Moving to Lafayette, LA from NJ

[finalmove]

Originally Posted by Innotech

Right because the rest of the country just hates to hunt and fish.
You arent living here now and you didnt live in Lafayette for long. I have lived in the area the op wants to move to for almost 30 years so I know how the area has changed. Lafayette gets visitors from around the world. If people here generally had that attitude it wouldnt be so inviting for festivals and other events drawing lots of people from other places. This is a city that is very proud of its identity but not afraid of other cultures. Keep in mind this isnt a metropolis. Dont try to hold it to standards of some multimillion population city. But for a 120k city outside of a swamp this city does amazingly well for itself.
If you want to try to hold this wonderful city back with your negativity I cant stop you but Im sure as hell proud of it and I will defend its virtues.

How on earth did you construe my post to show anything but affection for Lafayette?
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Louisiana is a wonderful conservative Southern State. mod cut

[HillWilliam]

you will be fine, Lafayette is full of outsiders and sadly turnin more liberal as the good culture is replaced by other cultures. Its still a nice city to visit, for how much longer? Who knows. ya gotta love how great it is up north but they all want to come down here and then make it into what they left back up north smh

[Innotech]

Its still very conservative but no doubt that there is an influx of more liberal minded people coming in and I dont think thats a bad thing.

[xhgz]

Originally Posted by mtnhawk14

I'm currently a senior in college and will be graduating in May from a prestigious school in PA with a degree in engineering. I was recently offered a job in the Lafayette area and was looking to find out some more information about the city before I make such a big decision to move. I'm also trying to gauge whether I'd be a good fit for the area, or if I'd be in for too much of a culture shock.

I was born and raised in the Princeton, NJ area which is about equidistant to New York and Philly. Princeton itself is a small metropolitan area with lots of art and culture, although most of the shops and restaurants mainly cater to the area's very affluent residents or Princeton students, which are a different clientele than what can be found in most places. I understand that Lafayette is a smaller city of about 120,000 residents and that it is difficult to compare to NY of Philly, but are there amenities in Lafayette that would be similar to the ones I could find in a larger city? The amenities I'm talking about are restaurants, bars, coffee houses/cafes, art galleries, movie theaters, organic grocery stores, record stores, book stores, music venues etc. Not all of these things are necessary, I'm just trying to get a scope of what the city is like. I also know that it is the heart of cajun country and that there is a very distinct culture which heavily influences the city.

I would be moving out on my own and am currently single, so I was wondering if there are a lot of young people in the city, or upbeat/fun neighborhoods near the university which would be a good place to go for a young person. Or if there is a good neighborhood within walking distance to downtown/shops/restaurants. Rent is not a huge issue for me because around where I live now, a one bedroom apartment goes for about $2000 a month.

From reading about the area, I understand that hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor activities are popular. I'm not really the outdoorsy type of person, so would there be a lack of things to do otherwise? I'm also very liberal, so I'm concerned that my ideologies would clash somewhat with the conservative nature of the area.

I'm willing to give Louisiana a try, and I know that the culture is different and would have to adjust to it if I moved there. Basically, is LA a good place to move for a young person from the suburbs of NJ, or would it too difficult to make the adjustment?

2,000 for an apartment. This is not Princeton...You can the best apartment in town for just half of the price.