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FWIW, I'm from NW La. and know Monroe AND West-BY GOD-Monroe having had many friends go to NLU/ULM and graduate from there. The school is one brightspot as is CenturyTel / Link or whatever it's calling itself these days. I've done corporate work for factories and hospitals in Monroe and cussed the traffic on more than one occasion. Is there still a GM parts plant there? It's been awhile since I've driven the area.
If you're from there and still live there, most likely you like / love it and couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Good for you. Small(er) communities are rarely a one-size-fits-all type of experience. Monroe is lucky to have a university for that can be the engine driving the local social/cultural community vibe. People embrace it or not but it is probably the biggest game in town in that regard. The hunting, fishing, great-outdoors, etc... if you're not into that but living in such a Louisiana community, well you may be pretty bored. I grew up hunting and fishing and look back on those memories fondly but I'm not into all that anymore although I can appreciate nature and the experiences of just being quiet and still.
But I know too many folks who've left Monroe for much of the reasons outlined in previous postings... I won't pile on. As for having medical facilities, it may interest folks to know that the reason for such is because Monroe (and much of Louisiana in general) is a geriatric medicine mecca. I know two cardiologists who built a practice in Monroe because of the high need for their services. They have a really nice home on the river and make serious bucks in practice but they are the first to admit the area leaves much to be desired, even among being in the upper tiers of community income and affluence. They are resigned to the local "quirks & irks" as they call it and have chosen to focus on the practice and are on their way to early retirement thanks to the bucks they rake in. Their plans when they retire? Well since "Fun-Roe" is a small community, I'll keep that quiet but they've expressed a desire to get outta dodge and not look back.
Another personal acquaintance was a hospital administrator who, while doing well ... just had to leave. He and his wife are from Louisiana and they felt the Monroe experience just wasn't for them and expressed to me they wanted to raise a family elsewhere. I could go on and on and on about similar stories I personally know about, but it would be pointless.
Monroe is what it is and for some that's great and others....not so much. For hometown natives, I applaud your loyalty and pride. Perhaps there's some validity when someone says that folks who hate the area "simply don't get it..." . True enough, but in the final analysis, that point-of-view seems to cut both ways, given the situational context of each person sharing their personal experience and observation. It's up to the individual reader to determine if each viewpoint carries any real merit germane to the original post.
Years later I wonder what each of you think of Monroe now ?
I ask because I was thinking of moving to Monroe but I see the crime is way high. Would I be safe to move to a statistically high crime rated place ?
Disabled and looking for a safe and low cost area to reside.
Welll.........what can I say. Every one is entitled to their opinion. I cant say I disagree with anything you said, and Im BURNING to debate.....but not this time. I have defended my Monroe for a long time, and if folks dont get it, they just wont get it.
I will say this....
My problem with some people's opinions on here are is noone give a real unbiased decision. Its all common, un-studied, focused facts, no full fledged combed review with balanced feedback. I respect everyones opinon on here but what I dont respect is a piece of story to benefit you small fashionable facts about a certain topic.
I rarely see a true open-minded comment without satisfying the common knowledge which usually supports a negative thought. When people come to this site they are looking for pure info. Not whats always wrong, but just facts. How about the lighter side to go with your popular negative demand.....................
Anyway.....
ugh....Im currently looking to build a home soon....in Monroe, LA. I guess I love foul smells, unintellectual convo, and depressing lifestyles...right?
(shrugs).....Monroe, LA for life buddy. Deal with it.
He’s an unbiased opinion with facts...
As of last February, Ouachita Parish had 355 boil advisories over the previous four year period. Many of the water providers are non-profit which protects them somewhat from leverage to maintain their system and much of the water system is 50 years old or more. Local Station KNOE did a story and said, “The City of Monroe does things a bit differently, drawing water from Bayou Desiard and the Ouachita River. Water System Manager Sean Benton says it's because their system has better access to bayous and rivers.”. The state has an advisory in place regarding eating fish from the Ouachita River due to high levels of mercury. This includes any lakes within the flood plain. Remember, this is where our drinking water comes from. ‘Oh, but the water gets treated”, you say. My water provider has been out of compliance 12 quarters over the past four years. West Monroe gets its water from an underground aquifer, which sounds groovy but their compliance hasn’t been much better and guess where those aquifers get replenished from. It’s all in the marketing.
According to City-data’s information there are approximately 700 juveniles and adults in some level of corrections. Despite what Monroe’s mayor Jamie Mayo says, Monroe’s crime is HIGH. I might also mention that this is the same Jamie Mayo that gave Louis Farrakhan a key to the city.
The stench in West Monroe that occasionally drifts farther east to Monroe? Sulphur used at the mill from the process used to break down wood fibers. Imagine what years of breathing sulphur fumes does to your lungs.
I love the sales tax here (sarcasm), in most of Ouachita Parish you’ll pay 10.99%, but if you go right up the road to Sterlington sales tax becomes 11.5%. On a larger scale there is good news; Louisiana doesn’t have the highest average sales tax rate in the country anymore - we’re now #2 behind Tennessee. If you live in Louisiana and close enough to do your shopping in one of the neighboring states (except Arkansas) you could save as much as 40% on sales tax.
Let’s say you come to town as an employee of the few major companies that are located here and be unfortunate enough to lose your job. Guess what? The chances of making that big corporate money without packing up and moving again is extremely slim. You’d better be able to get by on $15 per hour or less or you’ll be in for a major lifestyle change.
One of my major peeves is the lack of dependability of service businesses. I’ve been waiting for six months for the people who would be out “next week” to demo an old shop on the back of our property. After a year of waiting for a pool contractor to repair our pool I had to find someone else. I gave up on the idea of building a shop because I couldn’t get a commitment from anyone to do the electrical work. Don’t get me wrong, there are good companies in the area, but if you think you’ll save a few bucks by going with a smaller, more independent company your fooling yourself - they’re likely to stand you up.
The people who have lived here most or all of their lives are defensive about their town, as most people should be under similar circumstances. But without something to compare it to, it’s always going to be the best place they’ve ever lived. I can tell you this is the worst place I’ve ever lived! I grew up in a much smaller town and moved here from a much larger town, and lived in medium size towns in between. We dislike it here so much that we’re leaving if we can sell our house. My recommendation is that you don’t move here in the first place.
“Another point I would like to make about monroe is a point many of my friends have made of the south, which is their superficial kindness. Southerners perpetuate this idea that they are hospitable. This hospitality is very shallow indeed. I blew off most of what my good friend told me about how fake the people were in Georgia but now I wish I had taken more stock in his wisdom.”
I laugh because I’ve said that this “Southern Hospitality” thing is only good until your back is turned and if you’re a Yankee, well, you might not get fully turned around before the hospitality fizzles. Not that everyone is so two-faced but how do you know until you know...you know? On a number of occasions as soon as my non-southern accent surfaced I got the attitude. Now, there are two kinds of that attitude; the immediate disdain because, “you ain’t from around here, are ya?” , and the other kind wherein they wait until you’re out of earshot and just gossip. Lots and lots of good old Southern variety, home grown gossip. Have you noticed that most of the people talking about Southern hospitality are Southerners? They’re pretty proud of themselves down here. Oh, and in case anybody asks, the Confererate mentality is alive and doing just fine.
Welll.........what can I say. Every one is entitled to their opinion. I cant say I disagree with anything you said, and Im BURNING to debate.....but not this time. I have defended my Monroe for a long time, and if folks dont get it, they just wont get it.
I will say this....
My problem with some people's opinions on here are is noone give a real unbiased decision. Its all common, un-studied, focused facts, no full fledged combed review with balanced feedback. I respect everyones opinon on here but what I dont respect is a piece of story to benefit you small fashionable facts about a certain topic.
I rarely see a true open-minded comment without satisfying the common knowledge which usually supports a negative thought. When people come to this site they are looking for pure info. Not whats always wrong, but just facts. How about the lighter side to go with your popular negative demand.....................
Anyway.....
ugh....Im currently looking to build a home soon....in Monroe, LA. I guess I love foul smells, unintellectual convo, and depressing lifestyles...right?
(shrugs).....Monroe, LA for life buddy. Deal with it.
The widely accepted opinion of most who live in the state is that the Monroe area is one of the most undesirable places in the state to live.
Dismal environment here but I can't move due to work
Quote:
Originally Posted by 19Spud55
I love the sales tax here (sarcasm), in most of Ouachita Parish you’ll pay 10.99%...One of my major peeves is the lack of dependability of service businesses. I’ve been waiting for six months for the people who would be out “next week” to demo an old shop on the back of our property. After a year of waiting for a pool contractor to repair our pool I had to find someone else. I gave up on the idea of building a shop because I couldn’t get a commitment from anyone to do the electrical work. Don’t get me wrong, there are good companies in the area, but if you think you’ll save a few bucks by going with a smaller, more independent company your fooling yourself - they’re likely to stand you up.
The people who have lived here most or all of their lives are defensive about their town, as most people should be under similar circumstances. But without something to compare it to, it’s always going to be the best place they’ve ever lived. I can tell you this is the worst place I’ve ever lived! I grew up in a much smaller town and moved here from a much larger town, and lived in medium size towns in between. We dislike it here so much that we’re leaving if we can sell our house. My recommendation is that you don’t move here in the first place.
I agree word for word with the above! It's systematic in this area. No-shows, non-committed to their work, and half-done jobs. I've also encountered people who don't know anything about their jobs beyond the basics such as pushing a button the cash register. If they accidentally hit the wrong button, they have no idea how to recover and then call two other employees (one of which is a manager) who don't know either. Three employees spend 30 minutes trying to figure out how to do something simple that they should have learned back during new employee training.
Actually sounds I may like Monroe though I've never visited. I've originally from the New Orleans area and now live in the Baton Rouge area in Livingston Parish after 20 years out of state though I've never been to Monroe or Shreveport (the far north of Louisiana). I spent 4 years in Charleston, West Virginia, a place urbanites also truly hate for the same reasons certain posters here hate Monroe and I absolutely loved it there and fit in perfectly.
Its been mentioned that the Florida Parishes (excluding East Baton Rouge because its too cosmopolitan) and the Northshore are the areas of South Louisiana most similar culturally to North Louisiana. I wonder how true this is. Are there similarites because Monroe and places like Hammond or Amite?
A smaller number of the more yuppie types in Baton Rouge do look down on Monroe and say there's "nothing to do there" yet that's the same thing New Orleans people say about us.
Actually sounds I may like Monroe though I've never visited. I've originally from the New Orleans area and now live in the Baton Rouge area in Livingston Parish after 20 years out of state though I've never been to Monroe or Shreveport (the far north of Louisiana). I spent 4 years in Charleston, West Virginia, a place urbanites also truly hate for the same reasons certain posters here hate Monroe and I absolutely loved it there and fit in perfectly.
Its been mentioned that the Florida Parishes (excluding East Baton Rouge because its too cosmopolitan) and the Northshore are the areas of South Louisiana most similar culturally to North Louisiana. I wonder how true this is. Are there similarites because Monroe and places like Hammond or Amite?
A smaller number of the more yuppie types in Baton Rouge do look down on Monroe and say there's "nothing to do there" yet that's the same thing New Orleans people say about us.
The Northshore similar to Monroe?? They couldn't be more different. The Mandeville/Covington area is one, if not the most, upscale area in LA. Little to no diversity and a very high income area. Even Hammond is more upscale than Monroe. Hammond's downtown is very vibrant for a small town. Amite would come closest, but it's small in comparison to Monroe.
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Not opinion but facts
