Shaw neighborhood, the crime is moving in to these areas and as a result, I'm looking to move out. Such a shame that people living in these beautiful neighborhoods can't stop stealing from and killing each other.

On the other hand, I know many wonderful, creative, artistic, and community involved people that are trying to do all they can to make STL thrive. The new arch grounds looks like it will be incredible! There are many neighborhoods to explore and find your favorite spots.

I have always loved this city, but am a traveler at heart and am ready to explore new cities, especially with a coast nearby! Read Less

St. Louis, MO - Very Welcoming 4.5 rating By Anonymous ( Nov 25, 2011) I traveled to St. Louis MO in January of 2011, and found the city to be a very welcoming, and very great tourism city. Right upon arrival, the Gateway Arch greets visitors, and the mix of cultures from French, German, and Native American, makes for a very distinctive culture. The ...Read More city offers a great night life for visitors, as well as excellent major league sports teams to watch. The hotel we stayed in was the Millennium Hotel, which is located in Downtown, and offers a distinctive view of the city. The dinning was also great. There are many famous bbq restaurants, a great place called Red Moon (pan-Asian dinining), and the Bristol Seafood Grill was also a great place to eat.

As far as attractions, we traveled historic Route 66, visited the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, and went out on the riverboat casinos a couple nights while visiting. We also went to a couple jazz clubs while in the city, including Bottleneck Blues Bar, and Ozzie's Sports Bar. We also went to a Cardinals baseball game while visiting. Although we had a rental car, the traffic was not all that great, and the city was a bit spread out, especially for tourists who do not know where they are traveling. But, overall, we had a great experience. The city is beautiful, there is always something going on, the scenic view and night life are always jumping, and the great casino boats are some of the best that I have ever traveled to.

Other than spread out city, and the fact that things were hard to find since we were not aware of the spread of the city, I really enjoyed the trip, and would definately go back to St. Louis MO. Read Less

Family Spring Break in St. Louis: Simple, Fun, and Affordable 4.5 rating By Anonymous ( Apr 30, 2010) My family spent spring break in St. Louis, MO. We had been there several times in the past to visit family members. We decided to make this trip more of vacation by staying at a hotel in St. Louis and visiting various attractions.

To get the city feel, we stayed in the Sheraton ...Read More in downtown St. Louis. We got a suite and were able to take our golden retriever (free of charge). The hotel had a pool and the suite was adequate for my husband and I and our three boys, ages 15, 12, and 9. We stayed for three nights.

Our first outing after checking into the hotel was Union Station. It was only a few blocks from the hotel, an easy walk. I was disappointed in Union Station. Many retail spaces were vacant. Lots of people were in the bars and restaurants, which I would partially attribute to the college basketball tournament that was being televised. We waited about 20 minutes for a table at Houlihan's and then decided to grab some food at the food court and eat in our suite.

We spent the next day at the St. Louis City Museum, an innovative museum for kids of all ages. My kids happily explored for four hours. My husband and I found a table and played Scrabble. It was perfect. Afterwards, we went to Ted Drewes, a restaurant known for its frozen yogurt. It was worth the trip.

The St. Louis Zoo and the St. Louis Science Center were our main destinations the following day. Both are located in Forest Park, an exquisite and vast park. You could spend the whole day at Forest Park. The art museum, the history museum, a boathouse, tennis courts, and bike rentals are among the many ways to spend the day at the park. The zoo and the science center were free. You could pay more for special exhibits or attractions.

After spending the day there, we went to Blueberry Hill, a famous St. Louis restaurant in the University City area. It was only a short drive from Forest Park. This was a great place to take the kids. The restaurant walls are covered with pictures of celebrities with the owner of the restaurant. Some rooms have themes, such as the darts room. The juke box and the pinball machines also help to keep the natives occupied until the food arrives. The food was really good too.
The last day we spent at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I made my family go to this, but they all enjoyed it. The Climatron, a dome housing a tropical forest, and the Japanese garden were big hits. The gardens also include a children's garden, but it was not open in March.

The trip to St. Louis was a success and fit our tight budget. St. Louis offers plenty to do for families of all ages. Read Less

Compare St. Louis, MO Livability

St. Louis, MO

St. Louis is the largest city in Missouri and the 20th largest city in the United States. Founded in 1764, it was originally created as a French fur-trading village and was named after French king Louis XV. Many of those French influences can still be seen today in the greater metropolitan area, which boasts a population of more than 2.8 million people. St. Louis is home to many diverse neighborhoods, including ritzy Ladue and the eclectic Central West End, and you’ll find people from all walks of life strolling along its sidewalks. Featuring some of the nation’s top attractions and the affordable cost of living, St. Louis is a great place to live.

The most distinctive figure on the St. Louis skyline is the Gateway Arch, a 630-foot steel monument which was originally built as a tribute to westward expansion. Today, it’s one of St. Louis’ most popular attractions, and the grounds underwent a $176 million expansion to include a massive underground component as well as several eateries. Just down the road from the Arch is Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States. Inside or near the park, you’ll find several of St. Louis’ other main attractions, such as their award-winning zoo, the St. Louis Science Center, the Missouri History Museum, and an outdoor theater known as The Muny. Each one is a rich part of the St. Louis culture and hosts events year-round to bring the community together.

St. Louis also has a surprisingly robust restaurant scene. Food and Wine has regularly named it one of the best places to eat in the country, with special mention paid to places like Balkan Treat Box in Webster Groves and Mexican restaurant Nixta near Tower Grove Park. Home to the Anheuser Busch factory, St. Louis also boasts a large number of craft breweries for beer enthusiasts. Civil Life Brewing and 4 Hands in the popular Soulard neighborhood top the list of places to go for a unique drink and tasty bites. While in Soulard, stroll over their farmer’s market, which has been around for almost 250 years and is home to fresh fruits and vegetables from small farms in the area, as well some delicious stalls filled with spices, tea, and confections.

No conversation about St. Louis would be complete without talking about their professional sports teams. Home to the St. Louis Cardinals, their fans are some of the most dedicated in Major League baseball. The city also rallied around their NHL team the Blues during their winning 2019 season. St. Louis also has a remarkably active soccer base, and they were awarded a Major League Soccer team that same year.

St. Louis prides itself on being a “little big town” where there is plenty to do but it still feels like home. Midwestern hospitality is on display everywhere you go, making you feel like you were always meant to be there.