SperlingViews - Gonzales, Louisiana

Quality of Life is like a mantra here, unfortunately more of a political one. The area is growing at an astounding rate but mostly in my opinion due to location. Right in between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, the folks who can have been living the big cities and can afford the change are coming here making housing extremely over priced. Extremely! Furthermore, the quality of life have suffered and the character is being lost to Big Box chains and density. It's a typical story but unfortunatly the culture here hasn't been handling it well, and those who know how to fix the problem is being met with conservative opposition. So if you like smart growth cities, this isn't it... it's a free for all of market drivin land grab.[read more...]

Gonzales (and surrounding area) is a fair town to live in. Not much to brag about, little or no excitement except youth sports, but then there is very little crime here too. Has a fair choice of stores and conveniences, and Baton Rouge is 25 minutes away; New Orleans is 60 minutes away. The main problem being lack of infrastructure planning. This is because of the good public school system in the Gonzales area – a lot of people moved here in the past couple of decades to avoid the ridiculous bussing system of the Baton Rouge parishes. The people here are friendly and good. [read more...]

A very family oriented place with little to no cultural activities outside of regional ones. Be prepared to feel like a 'stranger in a strange land' ...[read more...]

Ascension Parish has not planned for the huge growth the parish has experienced over the past 10 years. Known for their great schools (compared to nearby parishes, many families moved to Ascension. The parish granted too many subdivisions and experienced too much growth too fast. The school system has been unable to keep up. New districting has many students passing schools that are close the their homes and driving 10 or more miles to schools in other cities. Many homes are now for sale in Prairieville because the families who moved for great schools aren't getting what they thought![read more...]

Hello My name is Debra Jouette. I live in Gonzales and have been here (on the same piece of land) all my life. I came across this web site while attempting to find out information on the jail in Rayville. My son is in jail there and I've only gotten a chance to go way up there and see him once. I'd like to be able to call the jail there and would love to be able to find the phone number. This is just a shot I am taking. By the way, Gonzales is the Jambalaya capital of the world. We just had the new Cabela's open up here. We have Tanger Mall just off the interstate as is Cabela's. It's a nice city that has grown drastically since Katrina. Every thing that was is not the same. So many business are coming up on what seems like a daily basis. Thank You for your time and God Bless You all, Debra Jouette[read more...]

I moved to the southern part of Louisiana June 2007. I was shocked to find the rent rates to be higher here, than in Houston, TX. They say they raised the rent after Katrina to keep the wrong kind of people out of their neighborhoods. I think that it terrible. The states fine gas companies for price gouging during a crisis, I think they should do the same for home owners and real estate companies that handle rentals and raise the prices for the wrong reasons. To rent a simple 3 bd. 2 b. brick home is $1200 to $1800 a month. To rent a simple 3 bd. 2 b. mobile home lacking in looks and old you will pay $950 and up each month. None of these come with a good yard size. I have a house outside Alexandria, La. 3 bd/2b on 3 acres and a pool for only $685 a month. In the Baton Rouge and surrounding areas, you will pay anywhere from $1200-$2700 to rent a 3 or 4 bd. house. They had on the news the other day about having a hard time keeping the college graduates in Louisiana after graduation and wanted to find out why they are moving away. My oppinion is, they are finishing their education then relocating and finding jobs in places where the cost of living is much better and affordable. Who wants to spend most if not everything for the cost to live. I don't. My daughter is at LSU and tolerates the rentals for now but says once she graduates, she is going somewhere with lower rental rates and still offer great paying jobs. My husband make $98000 + a year and we spend almost $28000 a year just in rent, utillities & gas just to live here. I believe that is a total waste of money. And I believe if the state would lower the rental rates back to a normal fair rate for the housing, I believe college students would not be in such a hurry to leave this state after graduating from college. They would be more incline to seek work here and be able to afford the rent. How many fresh grads do you know starting out on a new job a new career can afford to pay $900 - $1200 a mont in just rent? My rental review for the Baton Rouge Parish, Ascension Paris and Livingston Parish and others in the southern areas, is not good. Livingston Parish, out of the three listed, is a little better but unfortunately the area is not as nice.[read more...]