Should i move to Belleville?

[Keila]

I am considering buying a house in Belleville. Is it a nice area to live? I have heard mixed comments on this city. Is it a safe place to raise a family & grow old?

[MattL]

Depends on what you consider bad? Although crime is up, I believe it is still somewhat low for the size of the area. If you do decide on Belleville, I would suggest staying on the east side of Belleville, or better yet, one of the smaller communities around the Belleville area.

[MushyMushy]

MattL wrote:

Depends on what you consider bad? Although crime is up, I believe it is still somewhat low for the size of the area. If you do decide on Belleville, I would suggest staying on the east side of Belleville, or better yet, one of the smaller communities around the Belleville area.

Great advice Matt!
Yes, consider the surrounding communities instead. Very nice small town areas.

[Keila]

I am thinking of living near St. Clair Country Club, please tell me the country club isn't in a bad area. I live in England currently (with the military)and plan to buy my first home at my next base(Scott). I am really depending on others opinions because I will not be able to see the house for myself until I arrive in 3 months. I know it sounds pretty stupid and impetutous, but I've made a rookie buyer mistake and fell in love with a house already.

[Think about it]

Wheres the house (street?)

[MushyMushy]

Keila wrote:

I am thinking of living near St. Clair Country Club, please tell me the country club isn't in a bad area. I live in England currently (with the military)and plan to buy my first home at my next base(Scott). I am really depending on others opinions because I will not be able to see the house for myself until I arrive in 3 months. I know it sounds pretty stupid and impetutous, but I've made a rookie buyer mistake and fell in love with a house already.

That is the "west end" of town. It's about 5 minutes from East St. Louis, IL. I can only suggest that you look East St. Louis up and their crime statistics and form an opinion from there.

[MattL]

Keila wrote:

I am thinking of living near St. Clair Country Club, please tell me the country club isn't in a bad area. I live in England currently (with the military)and plan to buy my first home at my next base(Scott). I am really depending on others opinions because I will not be able to see the house for myself until I arrive in 3 months. I know it sounds pretty stupid and impetutous, but I've made a rookie buyer mistake and fell in love with a house already.

Keila,

My dentist and his wife used to live next to the country club in Belleville. They sold their house there last year because their car had been broken into three plus times. His wife also said that she was afraid to go out at night in the neighborhood because she didn't feel safe. Sorry to be the one to bring bad news. I know those houses in that area are nice, and reasonably priced, but I think there's a definite reason for that. If I were you I would seriously consider trying to get out of that contract. That's just my opinion though.

[Mike]

Keila wrote:

I am considering buying a house in Belleville. Is it a nice area to live? I have heard mixed comments on this city. Is it a safe place to raise a family & grow old?

You will get a poor or no return on your investment. Move some place else.

[i hate belleville]

Don't move here. I have a fantastic house in a "white bubble" in West Belleville.. sad thing is I cant go to the has station or grocery store after dark.... I wish we would have NEVER moved here.

[i hate belleville]

weird.. I wonder why it says collinsville on my post! LOL!

[MushyMushy]

Keila wrote:

I am thinking of living near St. Clair Country Club, please tell me the country club isn't in a bad area. I live in England currently (with the military)and plan to buy my first home at my next base(Scott). I am really depending on others opinions because I will not be able to see the house for myself until I arrive in 3 months. I know it sounds pretty stupid and impetutous, but I've made a rookie buyer mistake and fell in love with a house already.

If you put ernest money down, I would consider it as chalking that up as a loss. Yes, beautiful homes on the west end. But, crime is high in that area and pretty much all over Belleville. I wish you the best in your search.

[Kathy]

Since you are being relocated to Scott AFB, I would suggest looking at the east end of Belleville or Shiloh. (Millstadt, O'Fallon, Swansea are other locations you might consider. I don't know crime statistics for them, though.) There are plenty of new subdivisions popping up in each area, as well as nice homes for sale in established subdivisions. I live in a quiet, 20 +/- year-old subdivision that frequently has homes for sale because of Air Force moves. (In terms of east-west divide, going farther west than, say, Frank Scott Pkwy. is going to land you in some sketchy areas.)

[BellevilleBelle]

Kathy is correct to a point but even in East Belleville there are major problems.. like in Lincolnshire subdivision thats right near greenmount. We moved out of that neighborhood because of the "issues" within the last few years.We too are a military family and have lived many places, but I have never lived anywhere that is quite like Belleville and has the racial problems. We took our son out of the public school here due to it and "i hate belleville" is correct, you can NOT go to the store or gas station after dark even in East Belleville.

[MattL]

Keila,

I happen to be in real estate and know where you can find a beautiful three bedroom two bath Cape Cod on two thirds of an acre in Fairview Heights (north of Belleville, 15 minutes to Scott Air Force Base, 20 minutes to downtown St. Louis). Priced well under conservative estimate at only $149,900! So you could conceivably have nearly $20,000 in equity on closing! Too much stuff to list, go to:kodakgallery.com/bellehouse to check out pictures of the Interior if you like. A great opportunity if you're in the market for a house.

[InLincolnshire]

I've lived in East Belleville in Olde Lincolnshire for 8 years. No problems. Lots of military, racially mixed, good private school down the street. No problems going to WalMart in the middle of the night.

[Kathy]

BellevilleBelle - I really forgot about Lincolnshire. And no, you can't walk to the store after dark, but driving there is okay. I have never felt unsafe, at least. Besides, the subdivisions I am thinking of aren't within walking distance of the stores.

What about the Westhaven area?

I really think we're making Belleville seem worse than it is.(Jaded, perhaps?) Petty crime, auto break-ins and domestic violence may be a problem, but it's not like you'll be shot or kidnapped just walking down the street. Racial prejudice has never been an issue in my family, nor in many other families I know. It's the older, stubborn citizens that may have prejudice. You will find that most anywhere. I never went to public school in Belleville, so I can't speak from personal experience on that.

It's all about good judgement. Consider our advice but do some research of your own into crime, real estate, and schools.

[BelleVegas]

I would look around Shiloh along Hartman Lane or Swansea along Old Collinsville Road. Or even around the Westhaven Subdivision just south of Illinois 15 on 159

[Mike]

Todays news

Man is robbed in QuikTrip parking lot
News-Democrat

A man was robbed Wednesday afternoon on the parking lot of the QuikTrip on Centerville Avenue, Belleville Police said.

The victim told police he was walking from the side of the building toward the front of the store about 2:18 p.m. Wednesday when two men between the ages of 20-25 attacked him from behind. One suspect held the victim's arms behind him, while the other retrieved the man's debit card from his front pocket. The suspects ran toward the Terrace Motel next door.

Police described both suspects as young black men. One was between 5 feet, 8 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches, bald, with brown eyes, a thin build and a dark complexion, wearing blue jeans and a green shirt. The other was between 5 feet, 6 inches and 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with black hair, brown eyes, a thin build, dark complexion and wearing black shorts with a Nike emblem and a white T-shirt.

[BellevilleBelle]

Lincolnshire has no problems? In the 2 years we lived there before sold our home here is what happened.. and this is only what we know about.

1. The apartments in the subdivision had a pedophile living there who broke in a woman's home we were friendly with to get to her daughter who has said "hello" to him.

2. The drug issues at the park. The drug issue is STILL in the park.

3. 3 break ins BY the park and on Roanoke.

4. The racial problems with the hud house on one corner where there were about 15 black kids blocking the road and refusing to let you by,throwing things at cars, calling the old retired guy cracker bastard,beating up the old mans neighbor boy who told them to stop harassing the old man, and harassing the disabled folks who used to ride their chairs around the neighborhood. The police were in our neighborhood nearly every day for the school year and summer of 2005. HUD finally pulled their involvement in the house and the owner sold it. Every weekend we had half of east st. Louis in the neighborhood visiting these people.

5. The man that was shot and killed in the field behind the subdivision.

6. Arson problem. Seems there was a firebug teenager that likes to set peoples back yards on fire.

7. The people moved within a few months but they discovered a group of kids in a travel trailer on their property and called the police. The kids broke into it and qwere doing their "thing". After the poloce were ionvolved and the issue was bein g handled legally the travel trailer was torn up and vandalized by the friends of the kids. Those folks moved because of the problems with racial intimidation after they called the police.

Shall I go on? Check all of this out. Ask around. Get the truth about Lincolnshire becuase either you have your head in the sand or you spend NO time at home. We're military and knew the military families there. Each of us moved out as money and time permitted and only one stayed because he couldnt sell the house. We've kept in touch and things are bad all over belleville.

[Think about it]

Keila...
Check out the post in this forum called "Belleville is the New East St Louis". It will take you a long time to read it all.
Find it here: http://www.topix.net/forum/city/belleville-il...

I posted there many times as 'Bwaaahhaaa'.

BellevilleBelle...I remember all those episodes (plus many more), and I agree with you 100%.

The Air Force sent me to Scott and we bought in old Lincolnshire (nearest the college) in 2001, we just recently took a huge loss in our equity when we sold our house there. Although we took a loss, moving out of there was the best thing we ever did.
The drug activity there is up at an alarming rate, thugs walk the streets, racial intimidation, breaking and entering, theft of property, blasting radios, trashy properties... The list goes on.

I would avoid the east side of Belleville.