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Hi all! I'm in serious need of help! My husband received orders to Barksdale, and after a lifetime in the midwest, the move is tremendously scary to me. It seems I have heard such horrible things about the area there and much of what I have read seems to back up that which I have heard (high crime, problems with racism, overall poor education). What I would like to know is the extent in which these problems affect the average person on a daily basis. Where I live now I feel perfectly comfortable with my children walking to the neighborhood pool and playing outside without my constant supervision. Perhaps we have been a bit sheltered here, but there are certain aspects of life I would like to keep my children away from for as long as I can---blatant racism and gang activity being some of that. Also, can someone tell me a bit about the Southfield School in Shreveport and the part of town it is located in. I really am concerned about safety. Thanks so much for any advice!!
I am by no means an expert on the area, we just moved here a month ago-but I had your same fears. From everything I read, I thought for sure I would be dead by now. Honestly, I haven't experienced anything that has made me the least bit uncomfortable in the SBC area. I have been all around Bossier City and Shreveport exploring, and while there are some less than stellar areas, you can learn those rather quickly and stay away, there are also some great places. I take my son, 16 months, to the park every day (we've been trying out new ones as there are a TON here), we go shopping-plenty of shopping, and I've found some awesome very active mom's groups.
I'm sure you can get some insight from people who have been in the area a lot longer, and know absolutely everything about the area. I just want you to not be as freaked out as I was coming here
This topic gets me fired up so bear with me. I'm in the AF Reserves, so Barksdale will be my final destination for the foreseable future. You know, one of the biggest discoveries I made as I was going through training was this big fear talk of the Shreveport area. Particularly in the context of comparing it with Minot, ND, the other remaining B-52 base. It took me months to understand what people were trying to say without actually saying it, and like the previous poster alluded to, in the end I took it to be all a reflection of people's social apprehensions more than factual observation. I had people tell me with a straight face that pound for pound, getting Minot instead of Barksdale was the obvious choice. Their argument was that it was better for raising a family. What the heck does that even mean?!? Clearly, the comparison is not even useful, in the sense that Minot is a VERY small town closer to Canada than any metropolitan US area whereas Shreveport is a southern city, 7.5x the population of Minot. There is NO comparison in terms of dining, shopping, outdoor activities, proximity to major transportation hubs (Dallas, Houston), employment for the average AF wife/husband, yes not the greatest, but sure beats Minot.
The reason I brought all that up is that by process of elimination, and finally driving around town and discovering the area, the source of the argument is race. People are really scared of Shreveports's demographics. So presumably, a 10 month winter with 4 weeks of -40F temperatures is worth my kids not having black neighbors. Believe me, the only reason there's no "racism" in North Dakota is because there are no black people in North Dakota. That's not an accomplishment in any shape or form. It might be ok to raise your kids there, until they're 14 and bored out of their skulls.
Look, I went to grad school in Indiana, lived there 3 years and my gf is from there, so if you're from Ohio, Illinois, Indiana or Iowa, I know where you're coming from. I also lived even longer in the South (which explains my bias), in cities as large as Atlanta to smaller college towns like Tuscaloosa, AL (sorry Tiger fans, I'll wear my purple and gold so long we ain't playing the Tide lol) and as I compare it to Midwestern life, the only reason there appears to be more racial tolerance up there is because there is no overt race differences to deal with. So you and your kids will be fine. All that said, it's a classic southern lifestlye here, racial lines are very overt, bossier is mostly white, and shreveport is majority black, residential areas from what I've been able to see are also heavily segregated, so you should be able to find a community that fits your price and demographic wants without a problem. Bossier seems to be booming, construction and shopping options popping up, it's very convenient. Shreveport downtown offers ya a more urban feel, with the casinos and plenty of dining options. More importantly, the cost of living is, at least for me, well worth the area's social and economic shortcomings. You just can't beat the cost of living for a place this size. I also love the weather, my gf lived in IN for 24 years and loves it down here, but different strokes for different folks when it comes to the weather.
As it pertains to crime. Yep, it ain't rural Indiana, but what's that comparsion worth? I grew up in a city about 3 times the size of Shreveport yet about half the square mileage, where you couldn't go to an ATM machine past sunset without having a 50/50 chance of being mugged by the person who's faking to be in line behind you. My family's car was stolen 3 times in 15 years, my childhood home was broken into once when I was 7, we shortly moved to a different neighborhood; I never rode a bike on my street (too dangerous), and the city has retained the highest murder rate per capita in the US second to Washington D.C, and we ain't even a state (you could figure out the city pretty easy now). So when people call Shreveport a crime-ridden city I take it with a grain of salt. Shreveport is like any other US metro area. Have situational awareness about where you go and when you go. Try being a white person new to Atlanta and take the wrong train connection and end up in downtown ATL in the middle of freaknik, yeah that's low SA on my part. Does that make ATL inherently more crime ridden? Of course not. Unless you want to be the person to impart change, which I applaud, but will also encounter uncomfortable incidents.
I take a scary crime-ridden city to be a place where by doing everything right in terms of using common sense, you and your children are still the victims of a stray bullet or a police shootout with gangs by virtue of doing nothing else but be there. Shreveport is by far nowhere near that, so like the previous poster alluded to, you'll be fine. Take a deep breath, drive around town when you get here and just look around, you'll the see everything in perspective and hopefully find the pros outweight the cons. who knows, you may want to return once your husband gets out, since you'll probably be out of here in 3-4 years tops unless he manages to homestead. Good luck!
As long as you find a house in Bossier you'll be fine. Education is exemplary as long as you stay away from the center areas of town. The schools south of the base that feed into Parkway HS are outstanding, neighborhoods are pretty safe. As are northern Bossier schools that feed into Benton and Airline high schools. Just check greatschools to see which areas you'd like to go into, Shreveport's not all bad but you have to be careful, would be easier just to choose Bossier. Course I lived in Shreveport proper for 7 years and the only crime problem I ever had was getting my car stereo stolen at an apartment complex on Millicent Way.
Probably more than anything, it's the constant fear that something could happen in Shreveport, but you can live a normal existence and Bossier and probably be free of problems. Always a chance you could be struck by crime wherever you live, but your chances are just as good in Bossier as they would be in the midwest I would think.
Really I mean it! Go to Bossier. For many reasons.
First its nicer there. The crime is low. The schools are better. Heck my mother was a teacher in Caddo Parish and she moved to Bossier just so I could go to school there. As for Southfield School. Yeah its great if you want to raise a snob. Every person that I have ever come in contact with that went to that school is a snob or a snob in training.
All the good stuff is in Bossier...the best malls Pierre Bossier Mall and The Louisiana Boardwalk.
There are some bad things about Bossier too but Shreveport outshines them in it. Bout the only thing you have to worry about in Bossier is the area around Scott St. and thats easy to avoid. In Shreveport you have a huge swath of area to avoid and you almost always have to go through it.
I know that my wife and I are looking to relocate our family to Bossier (think it has something to do with gun shots at 2am and its not hunting season).
But all in all Bossier is the way to go. I know alot of people in the Air Force that got stationed at BAFB and came back to Bossier to retire because they loved it so much.
This topic gets me fired up so bear with me. I'm in the AF Reserves, so Barksdale will be my final destination for the foreseable future. You know, one of the biggest discoveries I made as I was going through training was this big fear talk of the Shreveport area. Particularly in the context of comparing it with Minot, ND, the other remaining B-52 base. It took me months to understand what people were trying to say without actually saying it, and like the previous poster alluded to, in the end I took it to be all a reflection of people's social apprehensions more than factual observation. I had people tell me with a straight face that pound for pound, getting Minot instead of Barksdale was the obvious choice. Their argument was that it was better for raising a family. What the heck does that even mean?!? Clearly, the comparison is not even useful, in the sense that Minot is a VERY small town closer to Canada than any metropolitan US area whereas Shreveport is a southern city, 7.5x the population of Minot. There is NO comparison in terms of dining, shopping, outdoor activities, proximity to major transportation hubs (Dallas, Houston), employment for the average AF wife/husband, yes not the greatest, but sure beats Minot.
The reason I brought all that up is that by process of elimination, and finally driving around town and discovering the area, the source of the argument is race. People are really scared of Shreveports's demographics. So presumably, a 10 month winter with 4 weeks of -40F temperatures is worth my kids not having black neighbors. Believe me, the only reason there's no "racism" in North Dakota is because there are no black people in North Dakota. That's not an accomplishment in any shape or form. It might be ok to raise your kids there, until they're 14 and bored out of their skulls.
Look, I went to grad school in Indiana, lived there 3 years and my gf is from there, so if you're from Ohio, Illinois, Indiana or Iowa, I know where you're coming from. I also lived even longer in the South (which explains my bias), in cities as large as Atlanta to smaller college towns like Tuscaloosa, AL (sorry Tiger fans, I'll wear my purple and gold so long we ain't playing the Tide lol) and as I compare it to Midwestern life, the only reason there appears to be more racial tolerance up there is because there is no overt race differences to deal with. So you and your kids will be fine. All that said, it's a classic southern lifestlye here, racial lines are very overt, bossier is mostly white, and shreveport is majority black, residential areas from what I've been able to see are also heavily segregated, so you should be able to find a community that fits your price and demographic wants without a problem. Bossier seems to be booming, construction and shopping options popping up, it's very convenient. Shreveport downtown offers ya a more urban feel, with the casinos and plenty of dining options. More importantly, the cost of living is, at least for me, well worth the area's social and economic shortcomings. You just can't beat the cost of living for a place this size. I also love the weather, my gf lived in IN for 24 years and loves it down here, but different strokes for different folks when it comes to the weather.
As it pertains to crime. Yep, it ain't rural Indiana, but what's that comparsion worth? I grew up in a city about 3 times the size of Shreveport yet about half the square mileage, where you couldn't go to an ATM machine past sunset without having a 50/50 chance of being mugged by the person who's faking to be in line behind you. My family's car was stolen 3 times in 15 years, my childhood home was broken into once when I was 7, we shortly moved to a different neighborhood; I never rode a bike on my street (too dangerous), and the city has retained the highest murder rate per capita in the US second to Washington D.C, and we ain't even a state (you could figure out the city pretty easy now). So when people call Shreveport a crime-ridden city I take it with a grain of salt. Shreveport is like any other US metro area. Have situational awareness about where you go and when you go. Try being a white person new to Atlanta and take the wrong train connection and end up in downtown ATL in the middle of freaknik, yeah that's low SA on my part. Does that make ATL inherently more crime ridden? Of course not. Unless you want to be the person to impart change, which I applaud, but will also encounter uncomfortable incidents.
I take a scary crime-ridden city to be a place where by doing everything right in terms of using common sense, you and your children are still the victims of a stray bullet or a police shootout with gangs by virtue of doing nothing else but be there. Shreveport is by far nowhere near that, so like the previous poster alluded to, you'll be fine. Take a deep breath, drive around town when you get here and just look around, you'll the see everything in perspective and hopefully find the pros outweight the cons. who knows, you may want to return once your husband gets out, since you'll probably be out of here in 3-4 years tops unless he manages to homestead. Good luck!
By far the most intelligent perosn on these forums! I love you! Being a military brat and now being married to military, I've been everywhere and Shreveport is sooooooooooo not as bad as other places it is all in the eyes of the beholder and the silly southern minds!
This topic gets me fired up so bear with me. I'm in the AF Reserves, so Barksdale will be my final destination for the foreseable future. You know, one of the biggest discoveries I made as I was going through training was this big fear talk of the Shreveport area. Particularly in the context of comparing it with Minot, ND, the other remaining B-52 base. It took me months to understand what people were trying to say without actually saying it, and like the previous poster alluded to, in the end I took it to be all a reflection of people's social apprehensions more than factual observation. I had people tell me with a straight face that pound for pound, getting Minot instead of Barksdale was the obvious choice. Their argument was that it was better for raising a family. What the heck does that even mean?!? Clearly, the comparison is not even useful, in the sense that Minot is a VERY small town closer to Canada than any metropolitan US area whereas Shreveport is a southern city, 7.5x the population of Minot. There is NO comparison in terms of dining, shopping, outdoor activities, proximity to major transportation hubs (Dallas, Houston), employment for the average AF wife/husband, yes not the greatest, but sure beats Minot.
The reason I brought all that up is that by process of elimination, and finally driving around town and discovering the area, the source of the argument is race. People are really scared of Shreveports's demographics. So presumably, a 10 month winter with 4 weeks of -40F temperatures is worth my kids not having black neighbors. Believe me, the only reason there's no "racism" in North Dakota is because there are no black people in North Dakota. That's not an accomplishment in any shape or form. It might be ok to raise your kids there, until they're 14 and bored out of their skulls.
Look, I went to grad school in Indiana, lived there 3 years and my gf is from there, so if you're from Ohio, Illinois, Indiana or Iowa, I know where you're coming from. I also lived even longer in the South (which explains my bias), in cities as large as Atlanta to smaller college towns like Tuscaloosa, AL (sorry Tiger fans, I'll wear my purple and gold so long we ain't playing the Tide lol) and as I compare it to Midwestern life, the only reason there appears to be more racial tolerance up there is because there is no overt race differences to deal with. So you and your kids will be fine. All that said, it's a classic southern lifestlye here, racial lines are very overt, bossier is mostly white, and shreveport is majority black, residential areas from what I've been able to see are also heavily segregated, so you should be able to find a community that fits your price and demographic wants without a problem. Bossier seems to be booming, construction and shopping options popping up, it's very convenient. Shreveport downtown offers ya a more urban feel, with the casinos and plenty of dining options. More importantly, the cost of living is, at least for me, well worth the area's social and economic shortcomings. You just can't beat the cost of living for a place this size. I also love the weather, my gf lived in IN for 24 years and loves it down here, but different strokes for different folks when it comes to the weather.
As it pertains to crime. Yep, it ain't rural Indiana, but what's that comparsion worth? I grew up in a city about 3 times the size of Shreveport yet about half the square mileage, where you couldn't go to an ATM machine past sunset without having a 50/50 chance of being mugged by the person who's faking to be in line behind you. My family's car was stolen 3 times in 15 years, my childhood home was broken into once when I was 7, we shortly moved to a different neighborhood; I never rode a bike on my street (too dangerous), and the city has retained the highest murder rate per capita in the US second to Washington D.C, and we ain't even a state (you could figure out the city pretty easy now). So when people call Shreveport a crime-ridden city I take it with a grain of salt. Shreveport is like any other US metro area. Have situational awareness about where you go and when you go. Try being a white person new to Atlanta and take the wrong train connection and end up in downtown ATL in the middle of freaknik, yeah that's low SA on my part. Does that make ATL inherently more crime ridden? Of course not. Unless you want to be the person to impart change, which I applaud, but will also encounter uncomfortable incidents.
I take a scary crime-ridden city to be a place where by doing everything right in terms of using common sense, you and your children are still the victims of a stray bullet or a police shootout with gangs by virtue of doing nothing else but be there. Shreveport is by far nowhere near that, so like the previous poster alluded to, you'll be fine. Take a deep breath, drive around town when you get here and just look around, you'll the see everything in perspective and hopefully find the pros outweight the cons. who knows, you may want to return once your husband gets out, since you'll probably be out of here in 3-4 years tops unless he manages to homestead. Good luck!
Yes....I agree with this post! People make it out to be that Shreveport is just absolutely horrible. My hubby and I are Air Force and we have been here for 6 years...and live in SW Shreveport...and we have not had anything bad happen to us yet. As a matter of fact, our neighborhood is as quiet as a mouse. If you know which areas to avoid and which areas are ok....then you will be fine. I think there is a lot of racial tension down our way because...well...the majority of people are of a different race. I'll just plain out say it and not dance around the issue. We've had a lot of African American families move into our neighborhood since we've lived here....and we haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. As a matter of fact, one of them is Air Force as well :-) I grew up an Army Brat and now am an Air Force wife....so being around other races absolutely does not bother me. Part of my childhood was spent living on a street full of different ethnicities and races. It was great! A lot of good food, good times, and great company :-) Anyway...there are parts of Shreveport that are more crime ridden then others...but that's everywhere you go. Even Bossier has it's places to stay away from as well. ALL of Shreveport isn't bad. Please don't let people scare you into thinking that this is a bad place. Like I said earlier, if you know which areas to avoid....you will be ok. Explore the area and get to know both Shreveport and Bossier....I think you'll find that you will like both just as equally :-)
Last edited by SweetiePie; 08-14-2007 at 09:18 PM..
Reason: Typo
As I've said before (welcome by the way, if you're just moving here)... any city you move to over 200,000 people will have its issues and you just have to learn what parts of a city to avoid. Here you can drive around and quickly realize the areas you don't need to be in. It's definitely not difficult to figure out, and you will know very soon where you shouldn't be. Just avoid those areas and you'll be perfectly fine.
Again, welcome if you're moving here. These two beautiful cities WILL be whatever YOU make of them. If you enjoy yourself and make the best of it, you'll want to live here and eventually retire here.
Finally, I've seen some intellectual posts on this forum! I myself was born, raised and still reside in the more southern region of Louisiana. My husband, however, grew up in the Shreveport area (Keithville to be more exact). We still travel up there frequently to visit friends and family and I love it up there. I am from the areas on the outskirts of Baton Rouge and while I love it here, I find the people in the Shreveport/Bossier area to be a bit friendlier from the get-go. I have 2 step children who live in the Haughton area, so I've been known to attend a few football games there (go Bucs!). I agree wtih SBCmetroguy....whatever area you decide to move to will be good or bad depending on your outlook and what YOU make of it. Best of luck to you!
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Geez
