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we are currently awaiting a job decesion in another state, but now have a few posibilities in Alexanderia LA area, we have already done some searching on here and online, have seen the good and bad for most part, but welcome more good/bad/ugly about ALexandria.
Also...been looking at the town paper online, as well as craigslist, and just not seeing rentals.....we checked each town listed on CL, is there a particuliar city that the ALexanderia folks list their ads?
Is there available rental homes in the area?? decent, clean, affordable??
ive read that rentals can be iffy when it comes to decent landlords, iffy when it comes to decent places to live(rundown, nothing gets fixed, etc.)
any responses???
what streets/sides of town should we avoid in regards to crime/drugs/gangs, etc? we have 3 kids, so want safe/decent area.
we are retired military, so used to living/adjusting to various areas/people/etc, but noticed on forums that there doesnt seem to be a issue with whites/blacks, is this true? we are white, and could care less who are neighbor is as long as they are clean/decent/hardworking, so ask, is it pretty easy going there? everyone get along??
have already got my outdoor questions answered i think, we are big into fishing, and it seems to be the thing to do there....which is A-OK with us!!!! we could care less about nightlife, as we have kids, so outdoor things is more our speed.
already see schools are so-so in LA, how does ALexandria rate, would like to hear from folks that are from other states that can give a side by side comparision.
not seeing much about taxes, etc, did see that car tags ran like 30 bucks for 2 years??? in Tennessee, we pay 23 bucks per car for the year, thats whay better then where my husband is from in Michigan where its a couple hundred per car/per year!!!!
What is utilities like? we are in a 1200 sq foot rental home here, all electric, and we average 150 mo.....how about there??? is there homes with propane??? im sick of cooking on electric stove.....lol
this job wouldnt even be happening till mid summer....so got time to decide, but trying to gather info now, so far, doesnt look to bad, we have been all over the states, good and bad, so unless someone says its worse then memphis or detroit....im not to scared.....lol, if anyone here ever been to Knoxville TN, chicopee/springfield MA, tulsa OK, boise idaho, rapid city SD and can compare those areas to ALexandria or LA in general, let me know your thoughts!!!!
my husband is a truck driver now and drives thru LA alot, but only see's so muc from a window....lol. all he can say is he is in love with bodines?(spell) and crawfish.....lol
we are looking for rentals, since cant find pictures or listings for any, will check thru realtor ads to get idea of what homes are like in general, if anyone has ideas of where to find rentals, let me know.
we dotn prefer to live right in ALexandria, as we are used to the country, and would prefer to stay in the country, but in TN, alot in the country are shacks(sorry fellow TN'rs), so we dont want that. we dont do mcmansions either....just a nice, clean house. like to keep commute to under 30 min.
notice we dont ask about shopping/starbucks...lol, as long as we have basics, we are good, i personally love second hand shops to browse in....got them??? beyond that....good resturants, perferably mom and pops types(tired of chain food) and somewhere to get groceries and basics, we are good to go!!
so any info would be great...especially in regards to areas that are good/ areas to avoid...street names/neighborhoods, etc to avoid(specific) would be most helpfull right now, as well as close by areas withen 30 min that folks would say is a good fit for us, safe and clean.
beyond that.....thank you for your help....and maybe, just maybe...i will soon be getten in on some of that good'ol fishing ikeep hearing about!!!!
also.....given what we saw about flooding/hurricanes,....how does it really affect Alexandria?? is insurance high there due to this??? tornadoes??? this stuff doesnt bother me really, but dont want to pay what i hear they pay in florida for insurances either....any comments on this?? thanks!!
also.....given what we saw about flooding/hurricanes,....how does it really affect Alexandria?? is insurance high there due to this??? tornadoes??? this stuff doesnt bother me really, but dont want to pay what i hear they pay in florida for insurances either....any comments on this?? thanks!!
Alexandria typically gets the remnants of the storm (more heavy rain than wind, in other words), although it was in the path of Gustav, Ike, and Rita (but NOT Katrina). While it IS inland, its being 100 miles from the coast means that anything that comes ashore between Lake Charles and New Iberia will have some impact.
what streets/sides of town should we avoid in regards to crime/drugs/gangs, etc? we have 3 kids, so want safe/decent area.
In general, you want to stay outside of Macarthur Drive (as in, the area between Macarthur and the Red River isn't the best) and between Masonic (US 165) and LA 28 if you're south of the Red. North of the Red is almost all OK, except for a few "so so" streets in Pineville near the levee. The rural areas in Rapides Parish (where Alex is) I'm not too crazy about is Boyce, but there's a lot of countryside available within minutes of downtown to choose from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetlady71
not seeing much about taxes, etc, did see that car tags ran like 30 bucks for 2 years??? in Tennessee, we pay 23 bucks per car for the year, thats whay better then where my husband is from in Michigan where its a couple hundred per car/per year!!!!
Louisiana is brutal for those moving into the state, as they make you pay 4% sales tax to tag your car, in addition to the regular tag fees. This sales tax is based on the fair market value of the vehicle. After the initial tagging, renewals are pretty cheap (I want to say $20-$30 every 2 years)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetlady71
good resturants, perferably mom and pops types(tired of chain food) and somewhere to get groceries and basics, we are good to go!!
The one local restaurant (there are not a lot of restaurants in Alex; those that are decent get HUGE crowds) that is pretty good is Tunk's, which is off LA 28 west on the shores of Lake Kincaid.
Also...been looking at the town paper online, as well as craigslist, and just not seeing rentals.....we checked each town listed on CL, is there a particuliar city that the ALexanderia folks list their ads?
Is there available rental homes in the area?? decent, clean, affordable??
ive read that rentals can be iffy when it comes to decent landlords, iffy when it comes to decent places to live(rundown, nothing gets fixed, etc.)
any responses??? :
Craig's list hasn't become popular yet in Alexandria; I don't think that there is another city where people here list their ads.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetlady71
what streets/sides of town should we avoid in regards to crime/drugs/gangs, etc? we have 3 kids, so want safe/decent area.
we are retired military, so used to living/adjusting to various areas/people/etc, but noticed on forums that there doesnt seem to be a issue with whites/blacks, is this true? we are white, and could care less who are neighbor is as long as they are clean/decent/hardworking, so ask, is it pretty easy going there? everyone get along?? :
Most of the crime happens "inside" of MacArthur Drive, especially between Monroe Street and Rapides Avenue, Bolton Avenue/ Lee Street and I-49, and anything downriver from downtown. However, there are safe areas "inside" of MacArthur Drive near Jackson Street, but there are many good areas here with close proximity to bad areas. There are also areas "outside" of MacArthur Drive that I wouldn't recommend, such as Highway 1 North corridor and many parts of the area south of MacArthur and east of Masonic (there are many low-rent duplexes and apartments in this area). The best area of Alexandria in the city is bounded by Coliseum Blvd, MacArthur, and Masonic.
There usually isn't much overt racism in Alexandria, but nevertheless there is still some racism from both blacks and whites. Blacks and whites do seem to get along for the most part, but there are still some instances of racial tension.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetlady71
What is utilities like? we are in a 1200 sq foot rental home here, all electric, and we average 150 mo.....how about there???
Utilities are somewhat high in the city of Alexandria, but they should be lower in other areas nearby.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetlady71
we dotn prefer to live right in ALexandria, as we are used to the country, and would prefer to stay in the country, but in TN, alot in the country are shacks(sorry fellow TN'rs), so we dont want that. we dont do mcmansions either....just a nice, clean house. like to keep commute to under 30 min.
There are nice areas along Hwy 28 West, Bayou Rapides/Hot Wells road to the west of Alexandria; Woodworth to the south of Alexandria; and Pineville-Tioga (many neighborhoods in the Pineville area have a rural feel even though they are right near the city).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetlady71
beyond that....good resturants, perferably mom and pops types(tired of chain food) and somewhere to get groceries and basics, we are good to go!!
There are many good local restaurants. Some seafood restaurants that I recommend are Tunk's, Cajun Landing, Robbie G's, and Fant's. Also, there is a good Chinese restaurant called Oriental Wok and a Japanese Grill called Hana.
also.....given what we saw about flooding/hurricanes,....how does it really affect Alexandria?? is insurance high there due to this??? tornadoes??? this stuff doesnt bother me really, but dont want to pay what i hear they pay in florida for insurances either....any comments on this?? thanks!!
It is very unlikely for a hurricane to devastate Alexandria, but Hurricane Gustav did cause considerable damage, mostly from flooding when the remnants stalled in the area. I believe that around 200 houses got flooded and a number of businesses as well. Its a good idea to check to see where the flood zones are. The wind also caused some damage, causing trees to fall on a couple of houses and knocking out power.
It is very unlikely for a hurricane to devastate Alexandria, but Hurricane Gustav did cause considerable damage, mostly from flooding when the remnants stalled in the area. I believe that around 200 houses got flooded and a number of businesses as well. Its a good idea to check to see where the flood zones are. The wind also caused some damage, causing trees to fall on a couple of houses and knocking out power.
One thing I wanted to piggyback onto this quote re: flooding is that if you are looking into subdivisions along Horseshoe Drive (it parallels Macarthur then becomes Twin Bridges Road as it heads out of town), there is a bayou running alongside it which has lots of debris in it, and (from what I've seen) the parish doesn't clean it out a lot. This would DEFINITELY be a flooding worry when hurricanes/flash floods happen.
Some of the main areas where you have to worry about flooding are
1.) neighborhoods near the South Traffic Circle such as Greenway Park (which some locals have named Sunken Village), the neighborhood behind Parkview Baptist Church, and the neighborhood in front of Brame Middle School.
2.) Four Leaf Village and the part of Cherokee Village adjacent to it.
3.) The back of Penny Acres
4.) The back of Martin Park
5.) Windermere Blvd around where it crosses over the drainage canal
6.) some parts of the Lower Third area
Bayou Roberts flooded into a couple of houses during Hurricane Gustav (mostly on Horseshoe Drive across from Cherokee Village), but from what I saw most houses adjacent to Bayou Roberts did not flood. I agree that the parish could do a better job of cleaning Bayou Roberts.
Some of the main areas where you have to worry about flooding are
1.) neighborhoods near the South Traffic Circle such as Greenway Park (which some locals have named Sunken Village), the neighborhood behind Parkview Baptist Church, and the neighborhood in front of Brame Middle School.
2.) Four Leaf Village and the part of Cherokee Village adjacent to it.
3.) The back of Penny Acres
4.) The back of Martin Park
5.) Windermere Blvd around where it crosses over the drainage canal
6.) some parts of the Lower Third area
Bayou Roberts flooded into a couple of houses during Hurricane Gustav (mostly on Horseshoe Drive across from Cherokee Village), but from what I saw most houses adjacent to Bayou Roberts did not flood. I agree that the parish could do a better job of cleaning Bayou Roberts.
Does Westpoint on The Bayou have flooding issues ? I recall LOTS of debris in that part of Bayou Robert (note to those reading: Bayou Robert goes along the back part of that neighborhood)
Does Westpoint on The Bayou have flooding issues ? I recall LOTS of debris in that part of Bayou Robert (note to those reading: Bayou Robert goes along the back part of that neighborhood)
I don't think that any houses have ever flooded in West Pointe but backyards of the houses that back up to the bayou may have flooded before.
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