Lafayette was a dump (New Orleans, Shreveport: hotels, home, restaurants)

[imaterry78259]

I thought Lafayette was one of the richest cities in the South. The street there are horrendous

[LSU Tiger Z71]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

I thought Lafayette was one of the richest cities in the South. The street there are horrendous

And where did you go? The Lafayette you and the OP are talking about, I don't know. I guess I wouldn't be impressed by the area near I-10 and extreme north either.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by LSU Tiger Z71

And where did you go? The Lafayette you and the OP are talking about, I don't know. I guess I wouldn't be impressed by the area near I-10 and extreme north either.

And, really, most of what's along I-10/Evangeline isn't a case of Lafayette showing its best side. It'd be like forming an initial impression of Baton Rouge after coming in through the "old bridge" and traveling down either I-110, Plan Road, or Airline.

[LSU Tiger Z71]

Originally Posted by BRMan

And, really, most of what's along I-10/Evangeline isn't a case of Lafayette showing its best side. It'd be like forming an initial impression of Baton Rouge after coming in through the "old bridge" and traveling down either I-110, Plan Road, or Airline.

Sadly, a lot of people coming down from Natchez down I-110 to say, the State Capitol (like I did when I was kid) prolly don't have the best opinion either.

I'm sure many other cities have similar analogies.

[Louisiana'sLegend2]

Originally Posted by MetroBTR

Even so, I find most of Lafayette's ghetto to look nicer than the ghetto in many places, don't you?

Naw, Monroe has that title. You probably wont find any other city or town in Louisiaba with better low income homes or the unappropiate word "ghetto"(considering the fact they dont look like the ghettoes) that looks nice enough for even the middle class to appreciate. Alot of work goes into cleaning up those type of areas because.......lets face it, a great number of those people are your working class people who work at your Wal-Marts, Malls, or favorite restaurants that you enjoy that much. Thats why they are important, they help the city, and they make the city look good.....so why not clean up their neighborhoods and make it look respectable......thus, making your tourists at least say its not a dump.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by LSU Tiger Z71

Sadly, a lot of people coming down from Natchez down I-110 to say, the State Capitol (like I did when I was kid) prolly don't have the best opinion either.

I'm sure many other cities have similar analogies.

Yeah, that route isn't the best either from the moment you cross into EBR. Especialy since that section of 61 is horrible, likely due to all the truck.tanker traffic going to/from the petrochem plants located near 1-110.

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by LOUISIANA'SLEGEND

Naw, Monroe has that title. You probably wont find any other city or town in Louisiaba with better low income homes or the unappropiate word "ghetto"(considering the fact they dont look like the ghettoes) that looks nice enough for even the middle class to appreciate. Alot of work goes into cleaning up those type of areas because.......lets face it, a great number of those people are your working class people who work at your Wal-Marts, Malls, or favorite restaurants that you enjoy that much. Thats why they are important, they help the city, and they make the city look good.....so why not clean up their neighborhoods and make it look respectable......thus, making your tourists at least say its not a dump.

Sorry friend, I'm no stranger to google steet view, and I'm afraid I'll have to call your bluff. The ghetto in Monroe looks no better than anything I know of in Lafayette.

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by LSU Tiger Z71

Sadly, a lot of people coming down from Natchez down I-110 to say, the State Capitol (like I did when I was kid) prolly don't have the best opinion either.

I'm sure many other cities have similar analogies.

So true. A guy with a motorcycle riding blog came through by going down Scenic and getting onto the old bridge. He assumed that all of the city looked like that and actually commented "Baton Rouge is not a pretty city" and I nearly died at the very idea that people who have never been to the city themselves were being lead to believe that it was nothing but refineries and low-rent areas. Needless to say, being my usual outspoken self, I did not hesitate to e-mail him suggesting he do a ride down Highland Road southeast of LSU or through Capital Heights or the Garden District.

[Moonlady]

OK, so my DH's family was originally from St Martin Parish so we have spent a lot of time over the last 20 years or so going to the Lafayette area. You cannot base your opinion of the town by simply getting off the freeway. Lafayette is a unique town in a unique cultural area. You have to spend time there to "get it". It's like the old saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover". You have to get to know what's in and around Lafayette to appreciate it. You also can't base your opinion strictly on the condition of its roads (all of them in Louisiana are like that) or a single part of town that you visited. Again, another trite phrase but it fits - the sum of its parts are greater than the whole.

To the OP- I'm not sure what you were expecting but southwest Louisiana is nothing like Texas - as it should be!

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

I thought Lafayette was one of the richest cities in the South. The street there are horrendous

You are right about that. This state has no excuse to let University Avenue get that bad. They are especially pitiful in the older areas of town.