safe neighbourhood in BR (Baton Rouge, Jefferson: apartments, rent, crime rate)

[priscilla_tse]

Hi,

I'm moving to BR in 2 months and will work at LSU. I would like to find an 1 or 2-bedroom apartment there. Heard from some people that BR has a pretty high crime rate, I want to know some safer and nicer neighborhoods which are not very far away from the campus (less than 30min drive). My budget is 800-1200 per month. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot!

Priscilla

[darylwi]

Baton Rouge does have a higher crime rate when compared to other cities its size. But the thing to consider is that our crime is fairly localized in core areas.
Violent crime tends to stay in these core areas while property crime can happen anywhere in the parish. If you would prefer to get away from campus and the main student areas, check out College between I-10 and Foster, Corporate Blvd, Jefferson Hwy (College south to Airline), Essen Lane, and Bluebonnet between Highland and Perkins including Perkins Rowe. And there are other decent areas further out as well.
All of these areas are within a short distance from LSU, or perhaps as much as 30 minutes in the worst traffic. I wouldn't suggest anything out past Sherwood Forest due to commute.
With your budget, it shouldn't be much problem finding something decent and safe that will suit your needs. To give you a figure, you can rent a 1br at an older property near Bocage or on Jefferson Hwy (a nice area of town) for less than $750. The newer places with amenities will run over $1000.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by priscilla_tse

Hi,

I'm moving to BR in 2 months and will work at LSU. I would like to find an 1 or 2-bedroom apartment there. Heard from some people that BR has a pretty high crime rate, I want to know some safer and nicer neighborhoods which are not very far away from the campus (less than 30min drive). My budget is 800-1200 per month. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot!

Priscilla

Welcome to BR - don't believe all the silliness about crime. We're relatively safe, but there are areas (like north of LSU, Gardere, north of Florida/west of Airline, Blvd De Provence) you don't want to hang out.

I'll add to what Darylwi is saying by throwing out a few places in the LSU area that aren't heavily studented (1) Mansions on the Park (Perkins between Kenilworth and Essen), (2) Cobblestone (Essen between the tracks and Our Lady of the Lake Hospital), (3) apartments (don't know the name) on Boone at Kenilworth Parkway, (4) Place Duplantier on Lee Drive near Bayou Duplantier - yes, you are at the edge of the "student zone", but there are also younger people starting out who live there.

[southland]

Place Duplantier is a student area.

Very good parties there when I was in college.....

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by southland

Place Duplantier is a student area.

Very good parties there when I was in college.....

It has students, but it also has twentysomethings. It's not like, say, the Plantation Trace (aka "Plantation Trash") apartments or anything in Tigerland.