LOL, some people call SLU and UM-St. Louis the "Oasis in the Ghetto", lol. I've never been on the east side, except for passing through on the highway. But, I've heard terrible things about it. And, yeah, if you love suburbish types of places, yes, Chesterfield, Ballwin, and Creve Coeur are ideal.
If any of you peeps ever find yourself in STL (yes, I'm going to blatantly defend my city), flock to Central West End (pretty classy), the nice part of Washington Ave. (fun things to do and cool restaurants), Soulard/Lafayette (good bars, home of the 2nd largest mardi gras celebration), the "Gay friendly" area of South Grand (has "culture"). I've heard mixed things about Laclede's Landing (bars and clubs). I've only partied there once, for Mardi Gras-Fat Tuesday. NEVER AGAIN! I felt like I was in a gangsta rap video. I was in a sea of white tees and grillz (I even seen a few with lights in them
). Fights like broke out every 10 minutes and saw way too many people flashing gang signs. Supposedly, it's different when it is not around Mardi Gras time, from what I've heard. All of Clayton, south part of U City, the Loop, and some areas of Maplewood are cool too. Technically, they are suburbs but they kind of border the city and have a nice urban feel. Urban as in classy (Clayton and south U City) and culture (the Loop), not as in ghetto, lol. STL is no Chicago or anything, but if you go to the right spots you'll be okay.
Honorable mentions:
The Hill (in south city)-If you're into authentic Italian food, this is the place for you.
Southern Maryland Heights (suburb)-because of Westport. Creve Coeur Lake/Park is cool too. Home of DPhiE's national headquarter.
Webster Groves and Kirkwood (suburbs)-Nice small town feel in a medium
sized city.
Ferguson (suburb), near the railroad tracks-Also have a nice small town feel.
New Town in St. Charles (exburb)-VERY small town feel.
Small town as in nice architecture, lack of cheesy strip malls and chain restaurants, and the "everybody knows your name" feeling.