Considering Move to LAKE CHARLES, or that area. HELP (New Orleans: 2014, apartments) - Louisiana - City-Data Forum

AmericanGothiK · 01-26-2014, 10:01 PM

I AM NEW TO THIS FORUM, PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE ANSWERING

I also posted a new thread in TX (Beaumont, Orange, Lumberton area)

I know there is some info out on the web about this already but most of it is a few years old.

I currently reside in Pittsburgh, PA. I am from Wheeling, WV. I don't mind country, and as I said in the other thread, I kind of miss it. This post is going to be pretty much the same as the other, but as I am considering living in either Lake Charles, or a close bordering TX city, I thought I should post in both state forums.

My boyfriend and I are in the casino business and there is a new one opening in Lake Charles this summer 2014. We hate cold weather and we want to live near things, but not in a city on top of our neighbors. People in Pittsburgh aren't very friendly, either. We are pretty laid back, easy going, friendly people. We don't bother anyone and don't require a lot of entertainment, not like big city stuff anyway. I'm not going to die without Starbucks and Macy's, is basically what I am saying. We are open minded and get along with everyone.

We like to go out to dinner a few times a month, take out dinner sometimes, and movies are good. Thrift stores and antiquing, and a good hole in the wall bar are our favorite things (we had a great bar back in WV, here in Pittsburgh, city of 446 bridges and 1000 bars, and I can't find one I like). Like I said, we are simple people. I do like to shop, but I can do that online.

We don't have kids, so I don't care about schools, or anything kid related (we don't hate them either, we just don't want any). We were thinking of living in TX and commuting, and a coworker suggested staying in LA and going more east, toward Baton Rouge (but not that far). We would like to keep the commute an hour MAX (and preferably under). We aren't opposed to living right in Lake Charles, of course, but we know nothing of the area. We plan to check it out later, when we know more, but it isn't the only move we are considering. Any info would be much appreciated.

We are very likely going to be renting, as we already own a home that we will have to sell or rent anyway, and we don't want to get caught up in another commitment like that unless we end up really loving the area.

Obviously, crime is our main concern, and I don't want to live in a polluted area either. Please don't be insulted when I say that. There are a lot of threads on other forums talking about it being a toxic area and I don't know it that's totally true or not, which is of course why I am here asking questions. Hurricanes also scare the tap dancing bejesus out of me, but I guess that literally comes with the territory.

We are 30 and 31.

Help, please, and thank you.

annie_himself · 01-26-2014, 10:08 PM

You can live just on the southside somewhere and be a few minutes from the city and still in a pretty country setting. Lake Charles is pretty small, you don't need to live an hour away just to be in the country. If you two are in the casino industry I'm lost as to why you would consider Texas, where gambling is illegal.

AmericanGothiK · 01-26-2014, 10:19 PM

TX because it seems to be the opinion of many that it's just a better place to live. I have no idea, which is why I am here

The houses in TX look beautiful and much larger and nicer for the price...although I am most likely going to rent. Also, it helps to be a TX resident should they eventually pass gaming, because getting casinos usually comes with the stipulation of hiring X amount of "residents." That's how those things get legalized, by creating jobs within the state and thus keeping revenue in the state. I work with several people from TX and they love it, but they have all been away awhile, so they aren't really up to date on their info.

What is it like living there? In Lake Charles or the area you speak of? I like country, but I don't want to be completely isolated, ya know? What is there to do? Or not to do? How are the people?

annie_himself · 01-26-2014, 11:06 PM

You'd be in a hub of Cajun culture with Lake Charles so it's not a terribly boring city. I have never lived there and there's not many users here who are from there. If Texas passes gaming laws, it will likely be years from now and I believe the last attempt failed by a large margin. I lived in Houston and passed through this area frequently. If you're going to work in Louisiana, I would live there as well. I don't know what the benefit would be of living around the Orange area. I would think that Lake Charles has more to do than Beaumont because of the culture, gaming, and waterways.
The people are friendly, the food is good, and you aren't far from the bigger cities like Houston, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans for other amenities. You don't sound like a needy couple so I think the Lake Charles area will be fine.

AmericanGothiK · 01-27-2014, 10:45 AM

Thanks! Lake Charles def seems more lively than the parts of Texas where we would live. I've heard great things about San Antonio but obviously that is too far. We love cajun food and culture, the music, and all of that stuff. I think we would enjoy it here. A lot of people say its a poor and depressed area, but I think that's just the Northern attitude. Which I tire of. Not like Wheeling WV isn't poor...and Pittsburgh isn't some cutting edge city. It's just like Wheeling, but bigger, with more doctors, lawyers, and that sort. The white collar/blue collar is all the same. And the people are way nicer in WV. Everyone has an opinion of why these areas I'm considering moving to are "awful," but none of them seem to be to valid to me.

annie_himself · 01-27-2014, 10:29 PM

If you love the Cajun culture that's the perfect reason to move there instead of Texas. The area isn't rich or white collar, probably similar to Wheeling, just a little larger, better economy, and more diverse.

AmericanGothiK · 02-01-2014, 07:07 PM

Thank you! That is good to hear.

Ryan56765 · 02-03-2014, 02:14 PM

I saw your post and figured I would give you a little more info since I was born and raised here in good ol Lake Charles. This area has immensely improved over the past 8-10 years and it is only getting better. The job opportunities are amazing here and are only getting better. The casino you must be talking about is the Golden Nugget and it sits next to another large casino named L'auberge. If you are looking at a map of LC try locating a house or apartment on the southwest side of the 210 loop. Mainly around the Nelson Road area if you can, expect apartment prices around 800 for a 1 bedroom. The food is great (fattening so be careful), and the people are some of the nicest you could meet. After graduating college I traveled for work for roughly two years and I really appreciate the people here in SW Louisisana a lot more after meeting people from other backgrounds. This area is getting more and more "white" collar and things are slowly rising in cost due to the in-rush of people working in the industry and making big bucks in the area. There is plenty of shopping and things to do if you want to spend your days doing such but you can also make your life here as laid back as you want. The traffic is getting worse here but they city is trying to make improvements as fast as they can. Let me know if you have any questions!

AmericanGothiK · 02-04-2014, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan56765

I saw your post and figured I would give you a little more info since I was born and raised here in good ol Lake Charles. This area has immensely improved over the past 8-10 years and it is only getting better. The job opportunities are amazing here and are only getting better. The casino you must be talking about is the Golden Nugget and it sits next to another large casino named L'auberge. If you are looking at a map of LC try locating a house or apartment on the southwest side of the 210 loop. Mainly around the Nelson Road area if you can, expect apartment prices around 800 for a 1 bedroom. The food is great (fattening so be careful), and the people are some of the nicest you could meet. After graduating college I traveled for work for roughly two years and I really appreciate the people here in SW Louisisana a lot more after meeting people from other backgrounds. This area is getting more and more "white" collar and things are slowly rising in cost due to the in-rush of people working in the industry and making big bucks in the area. There is plenty of shopping and things to do if you want to spend your days doing such but you can also make your life here as laid back as you want. The traffic is getting worse here but they city is trying to make improvements as fast as they can. Let me know if you have any questions!

This is the most informative reply yet! Thank you. We hope to go and scout it out in March. I'm very excited about it. I can't even apply for the job yet, but having the experience I do, I don't think getting it will be a problem. We have so far just looked online for information, but I just started googling "sushi lake charles" or "shopping lake charles" or "grocery lake charles" and everything looks accommodating. We were looking into renting houses, and found some unbelievable deals.

You say the southwest of the 210 loop, I believe another forum member said SW too. Is there any area specifically that I should stay away from? My biggest concerns of course are crime, which doesn't look too bad. Remember, I currently live in Pittsburgh, and even though I don't care for it, in 3 years I have never felt threatened or in danger. I stay away from those places, but I'd venture to say this place is far worse for crime that Lake Charles could ever be. I live on the SW side of the city now, across the rivers. If you live in the "point" or the center of the city between the rivers that's the worst area. I'm sure every place is like that, with good and bad areas, and I'm sure just like here, people's opinions of the bad and the good are quite different.

So, why SW? What to avoid specifically? And finally, someone mentioned North of Lake Charles? Can you tell me about that?

Thanks so much!

gsmj · 02-04-2014, 03:40 PM

I was born and raised here as well. It seems like the type of place most people love to hate because it's not what they want it to be. I personally left in search of more money. I miss the city and its charm though. Based on your first post, you will like Lake Charles. It's warm, slow paced, friendly, social, plenty of nature, the food is the best in the nation, and as the above poster said: "it's only getting better". What used to be a great bane to the sleepy city was that local leaders refused to embrace growth. That caused other cities in the region to catapult ahead of us in terms of amenities. It seems that philosophy has changed though, and LC is slowly becoming more than a rest stop between Houston and New Orleans.

Depending on what you're looking for would base my recommendation on where to look. To the east and south of downtown you'll find a lot of traditional Victorians in the Charpentier district, bungalows and craftsmen along Enterprise blvd, and ranches along University drive. The newer construction apartments will be on the southwest side of town, as the other poster mentioned above. There are a few new communities being developed along the south side of the city, from LA397 west to the lake. What's nice is that they're not as painfully cookie cutter as what you would find here in Houston, and most feature some French inspiration in their architecture.

Good luck!