Kansas City vs. St. Louis

Time to attempt to answer the most debated topic in central Missouri: Which is the better city, KC or STL?
This argument may not be relevant in many places, but when you've spent 10 years interacting with people your age who tend to have a strong opinion on the subject, you start weighing the arguments. It's time to put this to bed... or at least tell it to go to time-out.

(Note I realize I'm technically biased in this debate, but not as much as you'd think.)

Place to Live
There are several factors that go into which city is a better place to live, and if you factor in the surrounding suburban areas, there is even more to consider.

Crime Statistics: Comparing crime rates, STL rates a 10 in both violent and property crimes, whereas KC is a 7 and 6 respectively. Independence is one of the only suburbs with a higher than normal rate (7/9), but if we compare the cities on the other side of the state line, East STL is an 10/9 but KCKS is a 7/8. So the nod goes to KC on this one.

Housing Cost: Recent reports have average single-family home prices in STL slightly lower than in KC... edge to STL.

Cost of Living: According to a CNN Money calculation, someone making $25k in KC would comparably make $23k in STL, and only groceries and health care cost more in STL... edge to STL.

Education: Yea, KCMO school district is not currently accredited. Fortunately, the suburbs have solid schools. STL is well known for it's private schools, so this one kinda depends on the type of education. SchoolDigger.com ranks KC schools slightly higher, so they get this one... barely.

Entertainment
This attempts to answer the question of which city can you have the most fun in? There is no real answer to this, but let's take a few factors into consideration.

Amusement Parks: I hear good things about Six Flags and I get the impression it's more fun for all ages. Plus the STL zoo blows the KC zoo out of the water... edge to STL.

Culture: The Science Center versus The Nelson Art Museum... edge KC. The Fox Theater versus the Tivoli Theater... edge STL. Riverport versus Sandstone... edge KC. The Arch versus Liberty Memorial... edge STL. Budweiser brewery versus Boulevard brewery... edge STL. When it's all factored together, and including KC's history as a jazz hotbed, the edge goes to KC.

Food: I've sampled some of the STL Italian food, and it is very good. But I'm going to have to lean on my bias just once... KC barbeque is the best. KC even has enough great Italian places to trump the good STL barbeque... edge to KC.

Sports Teams: Almost laughable. STL leads the city championships 11-2. While the Rams are newish to town, the Cardinals have been playing for over 110 years and the Blues have been around. KC didn't have a professional team until the '60s, the Athletics were bad, the Royals got off to a slow start and are no wmuch worse, the Scouts (NHL) had 2 years of ineptitude, and the Kings struggled. Accept for the Chiefs' early success, not much to talk about other than the '85 Series... despite the result in head-to-head championships, edge to STL.

Beauty
I've never really thought about KC as a beautiful place, and of course, it depends on what part of the city you are in. STL has the nicest park and it's highway system is better (and makes more sense), but the scary parts of KC are harder to find.... edge STL.

Final Verdict
I need more information/experience, but I'll lean slightly toward STL. I still like KC better, but this can be an open debate... let the flood of comments begin.