Just recently, Lafayette was named as one of the country’s next potential urban powerhouses.
The list comes from Realtor.com, and it names 10 small cities that could be the next urban powerhouse based upon, “population, income, home price, and building permit growth; employment figures; and cultural amenities.”
Cities like Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, and Nashville, TN were once considered secondary markets, according to Realtor.com.
The cited article also says,
“When cities reach the exclusive and ever-elusive boomtown status, they find themselves bursting with good-paying jobs, world-class culture, and Instagram-worthy foodie havens.”
We have a strong grasp on culture, and Instagram-worthy restaurants, but the good-paying jobs portion is an area we can always improve upon.
Lafayette has something special about it, and I knew this once I relocated here back in 2010. Although I didn’t live but an hour away from Lafayette, there is still an atmospheric shift that separates us from other cities of similar size. We are also centralized in the Southern portion of the state — just South of the DMZ — which is located somewhere between Ville Platte, and Alexandria. If you didn’t get our DMZ reference, then see the photo below.
Personally, I feel locked into Lafayette and have no plans on leaving this growing city. When it comes to what’s important for Lafayette’s growth — not external agenda — we should always work toward progressing our area to facilitate that growth to boomtown status. Outdated thinking isn’t going to get us there.
DMZ reference —
Photo courtesy of dailycrawfishnews.com.
