Baton Rouge

What do you want to know?

Baton Rouge is a country town with a crime problem

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with a crime problem

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That helps. What are the schools like?

Bad school system

Grew up in BR


Hate going back frankly


It's like the worst of America in a small area. Horrid traffic, chain stores everywhere and just a general everyone hates being there feel to ME.


JMHO and yes it's my hometown and shite but I despise being anywhere near it

That corn dog smell you smell are the 300+ refineries along the Mississippi river

Don't believe all these goons...BR is a great city and is growing exponentially in a good way.

If you keep it inbetween college and highland, you'll be golden.

Public schools are absolutely terrible.

Baton Rouge has its positives and its negatives.
Positives:
There are some great neighborhoods in the city (Garden District, Capitol Heights, Old Goodwood, Bocage, ect)
Parks and libraries are outstanding
drinking water is among the purest and best tasting in the nation
Tons of jobs
The city is undergoing some MAJOR revitalization especially in downtown, mid-city, and between LSU and downtown
Great food (no where near as good as New Orleans, but where is?)

It also has a lot of negatives:
Atrocious public school system
sky high murder rate
insane traffic (I-10 is 1 frickING LANE!)
mediocre (but improving) bar and music scene for a city it's size
garbage suburbs
trashy people

Tips for enjoying Baton Rouge:
1. Live close to where you work and make sure that none of the city's "choke points" are between you and there. For example, if you work downtown, don't live in Prarieville. Live in the Garden District, Southdowns, Downtown, Bocage, or Old Goodwood) If you work in Geismar, don't live in Denham Springs, live South of LSU around Burbank and Highland or in Ascension Parish)
2. Don't send your kids to public school
3. Enjoy the bars Baton Rouge does have
4. Enjoy the food
5. PARTICIPATE! There's tons of community events for the arts, charity, food, and fun like White Lights Night, Earth Day, Fest-For-All, The Farmer's Market, Trash for Treasure Sale, 1000 fun runs and 5ks, Balloon Festival, St. Paddy's Day Parade, Spanish Town, ect. Go out and get involved.
6. Don't live in or adjacent to the Ghetto. Stay within the lines of North of Burbank, East of Park, South of Florida Blvd. In that area, there are only a few bad areas and they are easy to spot (Valley Park, St. Jean Apartments, that little bit of ghetto next to BR High, ect)

BR is an amazingly fun city if you make even a modicum of effort and don't live in the suburbs and fight traffic every day.

I work across the river in Port Allen, but live in the Garden District. It takes me 15 minutes top to get to work and 30 minutes tops to get home. If I wasn't working 60 hours + a week, my life would be damn near sublime.

Just be advised before making the move that you will be unable to travel major through-ways between 3:30-7PM without experience major traffic.

God bless you if there is an accident on I-10 near the mall.

If it rains avoid trying to get on I-10 from Acadian unless you bring a boat.

damn. good post. hard to argue with any of it.