Does anyone know of a nice area to live in Baton Rouge? I'm contemplating a move and haven't been there much. If there is someone familiar with the city and its housing or developments, I'd appreciate your suggestions. Thanks.

One thing to consider, prices may be a little higher because Baton Rouge has a lot of New Orleans evacuees living there. Traffic is also higher than normal.

We live in the Southdowns area near the LSU lakes. This has become a very popular area so prices would be higher than some other areas.

There is lots of development along I-10 between here and New Orleans because of population shifts due to Katrina.

Give us some specifics and we maybe can offer some suggestions.

We live about 70 miles from Baton Rouge and often go there. In fact we were there today. The traffic is terrible- especially since Katrina- due to the greatly increased population. Crime has also increased. Our neighbors' daughters attend LSU in Baton Rouge and have had difficulty finding apartments in safe areas near the university. I personally would not want to move there at this time. Perhaps you will want to spend some time there before you make this decision to see if you really like Baton Rouge as a place to live.

Thanks to all of you for your inputs. My wife and I are from southern Louisiana, and we have lots of relatives and friends there. Since being retired, we decided we'd want to live near our relatives and so it's sorta "going home."

We are aware of the traffic and increased demand for everything. We investigated and found a very nice restricted development called University Club Plantation, south of LSU off Nicholson Drive. Althoug prices of lots are pretty high, it looks as if this is a good choice. Any specific comments on this area would be appreciated. Thanks to all.

Wayne, we live in the Magnolia Woods area and like it very much--didn't you say at one time you were familiar with this area? Older homes but big, wooded lots. Avg. home price $200,000. Kenilworth Subdivision also in this area--homes built in the 70s, smaller lots but still very nice. I'd say the average price there is about $225,000. Walden is a very nice upscale area on the other side of us--post Katrina pricing avg about $500,000. All of these areas close to LSU and downtown. Lots of new subdivisions going up on the south side of town but traffic there is really getting snarled.

When we first were looking for homes here, someone recommended the areas between Perkins Rd. and Highland Road, south of LSU. I know a couple that lives in University Club and it is very nice, although might be a bit out of the way (for me, anyway) However, Baton Rouge is certainly moving out that direction and now that Bluebonnet goes all the way through to Nicholson, the location is better.

Wayne,

I think University Club is a great choice! My husband plays golf there and LOVES it! We also have several friends who have built out there and really enjoy living there.

As MzPossum pointed out, now that Bluebonnet goes all the way through to Nicholson, it is a very popular area with more growth expected.

Check out Roberto's in St. Gabriel on the River Road for lunch or dinner. It's not far from UC and is a great south Louisiana restaurant housed in an old store.

Many thanks to all of you for the advice. Based on that and on some inputs from relatives, we have decided to buy a lot and build later this year in University Club Plantation.

DownSouth, we'll be sure to check out Roberto's when we go there in a few weeks. And MzPossum, yes we have been to Magnolia Woods because some of our relatives live there. Lovely wooded lots, nice homes, but no place to build a new one. And my wife simply wants a brand new home that we sorta design ourselves. So we're going to build on a bare lot, but trees grow fast in that area, so maybe it'll be wooded before long. Thanks again to all of you for your interest and advice.

Hi Wayne
You'll be very happy in University Club. However, there is going to be new building in Magnolia Woods off Rodney Drive--some single family acreages are being sold and going to be subdivided into lots--don't know the details yet but the land is being cleared.