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Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Old Jun 14th 2014, 6:16 pm
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Default Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Hey,

My wife and I are due to move over to Baton Rouge, LA in july.

Really looking forward to it & just wondered if there are any other Brits in the area.

Seems like a pretty good place and we are looking forward to meeting lots of new people.

Looking for an apartment/house in-between siegen lane and blue bonnet blvd.

Any tips or advice about anything would be greatly appreciated.

:-)
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Old Jun 14th 2014, 8:28 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

padmapper.com

Had a couple of friends move down there for a spell. They got out as soon as they could...politics and humidity were their downers, but CoL was a big plus.

Good luck with the move and welcome to BE
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Old Jun 14th 2014, 8:28 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

padmapper.com

Had a couple of friends move down there for a spell. They got out as soon as they could...politics and humidity were their downers, but CoL was a big plus.

Good luck with the move and welcome to BE
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Old Jun 14th 2014, 8:54 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

We lived in Baton Rouge for 17 years pretty close to where you are looking at. We lived just off Tara Boulevard. Quite a different culture, great people and we were made very welcome indeed. Our kids grew up there from kindergarten to college and we moved to Texas with my job in 2004. Good memories.
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Old Jun 15th 2014, 9:23 am
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Thanks for that, appreciate the advice.

Well maybe not the 'got out of there as soon as possible' bit. But no advice is bad advice.

Did you get involved in any sports football (soccer :-) ) for example?
What about other social stuff? were people easy to get to know and socialise with?
Was there stuff to go and do? gigs/music/ events?

i am really looking forward to the move as i loved the states when i worked there in 06. everywhere has its ups and downs but i'm hoping we can meet some good people and make some good memories.

Did you/have you travelled a lot? i'm hoping to really go and see some cool stuff while we are there. never been to vegas, new orleans, florida etc. What is the best way to do it?
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Old Jun 15th 2014, 3:33 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Originally Posted by Dan_hals
Did you get involved in any sports football (soccer :-) ) for example?
What about other social stuff? were people easy to get to know and socialise with?
Was there stuff to go and do? gigs/music/ events?

i am really looking forward to the move as i loved the states when i worked there in 06. everywhere has its ups and downs but i'm hoping we can meet some good people and make some good memories.

Did you/have you travelled a lot? i'm hoping to really go and see some cool stuff while we are there. never been to vegas, new orleans, florida etc. What is the best way to do it?
Soccer is big in Baton Rouge.
brsa.com - brsa Resources and Information.

I played almost all year old in over 30 leagues. 2 "seasons" were men and women's teams, and 2 "seasons" were co-ed (5 men 5 women and the goalkeeper could be either a man or woman).

Once I was too crocked (back surgery) I took my FIFA training and became a soccer ref. Great fun.
SRABR


Both our kids (boy and a girl) were in teams and at age 14 took their FIFA qualifications and became refs. It's good money for kids and a great outdoor activity.

Yes there is plenty of stuff to do. If you like theatre then the Baton Rouge Little Theatre puts on lots of excellent plays and musicals.
Theatre Baton Rouge There is also a symphony orchestra and venue that puts on bands and gigs. The university has a pretty good American Football and baseball team. I've been to games with 75,000 there and one play-off game with 90,000 (they won)

We did lots of traveling from Baton Rouge including New Orleans (only a 70 mile drive), N. Florida beaches, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Texas Hill country plus Memphis and Arkansas State parks and the Blue Ridge mountains, all by car. We also did a lot of traveling by plane including Disneyworld and Universal Studios in Florida, Phoenix, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas and Maine.

You should have a great time, the biggest problem on the travel front will be vacation time. I was fortunate to have my years service in the UK count towards my US entitlement and 10 years service got me 20 days vacation (plus 11 public Holidays)

Last edited by durham_lad; Jun 15th 2014 at 3:36 pm.
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Old Jun 16th 2014, 8:18 am
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Thanks mate, really appreciate the insight.

Done loads of research and it seems to have its good bits and bad bits, but like anywhere I'm sure. Be sensible, be careful and hopefully will be ok.

I'm a teacher so hopefully holiday won't be an issue.

Are you still in texas?
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Old Jun 16th 2014, 3:42 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Originally Posted by Dan_hals
Thanks mate, really appreciate the insight.

Done loads of research and it seems to have its good bits and bad bits, but like anywhere I'm sure. Be sensible, be careful and hopefully will be ok.

I'm a teacher so hopefully holiday won't be an issue.

Are you still in texas?
Yes we are still in Texas, just north of Houston. Our son lives and works here and our daughter lives and works in Santa Monica. Where we live has 150 miles of hike and bike trails so is about as friendly for pedestrians as it gets in the deep south, but since retiring we usually get out of Texas during the summer heat. We'll be leaving in 3 weeks for over 4 months in Australia/New Zealand.
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Old Jun 16th 2014, 9:29 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Sounds like you have it made!

Just hope we have an experience like yours and create some lasting and positive memories!

Biking/hiking sounds great. I'm from the north west and love going to the lake district and north wales hiking and biking and hoping to do some of the same there.
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Old Jun 16th 2014, 9:39 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Originally Posted by Dan_hals
Sounds like you have it made!

Just hope we have an experience like yours and create some lasting and positive memories!

Biking/hiking sounds great. I'm from the north west and love going to the lake district and north wales hiking and biking and hoping to do some of the same there.
Be careful when biking or walking in Baton Rouge.

Louisiana pedestrian deaths fifth worst in nation | Home | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

In the Baton Rouge metro area, there were 163 pedestrian fatalities, making up 11 percent of its total traffic fatalities.
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Old Jun 16th 2014, 9:54 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Ahhhhhhh, :-)

Thanks.
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Old Jun 17th 2014, 11:38 am
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Originally Posted by durham_lad
Yep, this reflects my experiences living here. They have this thing called "ghost bikes" as a way of raising awareness. It's terrible really.

However, there are bike paths all around the lakes, and you can get from Broussard (near Government) to LSU exclusively on bike paths.

Also, my friends go to Tunica Hills for some biking and hiking. There are rural areas a short drive (30-45mins) away. It's not all doom and gloom.

I find the politics to be far more diverse than people give credit for too. We have a strong LGBTQ presence and the various organizations in that vein are very politically active - Capital City Alliance, Equality Louisiana, Louisiana Trans Advocates etc. We have a huge queer conference on campus every year. It's quite an exciting place to live in this respect. We have made a lot of progress recently (and taken some steps backward too of course).
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Old Jun 17th 2014, 6:08 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Originally Posted by Rambette
Yep, this reflects my experiences living here. They have this thing called "ghost bikes" as a way of raising awareness. It's terrible really.

However, there are bike paths all around the lakes, and you can get from Broussard (near Government) to LSU exclusively on bike paths.

Also, my friends go to Tunica Hills for some biking and hiking. There are rural areas a short drive (30-45mins) away. It's not all doom and gloom.
As you point out, if you have a bike rack and are ready to drive then there are some places to go, including a good many miles of "rails to trails" track in Tammany Parish about an hour's drive from Baton Rouge.

Tammany Trace - Rail to Trail - Louisiana

We used to drive down to the LSU lakes early most Sunday mornings and walk the paths across to LSU and have a bagel and coffee in Highland Cafe and come back a different route, about 6 miles total. (there are other coffee shops in that area as well)


BRLA LSU Lakes Walk 6.51 mi in Baton Rouge, LA, United States | MapMyWalk
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Old Jun 17th 2014, 6:55 pm
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Cheers all really helpful!
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Old Sep 14th 2014, 2:41 am
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Default Re: Brit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Hello there!

I'm hoping you've settled into Baton Rouge quite well! I ended up on this forum completely randomly and saw this post! I know it's a bit old, but let me know if you need anything. I'm roughly on the corner of Siegen and Perkins, so we're nearby each other!

Cheers!
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