Lafayette, visiting then moving if i can convince the husband, HELP! (New Orleans: crime, safe area)

[kathrynrose]

Hi, all! Here's the deal. I want to live within 6 hours of NO. I was looking at East Texas, but there aren't many places there to look that meet the criteria, maybe 2 places only. So, we are road tripping to NO next week, going through the few Texas towns I found. I went on here and asked people about East Tex, and someone mentioned the Lake Charles and Lafayette areas of LA.

I hadn't considered them because the husband doesn't want to live in LA. He thinks its all Duck Dynasty and Swamp people. Now, before you all get mad at him for thinking that, he's lived in small town AZ his whole life with little to no travel so he doesn't know any better. He's also not too fond of Hurricanes, and thinks ALL of LA gets hurricanes. Seeing is believing I guess.

So what i'm asking is what in Lafayette or Lake Charles and surrounding areas are a MUST see while were there?

Any neighborhoods in Lafayette you recommend? what about Lake Charles? Little background...

Grew up in small town NY, currently in AZ.
Price range is non factor.
School is non factor.
Job is non factor.
Relatively safe areas ARE a factor.

So, again- Great things to see in Lafayette & Lake Charles to convince husband on the stunning beauty of LA.
Neighborhoods to check out if I do end up convincing him.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate it! Sorry if I didnt explain this well, I hope it's understandable!

[annie_himself]

If you want to live within a short drive of New Orleans and all those things aren't a factor, why not just live in New Orleans?
If not, Houston or Lafayette would be my choice. Duck Dynasty people are all over the country, not just Louisiana, and not just the south. They're beliefs are pretty spot on for Louisiana though. The Swamp People types you don't run into very often unless you run in those circles, but they're great people to run into. I would rather run into a bunch of Cajuns than a bunch of north Louisiana rednecks.
All of Louisiana does get hurricanes, just like all of New York, Jersey, Texas, Mexico, etc.

What are you interested in seeing exactly?

Safety is of pretty small concern in Lafayette, I think most of the crime is centered around petty college kids. I don't know exact neighborhoods there though, sorry.

[cBach]

If you want a small town outside New Orleans, live on the Northshore. That way you'll have easy access to New Orleans in a wooded environment.