Please tell me what Baton Rouge is like? (Hammond, Shenandoah: low income, rental)

[Daniel_T]

HI there, Baton Rouge looks like a REAL interesting place to live and work and I am curious to know a little about the city. I've heard GREAT things about B.R. I've also heard some bad. Not too much though. I have the following questions:

1. What is B.R. like in general? Is it laid back? Friendly? Green? Clean?

2. What are the schools like? 2A. Do jobs pay well? Is the economy fairly strong?

3. Is public Transportation good?

4. What is crime like?

5. What are the neighborhoods like?

6. Is there a lot to do? Festivals, events, etc....

7. What is the weather like? Please give me a detail if you can about the seasons in B.R.

Thanks again and I appreciate your response.

Daniel

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

HI there, Baton Rouge looks like a REAL interesting place to live and work and I am curious to know a little about the city. I've heard GREAT things about B.R. I've also heard some bad. Not too much though. I have the following questions:

1. What is B.R. like in general? Is it laid back? Friendly? Green? Clean?
-Compared with the state, maybe a little uptight to outsiders; compared to the country, it's laid back. It is a capital city and a center for government. As for green, it is a fairly covered city as far as foliage goes. It has more trees in the urban core than most comparable cities especially up north and out west. But most of the south is pretty covered. As far as "green", Baton Rouge doesn't appear to be one of the more environmentally friendly cities. There is the typical recycling and we are a hub for Earth Day, but there aren't many other initiatives going on concerning the environment. We take our water for granted since we have one of the better public water supply systems in the country.

2. What are the schools like? 2A. Do jobs pay well? Is the economy fairly strong?
-Schools are in poor condition and teachers are paid just under the regional average. There's no real incentive to hire good teachers or for current teachers to improve on their skills. There are property taxes levied for the improvement of the district but it's hard to really see where that money goes. A lot of people have given up on the system. Years ago, families with children fled BTR for one of the suburban school districts. That in turn pulled potentially above-average kids out (creating this below-average hole) and decreased revenue for the urban school district (although EBR sure is celebrating their surplus budget now, wonder how they managed that).

Jobs don't necessarily pay well, but I feel our economy is stronger than compared with rural areas of the state although it may not be the most diverse.

3. Is public Transportation good?
-Public transportation generally sucks. We have no rail network, no bus rapid transit, no carpool lanes, and no commuter bus system (although they'll start and stop one every other year or so). Ridership is poor. But the city bus system isn't the most reliable and some routes are a little strange if not inconvenient. We could use a complete and effective bus network, and then a choice of a suburban rail network, or bus rapid transit network and possibly HOV lanes, not to mention a realignment of the city grid and additional roadway infrastructure. The original planners did not plan this city very well. The region could also use a commuter rail network connecting BTR with NOLA and eventually probably encircling the lake connecting the Northshore area with BTR and NOLA (our own Texas Triangle if you will).

4. What is crime like?
-Crime is a hot topic. It's definitely high, higher than most comparable cities. But it's also generally localized. It's easy for one person to never experience a crime and say that it's a safe place and for another to have experienced a crime and say it's a horrible crime ridden place. But violent crime here isn't widespread or rampant (like gangs targeting tourists or random people for no reason). Robberies or burglary may be another issue. Me, I don't try to do anything that would make me an easy victim, hence I've never had an issue (but that's not to say that it could never happen to me).
But sometimes, people need to take personal responsibility. That's something we've long since forgot as an American society.

5. What are the neighborhoods like?
-Most are unique. The newer suburban neighborhoods tend to be cookie-cutter type. But BTR neighborhoods generally have some form of distinction even if it's just the neighborhood catholic church or school. I'm not going to go in detail over individual neighborhoods. You can probably find a lot of info online and I'm running out of time here.

6. Is there a lot to do? Festivals, events, etc....
-Baton Rouge has plenty of small city type events usually with live music and arts booths and food and drink of course. You can find a lot of these online as well. Regionally, I think we have an abundance of great festivals and entertainment to be utilized. Ongoing is Live After Five, Sunday in the Park. Earth Day is coming up. The Strawberry Festival is this weekend in Ponchatoula and Jazz Fest is at the end of the month in NOLA.

7. What is the weather like? Please give me a detail if you can about the seasons in B.R.
Weather is typically warm. Average around 90 in the summer, 60-65 in the winter. It's not often it gets to 100, but the humidity makes up for it. Humidity averages probably around 60%, it's worse in the mornings, drier in the evenings, but almost always muggy between May and September. In recent years, fall has seemed to push back more towards late October and Spring suddenly ends in April. Winters are short and the mild temps allow for year-long outdoor activities (except for perhaps swimming).
Compared to mountain areas or up north, we have a short spring and nearly non-existent fall. We don't get much of any color from trees in the fall. They just shed and go bare. We do get spring blooms usually early in March and into April. By April's end, it'll be all green (and spring will be over).
It's already been in the 80s for 15 of the last 31 days. And that's actually above normal. Average for now is about 77 and 55.


Thanks again and I appreciate your response.

Daniel

Hope that helps. Maybe others can provide other info or opinions or try to debunk mine. I don't care. I'm in too good of a mood right now.
Just for kicks, what is this for? You planning to move?

[Daniel_T]

Considering it. I've always wanted to live in the South but a lot of the cities I have looked at aren't very nice. I've heard otherwise about B.R. though.

[darylwi]

Well, BTR has its pros and cons depending on the individual, what you expect, what you're looking for, your toleration levels, etc. I try to tell the truth to everybody. I won't sugarcoat the city but I won't bash it either. I'll just give you the truth as I see it, which is always an opinion.

I for one do like this city. I'd almost go so far as to say "love it". I can't really imagine living anywhere else in the state or in the south, although I would like parts of Texas.
Baton Rouge does have a lot to offer, and it's not that far from NOLA if you find it lacking in certain areas.

Something to remember is that the general cost of living is a lot lower in Louisiana than most other places around the country. Having said that, the cost of living is generally higher within BTR and NOLA compared to the rest of the state. That is a benefit at looking for a house in the suburbs, but then you're further away from everything. There are plenty of housing options and rental properties within the city that are somewhat fairly priced (some places maybe slightly overpriced) and are close to everything you'd probably need. I finally moved into the city from the suburbs a few years back and now I can't imagine moving back out.

Best of luck in your research.

[Daniel_T]

Wonderful. Thanks so much for your input. It helps a lot. Can you tell me where some nice areas of the city are to live in? How about nice suburbs?

[darylwi]

I live near Bocage, which is centered at Jefferson Hwy and Old Hammond Hwy/Corporate Blvd, and it includes about a half mile area around it. Towne Center is the major development in Bocage now. It's a nice shopping and restaurant district that you can park and walk around. It also has the city's first Whole Foods Market and it appears to be doing well. Books-A-Million has located there as well. Right down the road towards College is City Place which has a theater and Barnes & Noble bookstore, along with many other shopping areas and restaurants.
Further up Jefferson to Government Street is MidCity. It is a nice mix of older residential and local businesses. At the far west of MidCity is the Garden District and City Park. It's a nice quiet older area and the proximity to City Park is nice. Further west from I-110 to the River is downtown. Two main neighborhoods there are Beauregard Town to the south near Government Street and Spanishtown to the north near the Capitol. Those are generally eclectic neighborhoods with rich history. A lot of young people are liking those areas including parts of the Garden District. The advantages to those three areas are the proximity to downtown which is quickly becoming a hotspot again after years of decay. There are a number of places open now along 3rd Street that offer late night entertainment, food and drink, and more are planned. I imagine as more new residential opportunities are introduced, more services, clubs and restaurants will follow. Right now downtown has a relatively small residential population. But several projects are in the works.
Around LSU, there are the Northgates and the area near the Southgates and/or Tigerland area. The south is more residential and safer than the north, but there's entertainment and nightlife opportunity around the Northgates.
There are many neighborhoods centered around subdivisions, churchs & schools all around the city: Kenilworth, Southdowns, Westminster, Inniswold, Shenandoah, St. George, Old Goodwood, Zion City, Scotlandville, Greenwell Springs, Jones Creek, Old Jefferson and tons of others.
Anything along or around Essen Lane, Jefferson Hwy, Bluebonnet, Perkins Rd are generally nice areas.
Perkins Rowe is the new major urban development at Bluebonnet and Perkins Rd. They have their own website you can google and check out.
As far as suburbs go, families looking for good public education have turned to Livingston and Ascension Parish, along with Zachary and Central within EBR. Denham Springs and Gonzales are the most urban core of the suburban parishes. There is a lot of development near Prairieville and Dutchtown as well. Outside of that, you get a lot more country and old style, especially in Livingston and to the north of Baton Rouge. The western parishes are a lot more catholic (the east would be more protestant). The growth rate is a lot slower to the west than to the south and east, but it's there none-the-less. Schools aren't the best but most aren't the worst either.
And it's easy to forget about West Feliciana Parish and St. Francisville. It's a nice quiet town about half an hour north of the city. The schools are in good shape and the traffic is by far easiest coming from that direction. Currently there is work to build a new bridge across the river in that area and to finish the four-laning of US 61 from Thompson Creek through St. Francisville.

[Daniel_T]

Wonderful. This is great information. What are the areas that should be avoided? You said rents are fairly low. From you living in B.R., how affordable would you say rents compared to the pay wages?? Thanks,

Daniel

[darylwi]

Depends on your aspect. From the rural side, our rent is pretty high, but compared to out west or up north, maybe it's not. Older properties, few amenities might run $500-$750 depending on the area and such. I pay $620 right now. This is all 1br.
Newer communities are between $750 and $1000 now. $1000+ gets you the new and nice stuff and usually a lot more amenities. Sometimes though you just overpay. Anything under $500 is generally suspect nowdays, although I'm sure there are exceptions out there. The biggest increase came right after the hurricane. I was paying below $500 before, now it's $620. So there's a general comparison on how high rent increased in the area. But it seems to have stabilized now.
Right now, rent is approximately 57% of my take home pay. Utilities vary depending on the area of town and the provider and the arrangement the property has with the utility. We have bulk rate electricity so we generally all pay into the pool. It stays below $140 in the summer for me. Most older places you still don't have to pay for water or sewage or trash, etc.
If you're looking to avoid crime and trouble, avoid Gardere (look for Gardere Lane on the map south of LSU and that's generally it). Also North Baton Rouge is a hodge podge of mixed areas. It's not all bad, but a lot of the violent crime you hear on the tv or radio originates from areas north of Florida Blvd from the river to just east of Airline Hwy. People sometimes get defensive or offended when you discuss this, but as with most major cities, it's just a result of low income, low property value, poverty stricken areas. From what I've been able to tell from my experience, it's everywhere, not just BTR. So until someone decides to do something to fix these social ailments in our society, it's not going to change. The end.
Now, as far as property crime, it's more spread out. Honestly, you could be hit up anywhere, but it's not typically likely unless you just stand out or leave your car unlocked in the driveway with a nice MP3 player in it, etc.
And of course random crime is just that, random. We've had our experiences with that for sure, but I don't think it's something you typically have to fear unless you love being scared. Fearmongerers love to address our crime issues as if most average people are affected by it. Truth is, we really aren't. But then again, maybe I'm not average anymore. If you mind your surroundings, as you should in most large cities (and probably most places nowdays), typically you should be fine; even in some of the "worse" areas of town. I have no problems driving around North Baton Rouge or Gardere during the day.

I am shocked noone else is responding to these inquiries. Where is everyone else at? I can't answer everything about every part of town and contrary to how I sound, I do not know everything.

[Daniel_T]

well thanks a lot. You have answered a lot of my questions. that basically about covers it. Thanks again and if I think of anything else, I'll ask.

Daniel

[Ronald120]

Originally Posted by darylwi

Right now, rent is approximately 57% of my take home pay.

How you got away with doing that? Good references? Excellent credit? A forgiving landlord? Usually if you ain't making three times the rent, your options are extremely limited.