TOP 10 reasons why I left BATON ROGUE.

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by jjlucash

Just have to add my input since I'm TEMPORARILY moving back to Baton Rouge from Atlanta to be with my family (I'm coming back to ATL...third time's the charm...in August):

1) BR is a pretty gay city. Covert, yes, but pretty gay. Basically, you'll get your money's worth in Atlanta, NYC, LA, etc. because the gay scene in BR is slightly "undercover." Splash and Cajun Cove, though nice, pale in comparison to the constantly relocating clubs in other cities. I've never been to George's Place, though. BTW, if you're gay, single and reading this, your dating prospects are slim and your "serious conversation" prospects are non-existent. Capice?

2) BR is a pretty bigoted city. You have your racists, your homophobes, your racist homophobes and even your GAY racists. It's just that the gay racists don't really hide their bigotry. This is coming from personal experience. I'm not even going to waste my time on the "It's not Confederate/racist, it's the Rebel/rock & roll flag" mess because my head will explode.

3) BR is a black-and-white city. Little diversity unless you're talking about point #2. That's about the only diversity I've picked up on in the five years I've been there (I was a Katrina "refugee").

4) BR has the worst drivers. The roads and interstates here in Atlanta, especially 75/85, are like the Autobahn, but the drivers are no where near as kooky as the lead-feet and lane-jumpers in BR.

5) BR is a slow, stop-and-go city. Many places to dine, several places to shop and a few places to just hang out, but nothing that'll really hold your attention.

6) BR is a college town, home to LSU and Southern, but no one really cares about Southern unless you're Black or Black and gay. I'm still cringing from a personal experience...

7) BR supposedly has a bunch of projects lined up, but I'll believe it when I see it. Heck, I just learned that the Pinnacle Casino slated for Summer 2010 STILL hasn't come to! It's still being worked on, though, for late this year or something 'nother. My first trip deep into Atlanta, back in August, introduced me to Atlantic Station. The District (AS's open-air mall) is my favorite place in the world...and absolutely has to be what Perkins Rowe is a mini duplicate of...just sayin'.

On that same point, they're supposed to be building a loop (does 285 or 610 ring a bell?) around the city. Okay.

8) BR has some good spots and some bad spots. Some on here call it a midsized city, but New Orleans, my hometown, is more like a midsized city to me. There are no distinct neighborhoods, but the good and the bad are scattered throughout. Prime example: Southside (Perkins area, south of LSU, basically the front door of BR) is pretty affluent, to me, with a tiny, confined core of low-income "take your kids and run far, far away" 'hood. I can't honestly give people a straight answer if someone were to ask me, "Where are the good neighborhoods?" OH! Execpt for Scotlandville. That's in the northern part of the city. I wouldn't leave a Sprite bottle there because someone might murder it...

It's not that I hate or even dislike BR, but the people there, while not ugly in nature, are a little...primitive (I tend to use a word that starts with "n" and ends with "thal"), some of the people I know from there aren't very driven and there's little to do if you're someone like me who gets bored easily. Yes, I understand Baton Rouge is a college town/capital but it is still a major city and is a fair comparison to places like San Antonio, Austin or dare I say it, Atlanta. It's by no means a "nothing town;" it's nice and quaint, and good to settle down in, but to me, it's a relatively dull one.

I can accept some of what you said here. I certainly appreciate you not being quite as militant as some that post in here that compare BR to the ninth circle of hell.

We do have distinct neighborhoods, but for some reason alot of the younger crowd don't seem to be familiar with the distinct boundaries and attitudes and social structure in many of the neighborhoods. We've got Southdowns, Garden District, Spanish Town, Beauregard Town, Capital Heights, Steele Place, Old Goodwood, Bocage, Broadmore, Sherwood Forest, Melrose Place, Scotlandville, Old South, Brookstown, Villa Del Rey, Park Forest, Shenandoah, Cedarcrest, Village St. George, Oak Hills, Gardere, Zion City, Glen Oaks, Kenilworth, etc.

People condemn many of these because they are in fact large subdivisions, but if you ask me, each of them has their own character. It's not always a good character, but it's a unique character nonetheless. They aren't all walkable, and many of them have nothing within walking distance. But they are still distinct neighborhoods.

[jjlucash]

To comment on a post I saw (I forgot it it was this thread or another) about how the user was sick of people comparing BR to Austin and Athens. Well, all three are college towns--it just so happens that Austin and Athens, unlike BR, has more going on. That said, it's a fair comparison.

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by jjlucash

To comment on a post I saw (I forgot it it was this thread or another) about how the user was sick of people comparing BR to Austin and Athens. Well, all three are college towns--it just so happens that Austin and Athens, unlike BR, has more going on. That said, it's a fair comparison.

Austin should actually be compared to N.O., and it usually is, since they're in the same tier size/population wise. Not B.R.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA

Austin should actually be compared to N.O., and it usually is, since they're in the same tier size/population wise. Not B.R.

Yes, they are both the most progressive and different in their states, similar in size, and are currently getting alot of growth and development.

[keta_mae]

I love DC, Its Small town meets big city. DC is a "GATEWAY CITY" international food, cultulre and fun... H street, U street, 14th steet,M street, Wisconson AVE.... tons of small village scenes in the District proper. The DC burbs are home to the Best school districts in the country. DC is a great place to be single and the burbs are a great place for kids.... South Louisiana has a ways to go to catch up to the D.M.V. ( Ditrict, Virginia and Maryland area)

[annie_himself]

What?

[mhounit]

Let this one die on the vine .