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My boyfriend and I will be in NO next month and will be taking a quick side trip to Baton Rouge for the first time to see if the area would be a wise choice for relocation. If at all possible, I would prefer to stay in an apartment style rental instead of a traditional hotel/motel room but have only found one option so far in the Garden District area and would like to know if anyone here can recommend anything in addition.
We’d prefer to be in the downtown area so that it will be easy for us to see more in the two days we’ll be there though we do plan on driving around to see homes and subdivisions (all the homes we’ve seen for sale online look amazing compared to what we’re use to in Northern NJ and we would like to see all of this in person). Also, if anyone can suggest what residential areas to focus on near the potential employer I will be meeting with (Essen Lane near United Plaza) that would not involve a difficult commute – maybe around 30mins or so, that would be much appreciated!
Of course, if you can throw in any top picks for what we shouldn’t miss in order to get a good feel for BR on our first visit – that would be very helpful. I’ve done so much research on the area but am at a loss at how to prioritize with the limited time we have. We like casual, friendly places/people – BBQ, crawfish, seafood – live music,…we’re in our mid-late 30’s with no kids (none coming) and absolutely love the laidback lifestyle (that NJ/NYC is so desperately missing)!
My boyfriend and I will be in NO next month and will be taking a quick side trip to Baton Rouge for the first time to see if the area would be a wise choice for relocation. If at all possible, I would prefer to stay in an apartment style rental instead of a traditional hotel/motel room but have only found one option so far in the Garden District area and would like to know if anyone here can recommend anything in addition.
We’d prefer to be in the downtown area so that it will be easy for us to see more in the two days we’ll be there though we do plan on driving around to see homes and subdivisions (all the homes we’ve seen for sale online look amazing compared to what we’re use to in Northern NJ and we would like to see all of this in person). Also, if anyone can suggest what residential areas to focus on near the potential employer I will be meeting with (Essen Lane near United Plaza) that would not involve a difficult commute – maybe around 30mins or so, that would be much appreciated!
Of course, if you can throw in any top picks for what we shouldn’t miss in order to get a good feel for BR on our first visit – that would be very helpful. I’ve done so much research on the area but am at a loss at how to prioritize with the limited time we have. We like casual, friendly places/people – BBQ, crawfish, seafood – live music,…we’re in our mid-late 30’s with no kids (none coming) and absolutely love the laidback lifestyle (that NJ/NYC is so desperately missing)!
Thanks to everyone in advance for your help!!!
If you're working at United Plaza and you're looking for an apartment, you have some choices (1) Chateau Dijon on Essen at the gates of United Plaza, (2) Cobblestone (Essen near the tracks across the street from the Piccadilly), (3) numerous apartments on Jefferson between Bocage and Essen lane.
To get a good feel for BR, I'd visit (1) LSU/the Mike the Tiger Cage/Tiger Stadium, (2) State Capitol, (3) Tammany Trace - it's a biking/walking path 60-70 miles to the east that goes through the town of Abita Springs (and, coincidentally, the Abita Brew Pub), (4) Bluebonnet Swamp
Anyway, just some things to get started based on what you said.
First of all, best wishes to you in your search to relocate to the south, BTR and south Louisiana in general.
I can't help too much on housing (I'm still renting an apartment), but some areas you might want to take a look at might include some areas between I-10/I-12 like Inniswold, Westminster which are some older areas. Also Kenilworth over across I-10 off of Perkins near Essen. There are good neighborhoods over there. Always Bocage, but it's a more expensive area of town, especially for homes, but a little bit up the road in Old Goodwood, it might be more affordable, depending on what you're willing to spend.
There are also good places along Highland Road heading south away from LSU's campus. You'll find that your money will go a lot further down here than up north, although home prices did go up quick after the hurricanes.
Your commute shouldn't be that bad especially if you live in the city, and you work at United Plaza. Less than 30 minutes for sure. If you're coming up Jefferson Hwy and turning at Essen, you might have a little wait. As far as afternoon commutes, the places to avoid coming from United would be I-12 east especially, and parts of I-10 heading south. But if you're in the city, the surface streets will generally be ok except on very occasional "bad" days (like heavy rain).
People here are pretty laid back, although you will have to fight some people when it comes to traffic . But the thing about BTR is that it has such a huge daytime population and it drops so much after dark, it's easy to get around and enjoy the hole-in-the-wall places and parks, etc and there's something for just about everyone when it comes to recreation.
Only thing I'd mention negative is if you are seriously considering raising children ever, then you seriously want to take a good look at BTR and Louisiana education as a whole. There are silver linings within it, but they are few and far in between and there are other areas of the country that spend so much more money, time, and effort on education as a whole. I imagine BTR will begin to get better in the future, but it is something to keep in mind concerning family planning.
Enjoy your visit.
Only thing I'd mention negative is if you are seriously considering raising children ever, then you seriously want to take a good look at BTR and Louisiana education as a whole. There are silver linings within it, but they are few and far in between and there are other areas of the country that spend so much more money, time, and effort on education as a whole. I imagine BTR will begin to get better in the future, but it is something to keep in mind concerning family planning.
I've heard a great deal about the issues with education in Louisiana and in the South as a whole - but as we are not 'family friendly' and will never have children, it's one less concern when it comes to finding the right place to move to that most people have to take into consideration - all we need to worry about is what's right for us. That being said, we also don't want to live in an area where the property taxes are insanely high in order to pay for the school systems (as we currently do).
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although you will have to fight some people when it comes to traffic
We're well accustomed to that unfortunately – we can’t leave the house without someone on their cell phone trying to run us off the road, and we have a large SUV – there is absolutely no consideration or patience here. Though traffic and bad drivers are everywhere, I’d have a hard time believing that BR is as bad. My boyfriend is a biker and one of our preferences is to find a place where we can enjoy taking out the motorcycle and not be in fear for our lives. Just this past summer, he had to call the police to ticket a mom in her Mercedes for trying to kill him by running him off the road, twice.
Thanks for all the advice so far - please keep it coming!!!
The Natchez Trace offers a great motorcycle ride. It begins about 90 miles (roughly 2 hours easy drive) north in Natchez, MS off of Hwy 61, and continues to Nashville, although obviously you don't have to travel that far . There are great places to stop at along the way for picnics and/or hiking.
Hwy 61 is pretty much all 4 lane now all the way to Natchez except for the area around St. Francisville, and past that point it is not heavily traveled. The Trace itself is only for noncommercial traffic and low-speed, 50mph, although you do have to watch for the occasional leadfoot using the Trace as a shortcut to Jackson.
There are also great places to ride around south Louisiana, like LA 1 to Grand Isle. It's about 3 hours to Grand Isle, and then 3 hours back unless you spend the night. Likewise, it's only 2 hours across to Mississippi's gulf coast where you can cruise the coast along Hwy 90. That's a nice drive.
I drove in NYC once, and besides the horn blowing that I had to get used to, it wasn't unlike driving in Houston (which is wild to say the least with their unimaginably wide freeways). No, BTR traffic is really not that bad, but it's amplified due to the lack of useful infrastructure (limited freeways, limited to non-existant mass transit). But there are some major highway projects starting up in the coming years, I-10 begining this year.
Traffic may not be an issue, but if anything, you should ask yourself if you're ready to handle our summer weather. But having mild weather for most of the winter really makes up for it. You will like that.
darylwi – Thanks for the ride ideas, I’m sure once we settle down in the area --- we’ll have more trip ‘to dos’ than we can handle between all the festivals and the back and forth to NO, we probably won’t make it past the state line for the first two years – definitely looking forward to checking out Grand Isle as the BF tends to go through tuna fishing withdrawal! I just wanted to make sure that BR was a biker friendly area – am concerned about the drunk drivers especially in the NO area, and of course – most likely will not be riding during the summer or bug season. Yes I know – the heat…that part will be very difficult, but after all these years of scraping ice from my windshield and driving home in blizzards fearing for my life, it will be a small price to pay --- plus I get to use that as an excuse why we really ‘need’ a pool to go with the outdoor kitchen he’s planning to build!
There is definitely great fishing to be had down in Grand Island/Fourchon and also out of Terrebonne Bay like Cocodrie. I went out of Cocodrie once and it was a blast, caught mostly Speckled Trout and Redfish.
There are plenty of motor bike riders here. There has been a big campaign for watching out for motorcyclist here but most of that stemmed from several bike cops getting killed recently. There was another big accident the other night but it involved street racers. So all in all, I think it's relatively safe. It's a lot safer than riding a bicycle to say the least. BTR isn't the most friendliest bicycle town although you'll see lots of people out doing it. River Road has a new bike path open.
Oh, River Road would probably be another good route for a day out on the motorcycle. There are plenty of interesting things to see on the River Road at a leisure place. The Chapel of the Madonna, the smallest church in the world (at least at one point if not still) is on River Road in Bayou Goula. If you blink, you'll literally miss it.
Drunk drivers seem to be an issue here although I can honestly say I've only come across them on rare occasions late at night and usually on the outskirts of the city or in the rural areas. And I try hard to avoid them, either pass or lay back or take another road.
The good thing about Love Bug season is that it usually only lasts for about 2 weeks, and then you're good again. Usually occurs twice a year, late spring/early summer and late summer.
Check to see if there is anything going on at the Shaw Center downtown. There's also an awsome sushi place at the top of the building called "Tsunami". As far as infrastructure and traffic and that sort of thing in Baton Rouge, it could be worse. At least the roads in the city aren't so bad that your satallite radio starts to fall off of your dashboard (thanks for that, Lafayette, boy did I ever have a time trying to get that thing back on there).
So far - I'm definitely planning on checking out the terrace at Tsunami, the Chimes by LSU, River Road Plantations and the Farmers Market -- don't think we'll have enough time to see the swamp so we might save that for the next visit. Also – we’ll be in BR on a Sunday/Monday so I pretty much expect things to be quiet but it will give us a chance to drive around and get a feel for the area.
BTW – what’s the fishing like in BR and surrounding lakes, we’re also thinking of looking at the Azalea Lakes area and similar communities so that the BF can easily take a little boat out for fun while I’m at work during the week – unless of course those areas are not ideal for commuting.
If anyone has a good recommendation for a quick breakfast spot and somewhere to enjoy some local seafood (crawfish/crabs if they’re in season yet in February which I doubt) that would be great too.
If anyone has a good recommendation for a quick breakfast spot and somewhere to enjoy some local seafood (crawfish/crabs if they’re in season yet in February which I doubt) that would be great too.
Thanks again for all your help!
For breakfast, you definitely want to experience Louie's (on State Street at the North Gates of LSU a block off of Highland). It has really good omlettes
For seafood, you're going to get a lot of opinions, but I'll give mine. I like Parrain's (Perkins between Acadian and I-10) and Boutin's (Bluebonnet just south of Perkins). I also like the oyster poboys at the Chimes (Highland at Chimes street - right at the North Gates of LSU).
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. But the thing about BTR is that it has such a huge daytime population and it drops so much after dark, it's easy to get around and enjoy the hole-in-the-wall places and parks, etc and there's something for just about everyone when it comes to recreation.
