which neighborhoods should i focus on? working downtown and need good schools (Baton Rouge: new home, safe neighborhood)

[laleh]

i will be working downtown and need (in order of importance):

1) good schools for children
2) a relatively short and painless commute
3) safe neighborhood
4) prefer for no natural bodies of water to be on property
5) close enough to a casino, gym, martial arts center and grocery store
6) would prefer an artsy type of area- are there gay neighborhoods? i am not gay but might like to live in a gay area if such a thing exists down here. also, are there upscale ethnically diverse neighborhoods? especially for asians? i have no problem living in an all white neighborhood but i am curious if there are any neighborhoods that are both wealthy and not completely white.

i have quite a bit to spend on a home. was figuring about 750k to 1.2 million or so. any input? thanks.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by laleh

i will be working downtown and need (in order of importance):

1) good schools for children
2) a relatively short and painless commute
3) safe neighborhood
4) prefer for no natural bodies of water to be on property
5) close enough to a casino, gym, martial arts center and grocery store
6) would prefer an artsy type of area- are there gay neighborhoods? i am not gay but might like to live in a gay area if such a thing exists down here. also, are there upscale ethnically diverse neighborhoods? especially for asians? i have no problem living in an all white neighborhood but i am curious if there are any neighborhoods that are both wealthy and not completely white.

i have quite a bit to spend on a home. was figuring about 750k to 1.2 million or so. any input? thanks.

(1) Downtown won't work if you want to go to the EBR public schools, YOu can try to get into the Lab school at LSU;
(2) Spanish Town or Beauregard Town if you like old downtown houses
(3) Downtown is so so if that's what you want
(4) Won't be a problem unless you wanted to live near the LSU lakes.
(5) There are two casinos and a Y downtown. The closest martial arts place I can think of is on Jamestown Ave (near College at I-10). There is Capitol Grocery downtown, but that's about it
(6) Not really any gay neighborhoods per se, but you'd find friendlier territory downtown, in the Garden District, or Hundred Oaks, Beyond College Drive and it's not as friendly. Some of the neighborhoods off Highland like Kenilworth are more ethnically diverse, as are neighborhoods further down. As to ethnically diverse upscale, there is Concord Estates/Stratford Place near College at I-10 which is upper middle income/upper income black.

[laleh]

thank you so very much.

[Rachael_elaine]

Zachary schools are really good and it is only about a 10 minute commute and they are getting some really nice neighborhoods. Also try Brusly it is right across the bridge from downtown and relatively nice.

Originally Posted by laleh

i will be working downtown and need (in order of importance):

1) good schools for children
2) a relatively short and painless commute
3) safe neighborhood
4) prefer for no natural bodies of water to be on property
5) close enough to a casino, gym, martial arts center and grocery store
6) would prefer an artsy type of area- are there gay neighborhoods? i am not gay but might like to live in a gay area if such a thing exists down here. also, are there upscale ethnically diverse neighborhoods? especially for asians? i have no problem living in an all white neighborhood but i am curious if there are any neighborhoods that are both wealthy and not completely white.

i have quite a bit to spend on a home. was figuring about 750k to 1.2 million or so. any input? thanks.

[darylwi]

Downtown would actually be a very dynamic and diverse place to live and I'd support it 100%. But if you're looking for public schools, you can forget about it. You'd have to go private for sure and then you're adding a reverse commute to take your child to school.
I concur with all the other comments about downtown and neighborhoods around there. Spanish Town isn't too bad at all. Stay west of I-110. Beauregard Town tends to have some breakins but nothing much worse than that, and if you're viligant and protect your property like normal, you'd probably never experience crime.
If schools are a bigger choice, Zachary is actually probably the closest best place to turn to. The commute from that direction is nothing compared to Livingston and Ascension.
Brusly is good too but you have to live in Brusly which would confine your search area a lot, and Brusly is probably less diverse than Zachary, a lot smaller too.

Are you concerned mostly with a high school, or elementary schools also?

[mzb]

Look at the subdivisions on Highland road-the "Lakes at Highland", "Myrtles" are a few. You can also look at "country club " and Corporate.You will be close to Perkins Rowe which boasts good shopping and restaurants and not too far from downtown- these subdivisions are diverse too.
I don't know what your image of downtown here is but believe me it's not a great place to live. The revitalization of downtown will take a decade if not more.
Public schools are not the best here-Taxes are really low compared to other parts of the country so that should be expected. Episcopal School is an expensive but good private school. Lab is a good but hard to get in school. Another option can be Dunham. Good luck with your move.

[Rosinante]

Given that your budget for a new home is high enough to afford you just about anything, you'll need to be thinking about private schools. As others have noted, the public schools here are beyond bad. You may want, therefore, to base your searches for a new home on its proximity to the school you choose for your children. For a city as small as it is, the traffic here is horrendous: More women drivers on their cell phones than you could ever imagine.

[redbean]

Given your criteria, Garden District/Zeeland place or anywhere within proximity to the LSU lakes but not on the water, gets my vote. You DO NOT want to send your kids to public schools here unless they can get into a magnet program, even then be careful and check it out. I know Baton Rouge High School is great but I am unfamiliar with magnet programs for any other ages. Catholic schools are generally good, if you can get them in to one. LSU lab school would be great and you would not have a tough time dropping the kids off and then driving downtown.

What age are your children? I agree with the above poster, you will need to chose the school first and work from there, because traffic really is hell here. I live in the Jefferson Hwy/Old Hammond area and I love it, but it's not very diverse. Given your budget though you could afford a heck of a nice home in Jefferson Place/Bocage or one of the new subdivisions off of Old Hammond. That would be convenient to the Asian markets which are near Florida and Sherwood.

[anothertiger]

LSU U-high is not that easy to get in for few reasons. It's been used as both recruiting and retaining faculty members at LSU. Some people get hired in July and wonder where to put their kids or simply go to other college towns with better school systems. (like Austin, TX). Also unlike other "normal" schools, LSU U-high (the lab school) does not have a after-school program.

[amethyst0285]

St. James is a small school downtown. It’s Pre-K – 5th. Everyone who transf. from there to my school in 6th grade made excellent grades. I also knew people in high school who went there, and they all graduated with honors and scholarships.
Sacred Heart goes from PreK – 8th, but you’d have to drive a little further.
Since the neighborhoods you’re looking for are prob. Going to be in the LSU area - LSU Lab. & Trinity Day Episcopal School would probably be your best choices. I think they all have websites if you want to do more research.
[Spanish Town is a nice little historic neighborhood downtown (there are a lot of gay residents), but the area around it is a little dangerous. There are lots of homeless people begging for money downtown, and during Mardi Gras there are a lot of drunk people walking around during the Spanish Town Parade. Downtown BR is right off of the MS River, and there are 2 major casino boats and 1 YMCA that I know of. I’d suggest looking for a house around the LSU area. They still have a lot of work to do in downtown BR. It’s not exactly the best place to live if you want "upscale." Hope that helps a little