Young girl moving to Baton Rouge next year (Jefferson: lease, condos)

[mhounit]

The downtown area is anything BUT deserted at night . We recently had a wedding reception downtown on 3rd St. I was amazed at the crowds down there at night ( saturday ). There is a bunch of small bars and eating places down there . Not really the kind of crowd I would be comfortable with , though .

[darylwi]

The advantage of being there on the river is you're close to downtown. The area in question is an industrial area. The city wants to make it more business/residential when they start up on that new project (starting with the RR underpass to access the riverfront). But I wonder if it'll work. The disadvantage is that you're in an industrial area. You have the railroad right there (blowing trains). In the winter, the north wind blows any smell from the chemical plants into the areas south, and you would be the closest to it. I've look at these condos before and although they're good looking and close to my job, I'd rather actually live in downtown and not in the industrialized area north of it.
Bocage would be the best, but like you said, it's high dollar. Then again, Bocage pretty much shuts down by 10pm and you'd have to drive to LSU, College Dr. or downtown for the action.

[MissLucia]

Maybe the downtown area wasn't deserted at night because it was a saturday?
Darlywi, why didn't you decide to live there? Is the RR really noisy?
Also just to make sure, the bocage condos i'm talking about are not on bocage st or bocage dr they are located on guy dr and michon st, behind jefferson plaza.

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by MissLucia

Maybe the downtown area wasn't deserted at night because it was a saturday?
Darlywi, why didn't you decide to live there? Is the RR really noisy?
Also just to make sure, the bocage condos i'm talking about are not on bocage st or bocage dr they are located on guy dr and michon st, behind jefferson plaza.

Honestly, the first I went in them, they were still apartments. Then they sold and became condos, but both times it was pretty much the same reason, location. Too close to the chem plants, and kind of out by itself. It's just far enough away from downtown that I wouldn't walk from there at night. Maybe during the day. I think the selling point is that it's on the river, but you have to understand that the MS River is a very industrialized river, nothing scenic and pretty to look at all the time like a mountain stream or smaller river might be. Now from a highrise condo downtown (perhaps) but then at least you're in a commercial district instead of behind a train track.
The biggest problem with the trains at that location, is that it's a switch track location and the trains are entering rock yards and the adjacent chem plants, so there's a lot of stopping, backing up, pulling forward, etc until all the cars are unloaded (or loaded). There are several crossings in the area: Choctaw (two crossings there actually) and then the nearby Casino Rouge, not to mention the rock yards. Yeah, you'll hear the trains. The track is literally right behind the complex. I lived next to a train track in Plaquemine for a few years. You'll either get used to it, or hate it. But even in Plaquemine, I was across the highway from the tracks and still could feel the house rumble and you can't help but here the horn.

Yeah, you're talking about Michon St, off of LaSalle. Bocage is the general neighborhood area, like downtown or midcity, or the LSU Northgates. Bocage is just another neighborhood. But honestly, in Bocage, I'm close to everything and downtown is a relatively easy commute up Government Street. I'm not much of a night owl anymore. But when I'm up for it, I do hit downtown at night. Traffic can be pretty rough though during the middle of the day and evening rush, but my biggest complaint really, is that the drug stores around here close by 10pm. I would think for Bocage, we'd have a 24 hour store like some other areas of town. But Bocage is an older residential area (with new commercialism as of lately) and it goes to sleep fairly early.
Towne Center would literally be right across the street from you, Whole Foods, restaurants, shopping... Americana Cafe is right around the corner from there. Books-A-Million and Barnes and Noble have stores right around the corner. Most of the banks have branches in this area.
You also have options (quiet streets) to walk, ride a bike, walk your dog. Downtown has the levee bike path, but it ends about a mile south from the condos you're talking about downtown.
Like I said, I wouldn't mind living downtown, but that area just sticks out away from it so you do feel somewhat isolated (especially at night) from actual downtown. I don't feel the area is a bad area though. It's just not worth it to me.

[fbbertusa]

Riverview is just to the north of third St. maybe a mile and downtown is being renovated and looks good to Me and that is a safe area around Riverview.Just north of there on same St. is a good Auto repair shop,A Honda Motorcycle Dealership,The City police Maintenance yard.Downtown well provide You with Food Entertainment and local bands and some descent Bars and in the spring time there is a lot going on downtown.You will also be close 2-3 miles to the the Pastime lounge 2nd oldest restaurant in BR, Great food ,very cold beer not a pick up bar so You want have to fight off the guys but You will meet nice people there and just a couple more miles south You have access to LSU and football if You are into that.Like darylwi says it's kinda by it self,I do disagree with Me friend on the beauty of the Miss. river,To me not enough people get to see it because off the leves It does have a lot of barges and ships going up and down it, there prettier rivers for sure but I really like the river here It's defferent and Its' just what ever You like.Ther have been some very large ships on the Miss. and some very unusaull cargo for Nuclear plants like I say some like some don't.I remember only one time in My lifetime seeing ice in the river from up north to Me that was awsome to see.

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by fbbertusa

I remember only one time in My lifetime seeing ice in the river from up north to Me that was awsome to see.

Yeah, I missed that one, wish I could have seen that.
I don't dislike the look of the river. It's just most people not from here sort of have this notion that it's another scenic river when in actuality it's a very industrialized and commercial river at least down here. And some people are turned off by that. Not to mention, when I think of waterfront, I think of a nice green lot with a nice house and a pier in the back with a boat tied up to it where my kids can swing off of a rope swing into the bayou while we grownups sit around the water's edge drinking or grilling.

[MissLucia]

overall n3 street doesn't seem like it suits me as well as lobdell does. i talked to my agent about cancelling my offer on riverview unit. i dont want to be near plants. i had little knowledge that so many were north of riverview, and even though the downtown area looks nice this condo complex is isolated.
also the ms river doesnt look all that great to me and i don't think i want to live near a railroad.

[fbbertusa]

You sure don't want to swing off into the Miss.!!! Being from less than a mile from there I grew up walking to the river and hunting and fishing .I could hunt dove ,squirrel ,rabbits, ducks,deer and fish for cat fish and in the Barr(Barrow)pits for bass, bream and we also had a infinite motorcycle trail to ride on so I grew up with a whole different outlook than what you can see and do there know.Plus I watched all the Chem. plants move in and the demand for shipping increased and I rode a couple Merchant ships from NO to BR as My Dad was a merchant Marine,so that is where I get my love for the MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI.
The rail road is a defendant drag for sure.

[BetaBeta]

Originally Posted by fbbertusa

You sure don't want to swing off into the Miss.!!! Being from less than a mile from there I grew up walking to the river and hunting and fishing .I could hunt dove ,squirrel ,rabbits, ducks,deer and fish for cat fish and in the Barr(Barrow)pits for bass, bream and we also had a infinite motorcycle trail to ride on so I grew up with a whole different outlook than what you can see and do there know.Plus I watched all the Chem. plants move in and the demand for shipping increased and I rode a couple Merchant ships from NO to BR as My Dad was a merchant Marine,so that is where I get my love for the MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI.
The rail road is a defendant drag for sure.

I love the the Miss too. When I grew up here we walk down or catch the city bus down to play the games that kids played in those days (hide and seek, rock skipping, etc.) and actually take naps on the banks once we got tired of playing. My mom would send us off with a paper bag of bologna sandwiches and some change so we could by a cold drink along the way. (Can't do that these days, your kids might end up snatched or worst!!).

And though its not there any more, there used to be this path on the back of SU that you walk down a clift area to the banks of the river and fish (or at night make out ). The school used to have bon fires there homecoming week (which was before my time) but once they were outlawed the spot was left open for people to enjoy which we did during my teen years by driving up to having picnics there... yes I'm dating myself now, :>). I went to see it since I moved back and was sad to see its completely gone, now there is just steep drop off the clift into the river and the school has put a barracade for safety. When I asked what happened to the dirt road and plain at the banks someone told me about the erosion that SU didn't have the funds to stop.... just sad.

Wonderful memories, however I don't know if its real or just my imagination, but the Miss seems much more muddier, browner, murkier than she did back in those days. But you know, you see things differently through a child's eye than you do as an adult, so perhaps its the same.

[BetaBeta]

Originally Posted by MissLucia

overall n3 street doesn't seem like it suits me as well as lobdell does. i talked to my agent about cancelling my offer on riverview unit. i dont want to be near plants. i had little knowledge that so many were north of riverview, and even though the downtown area looks nice this condo complex is isolated.
also the ms river doesnt look all that great to me and i don't think i want to live near a railroad.

Too bad the ones that are downtown proper aren't a little closer to your budget. If the bond package goes through and they build all the attractions they are planning to build downtown the property values will surely go up. But I'm glad you were able to cancel if you weren't feeling comfortable with the riverview unit.

I know what you mean about wanting something updated. I purchased my first home at 24, it was a "fixer". Every weekend for the first three years was spent painting, flooring, repairing, etc. etc. Okay, maybe not EVERY weekend but when you're 24 it sure feels like it! LOL

What is neat about Bocage is you're close town center and mid city like Daryl mentioned and two of my favorite grocery store's, Whole Foods and Calvin's Bocage Market. Other than rush hour, the commute to the downtown activities isn't that bad. I eat in mid city for dinner a lot (taking Jeff Hwy to get to Government) and it usually not a bad commute for me as I'm heading against traffic during the evening rush (I live off the other end of Jeff across airline).

If you're still looking, be sure to see what else is available off of Jeff heading towards Drusilla and then after you pass Bluebonnet but before you get to Airline. I remember last year this time a lot of the condos in that area had for sale signs out on Jefferson and I saw some that had been recently renovated in the newspaper... but I can't remember what the price ranges were.