re: Are you bullish on the future of EBR Parish?

quote:

---

The suburbs there are nothing like the ones here

---

Some of those suburbs have probably been around since the 1940s when the idea of suburbia began across the country.

Hell it doesn't cater to young professionals at all.

I'm 25, and there's not much to do in this town besides go out to eat and find a quiet place to sit down and enjoy a drink. Pretty depressing for a young single guy. Certainly isn't retaining talent (both professional and female) in the city.

I mean there's some things to do trampoline park, disc golf, etc., but it's not stuff you can do every week.

I really think a majority of it is that BR is set up horribly with no centralized place for people to gather. With the population size, it's too spread out.

quote:

---

I really think a majority of it is that BR is set up horribly with no centralized place for people to gather. With the population size, it's too spread out.

---

This is a huge problem. With the way the downtown developed on the river, and the city expanded eastward, even assuming the downtown does eventually become a cool place, it will still be on the western periphery with the center being somewhere around perkins and essen. It's a terrible layout for a city.

quote:

---

-shitty traffic

---

Outside of I-10 and barring a freak accident, I don't have issues getting around town for a majority of the time.

quote:

---

-shitty people

---

Strongly disagree. Baton Rouge folks are leaps and bounds better than people from the New Orleans area.

quote:

---

-hot as balls the majority of the year

---

As it is in the rest of the cities in South LA

quote:

---

-no nightlife outside of tigerland

---

I think you're just bad at finding things to do

quote:

---

-nothing to do

---

See above

quote:

---

-dangerous in most parts

---

Mainly in NBR

Baton Rouge isn't the epitome of a great city but I don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be.

Hard to argue with many of the points in here, but until people do more than just declaring it a failed city and moving away then nothing will change.

Another problem with BR: for A large city in South La, the dining sucks.

I know the internet is a haven for misanthropic cynics to vent, but I'm still always taken aback by how overly dramatic the BR haters are on here. I don't get it. I've lived here over a decade and have seen nothing but improvements.

Traffic - Yes, it is bad, particularly for the size of the city. But let's not act like it is way worse than everywhere else. The average commute time in BR is 26.9 minutes, whereas the national average is 25.8 minutes. And the average commute time in New Orleans is 26 minutes, and 25.4 minutes in Lafayette. ( LINK) People complain about the bridge but most BR residents don't have to deal with that on regular basis. I couldn't tell you the last time I've had to deal with it. Yes, it sucks for people passing through.

Public Schools - This is probably the biggest problem in the parish and it is largely due to the horribly-conceived federal desegregation order which finally ended a few years ago. But again, let's not act like this isn't a problem in other cities in the South (or cities around the country for that matter). Do cities like Mobile, Jackson, New Orleans, Birmingham, etc. have good public school systems? Or even Houston proper?

Crime - Most of the really bad stuff is confined to North Baton Rouge. If you look at homicide maps, you'll see very few occurring in South Baton Rouge, especially random ones. So it is pretty easy to find a neighborhood that isn't anywhere near a bad area. Even so, they made a significant drop in the murder rate a few years with the institution of the BRAVE program. And people say every neighborhood is getting worse, when I've seen first-hand how the Gardere area has improved. It used to be one of the worst areas for murder in the city, now they may have one or two a year.

Nothing to Do - I don't get this at all. My calendar is always pretty booked and I pass on countless things that I would enjoy. With LSU here, the college sports are almost year-round. There are always good concerts at the Varsity, Manship Theatre, Chelsea's, Red Dragon, River Center, LSU Union Theatre, L'auberge, etc. Plenty of nightlife and shopping, if that's your thing. Plenty of parks. There are always things going on downtown, which has tremendously improved and keeps improving. You're an easy driving distance to all the major festivals in South Louisiana. And New Orleans being a little over an hour away opens up a whole bunch of other things. I don't hunt or fish, but know a lot of people who keep busy with that too.

quote:

---

Rapidly becoming the Detroit of the south

---

Sorry. Memphis and Birmingham disagree. And don't counter with the "per capita" nonsense. Baton Rouge is much more like a smaller Raleigh, NC.

quote:

---

This is about Baton Rouge, not leaving Baton Rouge to find other things to do.

---

Convenience to other activities is important to most people. Good friend of mine lives in Austin, he still leaves to go to other places/events.

Based on your posts in here you either have boring friends or don't want to meet new people.