We've had drug busts and high speed chases in front of our St. Ann crash pad, but its cool. Makes the walk to the airport (the shuttle is refusing service) more exciting. St. Charles is really nice, and near Spirit of St. Louis airport there are some new developments. The Peine Lakes Apartments are brand new and are offering some good deals on brand new apartments that wouldn't be bad to get into at all. Plan on a 20 min drive to get anywhere good. If you stay near the airport you will be disappointed with the neighborhood, but further away is actually pretty nice and affordable. St. Charles is a lot better than downtown St, Louis so you will probably want to be closer to the west than the east side. Hope it helps. See you on the line.