Friends don't let friends live in the City of St. Louis......The city has it all.....shootings, corrupt government and school system, violent neighborhoods, run down buildings, traffic, high taxes, crime and drugs. But it is green and diverse...give me a break....give me the suburbs anyday.... this must be a campaign written by some 20 something who never lived in St. Louis and thought this would be "cute" thing to say.

Tired of waste said it all. Who in the world would want to live in St Louis??? Not anyone with any sense! They should work on moving out the undesirables, and then maybe some people would move back in. I live in Chesterfield :)

The city can be a fun place to visit, but I would never live there. While the diversity is nice in some areas, it doesn't make up for the horrible school system, crime, corruption, blight, traffic, expense, and lack of parking.

I think Chesterfield should fight back and should continue to make Chesterfield a more walk-able city and maybe even consider a Chesterfield Trolley run from the mall to the valley - a joint venture by both the city and businesses.

It's a clever ad though we all know the truth about crime, schools, and congestion in the city of St Louis.

Still, I wouldn't mind if Chesterfield was a more interesting place to shop and eat with a bit more variety and fewer generic chains. Otherwise, I like my friendly neighbors, our excellent police and fire services, our low sales taxes, our well-paved roads (except the crumbling parkway), and our exceptionally low crime rate.

I love the quote from the mayor!

So, let's see now. Chesterfield has world-class parks, ball fields, a stunning amphitheater, museum-quality public art, beautiful neighborhoods with trees and gardens, good restaurants, shopping. And it's a safe place to live and work with a nationally accredited police force. Good school districts. Must have left some good stuff out, but, sure, let's live downtown instead. Really? Stupid campaign.

Nothing says camaraderie like regional rivalries and the phrase "undesirables." As a "20-sometthing" who has lived in the City for several years and spent plenty of time in Chesterfield, I'd like to immediately second the statement that friends don't let friends live in Chesterfield. If I wanted to see pristine homes, parks that look untouched and old-timey buildings with over priced knick-knacks, I'd move to Vermont and open an antique shop. Chesterfield is sterilized and possibly hermetically sealed. Being afraid or intimidated by the City is a child's answer. It's Saint Louis, not Calcutta.

To be honest I would prefer that most people who lived in Chesterfield stay away from living in the city. These are not the forward thinking people needed to turn around downtown STL. We need young talented individuals who would prefer to leave their cars behind and actually walk somewhere.

As a city dweller for over 20 years, I raised both of my daughters here. One is preparing for college, one is a freshman at a magnificent arts school. I grew up in the suburbs and while yes, the city has its share of problems, I'd much rather be able to walk to nearly everything we need and join my community working on solutions than fleeing to the sprawl. We LOVE the city. Others love the 'burbs. To each his own, but I'd try to talk a friend out of a far-flung suburb - as a matter of fact, I have!

As a current city resident & former county resident, I understand the pros & cons of both arguments. The city offers unparalleled diversity, dining, & entertainment - the Fox Theater, University City Loop, St. Louis Zoo, Peabody Opera House, St. Louis Science Center, Busch Stadium, etc. And of course, Chesterfield offers excellent schools, parks & family-friendly neighborhoods.

But I am more than disappointed at county residents who obviously are not familiar with the city & make blanket statements about the people and neighborhoods.

I have worked in the city for 5 years & lived in the city for 2 years. I have not once had any trouble nor seen anything that has made me fear for my safety. As in any city, people should be aware of their surroundings, lock their doors, etc. If you can't handle that, then yes, you should live in the county (where I must add - I have HAD trouble when someone tried to break into my house).

I take great pride in my city as should everyone. Not just when the Cardinals win the World Series or the Missouri Botanical Garden has the Lantern Festival. People & developers like UIC have & will continue to turn the city into a fun & vibrant destination for all. And from my point of view, it is working! The city of 20 years ago is not the city of today. I love my city!

Yes, their campaign pokes fun at Chesterfield. But UIC acknowledges the strengths of Chesterfield & why it is such a popular destination. I say, keep up the good work UIC!

Well said on all counts, Ryan. Except the "old timey buildings" are nothing more than strip malls with garish artificial trimmings. The Chesterfield Valley, with its acres and acres of parking lots and chain stores stretching into infinity, is my personal vision of hell. It would make an excellent place to film a suburban sprawl-themed horror movie. It has perfected the homogeneity of suburbia so completely it could pass for the outer ring of literally any metroplex in any state.

Stop passing the buck! Neighborhoods and cities are what we make them! Moving into the city will not magically make you violent and a thief! And if you're surrounded by similar people, it is unlikely they will do the same!. More people living in the city means a larger tax base off of which better services can be paid for and from which any given citizen would have to pay less! I tried to post a longer reply but it didn't seem to take so I will end with...I know you will all disagree with this and this will just solidify your stance (trust me...I'm a experimental psychologist studying group identities and public-good games and trust and cooperation). I know that all of this griping and childish back and forth only makes our stances that much stronger! But it may be time to grow up and wake up to an inconvenient truth...the city is the way it is TODAY because of the people leaving it and moving to the county. I applaud ANY attempt to bring people back because with them comes the potential for a safer, happier, more prosperous city in the future! It takes work and sacrifice and risk to support a "collective" such as a larger city. So I ask to not simply say "its violent" "its pricey" "its abandoned and rundown"...those things can change IF PEOPLE MOVE BACK! Don't use it as an excuse NOT to move back...then its just a vicious circle...those that live in the city (as do I) are trying...it takes people from elsewhere to MOVE IN and help us change for the better.

http://onsl.org/ ..... FOR EXAMPLE!!!

As a lifelong resident of the City of St. Louis, I apologize to Chesterfield. I am not affiliated with UIC but I do find their slogan irresponsible and divisive. The comments in this thread are evidence of that. There is a wealth of choice regarding which community a household may choose to live. No individual should be attacked for that choice.

I make no assertions that anyone should have legal protection from harassment because of where they choose to live. I do think out of common decency, that folks would refrain from harassing each other because of where they call home. The slogan is not effective at drawing contrasts when it assails one's home community by name because whatever argument you are trying to make about city living vs. suburban living is overrun by the anger someone feels after having the community they grew up in openly derided in an attempt to sell homes.

If this reminds you of reverse-racism, I suggest that you're making a far and unreasonable intellectual stretch.

Everyone out there needs to remember that we are all ONE community. The City of Chesterfield would never debase the City of St. Louis in this way. Chesterfield would never say, "Don't live in the City, they have the highest crime rate in the country." If the City fails, so do the suburbs. Well-intentioned or not - this is not tongue-in-cheek or funny in any way.

I prefer to support both living environments and hope that we can work to create neighborhoods and destinations which possess all of the amenities that benefit us as a region - this should not be an "us against them" campaign. A more productive and positive approach would be to support the people who are making "ST. LOUIS" a place that provides lifestyle options for everyone, promotes all that is unique and creates opportunities for us to be part of what we collectively bring to the region as a whole - urban, suburban and everything in between. My two cents and I can only imagine the backlash if the county had put together a similar campaign about the city....

The campaign acknowledges their ribbing with what I believe is an honest evaluation of Chesterfield: a stable community that offers some features the City is striving for. Should the campaign have chosen a suburb that's (arguably) been in decline or struggling in recent years, say Florissant, Normandy or Hazelwood, then I think offense could be taken. This is about investing/staying in the City, so I think a preferable syntax may have been: Friends don't let friends MOVE to Chesterfield.

I want to live in St. Louis City any second before Chesterfield. Maybe it's because I like culture, activities, character, history, and real art. Chesterfield and all other areas out in the Counties would have never existed without the signifigance of St. Louis. You can either be part of St. Louis by supporting it and enbracing it as the regional center it is, or shoot it down and live your life in fear of a boogeyman that only exists because you continue to feed it.

The suburbs exist because of the creation of cars. When it comes to spending your money you have a choice to do so as you wish. Some choose to not "up" their chances of having crime occur by moving into an area with higher crime rates. They also have the ability to drive into the city and enjoy the different cultural experiences brought up multiple times on different posts. I don't think either place is bad, but people choose to spend their money how they wish and clearly at this point more people wish to live in the county. Give people a reason to spend thier money on homes in the city and that might change. I would say reading a slogan isnt the difference people are looking for!

My family has been in Chesterfield since the mid-1800s. Chesterfield is plastic these days. Cookie-cutter homes, McMansions, strip malls and malls and outlet malls, chains restaurants, etc., etc.

I wouldn't pick STL either.

I want to 1st preface this tirade that I love the city. I went to high school there for 4 years at a school on the corner of Lindell and Newstead. But.................
I think whoever hired UIC and whoever let this slogan pass for approval should be fired. How many did they go through before they picked Chesterfield as the desired city to have your friends say... "Oh my lord you DO NOT want to live there there.The city is sooo much better". I am sure the residents of Webster, Kirkwood, Ladue, Florissisant, Ferguson, Ellisville (forgive me for not listing all) would be highly offended as well it was their city listed in this slogan. Is this the best the UIC could come up with???????? What a lack of imagination. My slogan is CITIES WHO LIKE CITIES DO NOT USE UIC TO MARKET THEM. This Chesterfield resident is offended and you can take your STUPID slogan and stuff it.

Jesda, it's not so much the loss of the farms and "dirt roads" as you said, but the development thus far has also obliterated any charm and, for the most part, tastefulness. It's brash and modern and well, plastic.

Misunderstanding... UIC isn't a marketing firm. It's a real estate developer. The City didn't hire them. It's not the City's slogan. It's the developer's own slogan to sell the houses they are building in areas of south city. And I can say that they are some very nice houses in some very cool neighborhoods.

Sorry I already live in Chesterfield. I love the city and my brothers both live in the city, but I have four kids aged 12, 9, 8, and 7. I can't afford private school and I'm not Catholic so I looked for the best public schools for my kids. If there were an affordable way to get quality education then the city would be a nice alternative. We also host exchange students through YFU and the city schools are not as enthusiastic about supporting exchange students as our high schools in Chesterfield.

Dang. All I can say is it's on the younger generations to produce a progressive, positive downtown STL. DT STL is important and represents a small sample of problems duplicated in other city neighborhoods (schools, mixed-uses cooperating, crime, politics, etc). But DT is unique, it has our world-recognized monument, our Visitors & Convention Center,, our sports, etc., it can be what people remember. The older, comfy gens are just that to some extent, comfy, extremely tolerant. Besides, they're counting their retirement (if they can in this economy), they're not taking risks as much. If you really love STL you have to take the good and the bad, love our diversity, mentor a child, take a risk on living somewhere that needs you...but only a risk you enjoy, not one that makes you miserable. I'm confident one day soon, at least in downtown, we'll be even more confident about STL. Chesterfield is a great place. No offense, but DT STL can be it's own great place, for a variety of reasons. Hopefully the trend can spread throughout the city.

Sense of humor?

City and County living are totally opposite which is why the slogan offends County people everywhere.

The chances of County people moving into the City, giving up good schools, low crime, nice parks, open green space, cooperating communities with exceptional amenities, easy parking, etc. for a new home development within urban decay with additional taxes and poor community services, not to mention unaccredited struggling schools in slim to none.

Therefore, the campaign can only work to reach the City people who can only mock what they don’t have. They see the County as conservative bedroom communities in cookie-cutter subdivisions with manicured lawns with parents who attend PTO meetings and cheer at soccer games as dreary. Their City lives are full of character and diversity.

Good luck. City people unite. Take care of your City and improve your community. Create a place where all people would want to live!

I grew up in the suburbs and couldn't wait to move to a big city - which I did for a few months when I lived in London. As an adult, I decided to move to mid-St. Louis County based on a far more practical reason, my husband had already purchased a house there when we got married!

http://nextstl.com/urban-living/why-friends-don-t-let-friends-live-in-chesterfield-is-funny

Hello all, in case you didn't see it, here is a follow up story with the developer's comments. He says he and his team thought Chesterfield would be more middle-of-the-road and have more of a sense of humor. What do you think? http://chesterfield.patch.com/articles/local-developer-defends-friends-don-t-let-friends-live-in-chesterfield-slogan#photo-11005394

Honestly, to think that people are better based on where they live or went to high school is a very stupid St. Louis tradition based in snobbery - snobbery that actually originated in the city. Back in 1877 the city was much larger and affluent then the county. The city wanted to detach itself from the rural county, whom they felt brought them down economically and socially since the county needed a lot of tax support to establish roads and other public services and was populated by rural (read - unsophisticated) farmers. The county fought the detachment but the city won. 100 years later and post white flight the county surpassed the city in population and economy. Then, all of sudden, the city wanted to rejoin with the county to benefit from their economy. And yet, there continues to be this attitude that county dwellers are not as sophisticated but now, since they do seem to have more money overall, they are assumed to be snobs. So, when I see elitist attitude still coming from city dwellers I really... well... I think it is stupid, let's just leave it at that. You can pretend there is not more crime in the city all you want, the crime maps from the city and county police department tell a different story. The city and county have been talking for years about reuniting. I hope someday both sides get over themselves, reunite, and work together to make all of St. Louis the best it can be.

This campaign is insensitive to our history and perpetuates unnecessary animosity.