re: I lived in Baton Rouge for several years

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Y'all can't even get a Bucees.

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Considering they are all in Texas except one in Alabama I don't see how this is relevant.

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Key word, studies. Baton Rouge government love studies

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Yes, I agree. The group looking at the schools have been blown away and it's plain as day the issue and they know it. Way too many administrative positions, lack of caring about education in the mindset of the public.

They looked at Austin for the downtown revitalization. Baton Rouge parisj is losing residents and the state overall is as well. When population is booming it's easier to revitalize.

I believe if Kip Holden had about 10 more years he could have made a difference in Baton Rouge.

The group running the joint now is scary.

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I understand when people talk that way about Jackson or Montgomery.

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Well, just looking at murder rate(2017), Baton Rouge has 39 murder per 100K, Jackson has 36 per 100K (actually the same as Alexandria, that surprised me but I think that's a matter of scale 17 murders vs 60 in raw numbers)

I suspect if you look at general crime statistics, though, Jackson would end up worse.

BR is a city of concentrated crime areas that occasionally bleed into other areas. My experience with Chicago (very limited) was exactly the same. Nola crime seems more spread out these days. The old corrupt guard did a better job of protecting the tourist areas from violent crime, it seemed to me, though that may just be perception on my part.

I'd live in BR or a bedroom community (considering it while my 2 younger kids are at LSU) but only if I can afford to live in a lower crime area.

Baton Rouge is a shitshow compared to what it was in the 80’s. It will be a complete total shitshow in another decade.

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I understand when people talk that way about Jackson or Montgomery. Those places are currently dire. Baton Rouge, not so much. It could definitely be better with more forward thinking politicians, but it’s not much better or worse than a lot of places out there from my experience.

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Jackson proper is a shithole, almost 3rd world. But everyone with any sense moved out and formed some pretty nice outside areas. I see St. George as the beginning of this in BR. Look at Madison and Ridgeland, MS.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head...

Traffic - Sucks
North BR - Avoid at all costs
Public Schools - Awful
Local Government - Wasteful

Other than that, I don't really get the hate. Especially if you love LSU sports, then there is pretty much something to do every weekend. There are decent restaurants and bars, and world class restaurants and bars just an hour east. South of Government st and its pretty easy to avoid crime. Relatively low cost of living compared to large cities (lowest gas prices in the entire country). The economics firm Emsi came out with a report last year that ranked BR as the 8th most economically diverse city in the country, making us largely recession-proof. You can make plenty enough money to afford life in BR with many good engineering jobs and a growing healthcare industry. Now we aren't Wall Street or Silicon Valley, so if you are looking to make a shite ton of money in IT or Finance, the jobs are fewer.

I've lived in Miami/Fort Lauderdale for 50 years. People all over the world move here or own vacation homes here because they think it's paradise. The traffic is exponentially worse and and the worst neighborhoods make North Baton Rouge look like Main Street USA. And the worst city in Miami-Dade County (Miami Gardens) alone is 5X the size of North Baton Rouge.

Emsi Report

Its pretty cool. Behind only

Madison, WI
Burlington, VT
Davenport, IA
Eugene, OR
Rochester, NY
Johnson City, TN
Eau Claire WI

I hated living in BR until I moved to the Overpass area. Decent bars and restaurants in walking distance, and easy access to everything along Perkins. I still think this city is lacking for people 24-35 ish but it's a decent place to be for a few years. Seems like there are only really a handful of bars that people go to, (Ivars, Bulldog, Happys, Radio Bar, etc.) and outside of football season, the city is kind of dead on the weekends.