Howdy Ags, looking for any recommendations on places to settle in and around Lake Charles, LA. Starting a new job there at Chennault Intl Airport at the end of July. Been in the North / East suburbs of DFW my whole adult life, Rockwall the last 20+ years

Need to get an apartment, small rental, or a camper/mobile home for a year or 2 so I can be in Lake Charles 4-5 days per week, then looking for a more permanent house in 2026.

Looking for any and all info or advice anyone has on either temporary or permanent locations.

For the temp arrangement, safety (property theft) would probably be my biggest consideration, and trying to keep it in the 1000-1200 month rent range or lower.

For the permanent solution in 2026, where we will buy a new home most likely, we'd want to figure out if there are any suburbs similar to Plano/Rockwall or any of the nice suburbs around Houston as far as housing / community makeup. From my one trip there with limited time to look, there really didn't appear to be anything like this down there? I heard the historic part of town is nice, but not sure if that fits the "suburban" lifestyle.

Also, wondering out loud if there is anything within about 45 minutes of Chennault that would get us far enough out of the Hurricane danger zone so that we would just be getting hit with heavy rain and 70 mph winds, rather than full-on house destruction from wind and flooding?

If suburbs are non-existent, my other choice would be something like 5 acres north of town where we can build and not be bordered by a bunch of mobile homes.

Would also consider stuff just west of the border on the Texas side if it makes sense, but I would imagine the further west I go I won't be able to get a "safe" distance away from the coast for hurricane avoidance without making the commute to work over an hour.

Most of the leadership team I will be a part of at work lives elsewhere and just maintains an apartment or has a 2 hour commute, which is telling of course...

Thanks for any help you can provide.

I will update this but really quick as someone who lives in Lake Charles rent is expensive here. How big of a place are you trying to get for 1000 - 1200 a month?

Posting answers to lifestyle questions I didn't think to answer the first time through:


50 years old, class of '96, married, only kid starts college in the fall of '25 so when we move to LC permanently we will be empty nesting for the first time.

I covered some of this in the longer thread I started, I'm looking for temp housing now, as I'll be in LC 4-5 days a week and coming home to Rockwall on weekends until my daughter graduates and goes off to school.

We are not party / nightlife types. Ideal social weekends now include some sort of gathering with church friends to play 42 or other social games, drink a few cold shiners, real laid back, low energy stuff, BBQ, etc.

Always been suburbanites, and the comfort zone would be finding a nice suburb similar to Rockwall, Plano, The Woodlands, etc., but I'm not sure that exists there.

As empty nesters when we permanently move, we are going to be open to anything. Apartment or condos would be fine, owning another suburban house would be fine, and having 5 AC or less to build on would be fine. We are not opposed to trying the urban lifestyle where we are in a condo or apartment in walking distance to restaurants, entertainment, etc., but most weeknights we would prefer a quiet evening at home, and probably wouldn't get as much out of the urban setting as younger more energetic partiers might.

I'm a car guy, so having land where I could have a shop / garage-ma-hall would interest me, but I don't want lots of acreage I have to keep up with since I am a suburban boy. Don't know if there are good racetracks (road courses) nearby, I think NOLA Motorsports Park does have track days, and MSR Houston is probably the next closest. Like to track my EVO 4-5 weekends a year.

Lots of guns and shooting interests, and mainly upland bird hunting, although I will get into waterfowl hunting because of the location, but probably would look for a duck club that manages the blinds and maybe even takes care of the decoys, because I have never had the time, space, or interest in acquiring all the necessary equipment to go out and waterfowl hunt on my own.

adefect said:

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I will update this but really quick as someone who lives in Lake Charles rent is expensive here. How big of a place are you trying to get for 1000 - 1200 a month?

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Just a one room apartment for me. My wife and daughter will be staying in Texas for that first year or two and I'll be commuting back to Texas on weekends, so don't need anything big or fancy, just don't want it to be some crap hole down the street from a drug den to keep property theft in check?

Could even just buy a camper or a mobile home that I would sell in a two years, don't need anything fancy, but my wife thinks an apartment would provide better quality of life than a camper or mobile home, and she is probably right, but she won't be living there much at all except for the odd weekend visits when I can't come home to Texas maybe.

My family all lives in South Lake Charles - around the Country Club. Thats as "suburb"ish as it gets.

I would think that would be the place.

Or find a smaller town, east of LC. Land will be a lot less expensive than Texas. If you like to hunt and fish, Louisiana will be Heaven.

Housing:
If you want a nice apartment you are looking to be in for approximately 1300 1500 a month. There are cheaper options but things can get a bit shady very quickly.

You are in the gulf coast the elevation is very low here. Beaumont (where I work) and Orange flood as well. If I was to build, I would most definitely look north but then you will have a commute. You would be able to get the acreage you want going north. The one thing to be mindful of as your move further north is that it may will almost certainly add a commute to basic amenities. For example, there is one Walmart in Moss Bluff but then next closest after that is in Derider. If you don't mind flood insurance there are some options in Carylss as well.

I would highly recommend getting with a realtor and work with them as far housing. There are options but they will be able to help guide you to what you are looking far.

Hunting:
There are leases here but they are expensive and most come with a long waiting list. Like most areas if they are available, they may not be the best but your on blind is defiantly nice to have. As far as public land for ducks there are two close options that most people hunt either Lacassine or Sabine. If you don't mind early morning and getting away from people both can be productive. Will really need a boat for Lacassine and one helps for Sabine but it does have a walk in/kayak area though. If you are looking for guided there are a ton of options but I can't give any insight as all I hunt is public. I normally have room in my boat if you want to make a trip.

Range:
I'm personally a member of the orange gun club in Bridge City and make that trip. I've been to the two here in Lake Charles many years ago but unfortunately at the time they weren't well kept. That could have changed however.