What do you LIKE about Baton Rouge ? (New Orleans, Lafayette: apartment, rent)

[southland]

-I like that Baton Rouge is on a big upswing despite the crummy national economy.

-Our investments are still safe and our local companies are stronger.

-cleaner, safer than New Orleans or Houston.

-There's a dozen new large projects underway, and even more big infrastructure improvements in the pipeline....wider interstates, new beltway, better schools...just to name a few.

-I like to get in early on a good thing, and Baton Rouge is exactly that.

-low taxes

-Class 1 fire department...great response times means lower homeowners insurance..unfortunately offset by higher car insurance.

-Some older neighborhoods are being or have been revitalized....with lots of new investments going into older neighborhoods.

-Crime sucks, but if something isn't done about it then Holden will lose the election...so something will be done about it.

-The people are nice, I love LSU football, and we are within an hour of New Orleans and Lafayette.

-It's cheap to fly out of our airport compared to other cities our size.

-housing market is reasonable.

-We don't have as many political nut jobs in government here as New Orleans has.

-Traffic is bad, but if you pic your housing right you can avoid it.

-Great restaurants.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by southland

-I like that Baton Rouge is on a big upswing despite the crummy national economy.

-Our investments are still safe and our local companies are stronger.

-cleaner, safer than New Orleans or Houston.

-There's a dozen new large projects underway, and even more big infrastructure improvements in the pipeline....wider interstates, new beltway, better schools...just to name a few.

-I like to get in early on a good thing, and Baton Rouge is exactly that.

-low taxes

-Class 1 fire department...great response times means lower homeowners insurance..unfortunately offset by higher car insurance.

-Some older neighborhoods are being or have been revitalized....with lots of new investments going into older neighborhoods.

-Crime sucks, but if something isn't done about it then Holden will lose the election...so something will be done about it.

-The people are nice, I love LSU football, and we are within an hour of New Orleans and Lafayette.

-It's cheap to fly out of our airport compared to other cities our size.

-housing market is reasonable.

-We don't have as many political nut jobs in government here as New Orleans has.

-Traffic is bad, but if you pic your housing right you can avoid it.

-Great restaurants.

Love your post! I agree with all of it!!

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Caa

BRMan, I think you and I are twins in a previous life! Every time you say something, it is the same thing that is on my mind. C'mon folks, katrina was 3 years ago and this is the way Baton Rouge is now, not much different than before! Traffic was always bad here and really it is not bad on the off times or weekends! Just go to Miami and see how bad the traffic is there,(24/7 bottleneck) then you will see what I mean. It is all relative to what you are used to! I have a friend from Pennsylvania and he says the traffic is nothing here comapred to there, and he said the people here driving in the traffic are much nicer than those in Pa! Now as far as crime, I agree with BRMan again. Crime is up almost everywhere in the US especially due to increase drugs all over. I lived in Florida and the town I lived in was "crime free" until the latin Gangs moved in, now, watch out and lock your doors and windows. So, really the post Katrina BR is not unlike most average cities now! Plus, I am tired of everyone saying how bad BR is! It is a great place to live! Also, I really do not see much panhandling anymore!

Someone's got to stick up for BR - people reading this board may think they need bulletproof armor just to go outside and get the paper in the mornings

[rosepetal]

I love Baton Rouge too. Can't see myself living anywhere else. Baton Rouge is progressing right along. Hurricane Katrina actually boosted the Baton Rouge economy in my opinion. Look at the development that happened right after the storm. It's a whole new city. There's so many restaurants, entertainment and shopping. Look at the Mall of LA and Perkins Rowe and now they are trying to develop downtown. I for one love the convenience of playing where I live. It saves so much on gas instead of driving out to Livingston or Ascension. My time is precious and hate to waste it stuck in traffic. I also like that we have so many opportunities to get an education with our colleges and universities. Give it some time and you'll see Baton Rouge really take off. Just watch!!

[darylwi]

I am thankful that I'm not part of the commuting crowd (driving in from outer parishes). BTR and EBR Parish are not such scary places that you can't live here. The biggest problem comes with elementary and secondary education. Many people moved away for better schools (for the right or wrong reasons). Other people just didn't belong in a big city to begin with. With them removed, I think the city of Baton Rouge is still a pretty great place with typical big city problems that obviously need to be addressed but no place is a utopia. I do believe that if the education problem were addressed, everything else would start to fall into place, decrease in crime, increase in economic and entertainment investment and increased quality of life.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by darylwi

I am thankful that I'm not part of the commuting crowd (driving in from outer parishes). BTR and EBR Parish are not such scary places that you can't live here. The biggest problem comes with elementary and secondary education. Many people moved away for better schools (for the right or wrong reasons). Other people just didn't belong in a big city to begin with. With them removed, I think the city of Baton Rouge is still a pretty great place with typical big city problems that obviously need to be addressed but no place is a utopia. I do believe that if the education problem were addressed, everything else would start to fall into place, decrease in crime, increase in economic and entertainment investment and increased quality of life.

I love that there are positive people out there. I think Baton Rouge is great and I think it will get better. Like you said, there are problems that need to be addressed, but hopefully, these issues will get fixed. I would have to say the only thing that bothers me today at least, is that the type of people that were hanging at the Mall of La last Sunday I felt kinda like an outsider and the some of the people were so rude! I guess maybe it was just my imagination! I have been there so many times, but never got the negative vibes! oh well...

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Caa

I love that there are positive people out there. I think Baton Rouge is great and I think it will get better. Like you said, there are problems that need to be addressed, but hopefully, these issues will get fixed. I would have to say the only thing that bothers me today at least, is that the type of people that were hanging at the Mall of La last Sunday I felt kinda like an outsider and the some of the people were so rude! I guess maybe it was just my imagination! I have been there so many times, but never got the negative vibes! oh well...

What part of the mall ? The area near Macys seems a little rougher than, say, the Dillards side.

On the bright side, the Mall of La is better than Cortana

[darylwi]

It's summertime too. Lots of "kids" will be at the mall through August. Then it'll be safe to go during the day again.

[Victorbrowne]

I'm from Chicago and moving to Baton Rouge in late August. It is probably is wishfull thinking, but I hope someone can point out a newly developed exiting and clean area in Baton Rouge with apartments offering modern living.

[southland]

Originally Posted by Victorbrowne

I'm from Chicago and moving to Baton Rouge in late August. It is probably is wishfull thinking, but I hope someone can point out a newly developed exiting and clean area in Baton Rouge with apartments offering modern living.

Depends on what you are willing to pay.

Corporate Blvd is pretty nice with lots of new EVERYTHING. Old Hammond, Perkins, Siegen, Bluebonnet, and Airline all have new apartment homes.

If you are going condo, then they are great places all over the city.

Depends on your price range and where you are working.