Moving, Looking at Hammond, Lafayette, Thibideoux areas, advice? (New Orleans, Baton Rouge: insurance, low crime)

[Bojou]

My husband has recently completed training in underwater welding & has found employment in Morgan City. We were married a month ago and will be relocating from the suburbs of Detroit, MI. He's already there working & I am looking for some information to help me find the ideal place for us to live (I'm still in Michigan). We have no children, late twenties.

Specifically, I would like to find good access to a university, low crime area, decent quality of life. Any information would be great. I've never moved this far away from home before and Louisiana is SO different from Michigan (especially the weather!). I want to be sure to move somewhere that is safe since my husband will be working away from home for several weeks at a time.

Any information will be highly appreciated! Thanks for your time~

[Innotech]

compared to Detroit Im pretty sure most areas in Louisiana is probably a fair bit safer (except New Orleans) Population density is much lower and unemployment is actually pretty low (about 4.8% in Lafayette and similar in other southern LA parishes). Wherever you move, be prepared for a very different way of living. We definitely have our quirks but IMO it keeps things interesting.

If you want closer access to Morgan City, keep along HWY 90, which leaves out Hammond since it is well North near Baton Rouge. The traffic up there could make commuting a several hours long nightmare. Thibodeaux is much much closer (about 30 minutes from Morgan City), but a bit small and remote. Perhaps you should also check into Houma, which is a much larger town that is one of the fastest growing places in the state. The closest big university around there is Tulane in New Orleans I believe, but Lafayette also has a decent University that I have attended. The quality of life down here is probably lower than Michigan due to the location and history, but honestly I find it pretty comfortable. Wages seem lower than other places in the country, but you'll find that it is absolutely affordable compared to Michigan so its not necessary. You can make a pretty good living off of about 30-40k.

Down that way it is quite swampy, so keep in mind there is not much to see unless you like that sort of scenery. You arent but an hours drive from visiting NEw Orleans or Lafayette the other way though and there is a great little island to the south called GRand Isle with absolutely fantastic fishing (and pretty much the only real sandy beach in Louisiana). The water down here is much warmer than Lake Michigan and you can even catch a meal's worth of crab just by wading around with crab nets. I love that place. Be wary of course, that you are moving directly into infamous hurricane territory so be sure to take out insurance if you live less than 15 miles from the coast.

Safetywise, I dont know much about THibodeaux but that area is pretty decent. Lafayette has a bit higher crime since Katrina relocated people here, but is still very liveable. Houma crime I cannot comment on but I dont think it is very bad either. You can probably live in any area on Hwy 90 without much incident. If you live in Lafayette, live on the Southside off of Kaliste Saloom or Ambassador and you should be alright by yourself.
You can typically drive around Lafayette without worrying about being shot at but definitely avoid the EVangeline THroughway/I49 corridor at night. YOu can cross it but be wary.

If you are not used to the weather in the South I will tell you now. It gets VERY hot and humid. Expect summertime temps in the high 90s with 50+% humidity all summer. In the fall and winter it can cool down and osmetie approaches 20F, but usually not much colder. Very mild and youll find it quite bearable. It might even climb into the 70s or 80s during the winter months actually.
If you live down there also I must stress that that highway can be dangerous because of speeding and bad drivers so be careful. I have driven it many times with no problems though so just keep your wits about you.

[Bojou]

Thank you so much for your advice and input. My husband and I decided to move to Abbeville its near New Iberia and I am applying to U of LA in Lafayette. You mentioned that you attended U of LA, how did you like it? What is your opinion on Abbeville and New Iberia? I heard that they are nice cities.

Thank you again for taking your time to help me, I appreciate you.

[Innotech]

Its no problem.

I actually havent completed my degree at ULL yet, as I work at a nearly full time job at the moment and had a few other things to take care of, but the university is a small but decent place to learn. The facilities are aging, and budget cuts have hurt it a bit, but in the last few years it has undergone a sort of revitalization.

There are many renovated buildings, and a surprising amount of new ones, including a new Computer science/tech building, new business building, and several others. The curriculum seemed pretty sound. Its no ivy league, but the professors knew their stuff and communicated well. A lot of them take great pride in what they do and are happy to help you if you need further guidance, and tutoring is widely available.

The art/architecture building is pretty neat, and the university excels at computer sciences and business related fields. There is widely available high speed internet and hotspots on campus and plenty of places to eat and hang out around it. You will even notice right by the student union building, there is an actual bricked off swamp area with cypress trees and live alligators in it. Its actually a nice place to sit under the large trees and chill out for a while.

Food on campus is mainly at two food courts. One is locatd in the Legacy Park dorms behind the university, and the other is on the side of the conference center (large orange multistory building on Rex Street). The library is high tech and very nice, recently rebuilt with several areas to relax or study, and a large computer lab for doing projects and homework (or just a bit of net surfing).

For special needs there is a dedicated building for undergraduates and special education or learning disabilities called Lee Hall. This is where undergraduates get advised as well.

There is also a great little University art museum on St Mary Street with a very interesting blue glow at night and a Church along that same street (same street the library is on). ULL plays football over at Cajun Field on West congress in case you would like to attend a game. This is a small university but its well featured.

I think that gives you a good idea of what the university is like and if you need more information I can find out for you.

As for Abbeville and NeW Iberia, I have a coworker who lives in New Iberia and seems to like it. I havent actually been down there but have been to nearby Cade. This general area is very friendly to new people and I think youll be surprised at the new developments going on all around here. Several new urban style projects are underway in Youngsville and Breaux Bridge, and this whole area is generally experiencing growth. I think youll find the small towns down here a bit different from the usual southern towns in that a lot of Cajuns live here and they still fill the area with culture.

For local news, check out KATC.com - Acadiana News, Acadiana Weather, Acadiana Sports | Lafayette Weather, Lafayette News, Lafayette Sports which is an acadiana area news channel. The local newspaper is theadvertiser.com | The Advertiser | Lafayette news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Lafayette, Louisiana

I do feel I must warn you to be very careful driving around here. There are an unfortunate amount of drunk drivers around, although police have begn cracking down on them more in recent years. There are al ot of road accidents so definitely just be wary of that. You will likely come into Lafayette through johnston Street, which is one of the busiest streets and the main artery across Lafayette all the way from Maurice to the northside, where it turns into Louisiana Avenue and will soon connect to I49 north towards Carencro. Its a very long and busy street and there are red light cameras on some intersections, so obey the speed limit. Also, there is a lot of road construction going on in the area with expansions and renovations so be wary of that as well.

You are fairly close to the Acadiana mall in southern Lafayette, and thats where the majority of retail is located. I think youll like this area.

[Innotech]

I would like to suggest perhaps though, that you check out areas like Broussard, Maurice, or youngsville instead of Abbeville because it is a poorer area that is a bit crime ridden. Its nice to visit, but I do think you would feel much safer closer to southern Lafayette. There are a lot of nice places around so you can definitely do better than Abbeville trust me. In fact, Broussard is located in the southeast corner of Lafayette, and is actually al ot closer to New iberia.