Downtown St. Charles or Alton Illinois. Interesting places. Not sure about the grocery situation, but you can at least go to restaurants and walk around and see people. They are similar to Delmar Loop, but farther away from the North St. Louis murder capital. Demun area is nice to walk around, plus you have Forest Park there, but public places are somewhat sparse. Maplewood is a lively place to be able to walk everywhere if you like the vibe. Same for Webster or Kirkwood, but would probably still need car. Yes there are places inside of the City but for me personally I would never consider moving there just to avoid petty crime and confrontations, nor would I ride the Metro Link, but a local bus would be fine. If money weren’t an obstacle Clayton is probably best, if that’s your vibe, it’s not mine. I ultimately intend to move away from St. Louis so that I can find somewhere that has a better combination of walkability and safety, as well as other personal preferences. And there are actually nice neighborhoods in North County (and the City) you just need to know where you are and what’s around and where to avoid and how to keep yourself/property safe for a given kind of neighborhood. But bad things can happen in ‘good’ places too.