Best City in Louisiana

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND

Im gonna say the city that has the has the most popularity votes right now is Lafayette. That city is making so much progress and I love to go down there to see all the new exciting things that go on. Lafayette is the best city right now.

I want to concur on the how Bossier City has really leveled with Shreveport as far as city. I mean that boardwalk and that Centurytel Center(umm just for promotion, Centurytel main headquarters is in Monroe, LA!!!! JOBSSSS, HIGH PAYING!!, Here in MONROE), but yeah Bossier City is on the up, but........it still depends on Shreveport for many things. The renovation plan for Bossier City whenever it started maybe 15 yrs ago, was to create an environment that Shreveport lacked in. Thats quality neighborhoods, great entertainment, and an overall stronger, better protected society. Where are all the great jobs in Bossier City in comparison to Shreveport? Main advantage Shreveport has over Bossier City is history, and that alone will protect Shreveport for maybe another decade.

I disagree. There is no type of work one can find in Shreveport that can't be found in Bossier. In fact, over the past few years many businesses have reloacted their from Shreveport to Bossier. Among the larger ones, Budget Phone and Cintas. I do drive to Shreveport to work, and that is only because the company I work for happens to be located there. If I left today I could find a job in the same field in Bossier City.

Also, Bossier City has just as rich a history as Shreveport. In fact, not many cities can boast of a past quite as colorful as Bossier City. The Bossier Strip was where the entertainers who performed in Shreveport went after their performances to "unwind". They drank, they fought, they gambled, and they might have even had a good time with some "ladies of the night" in any of the many motels lining Highway 80 through Bossier. We can't forget Bossier's importance in this region as it has always been a bigger player than it might seem. In fact, what is now considered to be the more desirable of the two cities by many was once considered "the wrong side of the tracks".

Gambling has existed (both legally and illegally) in Bossier City for decades longer than in Shreveport. There were illegal gambling rooms in some of the bars along HIghway 80 back during the days of "The Strip", and in the 1970s, Louisiana Downs was constructed to bring legal gambling (horse racing) to the region. People flocked across the river from Shreveport to "bet on the ponies" because there were no places to gamble in Shreveport.

Now I'm not at all trying to make Bossier City seem superior than Shreveport; I'm just trying to set the record straight about where Bossier stands as a major player in this region. Despite decades of continuous population decline in Shreveport, the population has continued to rise in Bossier City from decade to decade.

While Shreveport is struggling to keep some of its public schools open, Bossier City is building and opening new schools at a record pace. Next school year will bring about the opening of the brand new, much larger Parkway High School in extreme south Bossier, and will only continue to expand Bossier's city limits further toward Elm Grove and Taylortown. They are currently extending Sligo Road across Barksdale Blvd, and in the near future they will extend the Arthur Ray Teague Parkway from its current southern terminus at CenturyTel Center to its future southern terminus at the newly-extended Sligo Road. The city just widened Riverside Drive to 5 lanes, and it has become part of the riverfront parkway making access between Bossier's 3 riverfront casinos much easier. Not only that, but it has made access to CenturyTel Center much easier from I-20 as well.

[Innotech]

I do have to say though Im pretty excited about the fiber optic cable thats sitting outside of my house awaiting activation. This city is surprisingly well wired for highspeed access and technology in general. Lafayette definitely has a bright future.

[LOUISIANA'SLEGEND]

Bossier City is quite the city now, but for some reason its still underneath the radar or still in Shreveport's shadow. So by all means, do your part to make Bossier City known as a great place to be. I can say this, the high schools in Bossier City are way more popular and well known than Shreveports. I can name all of Bossier City's school, but just a couple in Bossier City. Some one write a thread: "Bossier City underated? an elite, important, forgotten Louisiana city?" Now that I'm thing about it, whenever I say Im going to Shreveport, I usually spent the bulk of my time in Bossier City. I wouldnt doubt that many other people to the same, just hard to say, "Im going to Bossier City" for the weekend instead of, "Im going to Shreveport". Thats just the way it is til people realize what a power house Boss City is.

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND

Bossier City is quite the city now, but for some reason its still underneath the radar or still in Shreveport's shadow. So by all means, do your part to make Bossier City known as a great place to be. I can say this, the high schools in Bossier City are way more popular and well known than Shreveports. I can name all of Bossier City's school, but just a couple in Bossier City. Some one write a thread: "Bossier City underated? an elite, important, forgotten Louisiana city?" Now that I'm thing about it, whenever I say Im going to Shreveport, I usually spent the bulk of my time in Bossier City. I wouldnt doubt that many other people to the same, just hard to say, "Im going to Bossier City" for the weekend instead of, "Im going to Shreveport". Thats just the way it is til people realize what a power house Boss City is.

You make a good point here. In fact, in most cases when I speak to someone online or meet someone in another state, I tell them I am from Shreveport because they don't know what Bossier City is. So yes, I stand somewhat corrected.

[SBCmetroguy]

Just to add to this thread, in a few days (February 20-22) Shreveport-Bossier City will be the host of the "Super Bowl" of fishing, the BASSMaster Classic. The weigh-ins and other events, are open to the public and will be held at CenturyTel Center and Shreveport Convention Center. These free events include a concert by one of today's top country bands, The Zac Brown Band, best known for their recent #1 hit song "Chicken Fried".

While I am not an outdoors-type person, I am an amateur economic analyst and I can assure you that this is one of the largest events Shreveport-Bossier City has ever played host to besides the few years that we hosted the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. Not even the annual Independence Bowl can touch the numbers of people expected to attend this event from around the country.

[Duke70]

The best city in Louisiana is in a class by itself. It is Natchitoches.

[MetroBTR]

I don't know about all that. ^^^

[LOUISIANA'SLEGEND]

Natchitoches is one of my favorite cities. Oh my god that place is so charming!!!! But.....its not overall the hottest city in Louisiana as far as progress and most talked about, Lafayette has that title right now. Natchitoches is a stability town, and we like it that way.

[SBCmetroguy]

Originally Posted by Duke70

The best city in Louisiana is in a class by itself. It is Natchitoches.

Oh, I get it. In your language, "best" really means "charming, yet still quite bland". If so, yes, I agree.

I do not dislike Natchitoches, it is quite a charming town, but it hardly qualifies as "best" and it's definitely not in a class by itself.