Baton Rouge? (Gardere, Denham Springs, Livingston: crime rates, public schools, subdivision)

[~panjoel~]

Thanks much gurl
~joel

Originally Posted by girlnoire

I have lived in Baton Rouge since 1990. Moved here from Bastrop-near Monroe. I left BR for Chicago in 2000 and lived in Hyde Park for 4 years. I have since moved back to Baton Rouge and have been here for almost 2 years. Here is my take.

You will find nothing like Chicago here in Baton Rouge. The closest city atmosphere was in New Orleans. And now...well I'm sure you saw the news.

What Baton Rouge will give you is a sense of community. You will know your neighbors. Maybe not by name but we are friendly folk who love to speak to everybody.

If you still need that city semblance and by that I mean the congestion, shops and some rudeness then Perkins, Bluebonnet and the Highland Road areas are your best bet. These areas are full of restaurants. Seriously full of them. The best mall in the city, The Mall of Louisiana, is on Bluebonnet and is very up to date. As a matter of fact, a very lovely strip mall is being built directly up the road which will house some specialty stores that you won't find in any mall in Baton Rouge.

If you desire a less congested area then you may want to look in the Baker, Port Allen, and North Baton Rouge areas. Granted you have people that will shun you from these areas (North Baton Rouge atleast) because this is where your biggest population of African American's live, eat and play. For some reason people are scared of these areas but if you look up the crime statistics you will find that more crime is in South Baton Rouge where the more affluent areas area. But crime is everywhere.

The closest thing to Hyde Park is an area called the Garden District. Being from Chicago, you will love this area. It is reminiscent of Hyde Park and Lincoln Park to me. It is a great area. It is near a major university and you don't have far to drive to catch the interstate.

Baton Rouge is a college town. You have the flagship school which is Louisiana State University. This school is a party school. Great academics but a party school nonetheless. LSU brings a lot to its surrounding communities so check it out. I agree with the person that says stay away from Gardere Lane. STAY AWAY FROM GARDERE LANE. Unfortunately, this is a great crime area. It has subsided some over the years. I mean it's nothing like it was from 1995-2002.

Then you have the largest historically african american university in the United States-Southern University A&M College. Can you tell this is my alma mater? Anyway, you won't find the communities around Southern so appealing but there are plenty of diamond in the rough neighborhoods in this area as well.

Baton Rouge is now the largest city in the state. And as a result, there is so much industry coming to our city. I mean until New Orleans is back on its feet Baton Rouge is it. Unless you move to North Louisiana and then you have Shreveport, which is the second largest city in Louisiana since HK. That's short for Hurrican Katrina.

Baton Rouge is a hot spot for the movie making business. Glory Road was filmed here. All the King's Men, Fantasia-Life is not a Fairytale (filmed in New Orleans this year); There is always a call for extras. Louisianians really are getting some good roles. I was cast as an extra in a movie. It was great.

So my point is you will definitely miss Chicago but Baton Rouge will be what you make of it. Remember, we have an airport with flights to the Chi. The nearest Amtrak train can be caught out of Hammond, LA-a 30 minute drive from Baton Rouge.

Oh I nearly forget you will hate the public transportation. You know how you can walk out of your apartment building and catch the #6, #55, #12, and the South Shore buses all on one block (just my buses)? Well you won't find that here. You know how if you came out of your apartment and you missed the bus there was no problem b/c another one was coming in less than 10 minutes? You won't find that here. You know how you could walk a block or two depending on where you lived and catch a commuter train or the el? That won't happen here. You need a vehicle for this city or you will hate it here. Trust me. You will hate it without a car or access to it.

The upside to having a car is you don't have to do the on street parking, there are no city cops waiting to ticket you b/c you parked to close to the curb or a hydrant. And get this, there is no "boot" man to run from.

There you have it. I hope this was as unbiased as possible.

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by CindyM

I'm from NE Indiana, but have lived in BR since '78 and don't remember too many February days that warm. As for rain, it doesn't take much for street flooding in parts of BR. With a heavy downpour you can pretty much predict which streets will become impassable. Summer weather is fairly predictable, but the rest of the year is up for grabs. And Caa is right, we actually do have a fall. It doesn't usually start until December, but it's fall nonetheless.

February 7th, 2007. The high was 72 at BTR airport. Check the climate records. It was 74 the day after that. 72 and 73 again on Feb. 12-13.
Feb 15th it was 48.
Feb 21-24 it was 75, 79, 77, and 77 respectfully. And to top it off it was 80 on the 27th.

Point is, Baton Rouge does not have harsh winters. For every cold day we get here, we probably have 2 or 3 days of warm weather to counter it.
It's great for people wanting to get outside, even if it screws up with your allergies/sinuses.

Street flooding is a given here, but you should check out cities that aren't equiped to handle 55+ inches of rain per year. A few inches will drown them. I think for the amount of rain that we do get here, our storm drainage system works remarkably well compared to other cities up north.
Of course, there's always room for improvement.

[teeumup21]

Hi! Thought I'd add my two cents here. We were married in Houston Feb. 06, moved to my husband property in Zachary. We were transferred for an unspecified amount of time to the West Chicago area. You will like the prices of housing. Zachary has the best schools in all of Louisiana. They are very proud of that. It is a small community. If you drive and don't mind driving, Zachary schools and living is probably your best bet for the kids. They new Copper Mill School is open and the extra property taxes have helped the area. There are some new homes reasonably priced. Moderator cut: please use direct message feature - no advertising or soliciting on CD.

Originally Posted by disappointed

[b]
Hi,

I may be relocating to Baton Rouge and would like people's honest opinions about the city. I am moving from Chicago and would like info. on the schools, which areas to avoid, single scene, the weather. Thank you in advance for you feedback.

[buildings_and_bridges]

Originally Posted by teeumup21

Hi! Thought I'd add my two cents here. We were married in Houston Feb. 06, moved to my husband property in Zachary. We were transferred for an unspecified amount of time to the West Chicago area. You will like the prices of housing. Zachary has the best schools in all of Louisiana. They are very proud of that. It is a small community. If you drive and don't mind driving, Zachary schools and living is probably your best bet for the kids. They new Copper Mill School is open and the extra property taxes have helped the area. There are some new homes reasonably priced.

It's quite possible that there are reasonably priced homes right now, but I would never, ever recommend sending one's children to school in Zachary. I can't pass judgment on all small cities/towns in Louisiana, but that one I know about because I did go to middle and high school in Zachary. Worst experience of my life. It is quite inaccurate when people say they are the best in the state, also. It's not fair for other school systems to be pitted against the Zachary one--Zachary has so many fewer schools to worry about. I think that makes working on test scores much simpler. It's also a great way for a child or young adult to learn how to be a racist (and all around narrow-minded) person.

[inoudontnome]

yo chi town, you ever heard of robert taylor?cabrini green? 95th and king drive?roosevelt and pulaski? 18th and damen? That's where i come from. after growing up there, i've lived in Tampa, Las Vegas, Denver, Los Angeles, and spent shorter amount of time in many cities across the south and west, including br. i'm trying to get a transfer there now. in any metro area there is crime, but none of these cities have ghettos anything like the neighborhoods i mentioned at the start. i've never felt unsafe even in the worst areas of these cities, and if you just treat people with dignity and respect, you'll be ok anywhere you go. remember, poor people have pride too and you'll be ok. and this place beats the crap outta ****tycago.

[brancislee]

Baton Rouge sounds great to me! After reading a few other post I find myself wondering if my lifestyle will be accepted in Baton Rouge. I am a single white female that exclusively dates African-American men. Will this be a problem for me? I am at a point in my life where a change is needed so I have decded to relocate from Indiana to B aton Rouge and start anew. It is my desire to make Baton Rouge my home, find a great job and eventually marry. A little insight would be great! By the way, GIRLNOIRE, your post was great! Thank you.....

[LMDJ]

Originally Posted by brancislee

Baton Rouge sounds great to me! After reading a few other post I find myself wondering if my lifestyle will be accepted in Baton Rouge. I am a single white female that exclusively dates African-American men. Will this be a problem for me? I am at a point in my life where a change is needed so I have decded to relocate from Indiana to B aton Rouge and start anew. It is my desire to make Baton Rouge my home, find a great job and eventually marry. A little insight would be great! By the way, GIRLNOIRE, your post was great! Thank you.....

No, it shouldn't be a problem. People will probably look at you strange at times. It's at the bottom of the south and there are still a lot of ignorant folks down here especially in the surrounding areas.

[LSU Tiger Z71]

Originally Posted by brancislee

I am a single white female that exclusively dates African-American men. Will this be a problem for me?

Why?

And no..

[darylwi]

I'd say it shouldn't be a problem in the city. Any strange looks you'd get would be from the elder residents and the suburbanites that come in during the day. Otherwise it shouldn't be a problem. I just wouldn't look at living in Livingston Parish. Mostly white, mostly conservative, and all southern mentality.

[LSU Tiger Z71]

Originally Posted by darylwi

I just wouldn't look at living in Livingston Parish. Mostly white, mostly conservative, and all southern mentality.

I wouldn't advise anyone to consider The LP, The Parish.