Comparing Hammond to BR, Is it really that bad there? (Many: how much, houses)

[MissIvy]

I asked on a few sites about areas in Hammond to avoid. I received no replies then finally I got one and they called Hammond "the small, hick hole in wall 6th level of H.E.L.L"

Im from Br considering moving there. Actually my parents are but Im doing the searching for them and I see some properties that we could easily share. Any thoughts welcome. Thanks

[Loralcb]

I am not really familiar with Hammond. Hopefully others who are will provide more information.

[Rosinante]

You'd be giving up a lot of conveniences if you moved there. Personally, that wouldn't bother me much, but it might be a problem for others.

[MissIvy]

Originally Posted by Rosinante

You'd be giving up a lot of conveniences if you moved there. Personally, that wouldn't bother me much, but it might be a problem for others.

Having a reasonable priced grocery store, park, library, cafe and thrift store is sadly all I need. I like the idea the Amtrak is there too, but Ive never rode the train so it may not even be a plus.

I would hope I could convince my mother to retire to a local part time job (shouldnt be hard to do that =] ). My father is already in retirement. They have a nice strong commitment to their congregation (years) so Im sure they would commute for that.

I think the rain will have cleared up by tomorrow so on the AM side I am just going to ride up there look at the properties and visit the stores, park & library and make a decision.

Rosinante what type of conveniences were you referring to, if you care to elaborate?

[WestbankNOLA]

I was actually surprised by the amount of stuff I found in Hammond. It won't have nearly as much to offer as BR or NO, but it is a college town. They have a new mall if you're into shopping (won't compare to Cortana, Louisiana, Lakeside, or Esplanade), but it's decent for a town that size. I don't know how much of a restaurant selection they have, but I did eat at a VooDoo BBQ up there. It was more expensive then the one's around here and the food wasn't the same, but it was still good.

As far as day to day life there, I can't help you with that.

[MetroBTR]

Hammond has actually grown up quite a bit. I have no problem recommending Hammond.

[MissIvy]

Originally Posted by MetroBTR

Hammond has actually grown up quite a bit. I have no problem recommending Hammond.

But do you have anything specific to say about it?

[MissIvy]

I went. It was different thats for sure. I went to the Walmart first (I know alot of ppl have many reasons why they do not shop at Walmarts, I dont so save it). My shopping experience consisted of me walking through the store feeling like I was in the twilight zone. Many trashy looking white ppl or very old white people. The people who were dressed nice and decent were mostly black. All of the workers looked decent actually, except one lady who I was pretty sure was pretending she didnt hear the elderly customer asking for assistance. I did not see any self check outs and there were many security camera tv's on the wall which made you feel extra watched. I only bought some apples and a water for a snack so I went though the express lane. The girl who checked me out was very nice. It took a really long time to get out the parking lot which is just weird for a 1pm grocery run. So I assume that Walmart is always busy.

Alot of ppl own pick up trucks. I also saw alot of ppl who looked as if theyd been smoking since they were 3 years old. You see more run down beat up cars than nice ones. I noticed some country accents.

I looked at houses. One was definitely in the ghetto. Off Richardson which is off W Thomas.
I saw one on Olive St near the Clark Park which is by the way run down. I was beginning to think everything in Hammond looked run down... I visted the Library near Cherry St. It was small and nice.
Downtown in general is nice. Its really small. Still everything looked grungy. I dont know how to explain it other than I began to wonder if Hammond was hit with bad weather yesterday?? Haha.

I went to a thrift store off University Rd. It was nice enough. The workers were so sweet and welcoming. I decided to call a friend who lives in Hammond and ask her to PLEASE show me a nice neighborhood. She brought me to a neighborhood off S Morrison Rd on Rue Simone. I finally felt like I was still in La. We went back downtown to a store called Susans and had lunch at Tope La.

Overall I think I did not see enough to make a decision. I really liked the downtown area but I could not pin point the safe nearby neighborhood... everything is mixed up. A completely run down house can be sitting next to a beautiful mansion. Alot of buildings all over the city are boarded up. I wanted to go to more grocery stores I saw many to choose from too.

I do now know first hand what a rough hick city looks like =D.
It was a fun trip. Hopefully (possibly after Mardi Gras) I can visit again and give more detailed information on the area.

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by MissIvy

I went. It was different thats for sure. I went to the Walmart first (I know alot of ppl have many reasons why they do not shop at Walmarts, I dont so save it). My shopping experience consisted of my walking through the store feeling like I was in the twilight zone. Many trashy looking ppl or very old white people. The people who were dressed nice and decent were mostly black. All of the workers looked decent actually, except one lady who I was pretty sure was pretending she didnt hear the elderly customer asking for assistance. I did not see any self check outs and there were many security camera tv's on the wall which made you feel extra watched. I only bought some apples and a water for a snack so I went though the express lane. The girl who checked me out was very nice. It took a really long time to get out the parking lot which is just weird for a 1pm grocery run. So I assume that Walmart is always busy.

^Doesn't that describe typical Southeast Louisiana, minus the white and black generalizations? Unless BR is like another world compared to the rest of the state I would think so.

[MissIvy]

No in my opinion it wasnt much like BR at all. More people will be dressed nicely than not. It was the exact opposite from what I saw. I have never seen flat screen tvs all across a wall in any Walmart Ive been to in BR. And we have self check out... Ive never seen so many obese ppl all in one place before. Im just being honest in regards to my experiences. I dont mean that to be rude or racist. I mentioned black or white bc I noticed a definite difference there.
I keyed in on the bold part.