Is Baton Rouge Overcrowded? (New Orleans, Atlanta: how much, motel, houses)

[cajunflavor]

I have read in this forum how so many people moved to BR after Katrina from New Orleans, what is the reality of that? How much has it really effected those of you who live there? I may be moving to BR next year and just curious if it's wall to wall people and how it has impacted the already longtime residents.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by cajunflavor

I have read in this forum how so many people moved to BR after Katrina from New Orleans, what is the reality of that? How much has it really effected those of you who live there? I may be moving to BR next year and just curious if it's wall to wall people and how it has impacted the already longtime residents.

It was really bad for a month after Katrina - we had Orlenians taking all the motel rooms and doubling/tripling up in people's houses. And the traffic was awful. But they mostly left a month later.

Today, I estimate you have about 50K people from metro NO who ended up settling in the metropolitan area. And traffic has gotten somewhat worse. And development of subdivisions/retail has increased some. But it's not like the "doubling of the population" that the media reported, because we didn't have the physical or employment infrastructure to absorb New Orleans. And a lot of Orlenians have an attachment to their city.

[darylwi]

I agree with BRMan.
It's really not that bad. Especially after working hours and most of the people leave the city for the suburbs, you can get around anywhere easily (except during the holiday season and special events).
I do think that the city population is pretty close to its threshold when taking infrastructure into account, but there are some major projects in the works which might help a little (assuming that they get built). If we ever developed a good and reliable mass transit system (including HOV lanes), that hopefully would seal the deal. But don't look for that in the forseeable future.
BTR is fine. It has a huge daytime population. If all you ever saw of it was between 7-9am and 3-6pm during the week and maybe lunchtime on Friday, you'd think it was hell. But it's easily managable. Most cities have the same deal.

[Caa]

I totally agree with the previous posters! I think Baton Rouge really is not that crowded, only during the above mentioned hours and Christmas Time as we have the only 2 malls around. I think BR is a great place to live and work. I feel safe and love that there are lots of things for all ages to do. Do not let anyone tell you it is overcrowded, it is not. Lots of New Orleans people moved either to Houston or Atlanta, and there are probably about 20,00 that actually stayed here, my only complaint is that you can almost always tell who is from New Orleans while driving, I am sorry to any people from New Orleans, but you are the rudest drivers in the state! Baton Rougeans are the nicest drivers, and unfor Katrina kinda changed that.

[CindyM]

Originally Posted by Caa

my only complaint is that you can almost always tell who is from New Orleans while driving, I am sorry to any people from New Orleans, but you are the rudest drivers in the state! Baton Rougeans are the nicest drivers, and unfor Katrina kinda changed that.

Sorry to bust your bubble, but bad drivers were here LONG before Katrina! Maybe you're just more aware of them now.

[Caa]

The only reason I say that, is becuase I moved here 4 years ago from SW Florida and the drivers would just as soon shoot you a bird then let you in from a side street. When we moved here, we were shocked at how many people let us in from a side street, waved thanks of we let them in and how many people were VERY courteous on the road here in BR. I just noticed that now, the people are more rude then when we first moved here, and has gottne worse since Katrina. Lots of my friend also agree, one friend even made the comment about how she went to NO last weekend and how rude the drivers were and now she knows why BR drivers are rude, it is the evacuees that are making it that way here and she has lived here her whole life. She loved BR though! I agree with her, but it is still better here than Florida!

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Caa

The only reason I say that, is becuase I moved here 4 years ago from SW Florida and the drivers would just as soon shoot you a bird then let you in from a side street. When we moved here, we were shocked at how many people let us in from a side street, waved thanks of we let them in and how many people were VERY courteous on the road here in BR. I just noticed that now, the people are more rude then when we first moved here, and has gottne worse since Katrina. Lots of my friend also agree, one friend even made the comment about how she went to NO last weekend and how rude the drivers were and now she knows why BR drivers are rude, it is the evacuees that are making it that way here and she has lived here her whole life. She loved BR though! I agree with her, but it is still better here than Florida!

I think Katrina has had some impact in terms of traffic and/or construction volume, but it's still not like we're Atlanta or anything.

[CindyM]

Caa, I think you see what you want to see and disregard the rest. I've been in BR since 1978 and other than normal growth and a little spurt as a result of Katrina, it's the same city it's always been. Same courteous and same lousy drivers ... just more of each.

[Caa]

You are right, I guess I kinda live in a ideal world, but you are correct in your statement, I do kinda see what I want to see. if I look around really, there are a lot of courteous drivers here too!