Happiest and Tastiest - 11/18/2022

I should add this to my previous review. Lafayette was ranked "Happiest City in the US" by USA Today magazine and "Tastiest Town" by Southern Living.

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The Good outweighs the bad - 11/12/2022

I’m from Florida but I’ve lived in the Lafayette area for thirty-five years. I’ve never known nicer people. It’s true that non-Cajuns can never integrate entirely with the Cajuns who expect the right answers to the questions “Who’s your mama, are you Catholic, can your make a roux?” but Cajuns are no longer a majority in Lafayette, though they still are in the places around Lafayette. But here you can make friends with people who wait on you in stores, with your pharmacist, people whose businesses you patronize, in fact with anyone you’re willing to talk to. I could never list all the people who, on slight acquaintance have inconvenienced themselves to do me a favor. It’s also the most informal place I’ve ever been. I can go for a year or more without putting on a tie. Enjoying life comes first here: money, success, competition efficiency, getting ahead are only distractions. A local saying is laissez les bons temps rouler – “Let the good times roll.” The food is to die for – from po-boys in holes-in-the wall to grand restaurants with varied menus that are cheaper than comparable restaurants in other cities. The food is spicy but not coruscating as imitation Cajun food often is. But if your palate is mid-western bland you won’t like it. The cultural scene is far better than you’d expect for a place this size. There’s the Cajun culture: music, dancing, and hundreds of festivals – who expects to go to a Frog Festival? But we also have hundreds of visual artists and craftsmen and a vibrant classical music scene. Do you expect to find a group that plays medieval music on authentic instruments in a small Louisiana city? Our NPR station is big on “world music.” With a half-way decent radio you can get the NPR station in Baton Rouge which has news and talk shows all day. You can easily run into intellectually stimulating professors form ULL without enrolling in classes. Sports are life’s blood for most of our people and hunting and fishing are essentials in Cajun life. I have to acknowledge a hefty list of negatives but, however annoying they are, they don’t outweigh the positives unless you have children to educate and can’t afford private schools. We have some excellent private schools because anyone with two cents to rub together gets their children out of our public schools. Still, the gifted program at Lafayette High equals many of the private schools. Here’s my list of other negatives: Roads and traffic: The soil here is the consistency of gumbo and you can’t pave gumbo. Forget about wheel alignment. Lafayette is basically a collection of subdivisions with too few arterial roads. That means traffic on those roads is extremely heavy. Everything I’ve said about the niceness of the people vanishes when they touch a steering wheel. Climate: I’m from Florida but the hot and humid summer is worse here. Aesthetics: Except where the rich people live and a few older neighborhoods this place is butt-ugly. I sometimes think I’ll scream if I see one more metal building. As for natural beauty, it can only be found in swamps and rural areas. We do have spectacular oak trees, but no one seems to be planting new ones. Ignorance: With our public schools what did you expect? Politics: I’m a progressive Democrat. My wife and I are afraid to talk politics between ourselves in a restaurant. People here forget their niceness when they enter a voting booth. You have to put up with negatives no matter where you are. If you hate spicy food, if good architecture is necessary for your happiness, if you can’t endure heat, if you think driving should be a pleasure, if you require everyone you know to be knowledgeable about physics or history or literature this might not be the place for you. But if you want to be surrounded by warm, friendly people and like to eat out a lot (or do gourmet cooking at home for that matter), and even if you want a fair amount of intellectual and cultural stimulation, and certainly if you want to laissez les bons temps rouler, Lafayette could be a good fit. Arthur White Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

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Hottest neighborhoods in Laf. right now? - 2/20/2016

What are the hottest neighborhoods to buy/live in right now? I'm from out of town.

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Great Culture, Great Food - 11/7/2014

Best food in the world, very friendly. Lots of festivals. It is small town when it comes to concerts and things to do. For entertainment everyone usually goes to dinner or hangs out with friends. Housing is VERY expensive and crime has gone up...other than that it is a nice place to live. I love the Cajun culture.

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convenience store - 5/2/2014

located at 2727 W Pinhook Rd. Lafayette, LA 70508

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could not possibly HATE/LOATHE/DESPISE it more :D - 4/3/2012

hate the real estate market_ any house that will be left standing after a hurricane is priced WAY too high for not enough home!! HATE the segregated education!!! there is NO magnet system so if you are poor you are OBLIGATED to receive poor education sad for those who are smart but poor Great for those who are mildly rich but stupid! HATE the food- tourist state yes, diversity is education; education is imagination; imagination is evolution and there is no evolution in Louisiana (anyone raised in Louisiana won't understand that statement)!!! The people here are so "rich" in culture that they cant see past their own noses! So many things are abandoned!! things that aren't abandoned are just neglected and its perceived as "beautiful and authentic". I'm going insane because of the closed minds here!!! I could go into detail here for hours about why i feel what i feel, but to sum it up fast...HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT!!!!

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I live in Lafayette, LA - 1/18/2012

It's a great place to call home.

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Housing - 4/2/2011

Housing is very expensive! No bang for the buck.

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lafayette,la. is not a nice town! 'God honest trut - 3/7/2011

im born and raised in lafayette,la. until the age of 13 and move around alot to various places due to my father being in the military and myself also and i must say that my experiance of being here and there showed me how much lafayette really lacks and a whole lot. it showed me how little is actually put into the city as a whole everything from naturallandscaping,attractions,roads,education,etc..im not downing my hometown, but rather upset that we lack all these things over the years and all these other towns not as big as lafayette are moving on building up and we still look like a town with a 80's image.dont mention downtown nothing impressive at all,and thats the truth about lafayeet,la.

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c'est la bonne vie (it's the good life) in Lafayet - 2/13/2011

My wife and I moved to Lafayette from Quebec about 5 years ago, and it's been a wonderful place to live. I think anyone that has posted negative comments around the people and culture must have really chosen their company poorly. I've found everyone really inviting and friendly thus far. As we have French Canadian background, we've really enjoyed the unique culture here, from the French immersion programs at some schools, to the unique Cajun/Acadien French dialect and cuisine. Acadiana also has many wonderful cultural festivals (Festival International de Louisiane, my favourite) throughout the year; it's been a lot of fun for the family. Although housing costs are a bit higher than I'm used to, it has not been too bad. They have many beautiful neighborhoods here as well like River Ranch, Greenbriar, The Settlement; there's a really nice sense of community. I would highly recommend Lafayette to anyone looking for a unique place to raise their family. Crime is low, people are quite friendly, and the culture is truly unique in America. Bonne chance tout le monde! Jean-Claude

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Your Opinion of Lafayette Will Be Directly Related - 2/8/2011

Lafayette is UGLY. There are very, very few attractive places in relation to the vast majority of commercial and residential areas that are neglected. If you have lived in a city that cares about it's impressions to visitors and potential residents, you will notice this immediately. Very few greenbelts or parks, virtually no attractive landscaping, and it has some of the ugliest shopping centers on the planet as you drive down Johnston (the major artery)unless you are passing the college. If you were raised in the area, you probably will not realize this absolute fact unless you have lived in an area where some funds are spent creating a modicum of pride in the city's appearance. The people are very nice and polite on the surface. Underneath there is a pervasive prejudice against people of color. I have never heard the "n" word used with as much flippant use as I have living in this area, and correct or enlighten at your own risk. Again, is you have lived here all your life, this fact will fly under your radar, as this is fairly normal and acceptable. There are many fantastic attributes the people here embody. They are hard-working, largely honest and forthright, and they have a very deep sense of pride (as evidenced right here in the comments of the locals who were raised here). The culture promotes and esteems good times and great food. There is a live and let live mentality, especially among the Cajuns, that is refreshing. Lafayette and the surrounding areas have their good points and bad points. And if you comment on the bad points, even when prompted, you can expect to be told to go back to where you came from.

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Lafayette-A Cajun's Point of View - 11/25/2009

I love my city. It is a part of America, and because of that Jack and Terri are allowed to write whatever their opinion is about Lafayette. That's called freedom. However, freedom does not promise wisdom or sensitivity. This is a truly wonderful city in which to live and raise your children. I have to ask this question about their comments, "What is wrong with you?" Our French culture is genuine; born of a people who were isolated from the rest of the country for a couple of centuries. I'll tell you what I tell anybody who comes to America and doesn't like. If you don't like it here go back to where you came from. We only want people who know how to enjoy themselves here. We won't mind because there are plenty of other people who also love this city. God Bless you on your merry way.

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Living in Lafayette - 11/8/2009

We have lived here two different time peiods in our lives. The people are unique, friendly, and independant. The city is very progressive, and has the only real net increase in populatin in the last 10 years in the state. We are far enough north, that hurricanes do not provide any tidal surge to Lafayette Parish. This area is the heart of Acadiana, it is a cultural melting pot of french, creole, german'ss, spanish and cajuns. There are many who have worked in the oil patch companies, who return to retire here. A great health care system exists, as well as innovative busniness have chosen to locate in Lafayette. The cost of homes is higher than other places we have lived in, as the cajuns value their land.

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Not your ordinary... - 6/15/2009

...little big city. Lafayette has a strong grip on its heritage, that makes you wish you'd found it much earlier.

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Cajun Culture - 4/7/2009

Crawfish and fiddle music can be a bit boring

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Nice, if you can take the humidity - 4/5/2009

Lafayette is a really great place, as long as you can take the long periods of high humidity.

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. - 2/18/2009

decent place to live. festivals and outside music venues are good.

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MIssionary Baptist Church - 12/5/2008

I pastor a Missionary Baptist Church is Bossier City, La. Through recent surveys I have noticed that there are few Baptist works in general in this area and none that is associated with the A.B.A or the B.M.A. that I know of. If you are reading this and would be interested in starting a new baptist work affiliated with the American Baptist Association please respond and let me know. This would be a conservative work based on the Holy Bible. My email address in Josephpemberton@bellsouth.net

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housing situation, hospitals - 10/21/2008

Nice neighborhood and possible employment at nearby hospitals.

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Pearl of Louisiana - 3/21/2008

I have lived in Lafayette for all my life and I must say that it is the pearl of Louisiana. My visits to all the other major cities in Louisiana leave my yearning to return home to Lafayette. The quality of life is much better than that of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The crime rate is low and the home appreciation, despite this site's information, has risen significantly. I was in awe to discover that a three thousand square foot house in the trendy neighborhood of River Ranch was on the market for 1.1 million. My house has more than doubled in value over ten years. The economy of Lafayette is very diverse, despite the factitious stereotype that it is oil-driven and reflects the predicament of petroleum market. Greater Lafayette is home to many hospitals, ten of which are located in the city proper. The southern suburbs of Lafayetee have seen tremendous growth in a period of ten years and the next ten years looks promising. From a transportation viewpoint, Lafayette is positioned at the junction of I-10, which is undisputably the country's main arterial and I-49, which will soon reach northward to Kansas City, Missouri and southward to New Orleans, Louisiana. Many other transportation projects are in the works, including an interstate toll loop around the western suburbs of the city. This will certainly stimulate growth in the area. The future looks spectacular for the city of Lafayette, under the leadership of maverick mayor Joey Durel, and the state of Louisiana with the practical mind of Governor Bobby Jindal. It is correct to say that Lafayette is a big city with a small city atmosphere.

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