Need to Relocate to BR Area SOON! (Baton Rouge, Baker: for sale, real estate)

[angeeellis]

Brief Background:
I am wanting to relocate to the Baton Rouge area as soon as possible (possibly by mid July). I live in Seattle, WA and am currently in Zachary visiting a relative of my son (he's 9 1/2). We took this unscheduled trip because my son has issues with behaving in school and, as a struggling single mother, have had it with phone calls & meetings, etc... (I gotta work!)... Anywho... I decided to bring my son down here to stay w/his grandma (in St. Joseph) and finish out the school year - we will be at her place tomorrow. I will be heading back to Seattle on Tuesday.

Now:
My son's dad and I have decided to get married and live in Louisiana. The company I work for has an office in Baton Rouge and I put in a request for a transfer so I can be close to my son and he can stay with his grandma for next school year. I want to live in a decent, affordable, area in or near Baton Rouge, but don't know too much about the area. My credit is not the greatest so it would be nice to be able to obtain a place (preferably a house) where credit is not a major factor.

Any suggestions?

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by angeeellis

Brief Background:
I am wanting to relocate to the Baton Rouge area as soon as possible (possibly by mid July). I live in Seattle, WA and am currently in Zachary visiting a relative of my son (he's 9 1/2). We took this unscheduled trip because my son has issues with behaving in school and, as a struggling single mother, have had it with phone calls & meetings, etc... (I gotta work!)... Anywho... I decided to bring my son down here to stay w/his grandma (in St. Joseph) and finish out the school year - we will be at her place tomorrow. I will be heading back to Seattle on Tuesday.

Now:
My son's dad and I have decided to get married and live in Louisiana. The company I work for has an office in Baton Rouge and I put in a request for a transfer so I can be close to my son and he can stay with his grandma for next school year. I want to live in a decent, affordable, area in or near Baton Rouge, but don't know too much about the area. My credit is not the greatest so it would be nice to be able to obtain a place (preferably a house) where credit is not a major factor.

Any suggestions?

The first three things we need to know are, (1) does public vs private school matter (2) where is the branch office located in BR, (3) what kind of price range are you looking at ?

[angeeellis]

1. I think a decent Public school is what I'm looking for. My son will be back living with me when he's going to the 6th grade (2010) so I think that would be middle school, right?

2. My branch office is located on 7th and Main.

3. As far as price range, I would say anywhere between $700 and $1000 / month.

Thanks for your help!!!!

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by angeeellis

1. I think a decent Public school is what I'm looking for. My son will be back living with me when he's going to the 6th grade (2010) so I think that would be middle school, right?

2. My branch office is located on 7th and Main.

3. As far as price range, I would say anywhere between $700 and $1000 / month.

Thanks for your help!!!!

Since you're working downtown, I have two thoughts: (1) living in Zachary, as they have good schools, or (2) living across the river in Port Allen, Brusly or Addis (West Baton Rouge Parish). I do not know, however, what the availability of apartments is in those areas, but neither of those two areas is expensive.

I'm not recommending much else in East Baton Rouge Parish given your circumstances because its school system (which encompasses about 75% of the parish except for Baker, Zachary, and Central) has been a disaster for some time, and now, they're engaged in a fight with the state over possible state take over of 8 of its failing schools. So this "stand in the schoolhouse door" will mean money wasted and a lot of chest puffing all in the name of making a point instead of focusing on education.

[darylwi]

Apartments aren't very viable in Port Allen. They're not the greatest. Rental homes are a possibility, even regular homes. I knew of small homes for sale over there for $100K-$150K, but we're talking 1000sq ft and usually close to the river.
Zachary is an option as well. It's a fast growing area of the parish and it's a relatively easy drive to downtown via I-110. But I've never fancied driving through Baker on LA-19 or Plank Rd.
Central is doable, but I wouldn't stand the commute from up there. You have to drive through BTR to get to downtown.
And that makes living in Livingston a no-no.
If grandmother lives in Zachary, perhaps you could get some insight of the general area from her and live there. Otherwise, check some of the major real estate sites to check out some properties across the river. If you're not in Port Allen, it's usually a decent or good/great area. In PA, you'll have to carefully note where a house is located. There are bad areas of that town. And the school isn't the best. Even better, try Brusly (3 miles south on LA-1).
This is not to say that good houses can't be had in the middle of town here, but if you're looking for better schools, you might have to stick to southeast Baton Rouge (Coursey, Jones Creek, Tiger Bend areas).

Best of luck to you.

[jsouth1]

I would highly recommend the Zachary area to you. It has been ranked #1 for public schools for the last few years. Zachary continues to grow it seems each and every week. The town is nice, clean, and safe. I have now lived in Zachary for nearly 2 years, drive the easy 20-30 minutes to Baton Rouge 5 days a week, and if it weren't for my wife's career I would be staying. Moderator cut: advertising/solicitation

[angeeellis]

Thank you all very much! I really appreciate all the advice. Zachary has been in my mind for a while now... mainly because of the school district and it's probably the only city I'm somewhat familiar with. It seems to be a popular place - due to what I've heard from a few people and the fact that there doesn't seem to be much available as far as housing goes (even when I was here last summer, there didn't seem to be too much available). I will definitly keep my fingers crossed though. Thanks!

jsouth1: Thank you for mentioning your house. It actually sounds perfect for me and my family (location/size/bedrooms/baths), but unfortunately, I'm still waiting for my transfer - as it stands they are trying to see if they can squeeze me in one of the departments in the Baton Rouge office. The other issue is that I was thinking - because of my less-than-perfect credit (that I'm working on by-the-way...), it might be easier for me to obtain housing if I try to rent something. At any rate... I really appreciate the info. I really wish circumstances were different because your house is definitely something I am interested in. Oh well... such as life... Thanks though!

You all have been very kind and helpful! I'm sure I'll return to this site with more questions in the near future.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by angeeellis

Thank you all very much! I really appreciate all the advice. Zachary has been in my mind for a while now... mainly because of the school district and it's probably the only city I'm somewhat familiar with. It seems to be a popular place - due to what I've heard from a few people and the fact that there doesn't seem to be much available as far as housing goes (even when I was here last summer, there didn't seem to be too much available). I will definitly keep my fingers crossed though. Thanks!

jsouth1: Thank you for mentioning your house. It actually sounds perfect for me and my family (location/size/bedrooms/baths), but unfortunately, I'm still waiting for my transfer - as it stands they are trying to see if they can squeeze me in one of the departments in the Baton Rouge office. The other issue is that I was thinking - because of my less-than-perfect credit (that I'm working on by-the-way...), it might be easier for me to obtain housing if I try to rent something. At any rate... I really appreciate the info. I really wish circumstances were different because your house is definitely something I am interested in. Oh well... such as life... Thanks though!

You all have been very kind and helpful! I'm sure I'll return to this site with more questions in the near future.

Glad to help - the school situation is the first thing anyone moving to BR (esp those with children) need to be aware of. FWIW, I personally prefer living in East Baton Rouge Parish because of the better commute and because the suburban parishes aren't equipped to handle the rapid growth they have had.

[momoftheyear]

I would highly recommend Zachary. The schools are the best in the state as far as public schools go. You can find housing there, too. They just opened a huge beautiful apartment complex close to where your son will go to school. There are also some lovely garden homes behind Lane Memorial Hospital and you can often find them for rent. I go out to Zachary from downtown BR about three or four times a week and the commute is not bad at all. I really like it out there because your basic needs (shopping, restaurants, library,etc) are easy to get to and people are really very nice. Everyone seems to know everyone else and people get along well together. My teenagers sometimes spend the weekends with our friends there and they never get into any trouble hanging out at Sonic Drive In or running on the track at the high school. I feel quite comfortable having them out there without me watching over their shoulders. Also, there are some gorgeous subdivisions out there (GORGEOUS) that are beautifully integrated, which is something I have missed since living in Baton Rouge.

Does your son have a learning disability that causes him to act out at school? You will definitely need to line your resources for him. There are some good programs at Southern University and LSU that will help you with that. You just have to keep following up. I found a professor at Southern who did a great job with a psycho-educational assessment for my son and charged me only $125 whereas, I am used to paying ten times that much. Then, I got my son into a program at LSu which has been working out great for him.

[angeeellis]

I really appreciate your advice! I acutally am familiar with Zachary (and know exactly which Sonic you're talking about). I like it there, and my son has a couple relatives there. It just doesn't seem like there are a lot of places available. Of course, I didn't get a chance to drive around much when I was there last (flew down and had to rely on a relative to get around). I am definately keeping my eye on Zachary - or possibly even Baker - although I don't know much about Baker, but it's close enough to Zachary that I figure it's probably do-able....?

As far as my son having any learning disabilities... No, he's a very smart little boy. He's also very manipulative. Here in Seattle, things are different in school. It's a big city and the folks in the school district don't want to take the time to deal with the kids - so they just get sent home for every little thing. And because my son would rather be home than have to listen at school, he acts up just to get on their nerves. He usually will finish his work ahead of everyone else, and rather than sit quietly, waiting for the rest of the class to finish, he chooses to "disrupt" the class - to get attention, or walk out of the class - like he's grown or something! Well, he's in Louisiana now, and I'm very happy to say he's been doing excellent in school! That's one of the main reason's whey I want to move down there - so he can stay around his grandma and continue to behave in school so he can get his education.

I will be down there in September - already decided that for sure. So... I have some time to look around. Do you (or anyone else) know about these areas?:

Drusilla, Denham Springs, Downtown Baton Rouge, Highland Plantation, Blue Bonnet, and the LSU area???

I'll have to either get a hotel when I 1st get down there, or rent a room from someone (until I can find a place). Most of the rooms for rent that I like seem to be in those areas I've mentioned. Any advice on those?

Thanks!!