Do you know how many ppl on earth hate or are indifferent to places where they live? You are so lucky to live in a city you adore 😃 And btw - the reason why you can have 3500sg ft apartment for 1200 $ is exactly because majority of your fellow citizens think that this is not a proper place for them to live in :) If I were you I'd intentionally spread misinformation about St Louis - LOL. Nice town/city with Low level of popularity/ bad reputation/ whatever other reason  - is like a unicorn. And most probably (although i dont know for a fact) you have much lower level of traffic jams, crimes, better air quality, not even mentioning just such an obvious perk - LESS PPL EVEREWHERE. So, you know - you should've replied - Yes , this is a ghost town,  and all the ppl who are still here are very ugly and rude, please never visit LOL.  On a serious note - ppl's preferences re location is such a subjective thing, dependant on sooo many factors and also ever changing. Usually we feel good in a place we live in (like geo location and/or house) if quality and level of energy in this location  resonates with our own personal quality and level of energy in a given moment of our lives. Therefore ppl tend to move to different places during theri life time (or not). And this is a good thing. Can you imagine a world where everyone or majority would want to live in one city or one country? That would be a horror. I am not that lucky as you are now tbh - I live in a place that resonates with me and I like it very much, but it  also resonates with a lot of other ppl 😄 So it is quite crowded and expensive. Take care and don't be bothered by this comment - in a way this is a complement really.