So you guys dig Lake Charles? I have a brother in Dallas that would be closer to him... What's the deal?


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I live in Scott which is next to Lafayette. We're near I-10 so we jump on there to go to Big Lake or Henderson and take Hwy 90 to get to Grand Isle and the bay. Everyone is so friendly and helpful here and Lafayette is right there if you want to head there. Our deer lease is 2 hours north on I-49. All of these major roads are very close to us and easy to access. I totally agree on the food! Like everyone said, figure out what your priorities are as far as what type of fishing you like, hunting and if you prefer living in a large city, suburbs or a field. Lol Good luck on your search. You're picking a great place to live.

Abbeville, LA is the place ot be.. I'm 10-15 min south of Laffy.. 73 min from Big Lake.
70 min. from Tiger Stadium. and 2 1/2 hr from NO...

Lake Charles is in Texas. Lafayette is where it's at

:grinpimp:

Priorities... I'm a wing shooter I have an 8yo German Shorthair, I just bought a flat bottom surface drive boat, I would love to run crawfish traps, frog gig, maybe kill some pigs, and a gator? I spent the last 5 years pounding reds snook and trout in southwest FL, although I'm ready to shift gears I don't want that to be too far out of range. Id prefer some space, swing set land is not for me and I'm definitely not into the rush hour.


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Walker/Denham area.. not too far from decent outdoor adventures, far enough inland for protection from the storms... 25 minutes from downtown Baton Rouge.. 45 minutes from New Orleans. Lake Maurepas and Ponchatrain aren't far, neither is the Atchafalaya Basin...Close enough to tow the boat to Grand Isle for the weekend... far enough from the hustle and bustle of the cities.

I'm in Evangeline Parish. In the country north of Mamou. I can be in Baton Rouge in 1 1/2 hours. Lafayette in an hour. Big Lake in 1 1/2 hours. Toledo Bend in 1 1/2-2 hours.

Can be at Chicot State Park, Millers Lake, crooked creek all within 20 minutes.

Can leave my house and be in a deer stand in 15 minutes. Lots of duck and dove hunting opportunities.


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I agree 100%. I've been living in Lafayette for almost 12 years and love it. Best food in the entire state by far. Very close to some of the best hunting and fishing in the sate. Tons of big grocerie stores, restaurants, and sporting good stores. Very friendly people and thousands of beautiful women if your single!

lafa is definitely loaded with beautiful women! I haven't been often but it seems like houma would be a pretty sweet place to live too. Cocodrie and dularge always seems to be on fire, and then you have excellent freshwater in all the basin around it.

I live in Maurice it's a small village on the outskirts of Laff. It's the best of all the worlds you are wanting IMO. It's close enough to Laff if you need to run to the store or if you and the wife want to have a night out on the town, but still live in a country setting. Where I live it's about 45 min to my duck lease and the V-bay to get into some salt water fishing. The basin isn't that far down I-10 East for your freshwater fishing fix.

I admit I've only lived in the SW area of LA my whole life, yet I have spent a decent amount of time in all corners of the state. I think that the Baton Rouge, New Orleans areas should be avoided if you're looking to live the quiet lifestyle without the bustle. Lafayette used to be a nice hometown feel, but the greater Lafayette area is growing up quickly it seems. Lake Charles is expanding as well, but on a somewhat slower pace. I think that between Lake Charles and Lafayette are just about as close as you can get to having everything available in a country living atmosphere. I personally am about to move to a small town called Kinder. Just East of Lake Charles really does have the best access to a wider variety of fishing and hunting types than most places.


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I really like the mermentau, lake auther area. Just moved to egan and the water is awesome here. Love cypress.

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And the frogs are insane and everywhere. Tough not to gig last night.

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Lake charles is best area IMO for waterfowl hunting. Within an hour of 2 good public refuges, and closer to the prime rice fields than lafayette. Look into somewhere south of lake charles, maybe Grand Lake. Small little town, plenty of space. Also you would be 5 minutes from big lake and close to good bass fishing as well.

Lafayette is crowded and you'll be an hour away from most good wingshooting.

You're going to miss clear water and snook terribly.

You're right about that, I already do. Following the winter of 2010 FWC placed a moratorium on snook that lasted three years that has morphed into two short seasons annually. You can still CR but putting one in the cooler is tough. Just as they lifted the moratorium they began releasing water from lake Okeechobee basically killing the fishing by lowering the inshore salinity we had freshwater vegetation in my gulf access canal. The water quality was terrible gone were the clear green waters replaced with the dingy brown from Boca Grande to south of Marco Island... So I guess I'm used to it! Lol


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I currently live in Lafayette (born and raised here), but I've also lived in Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Shreveport and Lake Charles, and spend a lot of time in and fishing out of Houma as well as the Golden Meadow area.

I do love Lafayette, I think it's the best city in Louisiana on it's own merits, but it is a little bit of a hike to get to the salt. I like to sight fish and there isn't much of that around Vermillion Bay so I'm constantly driving West to Calcasieu or East for at least 2 hours. If youre number one priority is being close to coastal fishing and hunting I wouldn't make Lafayette the first choice, however if you want a fantastic place to live that isn't too far from the outdoors Lafayette is awesome. Food, Culture, Festivals, beautiful women, good music scene etc. Lafayette is pretty safe from storm surges, although we'll get some wind damage. Traffic can suck in some areas but if you're a retirement age male I don't recon an easy trip to the mall is high on your priority list.

Lake Charles was a nice place to live, good people, the culture is a bit different because of Texas influences, not bad, just different. Lake Charles has the Calcasieu Estuary right freaking there and is a short hop to Toledo Bend, Sabine Lake, excellent freshwater fishing at Laccasine and some good duck hunting around too. The economy there is doing well right now too. Even though Lake Charles right on the Calcasieu Estuary, there's plenty of places to live where you wouldn't have to be fearful of storm surges etc (and plenty where you would), just watch your elevations and fins a house that isn't in a flood zone, that insurance has gotten $$. For a Jumping Off point to the outdoors Lake Charles is hard to beat without putting yourself at considerably more risk of storm surges/flooding.

Baton Rouge - The only redeeming thing about it is LSU sports. Way too much traffic and not much cultural vibe, I found it to be very white bread. Not someplace I'd get excited about moving to

Alexandria - Not even if you held a gun to my head. The place they stick it when the earth gets an enema.

Shreveport - Only slightly better than Alexandria, way too far from the coast.

Houma, I could live there if fishing was my number one priority, more prone to flooding and surges than most of Lake Charles and all of Lafayette. Not as much to do other than fishing as in Lafayette or Lake Charles, but Cocodrie, Dulac and Dularge can sure be attractive.

Golden Meadow area, fantastic for the outdoors but way to susceptible to storms for me.

The Northshore area is very nice and puts you within an easy drive to a LOT of fantastic fishing. Everything from Myrtle Grove to Venice and Shell Beach, Hopedale and Delecroix. Also close to NOLA if you want a taste of the City.

All of the above have plenty of small satellite towns that usually cost less to live in and still keep you close to the amenities of the various cities.

Moss Bluff is a small community north of Lake Charles that's is worth checking out if you decide to relocate in the Lake Charles area, 45 min. To Calcasieu Lake, 1 1/2 hrs. to Toledo Bend, your homeowners insurance rates are much less vs. South Lake Charles area. 90 pct. of the employees within the company I worked for that relocated here chose Moss Bluff.

Moss bluff is not a city either. Can still burn in ur yard and shoot fireworks.

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Are you saying that ..... like that is positive factor? I guess burning is ok [if the wind is blowing the other direction]n. Fireworks at 1 AM I can do without.

We like the "Bluff".