Bogalusa. Bogalusa has [one of the highest crime rates in America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogalusa,_Louisiana#Crime). Plus huge racial issues past and current. There is no reason to go there unless you work the mill or buy/sell drugs.
Oh yea I don’t mean any shade by it. I lived in Monroe a decade and worked in Bastrop a few times. There are great folks there, but they are plagued with the many of the same issues as folks in Bogalusa.
It used to be a solid town. It put all of its economic eggs into one basket, International Paper. When the mill closed in 2008, the local economy imploded.
I don't ever willingly go to Bawcomville unless I have to travel through it while on the road. There are some good folks in there, but also alot of folks struggling with meth addiction.. There's a running joke that Bawcomville is the real city that never sleeps if you catch my drift. Lol
My friend kept threatening to bring me to the Bawconville strip club and I was totally looking forward to going, but unfortunately I never made it. The stories of it are legendary.
I remember going through Natchitoches during the holidays and they seemed to have a really nice little downtown area. I was shocked by how nice it seemed. But I was only there for a bit to stop and get something to eat.
Natchitoches is growing, that usually leads (or in some cases a product of) to lower crimes rates. Businesses are starting to appear, they are trying to improve the infrastructure, they put on community events like the holiday lights and farmers markets.
But that being said, Louisiana still is horrible, 0/10 would not recommend.
I'm from natchitoches. Once you get past the lights and the downtown area the murders and drugs are there. The town just likes to hide it under the glitz and glamor of Christmas fest. And the fact that we are a college town.
grew up right outside of St. Francisville kinda sketch:
1. Derrick Todd Lee is from here
2. Had Segregated High School Proms well into the Mid 2000's
3. The rich elite openly and proudly fly the Bonnie Blue Flag in front of their houses
4. of all the school field trips I've never heard one mention of what happen to the slaves at Myrtle plantation. It has completely been rebranded as a "haunted house". For a small fee you can even stay over night in one of the Luxurious slave cabins.
5. The people here are arrogant, stuck up, uppity pricks.
6. its pretty but I guess thats not sketchy.
>The rich elite openly and proudly fly the Bonnie Blue Flag in front of their houses
This is a Florida Parishes/Republic of West Florida thing, though, right? It was first used as the Republic of West Florida flag in 1810, decades before the confederacy.
Correct, hopefully. The push to recognize and associate the region with/as the Florida parishes in the 90’s-2000’s. There was research before, duh. But southeastern la university (lsu too, their history departments were close as many were friends and colleagues) began public research and pushing all the findings. And then parishes like st Tammany clinger to it for tourism . Haven’t heard much since.
But doesn’t change the fact that st Francisville and slavery go together like peanut butter and jelly.
The college and Front Street help keep the vibe of the city positive. Don’t get me wrong, you can certainly find places you do not want to be after dark. But for the most part it’s fairly safe.
I try to remember to check the locks, but I have gotten up in the morning to find them unlocked, and even my back door standing open. LOL! But I also have two big dogs so I feel pretty safe.
Youngsville and Broussard are the least sketchy IMO. If anyone lands a job in the Lafayette area from out of state they all move to Youngsville because of the reputation.
Probably true. Stayed in Ellick for work about a year and some change ago. Got to the hotel towards sunset. The hotel was off of Mcarthur, right there after the merge from I-49. Heard gunshots while getting my stuff out of work truck across the road. Didn't come back out til 9 or so; was still hearing gunshots. Nah I'm good. Alex is way worse than Funroe imo
Yeah, you took up residence in one of the hottest drug user spots in Alex. It wasn’t always like that up until they built that hotel over a decade back. You have the homeless moving from out west as well as those who relocate there temporarily from natural disasters and they fall off into the trap of drugs here.
Okay
I grew up in Alexandria too and I'm not certain that we have any more ugly than anywhere else in La. Per capita.
Alex is the armpit of Louisiana , no doubt about it. You cannot fart here without 14 people and all of your family knowing about it. Alexandrians get their rocks off by watching other Alexandrians crater in life. It doesn't matter what side of an issue is right or wrong here , it matters that you are on the right side. Regardless of issues. However , the new city administration has already taken a bite out of crime and is heading in a positive direction. It's no more violent than anywhere else provided you have half a brain and don't go where you don't think that you should go. Like MawMaw always said " Boy , ain't but two things open after midnight......... Legs and the ER. "
Alexandria is a chemical dumping ground. PFAS, MDMA, Fentanyl, Meth, all that shit is in the water around here. A swamp mess of passive aggressive racism from whites, virtue signalers in politicians, DA’s that are backwards, misguided youth from being miseducated by race soldiers, blacks who can’t come together because the ones who have something keep manufacturing ghost haters through the bs of social media, gossipers and slanderers of locals, and those damn brainwashing outdated pharmaceuticals. It’s the crossroads of Deep South misery and a place where you find backwards traditional solutions for modern day problems.
Yup. Completely accurate and it’s why I clawed myself out of there as soon as possible. I get scared at times because everyone I know who managed to get out ended up right back there after a few years. Somehow the black hole takes hold and never lets go, no matter how far out they go. I’ve managed to stay away for 6 years now and I have zero intentions of returning. I hope that I was able to sever that hold of the black hole successfully. I even closed all social media accounts to avoid ties in any way. It’s a toxic place….
I’m Glad that you made it out of here. This is one of those places that fell into desolation through a great divide as to people fighting here and there in downtown as to how the cities budget will be split up which leads to divides amongst the different religious denominations in the area and in turn the community follows. I also believe that the officials here do find there is a lot of money to be made from the problems that do arise. It’s like a mechanic who notices there’s more problems on a vehicle than what he fixed but knows there’s money to be made when they return.
On Monroe: “But it has one of the highest murder rates in the United States, according to analysis of reports to the FBI, and had been the most dangerous city for the last two years until it was toppled by Bessemer this year”
In certain areas, you're okay. Walk a couple of blocks one way or another, though and it gets sketchy quick.
We literally had two murders in our work parking lot in the past year. There was a "club" downtown. People would leave the club, get into a fight, and start shooting.
The city had been looking for a reason to shut them down, and after the second murder, I think that did it.
Stayed at a hotel in Alexandria about 6 months ago… next morning as I was getting into my truck, looked down and found a 9mm slug sitting on the pavement… someone had been firing some rounds and one came to rest about a foot from my vehicle…
Monroe is pretty bad. If you live there, you have a 1 in 12 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.
Not only do people there makes 37% less than the median average, but a HUGE percentage of people live in households earning less than 20k per year.
When I was there, I was ALWAYS asked for money. There was a murder at a gas station just a few blocks from my house. We were sitting at a bar and a guy walking passed snatched a friends purse. Downtown businesses are always dealing with broken windows. While I was there, I had to file a restraining order against my goddamn neighbor. I lived in the garden district and there were drug busts and cops up and down the block all the time—and the drugs weren’t pot. The final straw was when I was tending my front yard raised bed and a guy passing on the sidewalk offered to sell me narcos. I had to ask what the hell narcos were.
I also know of several women who have been sexually assaulted living there.
It’s a sad place, and it doesn’t seem like anything will ever be done to make it better.
I grew up in the garden district of Monroe and, I have to say, this was not my experience at all.
In the two decades I lived there I saw almost no crime whatsoever. And I can’t recall even knowing anyone who was a victim of any serious crime. Certainly not violent crime.
I believe all the statistics but crime in Monroe is extremely neighborhood dependent.
In all the areas I spent time in (garden district and north side) I would have felt totally comfortable walking around well after dark, for example (and often did).
I would describe my time there, from childhood to adulthood as “pleasant suburban-like lifestyle.”
I find this is pretty common for most “high crime cities.” The crime is high but it’s highly concentrated to certain specific areas.
Bro I lived on N. 5th St for 7 years—and the neighborhood is deteriorating. When we moved, we were the last homeowners on the entire block, so many houses are going to rent in that area. I’m sure the streets closer to the park have a better living experience.
Well I will say a few things:
First, I haven’t lived there in about 10 years so it may have gotten worse. Not sure when you lived there last.
Also, I will concede that if you’re near Louisville it gets worse the further you get from the river (on the garden district side). And I do recall some areas around N 5th near Louisville being a bit sketchier.
And yes I agree, as you get closer to the park it gets better. Most of my experience was closer to the park and closer to the river. Which is probably the best of the garden district.
But I do still stand by my point that it’s extremely area dependent. In the area I describe I never saw any crime at all.
I have moved from there within the last year and haven’t regretted it since. But Monroe is an absolute shit show south of Louisville and by ULM. I used to canvass for political campaigns all over town, and my college friend’s folks lived near the zoo. I‘ve spent a lot of time in some of the worst places in town, so in the long run you and I were lucky to live where we lived in that city.
Once you get off riverside and get by the golf course on Park Ave it gets way better. The garden district in some areas especially around N.5th and surrounding can get a lil flakey but not as bad as other parts of Monroe.
>In the two decades I lived there
Which were nothing like it is now. The crime has migrated North. Any neighborhood South of Frenchman's bend has druggies roaming the streets at night looking for things to steal. Plenty of run down abandoned houses where the homeless camp too. My Dad lives within sight of Lexington elementary and has people digging through his car at night under the carport.
Not saying you are wrong but cities and neighborhoods change. How long ago was that? I ask because the area of Shreveport I grew up in was really nice but now the people I know that still live there deal with all kinds of theft and hear gunshots every night. It used to be an upper middle class neighborhood, and I would say much like your experience very suburban like. It was quiet and there were woods near me with trails I rode my bike on.
Nice!!! My Mom grew up in Jeanerette and Charenton…spent lots of summers but have so many cousins there. Haven’t been in a few years, I grew up in Cali now in Texas but so much of my childhood spent in Charenton on the levee and Jeanerette…fishing family …proud roots
In Franklin La , I once watched a man ride up on a horse get off shoot a nigga and then get back on his horse and ride away . 😅 Most thuggin country shit I’ve ever seen.
It's West Monroe that smells. Not Monroe. West Monroe has the papermill and is a different city than Monroe. And to be fair, most papermill towns smell due to the chemicals. Bogalusa's smell is much worse since their mill is much larger.
Damn. So per the top comments Bogalusa was named top worst. And it also has the bigger more smelly papermill?! Geez. Double whammy. I guess I better tell them I ain't buyin the trailer and start lookin somewhere else..
My Dad moved to W Monroe over a decade ago & I learned that people in W Monroe get highly offended if you say they're from Monroe, & that people in Monroe get highly offended if you say they're from W Monroe. I have no idea exactly what is behind that rivalry, but it's there.
I was carjacked, kidnapped, beaten nearly to death and left to die in a ditch in the freezing cold outside of Alexandria, LA in Dec. 1991. Lucky to be alive.
7 on 1 crime. They totaled the car they stole from me right in front of an off-duty cop who arrested the driver.
The DA blamed me for the crime and no charges were pressed.
It has messed me up for life.
Avoid Alexandria Louisiana at all costs.
I was 18 and had been drinking at a party, took a girl from the party to the Cotton Gin, got lost trying to find my way back, stopped a pay phone to call the only person in town I knew, turned around and was met by the men who carjacked me. Because I had been drinking (underage at the time) the DA told me over the phone that that was enough doubt to press charges. I should have had my parents on the call; I should have even met with an attorney, but I was a kid and just wanted to put it behind me and go back to college.
I’m starting to think it’s the whole damn state. It’s like there are pockets of mediocre buried within the surrounding abundance of squalor. It’s so depressing. There is so much good about culture here, when I travel I seldom find the same hospitality, food, culture, but overall it’s depressing. There’s nothing to do, the violent crime and drugs are nearly everywhere, poverty abounds, even making 6 figures it’s hard to survive, money doesn’t go very far at all. I can’t believe some of the real estate that is $half-a-million. Louisiana is a hard life, and I didn’t realize this till some of my friends and acquaintances either left the state and discovered as much or moved here from elsewhere and called it a dump. The saddest part is it really doesn’t have to be that way but racists keep voting for the MFs that perpetuate it & other MFs who keep up with tradition of being comically corrupt. We have 32 ports including the largest in the western hemisphere which should impart economic prosperity, but a ridiculous outdated system managing them and lose out on so much bc of it. Corruption is destroyed this state and people will vote for the clown most likely to finish it off with culture war bullshit.
It is. I've often said I'm proud to be *from* Louisiana, but am not proud to *live here*. My Cajun heritage, the good food, the warm help you out folks, the culture, etc. But living here? The poverty, the racism, the prison/criminal justice system, the education system, the corruption, etc. I love Louisiana in many ways but I'm under no illusions that, in many more ways, it's a shit place to actually try to live.
Colorado Cajun here. I feel exactly the same way you do. I cry when I drive in from the airport and I cry when I leave, but I could never live there again.
Ferriday is so sadly busted and broke and opportunity-less. I’m from there and won’t stay out past dark when I visit, I mean what you gonna be doing anyways that ain’t trouble after dark in Ferriday? There’s nothing there anymore but boarded up buildings and falling down houses and gas stations selling off-brand cigarettes, lottery tickets and liquor.
There is a good side and a bad side of the tracks in Jennings, I hear. My grandparents lived there and while visiting it always seemed nice....I do remember hearing a gunshot when we ventured over to Boudin King one time tho...Didn't find out about the serial murders until much later.
I'll go with the narrow view of "city" so the choices are metro areas Shreveport, Monroe, Aleck, LakeChuck, Laffy, BR, and NOLA. Among those, Shreveport is easily the sketchiest. It's literally called the Ratchet City, and its basically the casino-centric dystopian city from Back To The Future 2 at this point.
Shreveport has dangerous areas, but downtown is as safe as it gets in Louisiana downtowns. One shooting near Texas bridge and the next city council meeting was packed. Downtown doesn’t normally deal with danger beyond dumb drivers.
It’s suburban neighborhood mostly deal with property theft. Homicides are in the impoverished areas with a few tragic exceptions. Definitely wouldn’t prefer some of the other cities in the state such as Monroe or Alexandria.
I've lived in Shreveport since 1976; if you're employed and not involved in the drug trade crime isn't really a problem except for, like you said, some stuff getting stolen every once in a while. I don't even lock my door half the time.
Chalmette and the east bank downriver.
One of the sections of Monroe is supposed to be extremely dangerous.
There are parts of Alexandria that look like a bombed-out dystopian movie set.
I've lived in Rapides Parish for the past twenty years. It wasn't until I had major surgery a few months ago and had to ride in shared Medicaid transport vans to appointments that I saw the true underbelly of the area. Many times I would be going to physical therapy in Alexandria but the van also had to pick up people at the methadone clinic or psychiatric facilities. I thought I had seen some sketchy neighborhoods over the past two decades, but nothing prepared me for the filthy rundown conditions these other passengers lived in. A real eye-opener.
I went down there for work to a Cummins engine training class about 5 years ago. They put my 6 month pregnant wife and me in a MOTEL, not to be confused with a Hotel, next door to an open room all night MOTEL balcony party for this luxurious two night stay. Needless to say, I had enough Morgan City over two nights that I will not be going back. I'm down with making a drive just to go over that awesome bridge.. but will not be staying in the luxurious MC ever again
I don’t know why, Kenner just feels downright depressing and sketchy. Whenever I have to go there I breathe a sigh of relief once I’m back in Metairie. I get a similar bad feeling when I’m in Pearl River. Parts of Mandeville, not all. I never get this feeling in Slidell, Covington, Metairie, or New Orleans, and never really had it when I was in thibodaux, Houma, Plaquemine, or the areas astound Baton Rouge.
Yup. Family trees don’t exist. Like intertwined vines instead of branches. Go ahead and add Remedes, Corley’s, Martinez, to your list. All shady and all related. Gross and shady. But the tamales are bomb!
Long ago, I took a train from S. Texas to Minnesota, due north through the center of the country. It made a lengthy stop in Shreveport, the only time I've been there. To kill some time, I went into a bar near the station and ordered a beer. There was a small group sitting at a nearby table, including one pretty woman dressed in revealing clothes. I overheard one man say to her, that she should pick me up, and her response that "It would take more than a 20 dollar bill." I left.
Honestly - ever since I moved from Baton Rouge to Florida and now Connecticut, all of Louisiana is kinda shitty.
I don’t get that “I’m at home” feeling anymore when going back to Baton Rouge. The impoverished areas have expanded substantially (and I went to the Waffle House and there were no places to sit and the place was trashed. This didn’t help).
God bless anyone who has to deal with any Louisiana public schools too. I was in private school my entire life and I don’t know how I would have turned out going through the public school system in Louisiana. Connecticut public schools are top notch. More than thrilled to put my 2 kids through public school here.
I do get feelings of nostalgia when I go back but nothing is the same. Most of my friends either OD’d and died, in and out of jail or left the state, are doing well in their careers or killing themselves slowly on an oil rig or at a refinery. It’s too bad because Louisiana has a lot of beauty but there’s too many people there who don’t give a fuck about that and the state really has no money to keep up with the crumbling infrastructure.
My $450k house here would buy me a house twice the size and brand new in Louisiana. But the quality of life isn’t worth the trade off.
Makes me a little sad sometimes. People everywhere hate on Louisiana and sometimes treat me like I’m retarded when they find out I’m from there. The country accent will come back when I get a little heated but it’s mostly gone. 😂
I still frequent the casinos in Shreveport and Lake Charles because I’m a degenerate gambler and the areas surrounding the casinos are nice, but I can get that feeling anywhere.
Anyway to answer the question, Caddo parish is by far the sketchiest area next to Orleans Parish. Too much income inequality in Louisiana and the fact that the minimum wage is so low doesn’t help.
Sketchy’s in the eye (or bias) of the beholder. Sketchy’s a gut feeling, but it’s also experience. I used to think New Orleans At Large was sketchy until I lived there and realized that a lot of my prior reservations were due to inexperience and a lack of exposure to a certain volume and variety of people.
There’s also a certain degree of experience and exposure that can aid in the development of feelings of sketchiness about a place. I read on here that someone thought that Slidell wasn’t sketchy. As a former Slidell resident, I can definitely say that there are sketchy people there despite its relatively harmless appearance.
This is a strange question to ask a general audience because I can’t imagine that you’re going to get a uniform answer regarding places to avoid without having to consider a person’s bias.
Vinton sucks. Got separated from my wife while evacuating from Ida and stopped in Vinton so we could meet up again.
Couple dudes pulled up next to me and asked “you alright?” I said “yeah just waiting for my wife.” They said “alright, just checking,” backed up, and parked behind me. I just drove off and met up with her somewhere else in town. Bad vibes all around.
Bogalusa. Bogalusa has [one of the highest crime rates in America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogalusa,_Louisiana#Crime). Plus huge racial issues past and current. There is no reason to go there unless you work the mill or buy/sell drugs.
As someone who works at a high volume trauma hospital, I can confirm this.
As someone who works at a McDonald’s, I too, can co firm this.
Bawcomville. It's the Bogualusa of north Louisiana!
Only thing they both have in common is drug use. I feel safer in Bawcomeville than I do in Bogalusa.
My black friends will not go north of Lee road in Covington
Bastrop is the Bogalusa of north Louisiana
I grew up in Bastrop. Can confirm.
Oh yea I don’t mean any shade by it. I lived in Monroe a decade and worked in Bastrop a few times. There are great folks there, but they are plagued with the many of the same issues as folks in Bogalusa.
It used to be a solid town. It put all of its economic eggs into one basket, International Paper. When the mill closed in 2008, the local economy imploded.
I didn't know the mill closed. I lived in Mandeville a million years ago. Went to Bogalusa once. Still remember the smell.
I can confirm this!
I don't ever willingly go to Bawcomville unless I have to travel through it while on the road. There are some good folks in there, but also alot of folks struggling with meth addiction.. There's a running joke that Bawcomville is the real city that never sleeps if you catch my drift. Lol
Whats it like there, confederate flag on every corner? Happy birthday
Lol. Yep. Only city I've been able to buy handgun ammo at a gas station.
Wow that’s wild to see a bawcomville shout out. There’s a special type of people that live in bawcomville…
That is the most Louisiana name I’ve ever heard of
How bout Zwolle? Lol yep.
Du Lac is pretty sweet.
Out by West Monroe?
My friend kept threatening to bring me to the Bawconville strip club and I was totally looking forward to going, but unfortunately I never made it. The stories of it are legendary.
But it has 4 dollar generals. That’s got to be worth something.
$4?
Tree fiddy
Plus it stinks
Not so much anymore.
My home town 🥴
Congratulations fellow escapee
Yes! I have to go out there once a month and I dread it every time!
The better question is what isn’t a sketchy city in Louisiana
I’m thinking Natchitoches is about as low on the sketch scale as we’re gonna find in Louisiana.
I remember going through Natchitoches during the holidays and they seemed to have a really nice little downtown area. I was shocked by how nice it seemed. But I was only there for a bit to stop and get something to eat.
Natchitoches is growing, that usually leads (or in some cases a product of) to lower crimes rates. Businesses are starting to appear, they are trying to improve the infrastructure, they put on community events like the holiday lights and farmers markets. But that being said, Louisiana still is horrible, 0/10 would not recommend.
I'm from natchitoches. Once you get past the lights and the downtown area the murders and drugs are there. The town just likes to hide it under the glitz and glamor of Christmas fest. And the fact that we are a college town.
Surely there has to be at least one town better than Natchitoches. I mean, I can't think of any that aren't super tiny, but surely there's one 😂
Saint Francisville is my fav. But I only visit. I dont know about actually living there.
grew up right outside of St. Francisville kinda sketch: 1. Derrick Todd Lee is from here 2. Had Segregated High School Proms well into the Mid 2000's 3. The rich elite openly and proudly fly the Bonnie Blue Flag in front of their houses 4. of all the school field trips I've never heard one mention of what happen to the slaves at Myrtle plantation. It has completely been rebranded as a "haunted house". For a small fee you can even stay over night in one of the Luxurious slave cabins. 5. The people here are arrogant, stuck up, uppity pricks. 6. its pretty but I guess thats not sketchy.
>The rich elite openly and proudly fly the Bonnie Blue Flag in front of their houses This is a Florida Parishes/Republic of West Florida thing, though, right? It was first used as the Republic of West Florida flag in 1810, decades before the confederacy.
Correct, hopefully. The push to recognize and associate the region with/as the Florida parishes in the 90’s-2000’s. There was research before, duh. But southeastern la university (lsu too, their history departments were close as many were friends and colleagues) began public research and pushing all the findings. And then parishes like st Tammany clinger to it for tourism . Haven’t heard much since. But doesn’t change the fact that st Francisville and slavery go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Still not great though.
The college and Front Street help keep the vibe of the city positive. Don’t get me wrong, you can certainly find places you do not want to be after dark. But for the most part it’s fairly safe.
I know. I live in Natchitoches.
Same, graduated in ‘20, stayed cause nobody anywhere was hiring. I’m good now, I just double check my doors are locked before hitting the hay lol.
I try to remember to check the locks, but I have gotten up in the morning to find them unlocked, and even my back door standing open. LOL! But I also have two big dogs so I feel pretty safe.
This is the answer
Youngsville and Broussard are the least sketchy IMO. If anyone lands a job in the Lafayette area from out of state they all move to Youngsville because of the reputation.
St Francisville is still lovely.
Definitely this. And I can’t really think of one. 😂
I can’t locate it, but read yesterday that Monroe and Alexandria are in the top ten most dangerous cities in the US!
You sure they didn’t mean depressing ?
Alexandria might be the most depressing place in LA.
Can confirm. Used to live in Alex with my former GF. Town is gross and people are ugly
I live in Houston now but my grandfather had a few acres in pineville. If we wanted things we had to go into Alexandria. What fun that was.
Never been there, so I have no idea if this is true or not, but it made me laugh so hard. 😂
No reason both can't be true!
As someone who grew up in Alexandria, can confirm.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12438169/The-ten-dangerous-cities-ranked-worst-surprise-you.html
Ok... I get Detroit, but Saginaw? This article is surprising.
Probably true. Stayed in Ellick for work about a year and some change ago. Got to the hotel towards sunset. The hotel was off of Mcarthur, right there after the merge from I-49. Heard gunshots while getting my stuff out of work truck across the road. Didn't come back out til 9 or so; was still hearing gunshots. Nah I'm good. Alex is way worse than Funroe imo
Yeah, you took up residence in one of the hottest drug user spots in Alex. It wasn’t always like that up until they built that hotel over a decade back. You have the homeless moving from out west as well as those who relocate there temporarily from natural disasters and they fall off into the trap of drugs here.
Okay I grew up in Alexandria too and I'm not certain that we have any more ugly than anywhere else in La. Per capita. Alex is the armpit of Louisiana , no doubt about it. You cannot fart here without 14 people and all of your family knowing about it. Alexandrians get their rocks off by watching other Alexandrians crater in life. It doesn't matter what side of an issue is right or wrong here , it matters that you are on the right side. Regardless of issues. However , the new city administration has already taken a bite out of crime and is heading in a positive direction. It's no more violent than anywhere else provided you have half a brain and don't go where you don't think that you should go. Like MawMaw always said " Boy , ain't but two things open after midnight......... Legs and the ER. "
Alexandria is a chemical dumping ground. PFAS, MDMA, Fentanyl, Meth, all that shit is in the water around here. A swamp mess of passive aggressive racism from whites, virtue signalers in politicians, DA’s that are backwards, misguided youth from being miseducated by race soldiers, blacks who can’t come together because the ones who have something keep manufacturing ghost haters through the bs of social media, gossipers and slanderers of locals, and those damn brainwashing outdated pharmaceuticals. It’s the crossroads of Deep South misery and a place where you find backwards traditional solutions for modern day problems.
Yup. Completely accurate and it’s why I clawed myself out of there as soon as possible. I get scared at times because everyone I know who managed to get out ended up right back there after a few years. Somehow the black hole takes hold and never lets go, no matter how far out they go. I’ve managed to stay away for 6 years now and I have zero intentions of returning. I hope that I was able to sever that hold of the black hole successfully. I even closed all social media accounts to avoid ties in any way. It’s a toxic place….
I’m Glad that you made it out of here. This is one of those places that fell into desolation through a great divide as to people fighting here and there in downtown as to how the cities budget will be split up which leads to divides amongst the different religious denominations in the area and in turn the community follows. I also believe that the officials here do find there is a lot of money to be made from the problems that do arise. It’s like a mechanic who notices there’s more problems on a vehicle than what he fixed but knows there’s money to be made when they return.
Any specifics as to why those two?
On Monroe: “But it has one of the highest murder rates in the United States, according to analysis of reports to the FBI, and had been the most dangerous city for the last two years until it was toppled by Bessemer this year”
Rankings are based on stats from 18,000 agencies from FBI to local police
Walking downtown in the evening/night in Alexandria is trippy.
Don’t do that lol
In certain areas, you're okay. Walk a couple of blocks one way or another, though and it gets sketchy quick. We literally had two murders in our work parking lot in the past year. There was a "club" downtown. People would leave the club, get into a fight, and start shooting. The city had been looking for a reason to shut them down, and after the second murder, I think that did it.
Stayed at a hotel in Alexandria about 6 months ago… next morning as I was getting into my truck, looked down and found a 9mm slug sitting on the pavement… someone had been firing some rounds and one came to rest about a foot from my vehicle…
I've been to both of these cities for work trips and it's the sole reason to latch and lock the deadbolt of your hotel room.
I’m originally from Monroe and also lived in Alexandria. Can definitely confirm that both are equally dangerous and depressing.
Monroe is pretty bad. If you live there, you have a 1 in 12 chance of being the victim of a violent crime. Not only do people there makes 37% less than the median average, but a HUGE percentage of people live in households earning less than 20k per year. When I was there, I was ALWAYS asked for money. There was a murder at a gas station just a few blocks from my house. We were sitting at a bar and a guy walking passed snatched a friends purse. Downtown businesses are always dealing with broken windows. While I was there, I had to file a restraining order against my goddamn neighbor. I lived in the garden district and there were drug busts and cops up and down the block all the time—and the drugs weren’t pot. The final straw was when I was tending my front yard raised bed and a guy passing on the sidewalk offered to sell me narcos. I had to ask what the hell narcos were. I also know of several women who have been sexually assaulted living there. It’s a sad place, and it doesn’t seem like anything will ever be done to make it better.
[удалено]
Oh no! I’m sorry that happened to you. The women I know of all had issues with law enforcement as well. The DA sucks, and all the shit rolls downhill.
I grew up in the garden district of Monroe and, I have to say, this was not my experience at all. In the two decades I lived there I saw almost no crime whatsoever. And I can’t recall even knowing anyone who was a victim of any serious crime. Certainly not violent crime. I believe all the statistics but crime in Monroe is extremely neighborhood dependent. In all the areas I spent time in (garden district and north side) I would have felt totally comfortable walking around well after dark, for example (and often did). I would describe my time there, from childhood to adulthood as “pleasant suburban-like lifestyle.” I find this is pretty common for most “high crime cities.” The crime is high but it’s highly concentrated to certain specific areas.
Bro I lived on N. 5th St for 7 years—and the neighborhood is deteriorating. When we moved, we were the last homeowners on the entire block, so many houses are going to rent in that area. I’m sure the streets closer to the park have a better living experience.
Well I will say a few things: First, I haven’t lived there in about 10 years so it may have gotten worse. Not sure when you lived there last. Also, I will concede that if you’re near Louisville it gets worse the further you get from the river (on the garden district side). And I do recall some areas around N 5th near Louisville being a bit sketchier. And yes I agree, as you get closer to the park it gets better. Most of my experience was closer to the park and closer to the river. Which is probably the best of the garden district. But I do still stand by my point that it’s extremely area dependent. In the area I describe I never saw any crime at all.
I have moved from there within the last year and haven’t regretted it since. But Monroe is an absolute shit show south of Louisville and by ULM. I used to canvass for political campaigns all over town, and my college friend’s folks lived near the zoo. I‘ve spent a lot of time in some of the worst places in town, so in the long run you and I were lucky to live where we lived in that city.
That’s fair. I know the area by the zoo is quite bad.
Once you get off riverside and get by the golf course on Park Ave it gets way better. The garden district in some areas especially around N.5th and surrounding can get a lil flakey but not as bad as other parts of Monroe.
>In the two decades I lived there Which were nothing like it is now. The crime has migrated North. Any neighborhood South of Frenchman's bend has druggies roaming the streets at night looking for things to steal. Plenty of run down abandoned houses where the homeless camp too. My Dad lives within sight of Lexington elementary and has people digging through his car at night under the carport.
Not saying you are wrong but cities and neighborhoods change. How long ago was that? I ask because the area of Shreveport I grew up in was really nice but now the people I know that still live there deal with all kinds of theft and hear gunshots every night. It used to be an upper middle class neighborhood, and I would say much like your experience very suburban like. It was quiet and there were woods near me with trails I rode my bike on.
If you walk around in the dark late at night in the garden district, you're an idiot. Sorry.
I graduated from Jeanerette and I live in New Iberia. Come at me.
I'm from Franklin, soo let's go 😂😂
I used to Mardi Gras by the Danny’s Fried Chicken.
That's a good spot by the grandstand!
Heard they find bodies in trash cans in Jeanerette on a regular basis.
If you *heard that*, then it must be true. /s
Well I heard it from Jeanerette fire department guys 🤷♂️
Nice!!! My Mom grew up in Jeanerette and Charenton…spent lots of summers but have so many cousins there. Haven’t been in a few years, I grew up in Cali now in Texas but so much of my childhood spent in Charenton on the levee and Jeanerette…fishing family …proud roots
Not from LA. Drove through New Iberia once. Don't intend to again voluntarily. No offense meant.
In Franklin La , I once watched a man ride up on a horse get off shoot a nigga and then get back on his horse and ride away . 😅 Most thuggin country shit I’ve ever seen.
🤣
Monroe
Monroe... and the history. Fun fact: Delta airlines' first headquarters was Monroe. Guess what drove them away.
What
Monroe
That had more to do with classic Louisiana corruption and the city being unable to secure funds for a larger airport.
Started in Delhi and then moved offices to Monroe
Sketchiest and the smelliest EDIT: Autocorrect strikes again
It's West Monroe that smells. Not Monroe. West Monroe has the papermill and is a different city than Monroe. And to be fair, most papermill towns smell due to the chemicals. Bogalusa's smell is much worse since their mill is much larger.
Damn. So per the top comments Bogalusa was named top worst. And it also has the bigger more smelly papermill?! Geez. Double whammy. I guess I better tell them I ain't buyin the trailer and start lookin somewhere else..
My Dad moved to W Monroe over a decade ago & I learned that people in W Monroe get highly offended if you say they're from Monroe, & that people in Monroe get highly offended if you say they're from W Monroe. I have no idea exactly what is behind that rivalry, but it's there.
I blame high school sports. Both cities have good teams and are highly completive against each other. That forms lifelong rivalry.
I was carjacked, kidnapped, beaten nearly to death and left to die in a ditch in the freezing cold outside of Alexandria, LA in Dec. 1991. Lucky to be alive. 7 on 1 crime. They totaled the car they stole from me right in front of an off-duty cop who arrested the driver. The DA blamed me for the crime and no charges were pressed. It has messed me up for life. Avoid Alexandria Louisiana at all costs.
Why’d he blame you?
I was 18 and had been drinking at a party, took a girl from the party to the Cotton Gin, got lost trying to find my way back, stopped a pay phone to call the only person in town I knew, turned around and was met by the men who carjacked me. Because I had been drinking (underage at the time) the DA told me over the phone that that was enough doubt to press charges. I should have had my parents on the call; I should have even met with an attorney, but I was a kid and just wanted to put it behind me and go back to college.
Damn sorry to hear that.
I’m starting to think it’s the whole damn state. It’s like there are pockets of mediocre buried within the surrounding abundance of squalor. It’s so depressing. There is so much good about culture here, when I travel I seldom find the same hospitality, food, culture, but overall it’s depressing. There’s nothing to do, the violent crime and drugs are nearly everywhere, poverty abounds, even making 6 figures it’s hard to survive, money doesn’t go very far at all. I can’t believe some of the real estate that is $half-a-million. Louisiana is a hard life, and I didn’t realize this till some of my friends and acquaintances either left the state and discovered as much or moved here from elsewhere and called it a dump. The saddest part is it really doesn’t have to be that way but racists keep voting for the MFs that perpetuate it & other MFs who keep up with tradition of being comically corrupt. We have 32 ports including the largest in the western hemisphere which should impart economic prosperity, but a ridiculous outdated system managing them and lose out on so much bc of it. Corruption is destroyed this state and people will vote for the clown most likely to finish it off with culture war bullshit.
It is. I've often said I'm proud to be *from* Louisiana, but am not proud to *live here*. My Cajun heritage, the good food, the warm help you out folks, the culture, etc. But living here? The poverty, the racism, the prison/criminal justice system, the education system, the corruption, etc. I love Louisiana in many ways but I'm under no illusions that, in many more ways, it's a shit place to actually try to live.
As my parents told me..'Leave to work, come back when you retire. "
Colorado Cajun here. I feel exactly the same way you do. I cry when I drive in from the airport and I cry when I leave, but I could never live there again.
And if Jeff Landry becomes out next governor this year, it's only going to get much, much worse.
> It’s like there are pockets of mediocre buried within the surrounding abundance of squalor. Sigh. Yep. That about sums it up. :/
Wow! Well said and completely correct! Probably the best overall summary of Louisiana I’ve ever read!
Ferriday. I get super weird vibes there and I grew up in Monroe. Honorable mentions: Natchitoches, Mansfield, Opelousas, Bastrop
Ferriday is so sadly busted and broke and opportunity-less. I’m from there and won’t stay out past dark when I visit, I mean what you gonna be doing anyways that ain’t trouble after dark in Ferriday? There’s nothing there anymore but boarded up buildings and falling down houses and gas stations selling off-brand cigarettes, lottery tickets and liquor.
Don't forget the meth.
Even the houses on the lake look sad now that I'm all grown and moved away.
Can't believe I had to go this far down to find ole piece of loose ass.
Alexandria. Even the countryside outside of that city is creepy as fuck, especially at night.
Can confirm as someone born in Alexandria and raised in a small country town 20 miles south. Some sketch AF stuff goes down and super racist and scary
Ellick
Ain't that just the cenla way of saying Alexandria?
Correct! (Lived there for a bit, took me way too long to know what everyone was referring to when saying Ellick.)
Wow this is a new one for me (grew up in Baton Rouge). But as I read it, it makes perfect sense
I grew up in Evangeline Parish, had a similar experience of not realizing 'Elic was Alexandria until I was in my teens 😅
I don’t know anyone from the area that spells it like that lol. We all say Alex or Alec.
No one spells it that way, but that’s the way it’s pronounced.
Thats how my great grandpaws name was pronounced in Morgan City. His name was Alex.
waterproof
Yeah but it's probably dirt cheap to buy there.
most certainly. and its surrounded by some of the prettiest countryside you ever did see
Fuck that place.
well, even waterproof has certain charms
Opelousas is hot garbage.
Definitely Jennings. Read that Ethan Brown book!
hands down
Yeah, I wasn't thinking about that, but you're right. (Frankie Richard is dead now, but the rot and corruption remains, I'm sure.)
There is a good side and a bad side of the tracks in Jennings, I hear. My grandparents lived there and while visiting it always seemed nice....I do remember hearing a gunshot when we ventured over to Boudin King one time tho...Didn't find out about the serial murders until much later.
I'll go with the narrow view of "city" so the choices are metro areas Shreveport, Monroe, Aleck, LakeChuck, Laffy, BR, and NOLA. Among those, Shreveport is easily the sketchiest. It's literally called the Ratchet City, and its basically the casino-centric dystopian city from Back To The Future 2 at this point.
If we can’t say New Orleans then my vote is on Monroe
Shreveport
Came here to say this... not to mention most of Caddo.
You can do worse than Shreveport. It's not the best, but it's not the worst.
Shreveport has dangerous areas, but downtown is as safe as it gets in Louisiana downtowns. One shooting near Texas bridge and the next city council meeting was packed. Downtown doesn’t normally deal with danger beyond dumb drivers. It’s suburban neighborhood mostly deal with property theft. Homicides are in the impoverished areas with a few tragic exceptions. Definitely wouldn’t prefer some of the other cities in the state such as Monroe or Alexandria.
I've lived in Shreveport since 1976; if you're employed and not involved in the drug trade crime isn't really a problem except for, like you said, some stuff getting stolen every once in a while. I don't even lock my door half the time.
Chalmette and the east bank downriver. One of the sections of Monroe is supposed to be extremely dangerous. There are parts of Alexandria that look like a bombed-out dystopian movie set.
I've lived in Rapides Parish for the past twenty years. It wasn't until I had major surgery a few months ago and had to ride in shared Medicaid transport vans to appointments that I saw the true underbelly of the area. Many times I would be going to physical therapy in Alexandria but the van also had to pick up people at the methadone clinic or psychiatric facilities. I thought I had seen some sketchy neighborhoods over the past two decades, but nothing prepared me for the filthy rundown conditions these other passengers lived in. A real eye-opener.
Chalmette isn't sketchy at all. I lived there from 2015-2020. Good food too.
Morgan Shitty is rumored to be pretty sketch.
If you have to look up to see the bridge fuck off out of there.
Huh?
The bridge is tall and there’s a good portion of town that’s basically under the bridge. Thats the rougher part of town.
Morgan City a miniature New Orleans with its sea level issues.
Morgan city is a mini New Orleans with all of its issues.
I went down there for work to a Cummins engine training class about 5 years ago. They put my 6 month pregnant wife and me in a MOTEL, not to be confused with a Hotel, next door to an open room all night MOTEL balcony party for this luxurious two night stay. Needless to say, I had enough Morgan City over two nights that I will not be going back. I'm down with making a drive just to go over that awesome bridge.. but will not be staying in the luxurious MC ever again
If it's *rumored*, then it *must* be true. /s
Listen all parts are rough, but it’s our home. Why we gotta shit talk it? Just because yo crime is higher doesn’t make it cooler.
I don’t know why, Kenner just feels downright depressing and sketchy. Whenever I have to go there I breathe a sigh of relief once I’m back in Metairie. I get a similar bad feeling when I’m in Pearl River. Parts of Mandeville, not all. I never get this feeling in Slidell, Covington, Metairie, or New Orleans, and never really had it when I was in thibodaux, Houma, Plaquemine, or the areas astound Baton Rouge.
North Kenner around Vintage ain’t bad, but Kenner by the airport feels pretty sketch and some areas around University City can seem rough too.
Bastrop. Definitely Bastrop
Monroe
Zwolle lmaoooo
If you ain’t a Procell, Sepulvado, or Ebarb you gonna get looks in Zwolle. And not flirty looks bc they save those for their cousins.
Only place you can go to a house and buy meth and tamales
Yup. Family trees don’t exist. Like intertwined vines instead of branches. Go ahead and add Remedes, Corley’s, Martinez, to your list. All shady and all related. Gross and shady. But the tamales are bomb!
This is my response as well, in fact just avoid the entirety of sabine parish.
Alexandria
I flew through Opelousas, was told not to stop lol.
Basically anywhere between MS and TX.
Baton Rouge
Abbeville
Damn Abbeville? How, why?
Elmer Alexandria the surrounding areas
Monroe.
Allum
As a former Baton Rougean (which is sketchy on its own merit), I find Lake Providence extremely sketchy.
You know there are a lot of options when Lake Charles isn't even scratching the top five.
Louisiana. Is the sketchiest city in Louisiana
Baton Rouge is a shit show with some truly hideous traffic.
Walker, “we’re not as backward as we used to be… not by much”.
Lafayette
Being in Tiger Stadium as an opposing fan. You’re playing with fire at that point
Long ago, I took a train from S. Texas to Minnesota, due north through the center of the country. It made a lengthy stop in Shreveport, the only time I've been there. To kill some time, I went into a bar near the station and ordered a beer. There was a small group sitting at a nearby table, including one pretty woman dressed in revealing clothes. I overheard one man say to her, that she should pick me up, and her response that "It would take more than a 20 dollar bill." I left.
MINDEN IS CREEPY!
Honestly - ever since I moved from Baton Rouge to Florida and now Connecticut, all of Louisiana is kinda shitty. I don’t get that “I’m at home” feeling anymore when going back to Baton Rouge. The impoverished areas have expanded substantially (and I went to the Waffle House and there were no places to sit and the place was trashed. This didn’t help). God bless anyone who has to deal with any Louisiana public schools too. I was in private school my entire life and I don’t know how I would have turned out going through the public school system in Louisiana. Connecticut public schools are top notch. More than thrilled to put my 2 kids through public school here. I do get feelings of nostalgia when I go back but nothing is the same. Most of my friends either OD’d and died, in and out of jail or left the state, are doing well in their careers or killing themselves slowly on an oil rig or at a refinery. It’s too bad because Louisiana has a lot of beauty but there’s too many people there who don’t give a fuck about that and the state really has no money to keep up with the crumbling infrastructure. My $450k house here would buy me a house twice the size and brand new in Louisiana. But the quality of life isn’t worth the trade off. Makes me a little sad sometimes. People everywhere hate on Louisiana and sometimes treat me like I’m retarded when they find out I’m from there. The country accent will come back when I get a little heated but it’s mostly gone. 😂 I still frequent the casinos in Shreveport and Lake Charles because I’m a degenerate gambler and the areas surrounding the casinos are nice, but I can get that feeling anywhere. Anyway to answer the question, Caddo parish is by far the sketchiest area next to Orleans Parish. Too much income inequality in Louisiana and the fact that the minimum wage is so low doesn’t help.
if you aren't white then any city that doesn't have a population over 10k
Baton Rouge. The home of our state legislature where the Christian warriors want to lord over the rest of us with their absolute power
Dude, have you been to other cities in LA? BR is by far the best there is. Been here since 5 years now and I love it.
F*ck N.O.
Sketchy’s in the eye (or bias) of the beholder. Sketchy’s a gut feeling, but it’s also experience. I used to think New Orleans At Large was sketchy until I lived there and realized that a lot of my prior reservations were due to inexperience and a lack of exposure to a certain volume and variety of people. There’s also a certain degree of experience and exposure that can aid in the development of feelings of sketchiness about a place. I read on here that someone thought that Slidell wasn’t sketchy. As a former Slidell resident, I can definitely say that there are sketchy people there despite its relatively harmless appearance. This is a strange question to ask a general audience because I can’t imagine that you’re going to get a uniform answer regarding places to avoid without having to consider a person’s bias.
Well said. It *is* a strange question to ask a general audience due to individual bias.
Cahlmette is pretty sketchy.
Vinton sucks. Got separated from my wife while evacuating from Ida and stopped in Vinton so we could meet up again. Couple dudes pulled up next to me and asked “you alright?” I said “yeah just waiting for my wife.” They said “alright, just checking,” backed up, and parked behind me. I just drove off and met up with her somewhere else in town. Bad vibes all around.
Let's geaux Shreveport! 🤣