Baton Rouge v. Shreveport (Lafayette, Ball: lofts, condo, job market)

[FunIsGood]

If you're going to live in Shreveport, you might as well live in Texas. Shreveport is pretty much East Texas, but with all the problems of Louisiana. I've lived in Baton Rouge AND Shreveport, and I hated Shreveport. After 3 years there, I thought I was going NUTS! I've since moved away from the state and I miss Baton Rouge so much!! It's such a fun city to live in, and there's always something to look forward to, whether it be Mardi Gras, St. Patricks Day, football season or summertime. It's only an hour from New Orleans, and only 3-6 hours from the Alabama/FL gulf coast, so you can jump in your car on a Friday afternoon in the summertime and be drinking a beer at Flora-Bama by dinner time. As for the downsides, the public schools are terrible and it is right in the shadows of Exxon and Dow. However, people (especially Shreveport people) GROSSLY overestimate the traffic problem. People from Shreveport drive down to Baton Rouge on Friday afternoons during football season and spend all day Saturday in game traffic, and can't understand how anyone could ever live in Baton Rouge "with all that traffic." Yes, the interstate can stand still for periods of time during rush hour, but what place with 700,000-800,000 people doesn't experience rush hour traffic? But, problems aside, the people in Baton Rouge are the coolest, most laid back and fun loving people you'll ever meet - just like everyone else from South Louisiana.

Shreveport, on the other hand, is totally alienated from the rest of the state. If you want to live in Louisiana, Shreveport is the last place on earth to go. There is NO "Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler" there. It's the most "un-Louisiana" place in the entire state. Most people in Shreveport root for the Cowboys and all of them work on Fat Tuesday. Most (not all) of the restaurants are terrible (they're BIG on chain restaurants. TGI Friday's and Chili's, and handfuls of other crappy places), and its REALLY Baptist-ish. People from there might say its fun, but take that with a grain of salt. The average Shreveporter's definition of "fun" leaves a lot to be desired. Also, the closest major airport to Shreveport is 2 1/2 hours away in Dallas. You can't fly anywhere from Shreveport, and when you do find a flight, its crazy expensive. AND Shreveport's 5 1/2 hours away from New Orleans, which sucks. AND, it's 8-10 hours away from the Gulf Coast, so goodbye quick beach trips on the weekends. Hello 20 hour round trip excursions just to get there.

But, if you're not from Louisiana and you don't care about living in and being immersed Louisiana culture, and if you don't care about living it up on the Gulf Coast during the summers, then Shreveport might be ok, but like I said before, you might as well move to Texas because that's where you'll be anyway if you move to Shreveport. Shreveport is just another East Texas town - Baptist to the core, conservative, and EXTREMELY racially divided, with a passion for the Dallas Cowboys and lame food. I love Louisiana, and I can't wait to move back, but it does have its fair share of problems. The one great thing about this state, though, is the unique culture and attitudes of the people, which disappears once you go north of Alexandria (with the exception of Natchitoches). If you take out the culture, all you have is the problems, which is exactly the case with Shreveport. And with the extreme lack of 20-30 somethings living and working there, you'll feel just like you're in Tyler, TX circa 1982. Yeee-haw!!!

[SweetiePie]

Originally Posted by FunIsGood

Most people in Shreveport root for the Cowboys and all of them work on Fat Tuesday.

I live in Shreveport and believe it or not, there are some employers that let their workers off on Fat Tuesday! We ALWAYS had Fat Tuesday off at my former job. Just wanted to set the record straight on that :-) Have a nice day :-)

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by FunIsGood

If you're going to live in Shreveport, you might as well live in Texas. Shreveport is pretty much East Texas, but with all the problems of Louisiana. I've lived in Baton Rouge AND Shreveport, and I hated Shreveport. After 3 years there, I thought I was going NUTS! I've since moved away from the state and I miss Baton Rouge so much!! It's such a fun city to live in, and there's always something to look forward to, whether it be Mardi Gras, St. Patricks Day, football season or summertime. It's only an hour from New Orleans, and only 3-6 hours from the Alabama/FL gulf coast, so you can jump in your car on a Friday afternoon in the summertime and be drinking a beer at Flora-Bama by dinner time. As for the downsides, the public schools are terrible and it is right in the shadows of Exxon and Dow. However, people (especially Shreveport people) GROSSLY overestimate the traffic problem. People from Shreveport drive down to Baton Rouge on Friday afternoons during football season and spend all day Saturday in game traffic, and can't understand how anyone could ever live in Baton Rouge "with all that traffic." Yes, the interstate can stand still for periods of time during rush hour, but what place with 700,000-800,000 people doesn't experience rush hour traffic? But, problems aside, the people in Baton Rouge are the coolest, most laid back and fun loving people you'll ever meet - just like everyone else from South Louisiana.

Shreveport, on the other hand, is totally alienated from the rest of the state. If you want to live in Louisiana, Shreveport is the last place on earth to go. There is NO "Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler" there. It's the most "un-Louisiana" place in the entire state. Most people in Shreveport root for the Cowboys and all of them work on Fat Tuesday. Most (not all) of the restaurants are terrible (they're BIG on chain restaurants. TGI Friday's and Chili's, and handfuls of other crappy places), and its REALLY Baptist-ish. People from there might say its fun, but take that with a grain of salt. The average Shreveporter's definition of "fun" leaves a lot to be desired. Also, the closest major airport to Shreveport is 2 1/2 hours away in Dallas. You can't fly anywhere from Shreveport, and when you do find a flight, its crazy expensive. AND Shreveport's 5 1/2 hours away from New Orleans, which sucks. AND, it's 8-10 hours away from the Gulf Coast, so goodbye quick beach trips on the weekends. Hello 20 hour round trip excursions just to get there.

But, if you're not from Louisiana and you don't care about living in and being immersed Louisiana culture, and if you don't care about living it up on the Gulf Coast during the summers, then Shreveport might be ok, but like I said before, you might as well move to Texas because that's where you'll be anyway if you move to Shreveport. Shreveport is just another East Texas town - Baptist to the core, conservative, and EXTREMELY racially divided, with a passion for the Dallas Cowboys and lame food. I love Louisiana, and I can't wait to move back, but it does have its fair share of problems. The one great thing about this state, though, is the unique culture and attitudes of the people, which disappears once you go north of Alexandria (with the exception of Natchitoches). If you take out the culture, all you have is the problems, which is exactly the case with Shreveport. And with the extreme lack of 20-30 somethings living and working there, you'll feel just like you're in Tyler, TX circa 1982. Yeee-haw!!!

What world do you live in, guy? Even New Orleans and Baton Rouge are "extremely racially divided." Blacks and whites have their own areas in most cities... it's not just an issue in Shreveport.

Lame food? Well we have Po-Boys, King Cakes, Eouffee, Mudbugs (don't forget Mudbug Madness, the second-largest festival dedicated to the CAJUN crustacean), gumbo... I could go on and on. Ever been on Bistineau? If that isn't as Louisiana as it gets I don't know what is. But we're fortunate to have a lot of Texas culture infused into our area as well, so we have great barbecue, ribs, a Texas accent, and yes... a big part of the culture here is the Dallas Cowboys football team.

Someone could easily be led astray by reading your post, though, because among people I personally know, as a Dallas fan I'm a minority. It seems there are thousands and thousands of Saints fans in this region as well. Really? Yes... really. You're not surprised, are you? Well, you probably are, as would be anyone who took the time to read your post and get misled.

Baptist to the core? I realize there are tons of Baptist churches, but there are also QUITE a few other churches here such as Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran, and son on... even Greek Orthodox and others. Perhaps "mostly" Baptist, and I agree that's a crying shame. But just by living here one isn't forced into any particular religion or way of life. We all choose our own paths in life... such as you choosing to dislike Shreveport and bash it on a public forum where you feel like you've accomplished something by telling outright lies.

Thousands of Dallas-area residents... hundreds of thousands actually... find Shreveport-Bossier to be very fun and take weekend trips over here quite often. I have yet to visit Dallas and mention being from Shreveport when someone didn't say something to the effect of "oh yeah, I'm going over there in a couple of weeks to get away!" It happens all the time. They come here to relax and have fun, away from their crazy fast-paced lives in The Big D. If Shreveport were some washed-up, sleepy little east Texas town, thousands of Dallas-area residents wouldn't line I-20 every Friday evening in a mad rush to get here and "have fun." Apparently they know how to have fun here, and it's a shame you never discovered how to do so. Instead you've resorted to telling lies on a public forum; but at least the majority of people can see right through you.

Go to any city in the nation with a progressive economy and report back on how many of the nation's most successful chain restaurants are located in that city. Take Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, Jackson, Little Rock, Fayetteville, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Saint Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Wichita, Omaha... they all have these same chains and the people love them, for some reason. You're clearly the exception. Actually you're not really the exception, but someone who enjoys those chains but wants to have yet another to whine about why he dislikes Shreveport. *yawn*

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler! We have two of the largest Mardi Gras Krewes in the state of Louisiana, which bring in nearly 1 million people for the Mardi Gras season... that's a lot of people who choose to come here instead of New Orleans because they want to enjoy Mardi Gras with their children... and some who want to experience Mardi Gras in Shreve City which, if you've ever been during Mardi Gras, you'd know gets almost as stupid and crazy as Bourbon Street.

Moderator cut: knock it off, too personal

[solytaire]

Originally Posted by FunIsGood

If you're going to live in Shreveport, you might as well live in Texas. Shreveport is pretty much East Texas, but with all the problems of Louisiana. I've lived in Baton Rouge AND Shreveport, and I hated Shreveport. After 3 years there, I thought I was going NUTS! I've since moved away from the state and I miss Baton Rouge so much!! It's such a fun city to live in, and there's always something to look forward to, whether it be Mardi Gras, St. Patricks Day, football season or summertime. It's only an hour from New Orleans, and only 3-6 hours from the Alabama/FL gulf coast, so you can jump in your car on a Friday afternoon in the summertime and be drinking a beer at Flora-Bama by dinner time. As for the downsides, the public schools are terrible and it is right in the shadows of Exxon and Dow. However, people (especially Shreveport people) GROSSLY overestimate the traffic problem. People from Shreveport drive down to Baton Rouge on Friday afternoons during football season and spend all day Saturday in game traffic, and can't understand how anyone could ever live in Baton Rouge "with all that traffic." Yes, the interstate can stand still for periods of time during rush hour, but what place with 700,000-800,000 people doesn't experience rush hour traffic? But, problems aside, the people in Baton Rouge are the coolest, most laid back and fun loving people you'll ever meet - just like everyone else from South Louisiana.

Shreveport, on the other hand, is totally alienated from the rest of the state. If you want to live in Louisiana, Shreveport is the last place on earth to go. There is NO "Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler" there. It's the most "un-Louisiana" place in the entire state. Most people in Shreveport root for the Cowboys and all of them work on Fat Tuesday. Most (not all) of the restaurants are terrible (they're BIG on chain restaurants. TGI Friday's and Chili's, and handfuls of other crappy places), and its REALLY Baptist-ish. People from there might say its fun, but take that with a grain of salt. The average Shreveporter's definition of "fun" leaves a lot to be desired. Also, the closest major airport to Shreveport is 2 1/2 hours away in Dallas. You can't fly anywhere from Shreveport, and when you do find a flight, its crazy expensive. AND Shreveport's 5 1/2 hours away from New Orleans, which sucks. AND, it's 8-10 hours away from the Gulf Coast, so goodbye quick beach trips on the weekends. Hello 20 hour round trip excursions just to get there.

But, if you're not from Louisiana and you don't care about living in and being immersed Louisiana culture, and if you don't care about living it up on the Gulf Coast during the summers, then Shreveport might be ok, but like I said before, you might as well move to Texas because that's where you'll be anyway if you move to Shreveport. Shreveport is just another East Texas town - Baptist to the core, conservative, and EXTREMELY racially divided, with a passion for the Dallas Cowboys and lame food. I love Louisiana, and I can't wait to move back, but it does have its fair share of problems. The one great thing about this state, though, is the unique culture and attitudes of the people, which disappears once you go north of Alexandria (with the exception of Natchitoches). If you take out the culture, all you have is the problems, which is exactly the case with Shreveport. And with the extreme lack of 20-30 somethings living and working there, you'll feel just like you're in Tyler, TX circa 1982. Yeee-haw!!!

If you think Shreveport resembles Tyler, you should take a trip to Beaumont and see how much Baton Rouge resembles that small, sleepy, South-East Texas Petro-centric town. South-East Texas in general, stretching all the way to Houston, feels and moves nearly identical to the Cajun beat of Southern LA. I cant believe you failed to take this into account as you extoll the virtues of BR. I have no sayso one way or the other in the matter of Shreveport vs. BR. But I just had to mention that I have never been around such a saturation of Cajun Culture outside of Southern LA until I reached SE Texas.

[Caa]

I, for one, have never been to Shreveport, but I think Baton Rouge is great! I have never seen such friendly people than here and Halloween in our neighborhood was a total blast, I have not experienced people outside waiting for trick ir treaters before(I lived in Florida(south) and the poeple barley acknowledged each other in our neighborhood). I think thisplace is a lot of fun!

[CkPhoto]

Baton Rouge is a fine city.. but for a city that size it has the weakest skyline.. Shreveport is half the size and it's skyline looks so much better imo. I know it's hard when you're so close to NO. I thought the food was perfect in Shreveport.. right in the middle.. not too hot not too bland.. I live in Birmingham Alabama now.. BLAND FOOD!!!!!! and the worst traffic I have ever been a part of in my life! with a population of only 239,000 Bham's sprawls at over 1.2 million. also the terrain makes it very difficult to build highways.. so the city funnels through valleys that stay clogged.. what I am saying is that I miss Shreveport the great infrastructure and and downtown area!

[darylwi]

Since the days of Long and the towering capital, BTR has had very strict restrictions on building height in the city. Those restrictions have been relaxed, but it has already had enough of a negative impact. If you can't build a nice towering HQ here, then you might as well move on to NOLA or Houston, etc. BTR is not known as a business friendly town. Hopefully that changes.
We do have some construction going on downtown right now, City Plaza II (originally proposed at 11 stories), the new Judicial Court House (12 stories). The tower cranes make it look impressive, but I'm afraid these new buildings won't really add to the skyline much. Although it does give a new tall building to the south side (North Blvd) of downtown. If the RiverPlace Condos ever go up (proposed 32 stories), that will be a huge addition, and hopefully the start of some major growth then.
I do agree, Shreveport has always had a more impressive skyline than BTR.
And it'll never help that we have Exxon right behind our capital for people to see coming across the bridge, no matter how many buildings we ever get built downtown.

Merry Christmas all.

[SBCmetroguy]

There is a small complex of cranes working in downtown Baton Rouge right now to help fill in the downtown area, and if RiverPlace ever goes up as you've mentioned (though it's at 30 stories now) it will be a big deal for downtown Baton Rouge.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by SBCmetroguy

There is a small complex of cranes working in downtown Baton Rouge right now to help fill in the downtown area, and if RiverPlace ever goes up as you've mentioned (though it's at 30 stories now) it will be a big deal for downtown Baton Rouge.

Can't hurt. What we need is a "shot in the arm" like what NW Louisiana will experience with the Cyber Command.

[SBCmetroguy]

Very true, BRMan. Actually it's what all of Louisiana needs. Metro Baton Rouge is on a roll, but it's mostly suburban. The inner-city needs more. There are quite a few new construction projects slated for downtown Baton Rouge, and those few cranes down there are just the beginning. RiverPlace is a disappointment, though, if it never gets built. They keep pushing the date back and I hope it does end up being like what they have announced. Even scaled down to 30 stories, it's better than what was originally proposed at ... I think it was 19 stories? And then 34, and now 30.

About Shreveport-Bossier: I posted on one of my other favorite urban boards the other day about some information I was given at a dinner party last week for Shreveport. I can give no information, but can only say that it's a very large urban infill project to be built somewhere in inner-city Shreveport and Bossier and it will be big... BIG. I know where, what, etc and I know it's supposedly a done deal on the part of the developer, just awaiting approval. And I can't stress just how big it's going to be. There are some major cities throughout the south who are very well-known for their entertainment, and those cities are going to be straining their necks trying to get a peek at this project. If built as it's currently planned, it will catapult Shreveport-Bossier into the same league as those cities, and quite possibly give them a run for their money. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, because when I was told about this by someone close to the project, I was literally shocked. Frozen. And at that moment I began to swell with pride for my home cities, that they could soon be home to something like this.