How is St.Louis? dangerous? job market?

Question

I'm from San Francisco,I plan to move to St.Louis because my boyfriend is in the military in Belleville. It's listed as the 3rd most dangerous city but is it really that dangerous? Any of you guys from there? Also, what is there to do down there, does it come close to SF? Also, how's the job market? the education level of people down there? If I graduated from UC Berkeley and have a mba from Calpoly, would i be able to find a good job?

Answer 1

I grew up in stl; moved to sf east bay last year. I miss STL b/c my friends are there. I don't miss the weather.
it is very different from CA; culture, jobs, people, downtown, money, leisure, etc.

Culture: about 15 years behind CA; not open-minded; not gay-friendly (except the central west end in STL); close to the bible-belt; irish, german; catholic, lutheran; rich in historical culture; family-feel, many generations live in the same town

JOB: It is difficult to get a job in stl, unless you start at the bottom (internship--even if you're qualified) and work your way up (slowly). It is a midwestern, farm area; many of the people in the top positions do not have degrees; some don't even have h.s. degrees. They have worked hard to get where they are and are good at their jobs. Most people stay in their 'higher-up' jobs until they die. Many businesses are family owned and operated, so the good jobs go to the family members. Overall, work ethic is a thousand times better in the midwest than here. My employees out here in SF are lazy & rude. My employees in STL were hardworking and had good work ethic. If they didn't, they were fired and someone else with good work ethic was available. That's not he case in SF.

People: the people are nicer in STL. It's a little in the bible belt. The black/white issue still exists (to some extent) with the middle-aged and older generations. It's like they're 15 years behind the east & west coasts. There are few mexicans. It's mainly black, white, asian and vietnamese.

Downtown: Nothing like SF. In comparison to SF, STL has no tourists. There is no BART; there is a metrolink, but it is not the grand scale that BART, MUNI & buses in SF are. Everybody has a car & uses it. As for tourists attractions: the arch, busch stadium/cardinal baseball, the bowling hall of fame, 6 flags. The central west end and parts of downtown are nice, but not much to do there.

Money: SF is SO EXPENSIVE!! You can get a nice apt in Manchester (west of stl) for $900, when a comparable one in Concord, CA is about $1500. Electric, gas, water, etc.--all cheaper in STL. Ameren/UE has competition in the gas/electric area. It's not a monopoly like PGE here.

Leisure: Cardinals baseball, Six flags, Rams football, h.s. football

Safety: STL is like other cities. East St. Louis is not safe. North St. Louis has a lot of shootings, too. parks are not safe at night. Safe areas include Central West End, Manchester, Ballwin, Belleville, Columbia (IL), Webster Groves, Chesterfield, and other areas west of stl.

Weather:
winter: ice, snow, sleet, cold;
summer: hot, HUMID. 107 out here in the east bay is nothing compared to 95 in stl. awesome thunderstorms. tornadoes, floods every few years
fall: awesome, beautiful
spring: rainy, beautiful

There are many things to love about stl, but mostly it's friends & family. If you grew up in the city of SF, you will not like living there. The country is beautiful and peaceful, but it takes getting used to. I say go for it. Enjoy your time there; but expect that it will be very different.

Answer 2

I am a native of the STL & I can tell u 1st hand that it's probably different from SF. However, w/ur degree u'll be fine in the job market department. There are areas in STL that u wouldn't drop a dog in & there are areas that have $1million + homes w/over-priced taxes. Cost of living isn't as high as the West Coast but it's getting there. Ex: a box of cereal is $5 & a nice home in a nice school district with 3 + brms is aprox $300,000 starting. Gas is aprox. $3.19 a gallon, etc. There's still a twang of southern hospitality so u may feel as though u've stepped back in time a little. There's always somewhere to go & u'll meet all types of people. Racisim is still in the air but that is what thick skin is for. The education & class of indivisuals, here, has improved. U don't hear of teen pregnancy like when I was a teen. One last piece of info Illinois is worse than STL crime wise.

Answer 3

East St, Louis, Illinois is closer to Belleville and a lot more dangerous..

St. Louis doesn't have an ocean..and with the upstream drought, not much of a river either. NOT SF by any means,,,,not even close....but enough to do for most people...sports/cultural/academic pursuits

Good job market for mba's although the pay scale won't approach SF

The best thing about St. L is that it is a VERY affordable city
the cost of living index puts it near the bottom rankings for a metro area of this size....

Answer 4

I didn't know that, I went near there for a friend's wedding a few years ago and I don't remember seeing any problems. And I thought living in Los Angeles was dangerous.

Answer 5

let me tell u as a 20 year old that lives in belleville it is sooo boring here there is nothing to do there are some dangerous parts as to any city but i wouldnt say anything to worry about u should be able to find a job very easy but i guarantee u are going to be so board and the winters here suck its so cold here and the summers are so humid u can hardly breath

Answer 6

job market sucks here!

I'm looking to leave the area asap
just nothing here for me anymore

Answer 7

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Answer 8

it's a lot hotter and less gayfriendly.