How conservative(religious and otherwise) is Baton Rouge? (New Orleans, Metairie: appointed, insurance)

[canthisbemyusername]

There is a chance my family and I will be moving to Baton Rouge. We are moving from TN and we are a little concerned about how conservative Baton Rouge may be. TN has become probably the most conservative state in the US and we really don't want to live anywhere like TN ever again.

I just read about the law that was passed in LA which would allow creationism to be taught in Public Schools and then I started reading about the Governor and some of his beliefs,which seem a little extreme. I am not trying to start any kind of argument about politics or religion, I am just trying to figure out what to expect. I would really like an honest opinion about the general atmosphere of the area.

We don't want to live in a town where everyone agrees with us but we also don't want to live in a town where we feel like we can't express our opinions.

Thanks for your help

[darylwi]

And what made you think of LA if you don't like TN? You have to remember it's still the south.
Having said that, I will say that Baton Rouge city along with NOLA and Lafayette are a lot more moderate than the rest of the state. Suburban BTR is very conservative. But EBR Parish went blue in the last election and we have a democratic mayor who I like a lot (and not just because he's a dem). I consider him a progressive moderate and I love his enthusiasm to make this city a better place to live.
If you have kids, I imagine you may not want to have them go to school here. They're not the best although there is opportunity at some.
It's not utopia, but then again, is there really such a place?

[canthisbemyusername]

I don't know if I would have thought of moving to BR, I really don't know anything about it. The offer being made to my spouse is a really good offer and we don't want to turn down a city just because it is in the south. We would not live in the suburbs(I've had too many years of that in TN). We would definitely send our kids to private school (preferably non-religious).

I am moving from a city that was shown on 20/20 as the most conservative city in the US, so if I could find something that was close to 50/50 progressives/conservatives I probably wouldn't know what to do.

Once again, I am truly just looking for feedback. I have lived in TN my whole life and I have seen it go from bad to worse. We have a huge budget problem and all our state legislature can talk about is keeping gay people from adopting, letting teachers take guns to school and trying to pass an English only law. I don't want to move and find out I am living in a town that is more conservative than where I am now.

[darylwi]

If it's a good job offer, I wouldn't turn it down. The economy here is actually doing better than most places around the country right now. 'Knock on wood' that it lasts. They are projecting a state budget deficit. I'm curious how much the stimulus will eat out of that. I also imagine we will end up with a few state layoffs or early retirements, but nothing like California or Michigan.
This is Louisiana. You're going to have days where you wake up and think to yourself how much you hate it here because of the conservative and even backwards nature of some. But then there are going to be days that make you proud to live in BTR and to live in a society that is much more laid back than the rest of the nation. I find people here to generally be more respectful than counterparts in MS and AL, even parts of TX. That doesn't mean they necessarily like what you do or think, but they generally respect it. There will always be those who you can't sway, one way or the other.

[BRMan]

Also, too, Baton Rouge has a wider variety of people than a lot of places outside the BR/NO/Lafayette areas. There are areas where religious conservatives are strong. And there are more moderate areas in town. Plus, we have a mayor who, despite being a liberal Democrat, has been a good fit for the job of BR Mayor. In particular, he deserves four stars for his passing the "Green Light program" which is a series of 40 road projects in and around the parish they're trying to fast track using a mix of existing revenues and bond money.

[eatfastnoodle]

Originally Posted by canthisbemyusername

There is a chance my family and I will be moving to Baton Rouge. We are moving from TN and we are a little concerned about how conservative Baton Rouge may be. TN has become probably the most conservative state in the US and we really don't want to live anywhere like TN ever again.

I just read about the law that was passed in LA which would allow creationism to be taught in Public Schools and then I started reading about the Governor and some of his beliefs,which seem a little extreme. I am not trying to start any kind of argument about politics or religion, I am just trying to figure out what to expect. I would really like an honest opinion about the general atmosphere of the area.

We don't want to live in a town where everyone agrees with us but we also don't want to live in a town where we feel like we can't express our opinions.

Thanks for your help

Good luck with that, even on LSU campus, which I assumed would be more liberal given college campus is known to be more liberal than the general public, you randomly select people walking by and ask them their political orientation, I can assure most of them will tell you that they are conservative and Christian, and it cut across social class, rich or poor, high drop-out or PhD graduate, locals are much more likely to be conservative or at they put it: libertarian. I don't know too much about other part of the town since I mainly stay close to LSU campus. The campus is OK since people are more educated and as somebody else said, much more respectful even though they strongly disagree with you politically. But if you are looking for a liberal place to live, you will be disappointed, I've never been to TN, but here in BTR, most people I know who are liberal are either from other states or even other countries.

[osunshine]

[SIZE=3]We moved here June 2008 and Baton Rouge from Mobile, AL. I find it to be fairly conservative and we live in out & away from LSU. I find there is a mix of liberals and conservatives here. Come on down and give the area a shot—it is what you make of it, Besides the food here is great[/SIZE]

[sailordave]

Originally Posted by canthisbemyusername

I don't know if I would have thought of moving to BR, I really don't know anything about it. The offer being made to my spouse is a really good offer and we don't want to turn down a city just because it is in the south. We would not live in the suburbs(I've had too many years of that in TN). We would definitely send our kids to private school (preferably non-religious).

I am moving from a city that was shown on 20/20 as the most conservative city in the US, so if I could find something that was close to 50/50 progressives/conservatives I probably wouldn't know what to do.

Once again, I am truly just looking for feedback. I have lived in TN my whole life and I have seen it go from bad to worse. We have a huge budget problem Our state seems to have a budget problem every year they want to pass a tax increase.and all our state legislature can talk about is keeping gay people from adopting, letting teachers take guns to school If they're licensed and registered to carry a concealed weapon then let them be able to protect themselves and their students. and trying to pass an English only law Passing English only would save the state money in not having to publish all their documents in multiple languages. I don't want to move and find out I am living in a town that is more conservative than where I am now.

The majority of our state legislature is Democrat and what Republicans there are in our state legislature, many are Republicans in name only (RINO). This isn't a good thing. You have kids? Then don't take them to the New Orleans Mardi Gras unless you want them to see public nudity, public sex, public puking, public intoxication, and public illegal drug use. Our state has had one former governor go to Federal Prison and three former insurance commissioners go to prison. We also have some of the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. The more conservative areas of the state politically and socially are the ones that seem to be doing better than other areas. Judging by your preferences you might be better off going to San Francisco or Berkeley.

[avironneur]

Originally Posted by sailordave

The majority of our state legislature is Democrat and what Republicans there are in our state legislature, many are Republicans in name only (RINO). This isn't a good thing. You have kids? Then don't take them to the New Orleans Mardi Gras unless you want them to see public nudity, public sex, public puking, public intoxication, and public illegal drug use. Our state has had one former governor go to Federal Prison and three former insurance commissioners go to prison. We also have some of the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. The more conservative areas of the state politically and socially are the ones that seem to be doing better than other areas. Judging by your preferences you might be better off going to San Francisco or Berkeley.

So basically anyone who is not religious and who does not care for fiscally conservative policies must clearly like public nudity and public intoxication and should live in San Franscisco? I love the logic here......because there are no liberals anywhere else in this country besides San Francisco....noooo.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by sailordave

You have kids? Then don't take them to the New Orleans Mardi Gras unless you want them to see public nudity, public sex, public puking, public intoxication, and public illegal drug use.

I've been to Mardi Gras several times, and the actions you describe depend on the parade and on where the parade is - I've never seen what you describe, though. Plus, Metairie has a "Family Gras." And other cities in Louisiana have their own versions of Mardi Gras.

Originally Posted by sailordave

Our state has had one former governor go to Federal Prison and three former insurance commissioners go to prison.

Yes, we have - it's a shameful legacy. But we're not the only state to have those problems.

Originally Posted by sailordave

The more conservative areas of the state politically and socially are the ones that seem to be doing better than other areas. Judging by your preferences you might be better off going to San Francisco or Berkeley.

Depends on your definition of "the more conservative areas of the state" - here in BR, we're doing OK. Not booming, of course, but we're certainly not in the same boat as Florida or Arizona.