Not Recommended
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12/18/2019
To be fair, I will start with the positive aspects of this city:
1. Friendly & Helpful - The long term/lifelong residents are very friendly, helpful and welcoming. In my experience, cities that host a lot of visitors, the long term residents tend to be standoffish. Neighbors who didn't even know me came over offering to help me unload my moving truck.
2. Excellent manners - ma'am, sir, please, thank you, people wave hello, offer to let you into traffic, etc. People still send their children to Cotillion here! If you hear someone honking their horn, you can be sure they're not a local. Very refreshing!
The deal breakers
Don't move here if you rely on your job for income, will have to rent, need medical care of any sort or are intolerant of laziness.
Jobs come and go frequently here. If you're not a local, expect to be on the short list of those to be cut, and at the bottom of the list of the hire list. You've been warned.
Rental property here is so, soooo bad!! Not only will you be gouged on rent prices, the landlords here are real bottom feeders. I've lived in 11 cities, including Denver where rental housing is terrible. None quite compare to this town. Landlords act like they can do anything they want. Issues such as entering without permission, failing to repair, mold, roaches, and flooded/damaged houses that weren't properly repaired is a common complaint in my own experience and among people I've talked to. The house I'm currently living in reeks of the mustiness of flooded drywall and has a roof that's propped up with 2x4s. A co-workers landlady often entered his home while he was at work and would snoop in his cabinets. One time she went poo in his toilet and didn't flush. And forget about getting your deposit back. The only positive aspect of the rental market here is they're tolerant of pets and don't gouge you for having them. I'm sure it's because they just haven't figured out how to yet.
Purchasing a home here isn't cheap either. You'll pay premium dollar even for a fixer upper. And don't expect to see any custom woodwork or features like in the houses up north. If you're lucky and have enough money, you can get a courtyard with a brick fence with your house. On the upside, the houses tend to be large-ish here. Nondescript, but large. 1700+ sqft is common it seems.
Medical care here is appallingly bad. Really, I can't overstate how bad it is. Hours of operation - Extended hours are unheard of. Closed 1-2 hours for lunch. One day I called 23 doctors over my lunch break. None were open. Just an answering service taking a message.
Days available - Many offices are open only 4 days a week. Some only 3. And when you're finally able to speak to someone about booking an appointment, don't get excited. You probably won't be accepted as a patient. Seriously.
Applying to be a patient - Some doctors require you to apply to be a patient. It's not related to what insurance you have, it's about them deciding if they want you for a patient. Best of all, you'll be giving all your personal medical information to someone who answers the phone. Not to a doctor or nurse. Keep your expectations for privacy low. Real low. If you're not accept, you'll know because you'll never hear back from them again. In the event your accepted, you still won't be seeing the doctor any time soon.
Availability - If you're lucky, you'll be able to see the doctor within a couple of weeks. Or in a couple of months. Seriously, if you move here and get pregnant, you'll see that kid, before you'll see a doctor. The doctor is NOT in.
Working long hours and need someone to clean your house? Good luck with that. Not only will you be gouged yet again on pricing, housekeeping staff here are LAZY. By far the very worst I've ever experienced. The lack of ambition isn't the only issue. Some try to make some crazy demands; $200/week minimum for services, paid vacation days, etc. Not that you'll have to really worry about any of this since it's remarkably difficult to even get a housekeeper to show up for an interview.
With a few exceptions, expect the same from trademen. Won't show up. When they finally do, they don't work hard and the quality of the work is just sad. You're better off buying the necessary equipment and learning how to do it yourself.
Lastly, nothing here is cheap. After paying premium prices for housing and services, you're going to start looking for bargains to stretch your dollar. Forget about finding a deal on Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, garage sale, or even a thrift shop. The prices are about the same as buying new.
In summary, the people are nice, parts of the town are pretty and the homes are good sized. Those few items don't overcome the lack of job stability, lack of good services and pricing.
Adventure | Lake Charles, LA