Renting in Shreveport, BC Area (Golden Meadow, Sun: apartment complex, rentals, low crime)

[OHGirl87]

Hi everyone,
My husband is in the military and we have been stationed at Barksdale for almost a year now. I personally don't find it quite as bad as everyone says! I think its just what you make of it! We have been living on base for the year, but we live in the old housing and our BAH went up for $ and I don't know if its worth living on base anymore! We don't have any kids so we can't move to main base where the nice houses are

My question is, do you think I can find a decent rental in a safe neighborhood for $800-900? I would prefer living in BC just because I know my way around there a little better. We were told about some houses in Swan lake, price was good but when we went to look..NO WAY!!! Anyways thanks for your help!!

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by OHGirl87

Hi everyone,
My husband is in the military and we have been stationed at Barksdale for almost a year now. I personally don't find it quite as bad as everyone says! I think its just what you make of it! We have been living on base for the year, but we live in the old housing and our BAH went up for $ and I don't know if its worth living on base anymore! We don't have any kids so we can't move to main base where the nice houses are

My question is, do you think I can find a decent rental in a safe neighborhood for $800-900? I would prefer living in BC just because I know my way around there a little better. We were told about some houses in Swan lake, price was good but when we went to look..NO WAY!!! Anyways thanks for your help!!

You said, "I just think its what you make of it!" I'm glad to see you say that, because that is exactly what I have been telling people for years when they mention the negatives they have heard. This region has a very undeserved reputation for being a "crappy" place to live which all started when the oil industry fell and the local economy went to crap from the mid-80s through the early 90s. Some people still hang on to that retarded "crappy area" mentality despite the fact that this area has changed A LOT since then.

Anyway, this thread might be of some help to you. The same topic is currently being discussed there, and in fact, yesterday I made a post about having grown up in Swan Lake and what a bad place I think it is to live. Back in the 80s and 90s a lot of military people lived there, but as the neighborhood changed over the years, less and less are living there now. I can't blame them at all.

[hank0604]

4 years ago, when I still lived there and worked in rental management, $800 would get you a great 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom in Shady Grove or Sun City--two very decent neighborhoods very close to the base.

Or you can go right across the bridge from the main gate, into the Shreve Island and Anderson Island area. Shreve Island is on the south side of Shreveport-Barksdale Highway, and Anderson Island is on the north side. Shreve Island will be a little pricier and better, but Anderson Island is perfectly fine as well. Also as a plus, some of the homes in Anderson Island are actually in Bossier school districts, so if you have kids they could go to Bossier schools.

Heck, $900 will even get you a very roomy 2 bedroom in Broadmoor. We aren't allowed to post ads here, or I would post the name of a guy that I know could help you. I used to work for him, and he's the guy that taught me that it is possible to be a landlord and a human at the same time. He's got about 200 properties that he manages, but I'm not sure of his vacancies. PM me if you want and I'll send it to you.

[OHGirl87]

Originally Posted by SBCmetroguy

You said, "I just think its what you make of it!" I'm glad to see you say that, because that is exactly what I have been telling people for years when they mention the negatives they have heard. This region has a very undeserved reputation for being a "crappy" place to live which all started when the oil industry fell and the local economy went to crap from the mid-80s through the early 90s. Some people still hang on to that retarded "crappy area" mentality despite the fact that this area has changed A LOT since then.

Anyway, this thread might be of some help to you. The same topic is currently being discussed there, and in fact, yesterday I made a post about having grown up in Swan Lake and what a bad place I think it is to live. Back in the 80s and 90s a lot of military people lived there, but as the neighborhood changed over the years, less and less are living there now. I can't blame them at all.

I'm from Ohio, so moving here is quite and change, but who knows how long we will be stationed here. If it's going to be a long time I'm not going to spend my time hating the place! I would rather go out and find new things to do around the area! I know plenty of AF wives who stay home all the time because they hate it here so much...waste of time IMO..

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by OHGirl87

I'm from Ohio, so moving here is quite and change, but who knows how long we will be stationed here. If it's going to be a long time I'm not going to spend my time hating the place! I would rather go out and find new things to do around the area! I know plenty of AF wives who stay home all the time because they hate it here so much...waste of time IMO..

Wow, that's very sad. They'll never find anything to do if they stay home, and will never know that there is plenty to keep them occupied. Oh well, you have the right attitude and I applaud you for it.

[EtherBunster]

Originally Posted by OHGirl87

Hi everyone,
My husband is in the military and we have been stationed at Barksdale for almost a year now. I personally don't find it quite as bad as everyone says! I think its just what you make of it! We have been living on base for the year, but we live in the old housing and our BAH went up for $ and I don't know if its worth living on base anymore! We don't have any kids so we can't move to main base where the nice houses are

My question is, do you think I can find a decent rental in a safe neighborhood for $800-900? I would prefer living in BC just because I know my way around there a little better. We were told about some houses in Swan lake, price was good but when we went to look..NO WAY!!! Anyways thanks for your help!!

We moved here about a year ago for Barksdale too. We found a great 3 bedroom house off base for $850 by going through a property manager. I could literally put a king sized bed in my kitchen and I would still have more room to cook than I did at our last place. We live just outside base so he doesn't have to drive far and we don't have to live on base. We live off of Airline near Patricia road. There are a number of AF families here so there must be a lot of rentals...

[hindsight2020]

Originally Posted by EtherBunster

We moved here about a year ago for Barksdale too. We found a great 3 bedroom house off base for $850 by going through a property manager. I could literally put a king sized bed in my kitchen and I would still have more room to cook than I did at our last place. We live just outside base so he doesn't have to drive far and we don't have to live on base. We live off of Airline near Patricia road. There are a number of AF families here so there must be a lot of rentals...

There aren't that many house rentals in Bossier to tell ya the truth. The area where you live around patricia is hit and miss. It's super convenient to base that's for sure, but it's mostly sub 120K property and pretty run down due to open access and an iffy middle school. Don't get me wrong, I rent in shed road which is just as shady and open access too, and most homes here run for sub 100K. I also recognize 850/mo for a 3 bed close to base is a decent deal, but there's a reason you're renting the place. I venture to say you wouldn't be interested in purchasing in the area. If you are you're probably lying because at 850/mo you could afford to purchase in the same area. Very few people on base that I interact with are buying around the bossier gate, except northgate village. Most look at a minimum at Savannah Place, Golden Meadows et al. but not the area around patricia. West of airline is also fairly hit and miss, literally street by street. People with children are buying north of 220 if they can afford it, or south of jimmy davis bridge, again if they can afford it, or haughton. Central bossier is hit and miss, like I said I wouldn't buy overpriced cookie cutter crap in north bossier, but I sure ain't looking at airline and patricia.....

Good luck!

[hank0604]

You'll hear a lot of locals say some pretty bad things about central Bossier, but in general I don't really have any personal experiences to back up any of what I have heard. Bossier's worst neighborhoods are average compared to most other cities (read: Shreveport). And now that I've spent quite a few years out of town, I've seen how tame the SBC area is compared to the rest of the country. My apartment complex in downtown Austin (a really nice, low crime part of town) experienced about a car break-in a week. I lived in Highland in Shreveport and never once had a problem.

The point to this is, there are many different factors that will come into play with your decision, but crime really shouldn't be one. Especially in Bossier. The only neighborhood that I would FOR SURE stay away from in Bossier is Jack's Quarters, a very small area on the NE corner of Airline & Barksdale Blvd. Kellyside, over near the Boardwalk also isn't the best, but I had a friend who lived there in college, and really enjoyed living there. Other than those areas, Bossier is very tame, even the Swan Lake area and the Patricia area.

Shreveport is a slightly different story. I would never live in Allendale, Queensborough, Cherokee Park, Cedar Grove, West Hollywood area, and Canal/West Canal neighborhood (I forget the name). I can't really think of any others.

[OHGirl87]

Thanks...I def know to stay away from Jack's Quaters...I live on base so I see that neighborhood. How do you like Austin? We were just there Valentine's Weekend visiting family! I loved it!

[hank0604]

Originally Posted by OHGirl87

Thanks...I def know to stay away from Jack's Quaters...I live on base so I see that neighborhood. How do you like Austin? We were just there Valentine's Weekend visiting family! I loved it!

I actually live in Chicago now. Austin was okay, but I have my problems with it. Great place to visit, not so great a place to live. Let's just say the city's Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Bureau make GREAT kool-aid