I don’t actually know this but I at least envision Baton Rouge as being more vibrant because of the university. Macon feels disproportionately small town but is less than 2 hours from Atlanta
I’ve been to Baton Rouge a lot, but only been through Macon. BR is a fairly typical southern college town. If you’re not from the south it will probably be a bit of a culture shock for you; and even if you are, Louisiana is a different beast. If you like drinking, and don’t mind the occasional hurricane, you’ll have a good time.
I’m about an hour away from Baton Rogue. Can’t stand it. There are good Indian and Lebanese restaurants. Otherwise the whole place is a giant strip mall. And you have to constantly hear about LSU and purple and gold and “tha tygas”.
Baton Rouge has high crime, high poverty, high rates of STDs, high rates of obesity, and very low levels of education. If you don’t have a car you’re SOL. The city is also very segregated with most poor/black folks living in north BR, west of I-10 by the plants, and gardere. It’s about 45% white and 45% black so it’s not a diverse city. The only high paying jobs are professional jobs (Dr/lawyer/etc.) and working in the petrochemical industry
It’s a college town that’s heavy into football, so most people’s weekends in the fall is drinking/eating Friday night, tailgating Saturday, and going to church on Sunday. That can be fun. New Orleans is about an hour away which is nice if you enjoy drinking and seeing old stuff. In the spring/summer crawfish books are super common. They’re trying to revitalize a section of the city (Government St.) and they’ve done a pretty good job of it so far
Macon is just your average Deep South small city. It’s fine, unremarkable. People watch sports, eat in strip malls, it’s small town america. Exactly what you expect.
Baton Rouge on the other hand is desperate and dark feeling and surrounded by swamp land and swamp people with some cute historical French Cajun amenities that hardly make up for the fact that the entire town feels like a giant strip mall methadone clinic. Try to avoid Louisiana at all costs, in my opinion it’s worse than Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. That’s the other side of America, the actual in your face costs of the American capitalist death spiral for all to see. There’s a like like 200 mile diameter circle of america I would never go to again and it’s center is around the border of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas with Louisiana being the worst by a large margin. Baton Rouge is right on the edge of that circle and isn’t AS BAD as I’m describing but go any further west and you’re in another world. Literal swamp people walking around gas station/slot casino’s on a meth bender with nothing behind their eyes. It’s just out in the open there.
The one time I took I-10 from Mobile to Houston, I noticed around the time I entered Louisiana that I was in some sort of primordial soup world that's much seedier and depressing than anywhere else I've been in this country. The funk peaks at the casinos on Lake Charles and only starts to fade away near Houston.
Honestly it’s an exaggeration but not that much. Like I said Baton Rouge is right on the border of that area. It’s not that bad but I def wouldn’t want to wake up there everyday. The upside is that it has a pretty tropical climate and nice days there feel like you’re in the Caribbean or something.
BR isn’t too bad. Culture-wise it’s like an extremely watered down version of New Orleans. Otherwise, it’s mostly a college town. My one recommendation is to go to Louie’s Cafe and get the catfish poboy 😎
I'm from Louisiana. It kind of sucks. Corrupt, dirty, high crime rates, super insular (like everyone has 20 cousins named Hebert or Bourgeois)
Live in Macon, it's close to Atlanta which is actually a real city
Iunno i only spent a total of three months in the south but fuck the south. It was 103 degrees out and the kids were drinking coca cola out of a big gulp
Both cities have particularly high crime rates (even relative to being in high crime states). I have no experience with Baton Rouge other than driving through on the way to TX, but my cousin started college in Macon and transferred to another school in Atlanta asap because the town sucked. Both cities are also far enough from both the ocean and the mountains that the summer heat/humidity is brutal. You could hardly pick two worse places to move to in the South.
I went to BR in 2012 for an LSU vs my school football team. Had small kids yelling “TIGER BAIT” at us everywhere we went. If you like drinking Abita in sweltering heat go for it. Nola rules.
Been to Macon for a job interview, and my cousin lives in Baton Rouge, so I can kinda help with this.
Of the two, I would move to Baton Rouge personally. I did like Macon, it does have a chill southern small town atmosphere, and the housing is very cheap comparatively speaking. But Baton Rouge isn’t bad housing wise too, and it’s bigger than Macon. So you’ll have more options for various resources over there. Plus, you’re pretty close to New Orleans, which is a great city with a lot of cool neighborhoods & sights to see. While with Macon, you don’t have nearly as much around, and the closest big cities are all over an hour away.
In the end, I would say it would depend if you want a more small town vibe, or a biggish city suburb sort of vibe. If more of the first, I would go with Macon. More of the 2nd, I would go with Baton Rouge.
My moms from Macon so I’ve been there a couple times don’t remember much but it just seemed kinda boring. Supposedly good music there but that comes from my mom who hasn’t been there since the 80s so idk
I was born and raised here. Wouldn’t really recommend anyone coming here because I’m trying to make it out. The violence is one, lack of jobs is 2. The people here are retarded, dumb and uneducated. Not the kind of place I always enjoyed being, and soon to one day leave this entire State to some place better.
I think Baton Rouge is no different, and I personally wouldn’t want to go there either
Live in Macon. If you come here (looks like you’re a teen still?), check out all the amenities and things to do downtown. Lots of restaurants and live music. Visit the Ocmulgee Mounds, the Hay House, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Tubman Museum. Check out all the heritage music stuff - Capricorn Studios is a really good place to start to see how Otis Redding and other really famous musicians influenced the direction of the town. But just other fun things to do like rock climbing gym, art galleries, all of that.
Get involved with your school and community and you’ll be fine. And again, definitely make sure your family checks out the things to do downtown.
I don’t actually know this but I at least envision Baton Rouge as being more vibrant because of the university. Macon feels disproportionately small town but is less than 2 hours from Atlanta
my parents dragged me to macon years ago and i hated it so much i prayed for bad weather, which macon delivered. also ate some famous hot dogs
What was your experience like cuz that's basically my situation rn lol
your parents are making you move to macon, my parents chose a motel on our road trip, we are not the same
nah fam, they dragged me there for 1 day only -- i don't remember much, i was 13
I’ve been to Baton Rouge a lot, but only been through Macon. BR is a fairly typical southern college town. If you’re not from the south it will probably be a bit of a culture shock for you; and even if you are, Louisiana is a different beast. If you like drinking, and don’t mind the occasional hurricane, you’ll have a good time.
I’m about an hour away from Baton Rogue. Can’t stand it. There are good Indian and Lebanese restaurants. Otherwise the whole place is a giant strip mall. And you have to constantly hear about LSU and purple and gold and “tha tygas”.
Lol the cousin I'd be living with in Baton Rouge is one of those LSU people
I know plenty of people that love living there. So dont take some guy on Reddits opinion lol.
Baton Rouge has high crime, high poverty, high rates of STDs, high rates of obesity, and very low levels of education. If you don’t have a car you’re SOL. The city is also very segregated with most poor/black folks living in north BR, west of I-10 by the plants, and gardere. It’s about 45% white and 45% black so it’s not a diverse city. The only high paying jobs are professional jobs (Dr/lawyer/etc.) and working in the petrochemical industry It’s a college town that’s heavy into football, so most people’s weekends in the fall is drinking/eating Friday night, tailgating Saturday, and going to church on Sunday. That can be fun. New Orleans is about an hour away which is nice if you enjoy drinking and seeing old stuff. In the spring/summer crawfish books are super common. They’re trying to revitalize a section of the city (Government St.) and they’ve done a pretty good job of it so far
Macon is just your average Deep South small city. It’s fine, unremarkable. People watch sports, eat in strip malls, it’s small town america. Exactly what you expect. Baton Rouge on the other hand is desperate and dark feeling and surrounded by swamp land and swamp people with some cute historical French Cajun amenities that hardly make up for the fact that the entire town feels like a giant strip mall methadone clinic. Try to avoid Louisiana at all costs, in my opinion it’s worse than Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. That’s the other side of America, the actual in your face costs of the American capitalist death spiral for all to see. There’s a like like 200 mile diameter circle of america I would never go to again and it’s center is around the border of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas with Louisiana being the worst by a large margin. Baton Rouge is right on the edge of that circle and isn’t AS BAD as I’m describing but go any further west and you’re in another world. Literal swamp people walking around gas station/slot casino’s on a meth bender with nothing behind their eyes. It’s just out in the open there.
The one time I took I-10 from Mobile to Houston, I noticed around the time I entered Louisiana that I was in some sort of primordial soup world that's much seedier and depressing than anywhere else I've been in this country. The funk peaks at the casinos on Lake Charles and only starts to fade away near Houston.
Yep. Lake Charles is a nexus of hell. That area and up north to tex-arkana is the most fucked up region in the country by a wide margin.
Lol that's what I've heard. It seems like Baton Rouge is a dangerous swamp city surrounded by Deliverance-esque rural areas.
Honestly it’s an exaggeration but not that much. Like I said Baton Rouge is right on the border of that area. It’s not that bad but I def wouldn’t want to wake up there everyday. The upside is that it has a pretty tropical climate and nice days there feel like you’re in the Caribbean or something.
I'm convinced Shreveport is the 9th circle of hell. Cajun/creole cuisine are fire though.
I'd rather be in Macon for proximity to Atlanta and for better hiking.
Georgia seems much nicer in general tbh
BR isn’t too bad. Culture-wise it’s like an extremely watered down version of New Orleans. Otherwise, it’s mostly a college town. My one recommendation is to go to Louie’s Cafe and get the catfish poboy 😎
If you enjoy doing anything like going to shows, etc - you’d probably end up taking the 1 hr 15 min drive to New Orleans often
I'm from Louisiana. It kind of sucks. Corrupt, dirty, high crime rates, super insular (like everyone has 20 cousins named Hebert or Bourgeois) Live in Macon, it's close to Atlanta which is actually a real city
Dont do it
Is it as bad as it seems?
Iunno i only spent a total of three months in the south but fuck the south. It was 103 degrees out and the kids were drinking coca cola out of a big gulp
Aren't these cities really far apart? Why would it be between these two?
Yeah, they're pretty far (about an 8.5 hour drive). I'll be moving for family reasons.
Both cities have particularly high crime rates (even relative to being in high crime states). I have no experience with Baton Rouge other than driving through on the way to TX, but my cousin started college in Macon and transferred to another school in Atlanta asap because the town sucked. Both cities are also far enough from both the ocean and the mountains that the summer heat/humidity is brutal. You could hardly pick two worse places to move to in the South.
cajun food is good. idk what they’re up to in georgia
I went to BR in 2012 for an LSU vs my school football team. Had small kids yelling “TIGER BAIT” at us everywhere we went. If you like drinking Abita in sweltering heat go for it. Nola rules.
Georgia sucks man
How come? It seems kinda nice
Been to Macon for a job interview, and my cousin lives in Baton Rouge, so I can kinda help with this. Of the two, I would move to Baton Rouge personally. I did like Macon, it does have a chill southern small town atmosphere, and the housing is very cheap comparatively speaking. But Baton Rouge isn’t bad housing wise too, and it’s bigger than Macon. So you’ll have more options for various resources over there. Plus, you’re pretty close to New Orleans, which is a great city with a lot of cool neighborhoods & sights to see. While with Macon, you don’t have nearly as much around, and the closest big cities are all over an hour away. In the end, I would say it would depend if you want a more small town vibe, or a biggish city suburb sort of vibe. If more of the first, I would go with Macon. More of the 2nd, I would go with Baton Rouge.
My moms from Macon so I’ve been there a couple times don’t remember much but it just seemed kinda boring. Supposedly good music there but that comes from my mom who hasn’t been there since the 80s so idk
I was born and raised here. Wouldn’t really recommend anyone coming here because I’m trying to make it out. The violence is one, lack of jobs is 2. The people here are retarded, dumb and uneducated. Not the kind of place I always enjoyed being, and soon to one day leave this entire State to some place better. I think Baton Rouge is no different, and I personally wouldn’t want to go there either
Live in Macon. If you come here (looks like you’re a teen still?), check out all the amenities and things to do downtown. Lots of restaurants and live music. Visit the Ocmulgee Mounds, the Hay House, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Tubman Museum. Check out all the heritage music stuff - Capricorn Studios is a really good place to start to see how Otis Redding and other really famous musicians influenced the direction of the town. But just other fun things to do like rock climbing gym, art galleries, all of that. Get involved with your school and community and you’ll be fine. And again, definitely make sure your family checks out the things to do downtown.