What is Baton Rouge like? (New Orleans, Zachary: house, neighborhoods, wedding)

[Shino306]

All,
My husband is considering a physician job in Baton Rouge and my visits to the city have been very limited i.e. visiting my aunt when she lived there when I was 2 years old and visiting a friend's, who lives in NOLA, relative's house for a couple hours for her wedding shower. So my question is, what is daily life like in Baton Rogue? Is traffic really that terrible? We live in the Northeast now, so when I read about "traffic" I'm questioning how "bad" it really is as every thing is relative. How about restaurants? Where are the nice areas to live? What is there to do outside LSU football?

Thanks in advance

[Caa]

Originally Posted by Shino306

All,
My husband is considering a physician job in Baton Rouge and my visits to the city have been very limited i.e. visiting my aunt when she lived there when I was 2 years old and visiting a friend's, who lives in NOLA, relative's house for a couple hours for her wedding shower. So my question is, what is daily life like in Baton Rogue? Is traffic really that terrible? We live in the Northeast now, so when I read about "traffic" I'm questioning how "bad" it really is as every thing is relative. How about restaurants? Where are the nice areas to live? What is there to do outside LSU football?

Thanks in advance

WEll to begin with-I lived in south Florida almost all of my life and it is heaven here compared to Florida. In my opinion, traffic is only bad during the typical rush hours. Those are around 730am to 830am and 430pm-530pm. The people that complain about traffic are those who have lived here almost all their lives and remember when....there was little to no traffic. I work at LSU and I encounter many people who cannot believe it when people here say how bad traffic is-they think those people are nuts! Many of those who think traffic here is not bad are those that come from really bad traffic places like Houston or Michigan etc. IMO traffic is only bad at typical times and that is anytown!

Second-things to do. Depends on what you are looking for and if you have a family or not. I am married with a child, so there are endless possibilities for us from the LOuisiana Arts and Science Museum to local library for arts and crafts to walking around Perkins Rowe and checking out the nice weather and the nice people. There are so many activities here that I cannot list them all! Just tell me your interests and I will help out of I can.

There are so many restaurants here in Baton Rouge we have lived here over 5 years and have yet to check them all out. There are pizza joints, about 35 Mexican places, all kinds of upper scale restaurants and hole in the wall places that have the best seafood in the world. We enjoy many mom and pop places that Baton Rouge has to offer, but also frequent chains like Bonefish Grill and California Pizza Kitchen. The food here is phenonemal and better than many New Orleans rest!

Other than LSU Football....Hmmm...no seriously, there are many things to do here, just let me know your interest and all that and I can really help!

I love Baton Rouge, the food, the people and the culture-it is a great town and I hope you like it here! WElcome!!

[MetroBTR]

Like Caa said, traffic is only super crazy at rush hour, and that comes with city life. That being said, you and your husband should plan your routes carefully in order to try and avoid hot spots. Where will you guys be working? There is a parish (county) wide road improvement project going on right now that should help things alot. I know that some of the projects that have already been completed in this traffic improvement plan have worked miracles. By 2012 traffic should be substantially better during rush hour.

Coming from the Northeast you will probably feel like a fish out of water for awhile, but the secret is to just accept the culture and find your place as best you can. As a married couple you should have an alright time finding your place. Most of the complaints about finding a spot come from singles 25-35.

Do you have kids? If so, or if you are planning on having them, it could affect where you want to live. Baton Rouge public school system is very downtrodden for the most part. However, there are outstanding Magnet oppertunities within the public school system. Aside from that, you will be limited to the private schools if you choose to live in town.

If you can give me and idea of where the job is I'll try to give you a review on convenient neighborhoods.

Good luck and best wishes!

[bobbie-k]

I am curious about the school systems as well. My husband and I are contemplating a move to BR and we are moving from Portland Oregon. We do have 4 kids, ranging from Kindergarten to high school. This is really the biggest consideration for us.... is there much opportunity there for kids? What are the pros and cons to the schools and are there outlying areas that have better districts? We live outside of Portland about 25 miles in a community of only 6,000 people and our schools are GREAT because the parents all get involved. Is that something that is done there?

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by bobbie-k

I am curious about the school systems as well. My husband and I are contemplating a move to BR and we are moving from Portland Oregon. We do have 4 kids, ranging from Kindergarten to high school. This is really the biggest consideration for us.... is there much opportunity there for kids? What are the pros and cons to the schools and are there outlying areas that have better districts? We live outside of Portland about 25 miles in a community of only 6,000 people and our schools are GREAT because the parents all get involved. Is that something that is done there?

The answer is yes. Most of our main suburbs have very highly rated school systems. Some of the best in the state. And with 25 miles, you have several suburban options.

Zachary is a community in the northern portion of East Baton Rouge Parish with an independent school system. This school system is rated number one in the state. I wanna say there are about 15,000 people in Zachary.

West Feliciana Parish and St. Francisville are a little farther north than Zachary. This school system is also very good. There are only about 2,000 people in St. Francisville so it has a very small town feel. Lots of woods and countryside.

Livingston Parish and Ascension Parish are Baton Rouge's cookie cutter suburban Parishes. Good schools here also.

Central is another independent school district in the northeastern part of East Baton Rouge Parish. They only broke away from EBR Parish schools a few years ago, so they are still playing it by ear right now and trying to get used to running themselves. Community involvement is great and I expect great things from the Central School District.

[fbbertusa]

Originally Posted by Shino306

All,
My husband is considering a physician job in Baton Rouge and my visits to the city have been very limited i.e. visiting my aunt when she lived there when I was 2 years old and visiting a friend's, who lives in NOLA, relative's house for a couple hours for her wedding shower. So my question is, what is daily life like in Baton Rogue? Is traffic really that terrible? We live in the Northeast now, so when I read about "traffic" I'm questioning how "bad" it really is as every thing is relative. How about restaurants? Where are the nice areas to live? What is there to do outside LSU football?

Thanks in advance

Baton Rouge is a very good place to live especially being in the Medical field.We are in a major growth phase in the entire city but the Medical field seems to be unlimited in it's future growth.Traffic is all relative to where You live and work and what time You are on the streets. It is nothing like the traffic in LA.CALIFORNIA BUT IT CAN BE VERY FRUSTRATING TO SAY THE LEAST.Sorry for the caps,our administration that is in office now is doing a very aggressive job in widening a lot of major two lane streets in town and new synchronized traffic signals to help the flow of traffic.
The weather here is very hot and humid during the Late Spring, Summer ,and early Fall with a touch of cold wet Weather in between we call Winter.
There is a ton of things to do here .We are coming up on the Mardi Gras season ,a lot of parties ,Balls ,Parades and family fun.Spring time brings a lot of music to the downtown area with the Live After Five concerts,Arts and Crafts festivals,Fest For ALL and many other out door concerts.There is a Science Museum downtown as well as a Observatory,with The Baton Rouge River Center which host all types of events such as Holidays, Bowling Tournaments,Bull riding and so on.There is the old Gov. Mansion,The Old State capitol Building,the present State Capital building You can visit.
As far as restaurants there is any and every thing You can possibly want in the food industry.There is just to many places to get started on as good places to go.
There are lakes for water sports and plenty fishing both fresh water and salt water.There is no reason to be bored in this town(now a city).Also there is a lot of Golf ,Mens and Womens organizations.A very nice zoo.A brand new Dog park along with the City park which has picnic tables and newly constructed restrooms that are very clean.If that does not keep You busy You could always go to an LSU GAME. FOOTBALL,BASEBALL,SOCCER,GIRLS SOFTBALL BOTH MEN AND WOMENS BASKETBALL.TRACK AND FIELD SPORTS ARE A SWIM MEET,ARE A TENNIS TOURNAMENT.
Forgot about places to live anything You can afford is available in a safe environment,we have a couple very bad areas you would not want to live in but they are very obvious and won't be a problem.Come on down and enjoy.

[Caa]

Originally Posted by fbbertusa

Baton Rouge is a very good place to live especially being in the Medical field.We are in a major growth phase in the entire city but the Medical field seems to be unlimited in it's future growth.Traffic is all relative to where You live and work and what time You are on the streets. It is nothing like the traffic in LA.CALIFORNIA BUT IT CAN BE VERY FRUSTRATING TO SAY THE LEAST.Sorry for the caps,our administration that is in office now is doing a very aggressive job in widening a lot of major two lane streets in town and new synchronized traffic signals to help the flow of traffic.
The weather here is very hot and humid during the Late Spring, Summer ,and early Fall with a touch of cold wet Weather in between we call Winter.
There is a ton of things to do here .We are coming up on the Mardi Gras season ,a lot of parties ,Balls ,Parades and family fun.Spring time brings a lot of music to the downtown area with the Live After Five concerts,Arts and Crafts festivals,Fest For ALL and many other out door concerts.There is a Science Museum downtown as well as a Observatory,with The Baton Rouge River Center which host all types of events such as Holidays, Bowling Tournaments,Bull riding and so on.There is the old Gov. Mansion,The Old State capitol Building,the present State Capital building You can visit.
As far as restaurants there is any and every thing You can possibly want in the food industry.There is just to many places to get started on as good places to go.
There are lakes for water sports and plenty fishing both fresh water and salt water.There is no reason to be bored in this town(now a city).Also there is a lot of Golf ,Mens and Womens organizations.A very nice zoo.A brand new Dog park along with the City park which has picnic tables and newly constructed restrooms that are very clean.If that does not keep You busy You could always go to an LSU GAME. FOOTBALL,BASEBALL,SOCCER,GIRLS SOFTBALL BOTH MEN AND WOMENS BASKETBALL.TRACK AND FIELD SPORTS ARE A SWIM MEET,ARE A TENNIS TOURNAMENT.
Forgot about places to live anything You can afford is available in a safe environment,we have a couple very bad areas you would not want to live in but they are very obvious and won't be a problem.Come on down and enjoy.

Boy, you hit the nail rgiht on the head with your post! So much to do , so little time-I am actually offended when people tell me "there's nothing to do in this town"! Are you frigging kidding me???? There is more to do here than anyplace else I have ever been!
With regards to the weather-I love the fall, spring, winter and summer. tO me, there is achange of seasons here, albeit a small one, but I come from south Florida where anytime it gets below 75 degrees, Iwas freezing! That being said, I love the change of seasons here in Baton Rouge, the winters especially! I really enjoyed the 4 inches of snow we had in our front yeard as well!
Our neighbors are fantastic and I love Halloween in this neighborhood too! Most neighborhoods are very kid friendly. I would reccommend south Baton Rouge as I love this reas, but there are many, many great areas here-just aviod North baton Rouge unless you are a risk taker!

[Shino306]

Thanks for all the advice...we do not have children yet, but one is baking as we speak.

[Shino306]

Location-wise, I looked it up on the map, the place he'd be working looks to be South of Town along I-10, a little after it splits from I-12. What's this area of town like and are there nice places to live around there as we'd like to keep his commute short.
Thanks

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by Shino306

Location-wise, I looked it up on the map, the place he'd be working looks to be South of Town along I-10, a little after it splits from I-12. What's this area of town like and are there nice places to live around there as we'd like to keep his commute short.
Thanks

Sounds like he'll be in the Essen Lane or Bluebonnet Area. Plenty of Great neighborhoods around that area. I would recommend one of the neighborhoods off of Perkins (to the south of I-10) because traffic on Essen Lane gets especially bad going Northbound. Perkins Road should also be much easier to utilize once they finish widening it. At work right now but when I get home I'll sit down and try to put a better, more informative response together for you.