Teen from LONDON to BR! (Baton Rouge, Shreveport: houses, safe neighborhood, movies)

[lisaurart]

Hi everyone:
We have a possible move to BR , my husband is a chem engineer, go figure, and we have been living in London for 3 years. I have been looking in the areas around BR, they look quite small with little to do especially for a teen.
SO, assuming we go with private schools, are there any nice, lower crime, upper middle class areas in BR, houses in the 400's??
BTW, before London we lived in Bossier City for 14 years so we are familiar with LA.
Thanks!
Lisa

[brittloren]

Hi Lisa,
I actually lived in London for 2 years before returning back to Baton Rouge. There are quite a few nice areas around town. Unfortunately, since Katrina, the housing prices have shot up...but you should definitely be able to find a safe neighborhood for 400k. Also Katrina created such a need for housing, that many nice middle-upper class neighborhoods have been developed in the last year and a half. There are several beautiful neigborhoods in South Baton Rouge...especially off Highland Road. You'll definitely want to avoid North Baton Rouge. In recent years Baton Rouge has really improved it's downtown area - adding new bars and restaurants. There are definitely more hot spots around town for 18-30somethings, but as for teenagers, most end up socializing with their schools (clubs, sports teams, etc) or churches. There isn't much aside from shopping, going to dinner or movies. Hope this was helpful.

[lisaurart]

Yes, it does help, thanks very mcuh.
The schools are a worry though, even the private schools don't look very promising.
Cheers!

[SBCmetroguy]

Too bad there's not as much of a need for chemical engineers in Shreveport-Bossier as there used to be. I really love Bossier City.

But Baton Rouge isn't a bad move either! At least pre-Katrina it wasn't... I haven't been down there since a couple months before Katrina.

[lisaurart]

Originally Posted by SBCmetroguy

Too bad there's not as much of a need for chemical engineers in Shreveport-Bossier as there used to be. I really love Bossier City.
But Baton Rouge isn't a bad move either! At least pre-Katrina it wasn't... I haven't been down there since a couple months before Katrina.

Me too! The schools are better as well.

[brittloren]

Well, I can tell you a few private schools that have a positive reputation. I grew up going to private school in Baton Rouge, as did most of my friends. Schools I'd recommend: The Episcopal School - (probably the most expensive private school), The Dunham School - (quite a small school), LSU's University High (received one of the highest AP scores for college testing; also right on the LSU campus, which is fun for the teenagers), Parkview Baptist (which is where I went), and the one great public school - Baton Rouge High (but getting admitted is very difficult). My strongest recommendation would be U-High.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by lisaurart

Hi everyone:
We have a possible move to BR , my husband is a chem engineer, go figure, and we have been living in London for 3 years. I have been looking in the areas around BR, they look quite small with little to do especially for a teen.
SO, assuming we go with private schools, are there any nice, lower crime, upper middle class areas in BR, houses in the 400's??
BTW, before London we lived in Bossier City for 14 years so we are familiar with LA.
Thanks!
Lisa

My advice: (1) Stay south of Florida Blvd, (2) don't get closer into town than Acadian or College. The parts of town that have a significant volume of pricey homes in the 400K range are either off Highland or near Jefferson and Corporate/Old Hammond. In that area, there are lots of places (upscale places) to shop, and there are pricey homes continually going up, as existing chunks of land in the area are being sold off to developers. Plus, since your husband is employed by the petrochemical industry, there are several ways to get to the plants from there that don't involve depending on Airline, I-12, or I-10 past the split.

[lisaurart]

Originally Posted by brittloren

Well, I can tell you a few private schools that have a positive reputation. I grew up going to private school in Baton Rouge, as did most of my friends. Schools I'd recommend: The Episcopal School - (probably the most expensive private school), The Dunham School - (quite a small school), LSU's University High (received one of the highest AP scores for college testing; also right on the LSU campus, which is fun for the teenagers), Parkview Baptist (which is where I went), and the one great public school - Baton Rouge High (but getting admitted is very difficult). My strongest recommendation would be U-High.

Wow, thanks very much for the info. The U. High sounds promising. Any idea about the admission requirements? Do you either have to meet a lower income critera or be an absolute genius, this seems to be the case in a lot of schools---Thanks everyone for input, any further input is appreciated.
Cheers!
Lisa

[lisaurart]

Originally Posted by BRMan

My advice: (1) Stay south of Florida Blvd, (2) don't get closer into town than Acadian or College. The parts of town that have a significant volume of pricey homes in the 400K range are either off Highland or near Jefferson and Corporate/Old Hammond. In that area, there are lots of places (upscale places) to shop, and there are pricey homes continually going up, as existing chunks of land in the area are being sold off to developers. Plus, since your husband is employed by the petrochemical industry, there are several ways to get to the plants from there that don't involve depending on Airline, I-12, or I-10 past the split.

Thanks, this makes me feel a bit better about the whole situation, as there are a lot of negative comments on this forum regarding BR---

[lisaurart]

Originally Posted by brittloren

Hi Lisa,
I actually lived in London for 2 years before returning back to Baton Rouge. There are quite a few nice areas around town. Unfortunately, since Katrina, the housing prices have shot up...but you should definitely be able to find a safe neighborhood for 400k. Also Katrina created such a need for housing, that many nice middle-upper class neighborhoods have been developed in the last year and a half. There are several beautiful neigborhoods in South Baton Rouge...especially off Highland Road. You'll definitely want to avoid North Baton Rouge. In recent years Baton Rouge has really improved it's downtown area - adding new bars and restaurants. There are definitely more hot spots around town for 18-30somethings, but as for teenagers, most end up socializing with their schools (clubs, sports teams, etc) or churches. There isn't much aside from shopping, going to dinner or movies. Hope this was helpful.

HI again:
I am just wondering about your reassignment after London and if it was a tough adjustment. They always tell you it is more of an adjustment to return from any overseas assignment then you would think. It took my younger son 6 months to adjust to London and now he doesn't want to leave. It is such a different culture, it is going to seem rather mundane to him I believe. Kinda hard to compete with London as far as activities go! I understand if you do not want to share but I was just wondering how you found the adjustment period. Thanks for all your help so far.
Lisa