need house to rent near alexandria (Monroe, Pineville: best neighborhoods, high crime, new home)

[rbayle]

husband moving to work for military housing corporation on base. We will buy a house when we sell our home in FL. so we may rent for a few months or a year (???) Company will be paying the rent for us. There are four of us and a dog that sleeps in her crate and stays in it when we aren't home. I can't see us in an apt. We may buy the house we're renting if we like it well enough to avoid moving twice. Anyone know of anything in a good area? Not too far from town....We could do alexandria or pineville, I guess. I know it's far from post, but I hear they're the nicest areas. I myself dont' know anything about any of it, yet. We have a sixteen yr. old that does dual enrollment and a thirteen yr. old homeschooler. I need help. I need info.on the area and the schools and what' around. I need to know where to go to meet people and make friends... Everything there is to know-I need to know.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by rbayle

husband moving to work for military housing corporation on base. We will buy a house when we sell our home in FL. so we may rent for a few months or a year (???) Company will be paying the rent for us. There are four of us and a dog that sleeps in her crate and stays in it when we aren't home. I can't see us in an apt. We may buy the house we're renting if we like it well enough to avoid moving twice. Anyone know of anything in a good area? Not too far from town....We could do alexandria or pineville, I guess. I know it's far from post, but I hear they're the nicest areas. I myself dont' know anything about any of it, yet. We have a sixteen yr. old that does dual enrollment and a thirteen yr. old homeschooler. I need help. I need info.on the area and the schools and what' around. I need to know where to go to meet people and make friends... Everything there is to know-I need to know.

You have some decent choices. North of the Red River, Pineville (except for some areas by the Red River), Ball, and Tioga are pretty nice. South of the Red, I'd avoid anything between the Red and Macarthur Drive. There are some decent subdivisions off Jackson Straat, LA 28 west, and Horseshoe/Twin Bridges.
North of Alexandria, Pine

[Doula Erica]

The least expensive place to be is the Garden District. Some areas are not great but other have houses with 6 figure prices. Most are around 60-80,000. If you are not concerned with school districts (because of homeschooling) it's definately the best value for your dollar. Houses in Pineville are much more expensive unless you get pretty far out of town.

[ral31]

The best neighborhoods in Alexandria are off of Jackson Street Extension. The majority of the neighborhoods in this area are upscale and expensive. However, there are some affordable neighborhoods mixed in, such as Good Earth, Highpoint, Plantation Acres, and Fairfield.

There are decent areas between MacArthur and the Red. The Texas Avenue area between Masonic Drive and Jackson Street is a good area and is safe. The Garden District is a nice neighborhood but is close to high crime areas. One of the highest ranked high schools in the state, Bolton High School, is located in the Garden District. Besides the areas that I have just mentioned, I would avoid anything else between MacArthur and the Red River. Definitely avoid the area between Monroe Street and Rapides Avenue, the area between Bolton Avenue and downtown, and anything east of Lee Street.

[rbayle]

It has been told to me that the new west side of town is growing and has new homes, nice homes, etc and all the stores that go with it. Is that the place to be???

[ral31]

Yes, the west side is the nicest part of Alexandria in my opinion. But Pineville is also nice and has lower crime. But most of the retail establishments, businesses, hospitals, etc. are located in Alexandria.

Much growth is occurring along the Highway 28 West corridor with a new Wal-mart under construction. The new neighborhoods that are being constructed along the 28 West corridor are mostly expensive. I expect this area to continue rapid growth over the coming years.

[dudleylynch]

Originally Posted by rbayle

husband moving to work for military housing corporation on base. We will buy a house when we sell our home in FL. so we may rent for a few months or a year (???) Company will be paying the rent for us. There are four of us and a dog that sleeps in her crate and stays in it when we aren't home. I can't see us in an apt. We may buy the house we're renting if we like it well enough to avoid moving twice. Anyone know of anything in a good area? Not too far from town....We could do alexandria or pineville, I guess. I know it's far from post, but I hear they're the nicest areas. I myself dont' know anything about any of it, yet. We have a sixteen yr. old that does dual enrollment and a thirteen yr. old homeschooler. I need help. I need info.on the area and the schools and what' around. I need to know where to go to meet people and make friends... Everything there is to know-I need to know.

Our house is in Pineville (great school districts!) which was really important when the older kids were at home, but now we also homeschool our 11 year old. However, I sub occasionally while she stays with homeschool friends, so I see that the public schools are still some of the best you can find in public schooling.

However, a job transfer will take us away soon[mod] advertising [/mod]