Please Correct My Misconceptions About BTR and Tell Me About Zachary (Baton Rouge: fit in, house prices)

[MetroBTR]

I agree with Redbean. Zachary is the best public schools around. They are on par if not better than many of the private schools around. But it sounds like you will be a fish out of water in the small-town environment unless you have the ability to adapt. It is not does not "feel" like a suburb. It does not really exist as a result of white flight like so many other suburban areas. It's a real community.

With all due respect, you sound like a city person.

[fbbertusa]

La. is a very unique State with a lot of culture that goes back a long way and the people for the most part are as good as You will ever come across. You can be happy here and Your child can get a good education here but You have to really do Your homework which You seem to be doing.My wife and I were able to raise our daughter in one of the worst areas of BR and She is a Reg. Nurse now living in Shreveport,La.BR IMO is a small town on steroids it wants to be a big city but the people here are are for the most part are good country folks who enjoy fishing,hunting,enjoying festivals,riding in the mud,owning guns,drinking beer,sharing there off time with close friends and family but at all cost we like to have fun. Bar B Q' are an every week end thing.San Diego we are not.Me personally am tired of BR because I have been on the wrong end of it to long and I'm ready for a nice quiet place to live and 3 blocks N. of LSU IS ANYTHING BUT QUITE. BR has grown a lot so You will have a better selection of where You want to live than My parents did when they moved here in 1945.I wish You well and get with the right people and experience what La. does have to offer.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by fbbertusa

La. is a very unique State with a lot of culture that goes back a long way and the people for the most part are as good as You will ever come across.

Very true.

Originally Posted by fbbertusa

BR IMO is a small town on steroids it wants to be a big city but the people here are are for the most part are good country folks who enjoy fishing,hunting,enjoying festivals,riding in the mud,owning guns,drinking beer,sharing there off time with close friends and family but at all cost we like to have fun.

Depends on what part of town you're referring to - agree with the "small town on steriods" bit, although I think that feeling is stronger with the oldtimers.

[fbbertusa]

Originally Posted by BRMan

Very true.

Depends on what part of town you're referring to - agree with the "small town on steriods" bit, although I think that feeling is stronger with the oldtimers.

Mostly only the old timers remember BR. as a small town,and now we see the massive growth.Are You saying I'm old?LOL??

[Gil3]

Jamacia Manila,

My best advice to you would just be to come here with an open mind. I grew up in Baton Rouge and have lived in both San Diego and the DC Metro area on the Maryland side. I also worked in NOVA. I won't lie to you and say adjusting to a somewhat slower pace of life here will be easy, but if you open yourself up, you will be both surprised and welcomed. Good luck in whatever you decide.

[Innotech]

Originally Posted by Gil3

Jamacia Manila,

My best advice to you would just be to come here with an open mind. I grew up in Baton Rouge and have lived in both San Diego and the DC Metro area on the Maryland side. I also worked in NOVA. I won't lie to you and say adjusting to a somewhat slower pace of life here will be easy, but if you open yourself up, you will be both surprised and welcomed. Good luck in whatever you decide.

NOVA really isnt all that. Its just an upscale suburb. It really doesnt have a lot of character to it and the traffic is the worst Ive ever seen.

[Rock9396]

I have always lived in the outer areas of Baton Rouge. My husband and I bought our first home in Zachary 14 years ago. Our 2 boys have attended Zachary schools since kindergarten. Zachary broke off from the East Baton Rouge Parish school system a few years back and the Zachary Community School District has been rated #1 in the state for the past 4 years in a row. I do not know how happy you will be in the Zachary area coming from NOVA; but what I can tell you about Zachary is it's a nice town located north of Baton Rouge, the people are nice and there is a HUGE community support for the schools. I cannot tell you how the ZCSB schools compare in the country though. Here are two links that might be helpful to you. www.zacharyschools.org and www.schooldigger.com The first link is the Zachary Community School Board website that will probably give you some of the information you are looking for; the latter is a link for all schools in all states with their rankings. I hope this information helps.

[Bixaorellana]

It's really heartening to read those stats about the BR area, especially about the schools.

Jamaica Manila, it was great that you were so honest so that your real concerns can be addressed here. MetBr already answered about schools and housing prices, so let me answer point by point things I know about.

1. Bayou? All of Louisiana is hardly swampy. Just north of Baton Rouge and Zachary you encounter rolling country as you approach the Tunica Hills. (some comments about St. Francisville by BetaBeta and by me here.

2. Climate. Yes, much warmer than where you are now. I lived in coastal NC, right on the Va. border and found it way too cold. La. is humid, but all that humidity makes for glorious greenery and gardens. Parts of BR will take your breath away with their established landscape beauty.

3. Your personality and tastes. These are legitimate concerns for anyone. And I imagine you fear your kids will only be exposed to a limited, hicky view of life. I don't know how to say this in a nice way, but as you've lived more than one place you may know what I mean ~~ Californians, for instance, can be quite blinkered and downright snobbily ignorant in their assumption that they embody a liberal, educated outlook. In other words, your children might be attending good schools in good neighborhoods, but being overly shielded from quite nice people from other socio-economic groups. A rural setting with students from diverse backgrounds will extend their horizons and probably be fun for them.
As for you and your legitimate, understandable desire for a variety of cultural outlets ~~ okay, you are not going to find that in Zachary, Clinton, Jackson, or St. Francisville. Not that they are devoid of culture, but certainly not to the contemporary extent or variety available in S.Calif. (don't know about Fairfax) People who know more about BR can fill you in on what's available there, and of course New Orleans has extremely lively cultural outlets. You may have to travel a bit, but you can see first run movies, the symphony, ballet, art exhibits, etc. There are tons of things to do with kids on the weekends, too. Lots of real America is still out there waiting for you all to discover it. You can drive south to N.O., southwest to Cajun country, and north to visit the plantations around St.F and into Mississippi.
I imagine your biggest fear is boredom and not being able to make new friends. Two things about that: one, you may grow to love rural life. People moving away from the city envision a life of nothing to do, but that's hardly the case. The quiet and safety of that kind of life can be very appealing. When I last lived in St.F, we'd go for walks very late at night, getting waved at by the cops as they made their loop through town. Can you imagine doing that in any city?
If you find you really don't care for life in a small town, though, the beauty of stable real estate prices is that you could more easily arrange a move to Baton Rouge.

Sorry to go on so much, but I identify with having to move somewhere that you don't find appealing. I do hope that you are pleasantly surprised by the area, and perhaps can even come to love it.

[Caa]

.
Just a quick note. My husband, daughter and I moved here from south Florida and love it here much more than Florida. WE love the festivals, the museums, the food, the people and the family friendly things that are abundant here in Baton Rouge. I really do not know much about Zachary, but we live in south Baton Rouge in a middle to upper class neighborhood and the neighbors are awesome. Halloween, Christmas, Easter, we have parties for all those events. Halloween especially is like one big party. I have NEVERfelt like an outsider here. I also agree with not sending your child to public schools here-period. I also love the LSU games, and the fall and winter weather.
People here, for the most part, are very friendly!! Much friendlier than Florida by far. The occasionall jerk is here, but not nearly as many as in Florida. I have experienced reverse racism here though and do not like that at all. I also have to say, the only time we feel bad is when we see neighbors with their families over for the day, such as grandparents. All of our family lives in Florida and there fore our child see relatives occasionally-that is when we feel out of place as most here have family around. Good Luck!

[deller]

Hi,
I am Dinah. I am from the bayous of Louisiana and born in New Orleans. A long time I had a brother leave to go to work in Ca. He stayed their for over 20 years, and jsut got home. He talks alot different. So I would say the slang of hte speak will be for sure different for you. I now live in a mid west state and the only one out of a large over 12 children family. My family is cajun, so the bayous are where we eat, live, and sometimes work, some do vere off for jobs elsewhere, but they always know where to come home, wheather to live or visit. It is not that bad. My son graduated atthe age of 15 and walked his high school graduation in Zachery. You can and will adjust very quickly. As far as crime rates, well ever state has them. You would have to research the area you will go to. My hubby is from Ohio, and he considers his self as a buckeye yankee, he says. I did not want to go to Ohio to live at the time we were engaged, so we decided on a mid west state that he stayed in for a long time and worked. It is really different here. I never lived in the city so I have not met alot of people here. If you relocate and get bored give me a buzz, or if you want t okeep in touch now than let me know. Thanks, D. Eller