Warm greetings, and welcome to the one-stop shop for your Lake Charles, Louisiana apartment scavenging adventures! Situated on the southwestern edge of the Bayou State just 30-odd miles from the Gulf of Mexico. So what do you say? Are you ready to find a primo crash pad in Cajun Country? Then stick with us, and we guarantee you’ll be living it up in Lake Charles in less time than it takes to suck the head off a Zatarain’s-flavored crawfish at a good old-fashioned Louisiana crab and crawfish boil. But before we scour the listings for your future homestead, let’s take a moment to examine what the “Festival Capital of Louisiana” is really like …
Lake Charles is Hip
It’s true, mes amis. As a Lake Charles resident, you’ll be able to enjoy and partake in more than 75 festivals each year, a vibrant nightlife scene, and live music playing at virtually every corner (hope you like rhythm and blues!). The city also boasts numerous Gulf beaches, trendy restaurants, quirky downtown shopping destinations, a legendary waterfront boardwalk, and arguably the coolest-named body of water on the planet, the Contraband Bayou. Besides, you know you’ve officially made it as a crazy-cool city when the Band, Steve Earle, and Lucinda Williams all name-drop you in song.
Featuring a variety of casinos, arts centers, theaters, historic shopping districts, pubs, clubs, resorts, and seemingly endless miles of natural habitat, Lake Charles truly has something to offer for everyone. Bottom line: Why not venture away from your apartment now and then and experience the various attractions your fair city has to offer?
Lake Charles is a Renter's Market
Rent specials pop up frequently and waiting lists are rare. Rental houses are difficult to come by in Lake Charles, and the few that become available are never on the market for long. If you’re hell-bent on scoring a freestanding house instead of a traditional apartment, you’ll have to target the more suburban, sprawling subdivisions further from the city center.
Lake Charles is the Big Easy
Actually, New Orleans, located a couple hundred miles to the east, is the Big Easy. It doesn’t get much easier, though, than renting an apartment in Lake Charles. You should be able to score your dream pad with nothing but the basics. Just bring along a list of previous residences and proof of income, and (as long as you have at least a semi-respectable renting/credit history) you’ll be living the dream in Festival City in no time.
Lake Charles is Sprawling
Most of it is, anyway. The downtown area is built for sidewalk surfers, pub crawlers, and all other types of foot traffickers, but the majority of Lake Charles is so spread out that you’ll need your own set of wheels to work, shop, bank, dine, play, and just plain live conveniently. The city does provide a public bus system, but it’s extremely limited and runs just five routes. Fortunately, traffic is minimal (the average commute to work takes barely 15 minutes) and parking is ample, even in the hopping downtown area.
Final Thoughts: Common Sense is King
We’ve said it about a googolplex number of times, but we’ll say it again: Use common sense before attaching your John Hancock to a lease and make sure you understand every last detail. Most Lake Charles apartments are pet-friendly, but many aren’t, and landlords have different rules regarding roommates, barbecue pits, smoking, and even visitors in some cases. Also, take your move-in checklist seriously and examine every last nook and cranny of your new domicile for even the most minor blemishes (which could affect whether or not you get your security deposit back).
And on that note, you’re all set to embark on your apartment hunting adventures, so welcome to Arcadia and happy hunting!
