Pros and cons to live in Baton Rouge (New Orleans, Lafayette: violent crime, home)

[french paris]

Any opinions ?



Thanks

[c3dw]

PRO's

LSU and Southern- and all the great things those universities bring. Trees...lots and lots of pretty trees. It can be very beautiful at certain times of the year. The food and food selection overall is excellent (NOLA is much better, but on a national scale BR is outstanding). It is close to New Orleans. I'd say it's a good place to raise children.

CON's

Traffic. Nightlife (some may differ). Crime. Heat and humidity at times. Public transport (or lack thereof). Segregation (but not totally unlike many parts of the country).

[annie_himself]

Pro's:
Food and drink selections, being in south Louisiana and between Cajun country and New Orleans, Baton Rouge has great food and great places for a variety of beers and spirits.

Our economy has endured through the national recession fairly well, and we are striving to diversify our economy.

This goes back to the economy but many areas of town are thriving and quickly improving themselves when other cities are not. With developments like Perkins Rowe, Towne Center, The Rouzan, etc.

LSU and SU. Universities offer careers in education as well as other fields in which they often excel in such as chemical engineering or software development. They also bring in tourists for sporting events and provide a boost to our economy, especially with devoted Tigers fans.

Cons:

Infrastructure in the Capital area are in need of major improvements, that includes sewer, roads, bridges, and public schools.

Traffic is one of three major problems here in the area. After 12-1pm the roads begin to get clogged with traffic and makes driving a stressful thing to do here. Lack of a grid and proper public transit system is one factor to blame. Insufficient freeways are another.

Crime is outrageous, with more attention on shootings and related homicides. It's killing season 24/7 in the little Big Easy.

Corrupt government officials, but that's in 95% of America.

[Jermya]

So I'm currently a junior and I'm trying to decide whether to move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in order to go to LSU. Is it a safe place to move to? I know there will be problems with crime and traffic, that is known in every city. But are there fun places to go, things to do and other stuff?

[American Expat]

Originally Posted by Jermya

So I'm currently a junior and I'm trying to decide whether to move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in order to go to LSU. Is it a safe place to move to? I know there will be problems with crime and traffic, that is known in every city. But are there fun places to go, things to do and other stuff?

In my opinion it is a fun place though not like New Orleans but I'm much older than you so I hope a person closer to your age will opine on this subject.


As far as safety, there are safe areas and not so safe areas and price is the biggest separator. Also, depending on where you go and how late you are out makes a difference on safety. My overall opinion is that yes, I would move there to go to LSU (assuming they have the curriculum you want) but I would be mindful of where I lived and what I did at night.

[aab7855]

When my friends and I were graduating high school in 2003, Baton Rouge was kind of viewed as a place to go to school at LSU or Southern and then get out after graduating...but within those 5 or so years it took for us to finish college (I went to UL-Lafayette but was always passing through BR hanging with people), the city seemed to really change for the better. The downtown in particular is really nice, and you have some compact-ish neighborhoods like the Garden District that have some history. Most of the other good areas are pretty sprawly.

I big advantage I´d say compared to New Orleans is that the well-off areas seem really far removed from all the crime and social problems in other parts of the city, whereas New Orleans is still kind of wide open in terms of everybody passing through everywhere...anything can go down. Baton Rouge is very quaint in many parts.

If you don´t have the money to live in those parts, well...it´s gonna be rough. I would take Lafayette over BR, but that´s just me.

[selogic]

Originally Posted by Jermya

So I'm currently a junior and I'm trying to decide whether to move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in order to go to LSU. Is it a safe place to move to? I know there will be problems with crime and traffic, that is known in every city. But are there fun places to go, things to do and other stuff?

Thousands of young people enroll every year and they live through it . As far as places to go and things to do , that depends on your personal interests .

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by aab7855

When my friends and I were graduating high school in 2003, Baton Rouge was kind of viewed as a place to go to school at LSU or Southern and then get out after graduating...but within those 5 or so years it took for us to finish college (I went to UL-Lafayette but was always passing through BR hanging with people), the city seemed to really change for the better. The downtown in particular is really nice, and you have some compact-ish neighborhoods like the Garden District that have some history. Most of the other good areas are pretty sprawly.

I big advantage I´d say compared to New Orleans is that the well-off areas seem really far removed from all the crime and social problems in other parts of the city, whereas New Orleans is still kind of wide open in terms of everybody passing through everywhere...anything can go down. Baton Rouge is very quaint in many parts.

If you don´t have the money to live in those parts, well...it´s gonna be rough. I would take Lafayette over BR, but that´s just me.

Segregation makes Baton Rouge quaint?
Anything can go down in Baton Rouge, the nice old neighborhoods are right next to the south (OSBR), northdale, the park (Eden Park), Mall City, etc.
New Orleans is far better for having rich and poor live amongst each other more often.

[buildings_and_bridges]

Originally Posted by aab7855

I big advantage I´d say compared to New Orleans is that the well-off areas seem really far removed from all the crime and social problems in other parts of the city, whereas New Orleans is still kind of wide open in terms of everybody passing through everywhere...anything can go down. Baton Rouge is very quaint in many parts.

This actually isn't true at all. Baton Rouge is like a checkerboard. You can live in a $500,00 home (that's a lot of money down here) and be a block away from an area where petty and violent crimes occur on a regular basis because poverty is rampant. I think New Orleans is fairly similar to Baton Rouge in that regard.

Anyway, I would answer the OP, but this thread is going on 7 years old.

[buildings_and_bridges]

Originally Posted by Jermya

So I'm currently a junior and I'm trying to decide whether to move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in order to go to LSU. Is it a safe place to move to? I know there will be problems with crime and traffic, that is known in every city. But are there fun places to go, things to do and other stuff?

Ok, sorry. I was looking at the OP and skipped your post at first. It's fun if you're into football and going out. It's definitely a college town. I don't consider it less safe than your average Southern city of its size. The traffic is terrible, but I understand places like Houston are much worse (granted, I realize Houston is larger).