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Natchitoches, an hour southeast of Shreveport, is the state's oldest European settlement and a haven of Cajun history and culture. It was in nearby Melrose that author Kate Chopin lived and gathered material for her colorful collection, Bayou Folk, and numerous other short stories in 1894. Today the Melrose Plantation Arts and Crafts Festival, an annual June event benefiting Chopin's home and library, draws artists from across the nation and several thousand visitors to the Natchitoches area.
The city is host to many other popular festivals each year, starting with a Mardi Gras observance in early spring and including a Creole Heritage Festival, jazz and folk festivals and a Festival of Lights in December. The area's cultural offerings are enhanced by Northwestern State University, which has 9,000 students and supports an acclaimed symphony, ballet, dinner theater and music recitals.
When they're not taking in the vibrant local arts and culture scene, Natchitoches residents may be hiking in 129,000-acre Kisatchie National Forest, boating or fishing on the Cane River or sampling the meat pie, chicken andouille gumbo and Cane River cream cake at Lasyone's Meat Pie Kitchen on Second Street.
Like everyone else in Louisiana, folks in Natchitoches benefit from the state's appealing tax structure, which exempts the first $75,000 of home value. Another attraction is the region's semitropical climate--January temperatures rarely dip below 50[degrees]F, and summer days hover in the 80s.
Visitors may want to launch their exploration of the area from the Log Cabin on the Cane, a graceful bed-and-breakfast overlooking the river. --R.W. Reported by Jyl Benson/New Orleans
NATCHITOCHES, LA.
BEST AMENITIES: Melrose Plantation Arts and Crafts Festival, Kisatchie National Forest and Northwestern State University
NEAREST MAJOR MEDICAL CENTER: 265-bed St. Frances Cabrini Hospital, with a full cancer center, 50 minutes away in Alexandria
BEST PLACE TO STAY: Log Cabin on the Cane, a two-story Western American bed-and-breakfast on the banks of the Cane River
UNSEASONALLY SUN-SOAKED IN SEQUIM
Airplane pilots call it the "blue hole." Residents of Sequim, Wash., just call it wondrous. In the middle of the rainy Pacific Northwest--just a few miles from the Olympic Mountains and a unique North American rain forest that gets 150 in. of rain a year--sits tiny Sequim, which basks in about 300 days of sunshine a year. Sequim, like another Pacific Northwest town we recommend, Bend, Ore., lies in a "rain shadow." Sequim is shielded by the Olympic Mountains and sees only about 16 in. of rain a year, about as much as Los Angeles.
Consistent sunshine is only one of the reasons Sequim (pronounced skwim) has become such a popular retirement place. City leaders say more than half of the 4,200 residents of Sequim are retirees. These folks are drawn by the opportunity to live next door to the snow-topped Olympic Mountains and Olympic National Park, with its rain forests, undisturbed coastline and 600 miles of hiking trails.
They also enjoy a moderate climate (the average high in July is 71[degrees]; the average low in January is 29[degrees]) and a moderate cost of living. Washington has no state income tax, and a three-bedroom home in Sequim typically sells for about $139,000.