Moving to Shreveport (Haughton, Greenwood, Benton: real estate, houses, rental)

[ShreveKrishna]

Hi All,

I will be moving to Shreveport/Bossier city in relation to my work at Louisiana State University Health Science Center (LSUHSC) at Shreveport. So am trying to find all the info I can about the area and would like to take the help of the forum members. I am planning to buy a house in a good nice and calm(!) neighbourhood but not more than 20 min from the LSUHSC (at peak hours).

I read a lot of posts here regarding moving to Shreveprot. I will try to summarize all the info I found on the forums here in the hope that it will help others also. Please correct me if I was wrong in any of my conclusions (most of the following are quotes of forum members here). I posted my questions in the second post and hope people here can help me.

In general Bossier city is safer than Shreveport though there are areas in bossier city to avoid. The police in Bossier are much stricter.

Good (low crime) areas in Shreveport - Broadmoor neighborhoods (a middle class neighborhood that has kept the most value with the least crime and some good schools as well), South Highland, close to Southwood HS,Springlake, Youree dr, Line Avenue, Cross lake area which is pricey, University terrace neighbourhood, The Haven on East kings (a gated community with round the clock guard that is nice), area off East kings Highway,
Best apartments are on Youree Dr. (Lots of shopping on youree and safety). Rental units in the Highland and South Highlands area, and the area surrounding Centenary College.

Bossier city - Shady grove area, Airline drive, Greenacres place in north bossier, Plantation trace in south bossier, Whole of north bossier?, the Stockwell Place subdivision, Olde Oaks area on Slygo Road,

Suburbs - Benton, Haughton, Greenwood, north DeSoto, rural Keithville

Summary: In Shreveport stay east of Southern Avenue. If in the Highland neighborhood, stay south of Olive Street. Most of west Shreveport is inexpensive, but very high crime. For schools, stay in southeast Shreveport as far south as you can manage. The lowest crime area is southeast Shreveport, east of Southern Avenue. Highland is a popular lower cost neighborhood w/ some nice low cost apartments, but stay south of Olive Street & don't rent w/o looking at the area as this area can vary block by block.(by shreveportnative)
Most desirable area is Broadmoor and other neighborhoods around that area. (by poodelgirl)
Southern Hills is a no-go for most people, Benton is a VERY nice place to be these days, as are north and east Bossier and south Shreveport. Southeast Shreveport is a GREAT general rule of thumb! (by sbcmetroguy)

[ShreveKrishna]

My plan is to stay in an apartment for a month or two, and look around for a house at that time to buy. After going through the information in the forums here I shortlisted the following areas:

Benton, Haughton, North Bossier, South Bossier.

But I do have a few questions and will be thankful to you guys if you can clear them up.

Any idea regarding auto and home insurance cost comparision between Bossier, Haughton and Benton?

What is the peak travel time from Benton or Haughton to LSUHSC?

There seems to be some good houses between Barksdale AFB and Airline dr. Is this a good area? What about the noise factor of planes?? (Doesn't that sound silly?)!

What areas to be avoided in Bossier? (to SBCMETROGUY - I read that you have a map for safer areas in shreveport and bossier city, Do you mind sharing that with me)

Any idea as to how long will it take from (around) slygo drive in south Bossier to LSUHSC (in peak hours)? Trying to find out how south can I go in Bossier. Is the area around slygo drive better?

It seems the big shopping centers are only on Youree dr (at least at present). Does any one know if there are any upcoming big shopping centers or malls in Benton or (north) Bossier city?

Finally can anyone recomend good real estate agents based in Shreveport or Bossier city for a home buyer? ( Kindly PM me if posting the names is not allowed in the forum)

Finally thanks for clearing up my questions and also for being such great forum members!!

[jwmann]

From a law enforcement guy, for shreveport, South Shreveport is best. New apartments along Clyde fant parkway near river, Broadmoor area is good, south Shreveport Ellerbe Road area is good, Highland area is ok, but getting worse all over. Highland area is within three miles of Cedar Grove (HOOD), Stay East of Line Ave, which is about three blocks from I 49. I 49 is two blocks from Med Center. North Bossier is Booming, new target and a lot of new anchor stores, shops, earteries, apartments. Living in North Bossier, once you hit I 49 south bound from I 20, you're at the med center.