Moving to Baton Rouge-- Need Some Advice (2009, rental)

[pinklime]

Thank you for your replies.

CindyM, I would prefer to rent a house because when I was looking at apartments I came across apartmentratings.com, which did not give me a positive account of even upper-scale apartments.

Does anyone have any opinions about Summerwood Villas on Burbank and Bluebonnet?

It is so difficult to figure out the qualities of an area from over a thousand miles away. I appreciate all the help.

[swankyone]

I agree with BRMan and Cindy M. Cindy M's analysis of "Valley Park" is correct. I work full-time and own a Paint Contracting business. As a contractor am in all parts of town, especially the new and upcoming neighborhoods in the suburbs. I can tell you that West Baton Rouge, (5 minute commute across the Mississippi Bridge) is a nice place to live if you can find apartment living or are seeking to buy a home. More single family homes are being built there than there are apartments. You would want to stay away from N Alexander St area in Port Allen, but Brusly, Alsen, Plaquemine are great places to live. You must keep in mind that during inclement weather, the bridge can be your enemy. There is another bridge, "The Old Mississippi bridge" which will bring you to Baton Rouge as well but you'll end up traveling the interstate from N. Baton Rouge which can be a little extra commute unless you work close to that end. West Baton Rouge is definitely growing with a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, Local Restaurants & Chains, fitness centers etc. W Baton Rouge is no longer an under developed rural area.

If you're wanting to buy into swanky areas and "old money" areas are acceptable, try BOCAGE/Corporate Blvd areas, Highland Rd at Bluebonnet, Capital Heights, Downtown, etc. These areas have apartment living as well. You still have to be careful in these areas, because a drive in the wrong direction, just a few streets over and you'll find yourself in the "wrong" place. I think this is what Cindy M was trying to say. Also, Perkins Rowe, an under construction Urban development located at Bluebonnet and Perkins Rd, is a new "hot" place. It is going to be Baton Rouge's first Urban community. I'll link it below. I'm a single mother who aspires to lease my current home and move there. It will consist of condo living surrounded by (in walking distance) a movie theater, fitness center, popular retail shops, restarants, grocery, drug store, hotel, park, etc. I love the concept. No yard maintenance, but lots of convience and it's just blocks away from the Mall of Louisiana, a hospital, Interstate 10, etc. Gotta love it.

Over the years and especially after Hurricane Katrina, I've seen perfectly good neighborhoods, wake up and find uncomfortable neighbors right outside of the gates/entrance of their neighborhood. That's almost everywhere. You can live in a great neighborhood and step a few streets over and wonder, how in the heck?

People are buying/building in Prairieville/Dutchtown, Denham Springs, Walker, West Baton Rouge, Zachary, and even Hammond, LA--(all suburbs with lots of new developments). This is where I find most of my new construction work.

Living close to work is a prize and you may want to consider it.

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[CindyM]

There's a lot of new construction in the Bluebonnet area from Burbank down to Nicholson. I'm not familiar with Summerwood Villas, but they look similar to other developments off Congress Blvd. (Jackson Square Condos) and Old Hammond Hwy. (Carriage Place Condos).

The Bluebonnet/Burbank area is just a few miles south of the Perkins Rowe development that Swankyone mentioned. Everything is very convenient. I think there's a fairly new Albertson's grocery store on the corner of Bluebonnet & Burbank, so that must be right across the street from Summerwood Villas. Driving about 3 miles north to Perkins Road you're within minutes of a number of other grocery stores (Matherne's, Calandro's, and a soon-to-open Fresh Market), a good produce stand (Southside Produce), a nursery (Louisiana Nursery), the Mall of Louisiana, movie theaters, lots of restaurants, etc. Just past the Mall you hop on the interstate and at the next exit (Siegen Lane) you'll find more shopping ... Target, Super Walmart, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Kohl's, TJ Maxx, Sam's Club, more restaurants, more theaters, etc.

Maybe later this week I can drive by Summerwood and take a few pics of the area if you think that might help.

[tb3]

I just posted a similar post to yours without realizing that you asked the same question. I was given apartment directory when I went to visit BR and you can access all the information on the web. The website is

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[CindyM]

More info on Baton Rouge ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana

[Caa]

Originally Posted by swankyone

I agree with BRMan and Cindy M. Cindy M's analysis of "Valley Park" is correct. I work full-time and own a Paint Contracting business. As a contractor am in all parts of town, especially the new and upcoming neighborhoods in the suburbs. I can tell you that West Baton Rouge, (5 minute commute across the Mississippi Bridge) is a nice place to live if you can find apartment living or are seeking to buy a home. More single family homes are being built there than there are apartments. You would want to stay away from N Alexander St area in Port Allen, but Brusly, Alsen, Plaquemine are great places to live. You must keep in mind that during inclement weather, the bridge can be your enemy. There is another bridge, "The Old Mississippi bridge" which will bring you to Baton Rouge as well but you'll end up traveling the interstate from N. Baton Rouge which can be a little extra commute unless you work close to that end. West Baton Rouge is definitely growing with a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, Local Restaurants & Chains, fitness centers etc. W Baton Rouge is no longer an under developed rural area.

If you're wanting to buy into swanky areas and "old money" areas are acceptable, try BOCAGE/Corporate Blvd areas, Highland Rd at Bluebonnet, Capital Heights, Downtown, etc. These areas have apartment living as well. You still have to be careful in these areas, because a drive in the wrong direction, just a few streets over and you'll find yourself in the "wrong" place. I think this is what Cindy M was trying to say. Also, Perkins Rowe, an under construction Urban development located at Bluebonnet and Perkins Rd, is a new "hot" place. It is going to be Baton Rouge's first Urban community. I'll link it below. I'm a single mother who aspires to lease my current home and move there. It will consist of condo living surrounded by (in walking distance) a movie theater, fitness center, popular retail shops, restarants, grocery, drug store, hotel, park, etc. I love the concept. No yard maintenance, but lots of convience and it's just blocks away from the Mall of Louisiana, a hospital, Interstate 10, etc. Gotta love it.

Over the years and especially after Hurricane Katrina, I've seen perfectly good neighborhoods, wake up and find uncomfortable neighbors right outside of the gates/entrance of their neighborhood. That's almost everywhere. You can live in a great neighborhood and step a few streets over and wonder, how in the heck?

People are buying/building in Prairieville/Dutchtown, Denham Springs, Walker, West Baton Rouge, Zachary, and even Hammond, LA--(all suburbs with lots of new developments). This is where I find most of my new construction work.

Living close to work is a prize and you may want to consider it.

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I agree with what most of the people are saying. Baton Rouge is fantastic! I feel very safe here despite what others may say. I lived in a town in Florida that was considered safe and now there is a murder every day, so I feel very safe here! I would not go into North Baton Rouge at night though. The downtown here is fantastic and they are getting more new bars and restaurants every day. PerkinsRowe will be a neat place to go and even live. I do not think that West Baton Rouge is very nice. My husband nad I drove around there about 6 months ago and both agreed-no way! The people there are very friendly though. I love it here and live in a great neighborhood off Airline and Pecue. After Katrina we had a lot of undesirables here, but most ahve left or live in undesirable areas of BR-other arishes etc. Welcome to Louisiana, we love it!

[southland]

Originally Posted by pinklime

Thank you for your replies.

CindyM, I would prefer to rent a house because when I was looking at apartments I came across apartmentratings.com, which did not give me a positive account of even upper-scale apartments.

Does anyone have any opinions about Summerwood Villas on Burbank and Bluebonnet?

It is so difficult to figure out the qualities of an area from over a thousand miles away. I appreciate all the help.

Summerwood Villas is in a nice area on it's own. It's new construction. It's not cheap, and it's not dangerous. I am not sure if it's what you are looking for, but it is a mostly student neighborhood for LSU children with rich parents...or graduate students at LSU. Also, not that it matters, Burbank drive is about to go through a lot of construction when it is widened...so there will be some headaches with that.

Honestly, the other side of Burbank drive on GSRI road is pretty run down, though. Even further down GSRI where it crosses Gardere is downright dangerous. Most of the other areas there are students. Then you have Bluebonnet nearby, which has been developing into a very family oriented area. I think that whole subdivision built out within a year. That whole area is a strange mix of high and low income housing with both safe and dangerous neighborhoods.

Summerwood is not really "walkable" in a way that promotes crime. It's another one way in/one way out and it's all in this new subdivision development with single family homes and condos (villas). A friend of mine almost bought a house in there, but prices were a little too high. It's mostly students and young proffesionals.

There are a lot of very nice apartment options in Baton Rouge. You'd have to almost visit town to see them all. I stayed at Oakleigh on Perkins Road (btw Bluebonnet and Siegen) and never had any problems. Rent was very resonable and there was no crime...but Perkins Road is going through some construction now. Near Summerwood (up Bluebonnet) there are some apartments off Bluebonnet at the Perkins intersection next to the medical clinic that are higher end. I forget the name of them, but they are very, very nice. A friend of mine use to live there by herself and never had any problems.

Depending on where you work, you can find a lot of good places in Baton Rouge to rent. On the eastern edge of town near (I-12 corridor) Millerville Road, Coursey Blvd, Sherwood Forest, and Stumberg Lane have very nice, affordable options in very safe parts of town.

If you go and check it out be sure to post any questions here. I have stayed in Baton Rouge for a while and I can probably answer pretty detailed questions about most areas in south baton rouge. Moving to a new city is scary...(I am moving out of state right now to a place I've never set foot in) but Baton Rouge is a nice place that's growing pretty rapidly....and there are lots of new people moving into town in your situation.

Be sure to use the jogging path along the LSU lakes while you are here.

In your first post, you said you didn't care about snobby neighbors or high rent. When I finally started earning good money, I moved off Jefferson street between Corporate and Essen. There are a lot of high end areas in there with virtually no crime. Essen lane has Cobblestone, which is nice, and Citiscape, which I couldn't get into at the time because they didn't have many available. Town Center is near by, and that is the trendy place to be right now. Plenty of rent options in those areas. It all depends on where you work.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by aldo

I recommend living near where you work. If you're looking in south east of Baton Rouge, Woodridge subdivision (off Pecue Lane) is an excellent multicultural neighborhood that has been safe (so far). Also has easy access to Airline hwy and I-10.

If you are looking for a house in this neighborhood look at the ERA Stirling Website as they have several at reasonable prices.

I like Woodridge, but why did you call it multicultural? My friends live there and they have said it is mostly good ol' white Americans that live there. They also said right after Katrina,it was 'multicultural' but now it is different. Just a question.

[tjmlvs_stjude]

I would suggest the Bluebonnet area, Sherwood Forest, Millerville area and/or further to Gonzales, Ascension Parish I-10 east toward New Orleans or I-12 east to Denham Springs, Livingston Parish. Those areas have grown and are rleatively safe. I would suggest taking self defense courses to teach you how to guard yourself should anything happen in ANYWHERE USA. A rape aggression defense course is taught through the East and West Baton Rouge Sheriff's office. How not to be a victum. God bless

[pulver1101]

i lived in baton rouge til i was 19 and moved away with my husband. i agree with everyone try to find a place close to work. every visit we go to see family traffic is horrible but if you don't mind waiting at lights that take forever then i would suggest the east baton rouge parish towards hammond side. me and my husband grew up in neighborhoods by shenandoah and I-10 right near denham springs exit. this has seemed to stay part of the nicer safer areas but nowhere is quarenteed. i would not into downtown or flordia street area and cortana mall area is also not very good. there are some nice places by lsu.