Please tell me what Baton Rouge is like? (Livingston: gated, living)

[moochan]

I've grown up in Baton Rouge and go to college here. If you are 21, there's a lot to do in the bar scene. Otherwise it's really a seasonal thing. There's lots of festivals through spring-summer but the rest of the time there's not that much to do. Overall, the schools, both public and private, suck. I have been in both school systems so I speak from experience. There are a few gems with the schools, but you have to search for them. Personally, I hate Baton Rouge and the only reason I still live here is because the state pays for my college tuition. BR is not a small town but it's not really a big city, either, that's the best way I can describe it. The perception of the BR job industry (at least among most of the people my age that I know) has always been that unless you're going into engineering (or recently, the movie industry), you want to move out of state for jobs. Baton Rouge is really spread out, and the public transportation is a joke, so you have to drive everywhere. And post-Katrina the traffic is hideous.

We do have good parks, though. Just not good bike trails to anywhere useful.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by moochan

I've grown up in Baton Rouge and go to college here. If you are 21, there's a lot to do in the bar scene. Otherwise it's really a seasonal thing. There's lots of festivals through spring-summer but the rest of the time there's not that much to do. Overall, the schools, both public and private, suck. I have been in both school systems so I speak from experience. There are a few gems with the schools, but you have to search for them. Personally, I hate Baton Rouge and the only reason I still live here is because the state pays for my college tuition. BR is not a small town but it's not really a big city, either, that's the best way I can describe it. The perception of the BR job industry (at least among most of the people my age that I know) has always been that unless you're going into engineering (or recently, the movie industry), you want to move out of state for jobs. Baton Rouge is really spread out, and the public transportation is a joke, so you have to drive everywhere. And post-Katrina the traffic is hideous.

We do have good parks, though. Just not good bike trails to anywhere useful.

I have to disagree with this poster. Although I as speaking from a married woman with a 5 year old daughter's prspective! I love it here. There are festivals all year long, not just in the spring and summer, but many geared towards families and children. I also love her school and she does too. I have no idea about public other than I heard they are awful here(really anywhere in the south). I have no idea about the bar scene, but I guess from the poster, it is pretty good. There are more things to do here than anywhere else I have lived( and I have lived in many places), it just depends on what youa re looking for. There were three sportin events going on at LSU last Saturday and always something at either Shaw Center or the River Center. I love Baton Rouge, but the traffic situation..I would say it is the exact same as pre Katrina, maybe a few more cars, but not bad compared to other places, believe me! Good Luck and welcome to Louisiana.

[Daniel_T]

Originally Posted by Caa

I have to disagree with this poster. Although I as speaking from a married woman with a 5 year old daughter's prspective! I love it here. There are festivals all year long, not just in the spring and summer, but many geared towards families and children. I also love her school and she does too. I have no idea about public other than I heard they are awful here(really anywhere in the south). I have no idea about the bar scene, but I guess from the poster, it is pretty good. There are more things to do here than anywhere else I have lived( and I have lived in many places), it just depends on what youa re looking for. There were three sportin events going on at LSU last Saturday and always something at either Shaw Center or the River Center. I love Baton Rouge, but the traffic situation..I would say it is the exact same as pre Katrina, maybe a few more cars, but not bad compared to other places, believe me! Good Luck and welcome to Louisiana.

Thank much for the replies. Baton Rouge sounds like a place I might like. I'll have to come visit for a couple days and see if I like it. I really want to live in the South. Don't know why but I always have. Just seems like a nice part of the country.

[Cheche]

Hi! I'm Cheche. I am a Filipina and is coming to East Baton Rouge to teach. I am sort of afraid about the safety of BTR as a place to work and live and someday raise my child .As I read the different posts , I cannot avoid but become afraid. Do you think I made the right decision of going there ? Culture is not an issue for me, safety is.
Are residents there friendly to foreigners and minorities like me? Any comment will be highly appreciated.
Thanks.

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by Cheche

Hi! I'm Cheche. I am a Filipina and is coming to East Baton Rouge to teach. I am sort of afraid about the safety of BTR as a place to work and live and someday raise my child .As I read the different posts , I cannot avoid but become afraid. Do you think I made the right decision of going there ? Culture is not an issue for me, safety is.
Are residents there friendly to foreigners and minorities like me? Any comment will be highly appreciated.
Thanks.

Cheche,
If you're not one to cause trouble and you don't live in a troubled part of town, I can't imagine you needing to be afraid. The past two weekends were high crime weekends, but as usual most of the shootings and murders were centered around some sort of illegal activity, gang activity or high crime area of town to begin with which unfortunately is very normal for this city. Just do what you would normally do in any big city to protect yourself from any random crime or property crime.
There will definitely be some anxiety just from being in a new place. That is normal. If you're one to be outgoing, then you should make friends pretty quick. People within the city are fairly open to new people and new cultures. They just don't like being told how much better it was somewhere else. That tends to turn them off quick. At the same time, people need to realize that the universe does not revolve around them.
Raising a child here can be a mixed blessing depending on how you adapt. There are a number of things to do that keep children busy and for them to have fun, but the schools can be pretty limiting. You have to be patient and tolerate a number of fools who really don't want to be there or learn. That can potentially pull some good kids down, but most times it doesn't. Just be prepared for it.
I commend you for wanting to teach. Best of luck to you.

[Ron Obvious]

Thanks for the info!

[raymondm]

I moved from houston to baton rouge for school, the week I was there I was called the N word on the highway. Its a really racist town its something I wasn't use to, being from houston. I love the fact that's its tiger country and how suppotive the community is of the school, great places to eat and a lot to doaround the town I loved it there. But when it comes to issues like racist I'm against when comes to that baton rouge and the state of louisiana is atleast 15 years behind texas and the rest of the country.

[southland]

I liked Baton Rouge a lot.

It's just so much better, at least to me, than most other southern cities. Atlanta's nice, but it's a really big town.

I also liked Savannah and Charleston, but it's more difficult to find good jobs there than in Baton Rouge.

RecreationThe LSU lakes are great. They have a nice walking/jogging/bike trail around all of them, but only non-motorized boats are allowed. Kayaks are pretty popular on the LSU lakes. If you are into more serious water sports, then I suggest False River- just about a 30 minute drive from Baton Rouge. That whole area is beautiful.
There's also a half dozen small rivers around the area that offer good swimming, tubing, and boating opportunities. Of course, there's great fishing all over Louisiana.

There's great golf courses here, many good parks, and several good bike trails. They are building more of those bike trails, too.

Soccer, football, and baseball are real big her for children of all ages (and adults). BREC is the local park organization that handles this...there's something for everyone there. They really try hard to offer as much as possible.

The night life scene is improving every year- Downtown is now a good place to go that isn't too full of students (but still fairly young). Music and arts scene is surprisingly good all over Louisiana, Baton Rouge included. If you can't get enough of this, then on Baton Rouge's off nights you can drive to Lafayette or New Orleans.

Once you get farther north- past Zachary and into St. Francisville and southern Mississippi, you see some nice parks and recreation activities. Hunting, fishing, hiking...all very popular here.
Ports Hudson, Cat Island, etc....

Also, I used to think that New Orleans had the best shopping opportunities in Louisiana....but now I think Baton Rouge might have a narrow edge. I personally hate shopping, so the added traffic is a drawback to me. I'm not most people, though.

Louisiana is a sportsman's paradise. If you love the outdoors, you'll love this state.

Schools
Zachary is in Baton Rouge (City/Parish has a consolidated government), and offers the best public schools in the state. This is a "newer" area, though with more suburban housing....may or may not be your fancy.

Baton Rouge Magnet High is the best high school in the state, but most of the EBR public schools are mediocre with a few bright spots and a few bad apples. Many Baton Rouge neighborhoods are splitting off to form their own ISD- Central is the newest neighborhood, but south Baton Rouge is in the process of following suit.

Most of the suburbs have pretty solid public schools.

Crime
Violent crime is localized within a few areas, but minor theft occurs at random intervals all over the region. Parts of North Baton Rouge (south of the airport, west of Airline, north of Florida Blvd) have some crime problems, but even those are mostly drug related.

Gardere unfortunately has a serious crime problem....but even it is localized. Nearby Bluebonnet and Staring Lane areas are very safe.

You also have some student neighborhoods that are kind of junky and low rent as well as some problems with drinking and driving.

People
I've lived in several cities across this country, and I've noticed that Baton Rouge, Lafayette (Louisiana), and Houston have surprisingly nice and friendly people.

It's the kind of area that if you don't stick out too much, you are not too loud, and you have a good attitude...then you'll fit in just fine.

Transportation
Might want to let us know when you decide to move, so we can help you find a nice home near your work place. Traffic can be difficult here. The folks on City Data would be more than willing to give you tips on particular areas that you are interested in....or you can just come to visit and sit in Perks or Coffee Call for a while and ask around!
They are widening the freeways to alleviate congestion as well as implementing a large city/parish public works improvement project to widen the surface streets and install sidewalks (Green Light Plan).

A lot of the transportation problems are the result of quick growth, but sadly, some if it is due to poor planning. Because property values have gone up, more tax dollars are from residential properties...so our city leaders are no longer willing to bend over backwards for anything retail (to boost sales tax revenue), so there have been major strides in planning. There's evidence that some of these old folks that have lived here for a long time finally "get it".

There's been talk about a high speed rail in Louisiana connecting Baton Rouge to New Orleans- this will be a big deal if the stimulus bill passes. The plan is in place and it's just a matter of funding now. There's a bus service that offers free transit for LSU and Southern students, but otherwise it's not very efficient (like all buses).

Cleanliness
Some areas are very clean, very nice, and very new....others are extremely rustic and old. It's an odd mix of a lot of newer suburban areas, older cityscapes, and lots of backwoods/small town charm.

It's a unique blend that I love about Baton Rouge. If you are not used to it, then it will probably surprise you at first.

Lots of trees and "greenery" here...especially if you are used to Tucson.

I've noticed that Urbanplanet.org has a lot of neighborhood photos if you are interested.

Cost of living

Very low....except for insurance. Our insurance here is pretty high. You can get a very decent 1 or 2 bedroom Apartment for $750 unless you want to live downtown or in the really hot neighborhoods.


Another Bonus

The people.....girls are very good looking here (think it's in the water!) and the guys are mostly real gentlemen. I'm serious about the girls though. I can't explain it, but after living in Ohio for 4 years, I couldn't get over these Cajun girls!

The Food is also amazing. Everything taste better here because it's in the culture to spend time on seasoning, sauces, and preparation.

Originally Posted by Cheche

Hi! I'm Cheche. I am a Filipina and is coming to East Baton Rouge to teach. I am sort of afraid about the safety of BTR as a place to work and live and someday raise my child .As I read the different posts , I cannot avoid but become afraid. Do you think I made the right decision of going there ? Culture is not an issue for me, safety is.
Are residents there friendly to foreigners and minorities like me? Any comment will be highly appreciated.
Thanks.

You'll be fine. Baton Rouge is mostly a friendly area...much more so than some of the other cities that I've been to.

Depending on where you plan to teach, we can give you good advice on neighborhood safety and rental housing.

Good luck in your teaching position. My wife is a teacher at a local elementary school. We love the area!

[raymondm]

To cheche please listen to me when i say there are better places in the south to live in than BTR. Im a minority too and coming from a diverse city like houston, i wasnt use to the high volumes of racisism i experienced. BTR is not this utopian society as there posters are making it to be. These are people that live there they whole life and use to it nor notice how racist and far behind the city is from the chi, la, ny, and houston. The people are snobs there and im an african-anerican, the causcasions look at you as there above you and dont even acknowlegde blacks. I ve been even called the N word, theres so much more i wish i could tell you but i have to go, but please take it from an outsiders perspective and a person that was in positon you were in. If you want culture come to Houston

[Caa]

Originally Posted by raymondm

To cheche please listen to me when i say there are better places in the south to live in than BTR. Im a minority too and coming from a diverse city like houston, i wasnt use to the high volumes of racisism i experienced. BTR is not this utopian society as there posters are making it to be. These are people that live there they whole life and use to it nor notice how racist and far behind the city is from the chi, la, ny, and houston. The people are snobs there and im an african-anerican, the causcasions look at you as there above you and dont even acknowlegde blacks. I ve been even called the N word, theres so much more i wish i could tell you but i have to go, but please take it from an outsiders perspective and a person that was in positon you were in. If you want culture come to Houston

I am so sorry you had the trouble you have had! I moved here from south Florida 4 years ago and was the best thing I ever did! South Floirda is full of rich people and talk about snobs and people making comments. There, you were not even looked at unless you had on a Rolex watch and the people, the most unfriendly I have met. On the other hand, moving here was totally different. People wave and say hello on the streets, and I honestly think the people here are very sweet for the most part. Some things changed for the worse after Katrina. People were not nearlt as nice to each other, especially on the surface roads, but that seemd to have gotten a bit better! Now, for the racist issues. Some people are just plain dumb. Now, here I have experienced some racism( I am Caucasian) like getting ignored when I am standing there waiting to order and things like that. Racism really does go both ways, especially here in the south. Maybe one day, people and things will change!