Lafayette was a dump (Baton Rouge, Slidell: buying a house, tech job, buying)

[imaterry78259]

What is the city doing to clean up those trashy areas. Downtown has no skyscraper for a city its size.

[Bel et Intelligent]

Originally Posted by houstonreadhead

I'm going to be in Lafayette in a couple weeks scoping the area out for a possible move in a year's time. What is the Camellia Blvd Corridor?

Thanks,
Scott

Here is a some pictures on how the Camellia Blvd looks in ceartain areas.. Mixed residential and commerce living sometimes in the same building really nice, but very pricey in most areas......

[Innotech]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

What is the city doing to clean up those trashy areas. Downtown has no skyscraper for a city its size.

Some people are just trashy. There are street sweepers out and about and I see them every day, but people down here are sometimes just trashy and dont care how it affects others. Elsewhere when I visit I notice that a lot of the suburbs are segregated and very few of the lower class trashier people can afford to live there and trash up the place. Here all classes are mixed in the same city within a few miles. Commuting is short and there is a lack of urban sprawl beyond the southside. The city has to cope with a lot of problematic people as well as law abiding ones, which I noticed was absent up in Fairfax for example because those areas are too expensie for such people to live or visit. The result is a much cleaner, safer place. The tradeoff is severe urban sprawl and all the hidden environmental, logistical, and economic problems that causes. Those troubled people still exist, but they are inner city up there, hidden from view and largely ignored. Lafayette isnt built or expanding the same way. We have to face those people every day. there is no escaping dealing with them and their garbage.
As for skyscrapers, I have often wondered about this, but I think Lafayette business has room to grow around the city without having to build up. there is still a lot of buildable land around the city, but also the ground is very soft and skyscrapers require a solid bedrock foundation to drive pilings. As a result, no building here is very tall. We cant have basements due to the water table being so high. I think people try to directly compare cities like Lafayette with other areas with different circumstances without taking into account our geography and the demographics of this area.

[Innotech]

furthermore to give you an idea of how quickly this area is beginning to grow here is a list of some things that have been built in the past few years:
Verot VIllage shopping center
Izzo's illegal Burrito
Sephora and an Acdian Sportsmens store in the mall
2 new Walgreens
FM Bank
Warehouse District Lofts near the University
new Performing Arts Center
Wingate Hotel
new subdivision in nearby Carencro
$200 million Lourdes Regional Medical Center
Burger Smith
River Ranch/Main Street Annex
new Shopping center on the Northside with a large Target, JCPenney, PetSmart, Chik Fil A, Taco Bell, and many other stores
Library Renovation at the old location as well as a new one built further south
the largest Academy store in the entire chain
Baby and Me Boutique
another damned Raisin Kane's
and just today another shopping area was announced on Westmark that will have some upscale shopping

This is all in a city of about 120k people.

[LOUISIANA'SLEGEND]

Originally Posted by Innotech

furthermore to give you an idea of how quickly this area is beginning to grow here is a list of some things that have been built in the past few years:
Verot VIllage shopping center
Izzo's illegal Burrito
Sephora and an Acdian Sportsmens store in the mall
2 new Walgreens
FM Bank
Warehouse District Lofts near the University
new Performing Arts Center
Wingate Hotel
new subdivision in nearby Carencro
$200 million Lourdes Regional Medical Center
Burger Smith
River Ranch/Main Street Annex
new Shopping center on the Northside with a large Target, JCPenney, PetSmart, Chik Fil A, Taco Bell, and many other stores
Library Renovation at the old location as well as a new one built further south
the largest Academy store in the entire chain
Baby and Me Boutique
another damned Raisin Kane's
and just today another shopping area was announced on Westmark that will have some upscale shopping

This is all in a city of about 120k people.

I really hate to be negative but.......are most of those things something very special or progressive. Those are all chain restaurants, well known retail stores that most people expect you to have already.

I havent been to Lafayette in a few years, but I heard a few things that are truly impressive. The apts, neighborhoods, and homes there and the ones being built there are a site to see, like those pics posted above in a few post before mines. Im more impressive by landscape, scenery, the uniqueness, the overwhelming personal atmosphere that hits you soon as you get to a place.

Lafayette people "dump the trashs" and tell us whats incredible. Things I know though is the cajun culture, the festivals and nightlife, and the incredible homes but is that enough to "hmmm" the average tourist or potential new resident?

Im interested, but dam, I neva knew this thread would make it six pages (whew) dump the trash already will ya. Lafayette's cool!!

[houstonreadhead]

Innotech and Bel et Intelligent,

Thanks for the clarification. I'll pass by that area when I'm there in a few days. I haven't been to Lafayette since 1991. I'm dying to see how it's changed!!

Scott

[Innotech]

Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND

I really hate to be negative but.......are most of those things something very special or progressive. Those are all chain restaurants, well known retail stores that most people expect you to have already.

I havent been to Lafayette in a few years, but I heard a few things that are truly impressive. The apts, neighborhoods, and homes there and the ones being built there are a site to see, like those pics posted above in a few post before mines. Im more impressive by landscape, scenery, the uniqueness, the overwhelming personal atmosphere that hits you soon as you get to a place.

Lafayette people "dump the trashs" and tell us whats incredible. Things I know though is the cajun culture, the festivals and nightlife, and the incredible homes but is that enough to "hmmm" the average tourist or potential new resident?

Im interested, but dam, I neva knew this thread would make it six pages (whew) dump the trash already will ya. Lafayette's cool!!

The point is not that these particular things are progressive, but that Lafayette is growing quickly and is beginning to attract high tech jobs and wealthier people. In that way it IS progressive in ways. Its not progressive as you would think of for example, Socal. Louisiana is too traditional for that.

[Bel et Intelligent]

Originally Posted by Innotech

furthermore to give you an idea of how quickly this area is beginning to grow here is a list of some things that have been built in the past few years:
Verot VIllage shopping center
Izzo's illegal Burrito
Sephora and an Acdian Sportsmens store in the mall
2 new Walgreens
FM Bank
Warehouse District Lofts near the University
new Performing Arts Center
Wingate Hotel
new subdivision in nearby Carencro
$200 million Lourdes Regional Medical Center
Burger Smith
River Ranch/Main Street Annex
new Shopping center on the Northside with a large Target, JCPenney, PetSmart, Chik Fil A, Taco Bell, and many other stores
Library Renovation at the old location as well as a new one built further south
the largest Academy store in the entire chain
Baby and Me Boutique
another damned Raisin Kane's
and just today another shopping area was announced on Westmark that will have some upscale shopping

This is all in a city of about 120k people.

LOL im with you innotech if I see another dam raisin canes im going to throw up.. Is it really that good DAM... Between Broussard to Opelousas what they have 5 of them now.. I must be missing something. What is Burger Smith? And Izzo's illegal Burrito will that be kind of like chipotle like they have in Texas, if so sign me up that place is GREAT..

[Innotech]

Originally Posted by Bel et Intelligent

LOL im with you innotech if I see another dam raisin canes im going to throw up.. Is it really that good DAM... Between Broussard to Opelousas what they have 5 of them now.. I must be missing something. What is Burger Smith? And Izzo's illegal Burrito will that be kind of like chipotle like they have in Texas, if so sign me up that place is GREAT..

Actually, when we were coming back from Virginia, we stopped at a place called Guthries chicken fingers just over the border in Mississippi. I found that place to be almost exactly like Kane's, except with better sauce and tastier chicken. It makes me wonder which of the franchises came first.
Guthrie's seems to be limited to Ms, AL, TN, and Va.

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by Innotech

Actually, when we were coming back from Virginia, we stopped at a place called Guthries chicken fingers just over the border in Mississippi. I found that place to be almost exactly like Kane's, except with better sauce and tastier chicken. It makes me wonder which of the franchises came first.
Guthrie's seems to be limited to Ms, AL, TN, and Va.

There's another place in the southeast called Zaxby's that is almost exactly like Raisin Cane's.

I do love me some Cane's, however. lol