moving to st. francisville area (Baton Rouge, Zachary: crime, home, school)

[catherine777]

hi, i am being relocated to the st.francisville area to work at the river bend power plant. i am leaving ma. any good advice on where to live? i can live 1 hr out from the plant.

[njkate]

Have never been, but have a friend in Mandeville LA that just raves about this area..has been trying to convince me to take a look for retirement.

Once you are settled I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the area

[catherine777]

ok, i'll keep you posted. i just wonder what the cost of living is going to be. i hear its less but i'm not quite sure. also the heat. i went through no before the floods and it was 104. a little to hot for me. bye.

[lowlight]

Although I like the Mandeville area, I think it would be a bit too far for the OP.


Have you had a chance to visit the St. Francisville area yet. The town itself is a pretty nice place, although somewhat small and lacking in services/shopping, etc. The area is growing quickly though. In fact a new bridge across the Mississippi River is being built in the area.

You would be about 20 miles from the city of Zachary, which has more amenities and also has the #1 rated school system in the state.

St. Francisville is about 30 miles from Baton Rouge, which offers more still (good and bad).

The areas to the north and east of St. Francisville, contain some smaller historic towns with plantations and such, but the area is very rural overall.

Good Luck.

[njkate]

Originally Posted by lowlight

Although I like the Mandeville area, I think it would be a bit too far for the OP.


Have you had a chance to visit the St. Francisville area yet. The town itself is a pretty nice place, although somewhat small and lacking in services/shopping, etc. The area is growing quickly though. In fact a new bridge across the Mississippi River is being built in the area.

You would be about 20 miles from the city of Zachary, which has more amenities and also has the #1 rated school system in the state.

St. Francisville is about 30 miles from Baton Rouge, which offers more still (good and bad).

The areas to the north and east of St. Francisville, contain some smaller historic towns with plantations and such, but the area is very rural overall.

Good Luck.

My bad..should have clarified that my friend in Mandeville raves about the St Francis area....there is a lake community there he really raves about but the name is escaping me at the moment

[Rosinante]

Originally Posted by njkate

My bad..should have clarified that my friend in Mandeville raves about the St Francis area....there is a lake community there he really raves about but the name is escaping me at the moment

That lake area your friend is referring to is probably False River, a quasi resort area adjacent to New Roads. It's a picturesque little town rife with many cajun cultural artifacts.

As another poster mentions above, St. Francisville is growing, and a new bridge crossing the Mississippi is underway. I also live in Baton Rouge, as the previous poster does, but I would advise against living here and commuting to your job 30 miles away.

Katrina had a major effect on the number of people living here. WJBO radio recently broadcast a news item saying that East Baton Rouge Parish has 750,000 inhabitants versus about 500,000 prior to the hurricane. Three results of this are noteworthy: 1) Housing prices have risen here more than in any other area of the state, although the number of housing starts has fallen and the market has softened a bit. 2) The traffic is insufferable! With no practical way to build an interstate loop around the city, I'm afraid this will continue to be a problem for at least another decade. 3) The city's crime statistics place it among the most dangerous cities in the country.

I'd recommend that you look for a place to live north of the Baton Rouge area. Prices there do not reflect the consequences of Katrina, so you'll probably find more of what you're looking for.

[IloveNOLA]

Originally Posted by Rosinante

WJBO radio recently broadcast a news item saying that East Baton Rouge Parish has 750,000 inhabitants versus about 500,000 prior to the hurricane.

250,000 new residents is off by quite a bit. The BR Chamber of Commerce has put the number at closer to 10,000 new residents. The July 2006 census estimates from the Census Bureau puts East Baton Rouge Parish's population at 429,073.

Although people may find this hard to believe, many more people simply left the state instead of moving elsewhere in the state but outside the NOLA metro area. Louisiana lost over 200,000 residents between 2005 and 2006. I think the attitude of many was that if they are going to leave their home area, then they might as well make a fresh start in another state.

[CindyM]

The lake community could also be Lake Rosemond which is just north of St. Francisville. If you're going to be working at Riverbend finding a place to live in St. Francisville would be ideal. While it's true shopping choices are limited, you can always make a trip to Baton Rouge (about 30 minutes to the south) a couple times a month for everything else.

There's no getting away from the heat and humidity. The tradeoff is mild winters.

[catherine777]

thank you for that information. Can you think of any town names that I could look into. we don't mind driving 45min to 1hr out for work so I would like to be safe and I not used to alot of traffic. I didn't even like the traffic in san antonio, tx. so id rather live outside city limits.

[catherine777]

my friend said they might not like me because im from the north. Is this true or is my friend trying to get me to stay.?