Tell me about Shreveport (New Orleans, Natchitoches: middle-class, sale, 2009)

[camsgirl]

My husband is considering a position in Shreveport. We'd like to be able to rent a small house w/yard. (I love older houses with character.) We would be arriving without having been to the area before. On another post someone said to stay to the south side of Shreveport for a lower crime rate. Suggestions for surrounding areas for living in would be great too.

He is also a musician so would like to know about the music scene in the area.

We are both in our 40's and my grown daughter is in California, so schools are not a concern for us.

[LSU Tiger Z71]

You have South Shreveport written all over you. Don't let the Bossier people convince you otherwise.

(I haven't been to this city in a long time but post a specific street and I can tell you if the area is good or not)

[linicx]

Every time I visit Shreveport I fall a little bit more in love with the city. The rose garden North of the Interstate on Greenwood Road is awesome anyway, but it is spectacular when they string up the Christmas lights and open it at night from the day after Thanksgiving through New Years Day.

The year I was there the gift shop was open. I read the Cajun version of The Night Before Christmas and couldn't stop laughing. I still have visions of 'gators on the rooftop during the season. If you ever get a chance to hear the recording of the Cajun Twelve Days of Christmas, ut tickle your funny bone, too.

Once you get settled in and want to take a day trip, not to far down the road is the town where the movie "Steel Magnolias" was filmed. Natchitoches (Nac-uh-dose) is a charming small town that has what I call a New Orleans French flavor to it. It is a visually appealing town despite the many tourists.

BTW, the mall at Shreveport has an awesome book store and music store. I came away with the Christmas jazz by some very talented Louisiana artists that included some well known names.

Welcome to your new home!

[MetroBTR]

Nac-a-dose?? You mean Nac-a-tish

[BeenThereDunThat]

Here's a quick overview FYI & My2Cents:

Originally Posted by BeenThereDunThat

Here's my 2Cents on Shreveport-Bossier: Bossier is a bedroom community comprised mostly of sprawling suburbs and lacks a core central biz district. It is more readily identified by Barksdale AFB than anything else. It has a very good community college, good local schools and while the politics in Bossier are conservative...at least they seem to accomplish a lot more than their counterparts in S'port. ( Building projects: CenturyTel Arena, Teague Pkway, Benton Rd Overpass). There's a saying: "Shreveport Meets & Plans....Bossier Builds!" That's the perception anyways. Demographics in Bossier are mostly white but a lot of middle-class Af. Americans live here for the same reasons:
Better Schools, Better Neighborhoods, Better Police protection...etc. Some feel that Bossier is more on the ball because many former military retirees have gotten involved in the political or civic administrative opportunities. These are well-rounded men & women who've been around the block and don't have the burden of Shreveportitis. One of the most progressive things Bossier did back when the casinos came to town was to take gaming tax revenues and place them in a financial account to where the interest had to accrue to a certain level before they could be spent.
Shreveport wasn't as lucky as they had a tendency to spend as they went.

Shreveport is a cluster___K politically speaking. White-conservatives, fractured Af-Americans, and apathetic in-betweens. It has a majority Af Amer population ( 54% +/-, not necessarily a bad thing but disproportionately lower-income) Perception of local politics: not real good. And some of the Af. Amer council members were convicted felons and yet they still got elected: (Joe Shyne, Hilry Huckaby for example). The new mayor there seems to be a nice enough guy but opinions are that he's like "the dog that finally caught the car", if you appreciate the analogy. And that he's more about PR than governing. Same with the chief of police...lots of media attention and some positive efforts ( i.e. Operation T-BONE)... but goes out of their way to spin info about crime in the central biz / riverfront district.

This area is very, very church-oriented. In fact the second question you're often asked is "What church do you go to?" Very Southern-Baptist and yes...very single/closed minded about religious tolerance. I know this from too many first-hand accounts. Religion is big-bidness down heah... with some churches spending thousands to erect crosses as promotional testaments to their church/faith. Not knocking that but it indicates a strange sense of priority as far as church spending goes... Churches are developing their franchises to Super-Churches complete with bigger campuses, religi-tainment, etc.

S'port's downtown may be the central biz district but it's an eyesore in many instances. A lot of the old history of the area has either been demolished or left to demolition by neglect. The last major metropolitan master plan was in 1957...they are just now addressing a new master plan but many of the players are mostly politically contracted and not the best folks for the job IMHO. Downtown convention ctr / hotel was forced on public by a stubborn mayor (previous admin) who bypassed public input (vote) and got bond issues passed. Nice facility but is still losing ( and will continue to lose) money as the math doesn't add up.

Riverfront Entertainment District another issue former mayor forced, costing the city millions that won't be paid back. It is probably 80 to 90 percent empty because of high rents and perception that area isn't safe ( it's had its share of bad PR and mismanagement ).

Some bright spots are WestEdge Arts district ( well one or two places actually) and Robinson Film Ctr. The Strand is a really nice old theater but it's had financial stress lately and has threatened to close. Lotsa Arts emphasis but the market really is hard-pressed to support it.

Casinos are doing okay but not as good as before and they are a big employer to the area.

Tax incentives for film industry is positive but movie industry is fickle. A studio was slated for construction here in early 2009 but the area is growing with weeds and they seem to keep pushing things back. There are 3 films being shot here compared with the 20 or so they had the year previously. Lack of direct flights to L.A. is one thing people complain about. Nice place to shoot but L.A. types seem to prefer bigger venues like New Orleans.

Major economic players are hospitals, BAFB, School Systems, casinos & Haynesville Shale. Majority of top 50 privately held biz here are automotive related. Lots of folks think area is insulated from recession...not true as GM is closing in 2012 (probably sooner as orders for Colorado trucks slow) and Hummer plant sale is iffy to Chinese.

Employment prospects? Well most college grads leave because there aren't enough decent base-salary jobs to support their degrees. You can sell cars, deal blackjack, become a nurse or medical tech as area is big for healthcare. While Haynesville Shale is big...they've slowed down and some Nat. Gas firms have actually laid people off as price of Natural Gas has dropped from $13mcf in summer '08 to less than $4mcf summer '09.

Attitudes of folks here? Well don't discuss religion if you wish to keep your sanity. Seriously folks here have never looked past their King James to even consider tolerating another point of view. Baptists view Catholicism with desdain and they don't have a clue about Judiasm other than bible-stories. And if you mention to a die-hard Baptist that Jesus was mentioned as a holy-man in the Koran...they'll look at you like you're from Mars. So forget any balanced conversation on religion, theology, etc. .. even some folks with advanced degrees will get their panties in a wad if you bring it up as they've already drank the Kool-Aid.

Sorry if my observations tick locals off... I'm actually from this area and moved away after HS thanks to the military and world exposure, I have a different take on things. I came back to care for elderly relatives and after they leave this planet, I'm out of here too.

It's a nice place if you're looking for pockets of neighborhoods to raise a family, get the 3BR/2Bth modified ranch and find the right schools. Churches can be used either for spiritual fulfillment or social networking ( which seems to be the case in many instances ). I get sick of biz-folks who slap Fish icons on their businesscards and yet manipulate undereducated folks into bad loans, extra amenities they can't afford / don't need and after they screw them good with a contract, tell them to "Have a Blessed Day". Seriously. . . this has been my experience many, many, many times.

So good luck. And while all southern states have their issues, I will say that Dallas at least has the economic & cultural diversity to be a better place than Shreveport as far as a more metropolitan setting goes. Frisco & Plano have their Bible-toters to be sure but at least there's more zip codes to choose from that aren't as fanatical as others.

[BeenThereDunThat]

Originally Posted by LSU Tiger Z71

You have South Shreveport written all over you. Don't let the Bossier people convince you otherwise.

(I haven't been to this city in a long time but post a specific street and I can tell you if the area is good or not)

Actually...South Bossier isn't too shabby. Good schools (brand new Parkway HS) ...housing mix of existing and new homes in subdivsions... and a quick trip over the Jimmy Davis Bridge gets you to the newer shopping ctrs in SE S'port along Youree Dr. And not far from LSUS either. Keep in mind that South S'port encompasses a lot of different neighborhoods, etc. I'd say SE S'port if I were planning a move to S'port. South S'port and extreme South S'port is Ellerbe Rd corridor and housing tends to increase in cost as it tends to be upper middle class / upper class flight. Traffic ain't much fun along Ellerbe & Norris Ferry in the AM during school bus times. Just an FWIW.

[mctown movers]

We are possibly moving to the Shreveport area as well. I read the posts above but still not sure where the better parts of either town are. Newer construction, newer homes, good high school, safe, that type of area.

[urbanexplorer2009]

In general:

South Shreveport/North DeSoto
North Bossier/Benton/Cypress Lake
South Bossier
East Bossier/Haughton