Thinking About Living in Southwest Louisiana? Ask These 3 Residents

Courtesy of the City of Lake Charles

No matter your hobbies, tastes, interests or career choice, you can build a wonderful life in Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana. Through a shared interest in fostering community, three residents offer testament to why they love living in Southwest Louisiana and how its quality of life keeps people in the region for a lifetime. 

Life as a Young Professional 

“If you are searching for a fresh start or looking for a community where you can thrive, SWLA is the place to be,” says 31-year-old Kaitlyn LaBove, a loan officer with NOLA Lending Group, regarding life in Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana. “I find that most people who are born here typically stay for many reasons.” 

Those reasons include two local colleges, McNeese State University and SOWELA Technical Community College, and plentiful jobs in a variety of industries. A single industrial plant can offer over 500 jobs, and one casino can hire over 750 people. 

“That’s why I am thankful that SWLA offers networking opportunities that help connect people to jobs,” LaBove says. 

One of them is Fusion Five, a nonprofit young professionals organization that hosts close to 100 networking events in a calendar year.

LaBove says that recovering from natural disasters has created an uncommon resilience in this community. “When there is tragedy in SWLA, it’s oddly a beautiful thing to see – the community overcomes and comes together,” she says.

Life as a Family

Haley Tarasiewicz, senior communication specialist for Healthy Image Marketing, is a mom to three girls ages 6, 4 and 1. She says the variety of family activities and health and child care options for working parents help her achieve work-life balance. 

“You often hear our area referred to as ‘Louisiana’s Playground,’ and it’s true. With theaters, musical groups, museums, casinos, golf courses, festivals, and hunting and fishing activities, there is no shortage of activities,” Tarasiewicz says. “The vocal and acting talent in our area is incredible, thanks to programs like the Christian Youth Theater, the Lake Charles Little Theatre, and area school theater and choral programs. And the recently opened Southlake Theater offers a state-of-the-art performance venue to showcase area talent.”

Additionally, the region boasts the phenomenal Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra, which works to connect and enrich SWLA through quality symphonic music, music education and the arts. 

Tarasiewicz has also been impressed by the care her children have received in good times and bad. “We were fortunate to enroll in three highly rated and recommended day cares. Knowing our girls are well cared for emotionally, developmentally and socially allows my husband and me to be present at our jobs,” she says. 

And when two of her children were born with infantile hemangiomas, the care they received from the Children’s Clinic of Southwest Louisiana and Lake Charles Memorial Hospital was top-notch. 

“As a parent, it is unavoidable that your child will experience some type of ailment or injury over their lifetime,” she says. “The medical community in SWLA is experienced, compassionate and innovative.” 

Life as a Community Servant 

At 54 years old, Anthony Celestine has spent exactly that much time in SWLA because, as he says, “I haven’t found a reason to leave. Everything I want is here.” 

Just two weeks after graduating from McNeese State, Celestine applied at Calcasieu Parish’s Office of Juvenile Justice Services, where he has since worked his way up to director. A church-going family man, his religious beliefs and commitment to community compel him to be involved, and his resume of volunteerism is impressive. 

He’s an active board member with Big Brothers Big Sisters and CASA and chairs the Calcasieu Parish Children & Youth Planning Board, for starters. The list continues because his goal is to make a better life not just for his family, but for the community he loves. 

“You go elsewhere and people don’t seem to understand how to strategically get things done,” Celestine says. “We are big enough to be metropolitan but small enough to be community led. When we see issues that affect quality of life, we galvanize and solve problems.” 

Celestine loves the traditional activities like Smoke & Barrel, a barbecue and bourbon festival in Lake Charles, and Chuck Fest, an event featuring live bands, food vendors and an opportunity to network and socialize. In addition to these events, SWLA hosts a plethora of Mardi Gras-related festivities each year. Celestine shares that he also appreciates SWLA’s attention to diversity. 

“We are rich in culture and good at lifting up different demographics with our Cajun and Creole heritage and African American history,” he says. “People are realizing that if they pull off the interstate, they’ll find people who will welcome them, feed them and make sure they have a good time.” 

Podcast: Life in Lake Charles and SWLA

Southwest Louisiana is a beautiful region that’s bursting with opportunity, and a popular podcast called Louisiana’s Playground is sharing the story about life in Lake Charles and the surrounding communities that make up this vibrant region.

Hosted by Louisiana residents Brady Renard and Jillian Corder, the podcast informs listeners about all that is happening and worth experiencing in SWLA. While it mostly covers the region’s largest city of Lake Charles, which is located in Calcasieu Parish, it also includes interesting information about Allen, Beauregard, Cameron and Jeff Davis parishes. 

Past Louisiana Playground podcasts have focused on topics like the region’s one-of-a-kind festivals, ideal party locations for groups, and the region’s luxurious casinos and resorts, such as the L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles. Another recent podcast highlighted Louisiana foods that are especially popular in the region, including dishes like crawfish étouffée, boudin, seafood gumbo and jambalaya. 

In addition to being hosts, Renard and Corder are married with kids. Renard has lived in every corner of the state and loves Southwest Louisiana’s culture, food and sports, while Corder loves exploring the state, from attending festivals to kayaking through the area’s cypress trees. 

Louisiana’s Playground has a listen score of 25 and is ranked in the top 10% globally for podcasts.

– Kevin Litwin contributed to this article.