Retiring from Military where to live in South Louisiana?

[grizzon30s]

Lafayette is a nice place to live however the cost of living/housing is pretty much out of control. Broussard/youngsville are the major "suburbs." Broussard has a very strong oil/gas industry. You can look into some of the other areas surrounding Lafayette. Anything the area referred to as Acadiana is great. Interesting culture, great folks, and great outdoor sportsman type oppurtunities.

[gasdad]

Laffy a nice place to rise a family, but the traffic is getting out of control. Too much growth for the road infrastructure that exits,

[SteelD]

Yep LAF is a nice place BUT if it continues to be ran by LCG LAF will be known as lil Russia. It's getting so bad that the property owner has no control over what he/she can do with thier own home & property. It's almost to where you have to get their permission to replace a burnt light bulb ONLY with one that meets their approval. Only to justify someone making a dollar to justify their place & the existence of LGC. It's getting very bad!


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[jldsc]

I would say Lake Charles area...some of the best hunting an fishing in the state close by....Im sure there is something in LC in your wifes profession and you have all the plants close by, also oil industry close enough in either direction. East/West/or the gulf.


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[Quackhead62]

I would stay out of Laf!! It's juat too big city for my tastes. Look south out Laff Maurice,Meaux, and Leroy are nice little towns. Country setting but close enough to everything if you need to run to town to get something. The schools are very good as well in the area.

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[BradleyPrejean87]

Originally Posted by SteelD

Yep LAF is a nice place BUT if it continues to be ran by LCG LAF will be known as lil Russia. It's getting so bad that the property owner has no control over what he/she can do with thier own home & property. It's almost to where you have to get their permission to replace a burnt light bulb ONLY with one that meets their approval. Only to justify someone making a dollar to justify their place & the existence of LGC. It's getting very bad!


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Agree with this statement 100% i live in scott which is in the outskirts next town over and its still effecting my area too.

[SteelD]

Originally Posted by BradleyPrejean87

Agree with this statement 100% i live in scott which is in the outskirts next town over and its still effecting my area too.

Yep BP... We rite in the middle of LAF, VER & ACADIA parishes & it is plum F**k'n RIDICULOUS what LAF is turning out to be!!!


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[Quackhead62]

Yea there is no doubt about that and forgot to mention good hunting and fishing isn't far from any of the small little towns mentioned above

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[MathGeek]

Lafayette is just too big and still growing. Houma and Thibodaux and similarly situated towns (south of I-10) are far enough from I-10 and close enough to hurricane zones that I don't expect the growth to get out of control in my lifetime. They are closer to great fishing too.

Thibodaux also has Nicholls State U. Having a State U in a small town often raises the local school systems because a lot of faculty spouses teach in the local system and faculty children are in the system, so the influences tend to improve the local schools for all the residents. It doesn't really show up in the system wide ACT scores though.

See: https://www.louisianabelieves.com/do...2.pdf?sfvrsn=2

We look hard for nearby employment that would have facilitated our children attending Nicholls State. It is much higher quality than a community college, with reasonable costs, and far fewer of the common distractions as LSU.

[Em591991]

Prairieville.

[youmyboyblue]

I live in madisonville and love it. I can launch my boat then decide if I want to fish trout and reds or bass and sacalait. Head south for one north the other. Great people, festivals constantly along the TchfunctA river, I'll though I don't utilize them, the public schools are very good in St. Tammany

[GringoJohn]

What about Slidell? There is an awesome neighborhood right there on lake Ponch called Eden Isles. All the houses have canals that go out to the lake and ultimately the ocean, could be fun?

[Mako19]

Originally Posted by GringoJohn

What about Slidell? There is an awesome neighborhood right there on lake Ponch called Eden Isles. All the houses have canals that go out to the lake and ultimately the ocean, could be fun?

Hmmm....I have serveral friends that moved to Lafayette to attend UL and say they will never move back because of the way that the city changed following the relocation of so many LA citizens afyer Katrina.

Even the news has shown that the drug and crime problem has gotten very bad recently.

Disclaimor: I do not know this from first hand experience. Only what I have been told by natives.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by FF_T_Warren

Mandeville/madisonville is prolly the nicest of everything you named with closest access to what all louisiana has to offer but still can be in the country type setting. However it's probably the most pricey of everything listed. If stay away from New Orleans or anything on that side of the ponchartrain. Just my opinion

I agree...and I don't live there. The St. Tammany Parish School System has long been rated in the top 3 in the state. And, it's also one of the fastest-growing communities in Louisiana. But, like Warren mentioned....it also has areas that are off the beaten path. Lake Pontchartrain is right there. Good job opportunities and, unfortunately, you can drive a half-hour and visit "Chocolate City". If I were lookin' to uproot.....that'd be my choice.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by Mako19

Hmmm....I have serveral friends that moved to Lafayette to attend UL and say they will never move back because of the way that the city changed following the relocation of so many LA citizens afyer Katrina.

Even the news has shown that the drug and crime problem has gotten very bad recently.

Disclaimor: I do not know this from first hand experience. Only what I have been told by natives.

Slidell is far from being overrun with crime. But, I promise you that it's not exactly the same place as it was pre-Katrina. Nothing over this way is and never will be.

Eden Isles isn't exactly a short ride to the Gulf, either.

[Mako19]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

Lafayette is just too big and still growing. Houma and Thibodaux and similarly situated towns (south of I-10) are far enough from I-10 and close enough to hurricane zones that I don't expect the growth to get out of control in my lifetime. They are closer to great fishing too.
.

Lafayette IS growing, which reflects how healthy the economy is here in Acadiana.
"Too Big?" Not so sure I agree with that one. The traffic here does suck at times (just like every other city with a population above 75k), but if you avoid Ambassador and Pinhook at rush hour times it really isn't bad at all. No where near as bad as the traffic in Refineryville, errrrr I mean Baton Rouge.

I would not choose to live in central Lafayette bc of some of the reasons that Math Geek mentions above, but there are a wide variety of smaller towns right outside of the city to choose from. All of these towns allow you to experience the richest, most unique culture in the South while still being right square in the middle of Sportsman's Paradise.
1-1/2 hours to the West is Big Lake and its rich fishery.
30 minutes to the East you will find the Atchafalaya Basin and all of the fresh water fishing that you could ask for.
Vermillion Bay will keep you busy a few months out of the year and you can have your boat in the water in less than 1 hour from almost anywhere if Lafayette.
Cocodrie is approximately 2 hours to the Southwest, although that trip requires you to pull your boat down Hwy 90 (one of the worst roads in the state).
Of course Grand Isle and Venice are not too far to make a weekend trip (3-4 hours).

Some of the smaller towns towns that come to mind are Duson, Scott, and Maurice.
My choice would be Milton. One of the top elementary/middle schools in the state. I grew up here and plan to build a house on family land to raise our children and retire in, so I guess you could call me biased.
All of these areas allow you to live in the country on a plot of land as big as you see fit while still enjoying the rich Cajun Culture that makes the Acadiana area the best place to live in Louisiana.

My second choice would be Houma.

[bmac]

My preferred limits would be Crowley to the west, Ville Platte to the north, and New Orleans to the east. Lafayette is just the right size and has plenty of stuff to do. Baton Rouge has more stuff but also more traffic and less culture. New Orleans has culture out the wazoo. If you lived in one of the towns within an hour of New Orleans you could make day trips there as often as you wanted.

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by Salty

I agree...and I don't live there. The St. Tammany Parish School System has long been rated in the top 3 in the state. And, it's also one of the fastest-growing communities in Louisiana. But, like Warren mentioned....it also has areas that are off the beaten path. Lake Pontchartrain is right there. Good job opportunities and, unfortunately, you can drive a half-hour and visit "Chocolate City". If I were lookin' to uproot.....that'd be my choice.

With ACT score averages of 21.9, St. Tammany's ACT scores are the highest in the state, and they consistently rank in the top three by other measures. St. Tammany is also very close to good freshwater and good saltwater fishing.

My main dig on St. Tammany is that the proximity to New Orleans will probably lead to unbridled growth and increasing crime in the next 20 years.

The closest state universities are Southeastern in Hammond and UNO in New Orleans. With the various programs for high school students to take college courses (on the state's nickel), it's a 40 minute drive from Mandeville to Southeastern. I'm not sure I'd want my teenagers driving to UNO for college classes.

If being close to NO is attractive, then St. Tammany is a great choice.

[cajunduck man]

Originally Posted by Clafleur

I would say Carlyss (sulphur has a good school), Moss Bluff / Gillis, Iowa/ Lebleu Settlement, lacassine, welsh, Jennings, etc. all good schools around here

Yes they are all great schools; of course I am rather bias.
Cajunduckman...aka Principal Gillis Elementary School

[deek248]

Morgan City

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