Living in Louisiana
 

For those of you living in Louisiana, can you give some good recommendations for cities to live in, with just one condition-I don't want to live anywhere near the gulf. At least an hour & a half to two hours away if possible. :)

Thanks!

Good recommendations for Louisiana...Birmingham is the closest I'd get.

1. Dallas
2. San Antonio
3. Austin

I'm looking for suggestions from those that may already be living in Louisiana, I know we must have a few on this board that do!

Why wouldn't someone who is not living in Louisiana be able to offer you assistance?

Because it seems as if those that aren't living there (did you even read the previous posts that suggest cities in Alabama & Texas?) don't have any suggestions for cities there.

......and that should be your first clue.

Yes, it's a clue. But it isn't helpful when we may be moving there anyway & will need to decide on a city. I'm not familiar with Louisiana at all, but I hate the idea of living anywhere near a large body of water, so I just ask that it isn't close to the gulf by 90-120 miles (or roughly 1.5-2 hours.)

I suppose it depends on what you are looking for. Louisiana is not really a totally French oriented state. New Orleans, Lafayette, and the Acadian Country are largely French derived. Baton Rouge is mostly Anglo and further North is almost purely Anglo in its ambiance and traditions.
New Orleans, with all its problems, is probably the most interesting and livable city in North America. After N.O. you probably need to consider some Canadian cities for French/international ambiance.
I strongly suspect that despite the disaster of the hurricanes of 2005 it will be another two to three hundred years before the city faces another such problem.
If you are moving to Louisiana you need to consider the reason for the move. If you are a professional (Doctor, Lawyer, CPA, etc.) you have more flexibility than if you are a gourmet chef or petroleum engineer. More info would be helpful.
In any case you should invest some time in checking out the possible locations and see what appeals to you. Its quite a diverse state and there is plenty to enjoy, but different parts of the state are radically different from eachother.

I am from New Orleans (born and raised) and my family is still all down there...I honestly can't imagine living anywhere in the state other than New Orleans...I've heard Lake Charles is pretty nice and Baton Rouge has grown recently (obviously) because of Hurricane Katrina but I think it's pretty nice in BR too....Alexandria is alright, not very interesting or pretty but it's there....Shreveport is okay too....I hate to say this but pretty much anywhere in the state of LA if there is another "big" hurricane you are going to feel it in some aspect...just my thoughts

Well people who have visited could give you valuable input so don't limit yourself. (That was the point of my question).

They may be able to offer some input, but I would really take it with a grain of salt. I've visited Aurora/Denver, CO several times, but I don't feel qualified to access livability like say, DA would be able to.

We'll be moving because Trevor will have accepted a position that will require him to live in Louisiana. We'll have final say over the city we live in because he'll have a home office & won't be required to check in at a local office (he'll be recruiting students for a school in TX.) With his new job I'm actually going to try to go back to school. I may work part time in retail or waitressing, but I'm not going to be picky about that.

You did bring up something that I haven't thought about-the cities & their origins. Are there parts of the state that mostly speak a dialect of French? I will definitely look into this because I only know enough French to order off a menu! ;)

I'm really not so concerned that another hurricane the size of Katrina will hit anytime soon, but I will admit that it lingers in the back of my mind. As far as natural disasters go, I currently live in an area that experiences very few (maybe a tornado or two per year.) So moving close to a large body of water greatly increases those chances & its something I want to be cautious about. I'm willing to expect lots & lots of rain & some flooding & some damage, but I really don't want to live so close that I can see the waves coming up on the beach.


I don't mind to feel the effects of a hurricane, I'd just prefer not to bear the brunt of it. :)

I'll look into Lake Charles & Baton Rouge, thanks for the suggestions! I may PM you if I have any other questions-if you don't mind?

English is spoken universally in Louisiana but one is liable to run into more people who are of French descent and speak it as a second language in the traditionally French sections of the state.
I wouldn't limit my choice of locale by proximity to water because you would eliminate the most interesting parts of Louisiana.
Also, if your husband will be recruiting it will be a lot easier if located in the major population centers.

shreveport isnt a bad city at all. its about an hour from the texas state line. about 3 hours from dallas. about 4 hours from baton rouge, 5 from new orleans.

Baton Rouge native, here...
 

You'd have get really far off the beaten path to find a place in the state where French is the primary language. So, don't break out those Berlitz tapes just yet. ;) All you'll need to know how to say is "Laissez le bon temps roulez!"

My family is still in Baton Rouge, and its population has grown tremendously in the year since Katrina. The good part is that New Orleans restaurants and businesses (Galatoires! Mignon Faget!) are opening in town. The bad news is that traffic is worse than ever, and rent and home prices have been driven up due to high demand. It's near and dear to my heart for the food, the shopping, and LSU football. But it might be a difficult place to move due to the increased cost and congestion.

I think Baton Rouge is shaping up to be our first choice. :) Thanks for the advice! :D

how are u!!!
 

helloo!!!am roel from the philippines!!!just want to ask assistance from you if you know some persons who are members of delta upsilon int`l fraternity feel free to tell them our website here in the philippines...
www.geocities.com/duphil2004/deltaupsilon.html

thanks.....

I have some friends in Lake Charles.....I thought the are they lived in was quite nice.

My friend lives in a very nice part of Baton Rouge, it reminded me of Mountain Brook in bham. However, its still Baton Rouge.

Are you from Louisiana? If so, then you should be able to help instead of lecturing about limitations. Have you ever visited Louisiana? If so, what can you offer about living in Louisiana? Seriously. If you have neither lived in nor visited Louisiana, what concern is it of yours as to whom she CHOOSES to accpet advice from? If I were moving somewhere, I would want imput about someone who has personal experience, not a tourist. :rolleyes:

Nearly every city in Louisiana has it's own culture. New Orleans will ALWAYS be New Orleans. No explanation needed. Baton Rouge is nice. Lafayette offers a lot of French/Cajun culture. Shreveport isn't one of my favorite places. Lake Charles is OK. I don't know much about Monroe, so I can't help too much with that....

living in LA
 

Well I spent the past 10 years of my life living in Louisiana. And I didn't read all of the threads to see why you are planning on living there, But this is what I can tell you. I spent the first 4 years in Slidell and still visit there often, but you couldn't pay me to move back there. It's not that it is that bad or anything, just not where I want to live after going to high school there. I then moved to Hammond. Now there is absolutley nothing to do in Hammond, but it is still a nice small town feeling and close enough to the citites. Covington and Madeville are real nice too. I then moved to Baton Rouge. Before Katrina it wasn't too bad, but it wasn't great either. Now it is just terrible. The traffic is a nightmare, even more than it was before. And I didn't think that was possible. I lived 4 miles from work and it took me 45 min every day to and from work. Now I hear that Bossier City and Shreveport are real nice. That is where my friends family relocated after the storm, and they said they would stay there. They liked it that much.

Hi Lisa, I was born and raised in Baton Rouge. I currently still live here. PM me if you have specific questions about certain areas of BR. I find that the city has changed a lot since Katrina. I love Louisiana and I had plans to stay here after I graduate.... although I was keeping my options open and I would like to travel and possibly move to another state. I will likely be moving to the Houston area in a year..... mainly because the majority of my family is moving there or has already moved there. I just need to convince the boyfriend to move!:D