5 Good Things about Lake Charles, According to People Who Live Here

At times I feel like we tend to take our city for granted. No matter what city you were born in, or where you choose to live, there will be some things you dislike about the place. When I hear people talk about our hometown of Lake Charles, La., it’s often not in the best context. It’s easy to point out what you dislike about a person, place, or thing, but how often do you acknowledge the good about them? Today is the day I tell you what’s good about my hometown.

I set out to ask some on my closest friends, associates, and Facebook friends, what they love most about “The Lake City” or “The Chuck,” as we all often refer to it as. Though there are plenty of things we all dislike, here is what myself and most of the people I communicated with said they loved about the parish seat of Calcasieu.

Southwest, La. is rich in culture with it’s many festivals, trail rides, and love of zydeco music. We have some of the most beautiful women in the country, and plenty of good spots to drop your line to catch a few fish. A change in scenery isn’t far away, because we’re located between Houston and New Orleans. We’ve got a small town feel, but with big city attitude.

Here are the top 5 things we love about Lake Charles.

5.) It’s an easy drive from point A to point B.

Nothing is a far drive in Lake Charles. Honestly, nothing is a far drive within Calcasieu Parish. The longest it should take you to reach your destination in town is within 5 - 15 minutes, unless maybe you run into some heavy traffic caused by an accident or road construction on Interstate-10 or Interstate-210, within the city of course. If you know the back streets of Lake Charles as well as I do, you can get from one side of town to the other pretty quickly. One thing is for sure, there will be no leaving the house an hour ahead of time to get to work, it isn’t necessary, unless you like being a suck up to your boss.

Sidenote: Lately, I’ve noticed it takes longer to get from North or Central of the city to South of the city than ever before. Coupled with the expansion we’re experiencing in Lake Charles; the regular casino traffic; and excessive road construction; traffic gets a bit nasty during the day in South LC, and might add some extra time to an otherwise short drive. Just a heads up.

4.) Cost of living.

Let’s face it, the cost of living in Lake Charles is second to none. Though rent here seems to be sky high for a city of its size, everything else you need to make it here is pretty reasonable, so it more than balances out. It’s a perfect time to buy a house too, and property taxes aren’t too bad. Just be sure to purchase some good home owners insurance, if you plan on purchasing your next crib here.

3.) Southern hospitality.

It’s just like the rest of south Louisiana. We’ll roll out the red carpet for you, and we treat everyone like family when you visit our home. We don’t know strangers. If someone in Lake Charles say’s “Hello!, Hi!, Hey!, or Sup’?,” don’t just stand there, couyon, say hello back!

If we have a lot of something we’ll make sure you have some too. We’ll feed you until your stomach busts, so know when to say no. We like to party, and we want you to party with us. Don’t be shy, have a beer or a daiquiri with us and let the good times roll!

2.) Family atmosphere. 

"It’s take a village to raise a child."  

That logic stands true in Lake Charles, and it’s why I (Big Boy Chill) am the man I am today. Everyone here is either related or know’s someones mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, or uncle. What does that mean? Don’t get in trouble, because your parents will find out.

We look out for each other here, and if you’re a friend we consider “just like family,” then we treat you as family and nothing less.

1.) The FOOD! 

As "Bizarre Foods" host Andrew Zimmern would say, "If it looks good eat it.”

Though we share many of the same recipes with our family and friends in other parts of the state, some of the best food in the boot is right here in Lake Charles. Boiled crawfish, boudin, hog cracklin’, pecan candy, sauce piquant, seafood prepared every way possible, and more, we’ve got it!

You don’t have to look far for a good bite to eat, because we’ve got an assortment of establishments that only exist in LC, and they’re locally owned and loved by natives and visitors alike.

Sidenote: Some of the best boudin and cracklin’ are made this side of the state. Here’s the thing about boudin though, it comes down to preference for native Louisianan’s. There are places in between Lake Charles and Lafayette, as well as New Iberia who also make boudin very well, but right now we’re talking about Lake Charles. We’ll save that argument for another post.

No matter where life takes me, my hometown will remain engrained in my heart. If you leave, you’ll come back and visit at some point. I promise, as much as we don’t have to offer, you will still find something you love about Lake Charles.