What are you if you are from Louisiana? (New Orleans, Lafayette: crime rates, theatre)

[snowsbunny]

We live in Lafayette, Louisiana. But, we are not Cajuns, Creoles, or Coon-asses or Rednecks. My husband is of Scot-English descent, and is New England blue-blood. And, I am the third generation of German-Russian immigrants who settled in Colorado. We were transferred here some 31 years ago, and have made some tough decisions regarding leaving or staying. After receiving transfer orders to move to Houston, Lafayette suddenly looked good to us.

If one has to live in Louisiana, living within the city of Lafayette is probably the best. The crime rate is relatively low, the schools are okay (depending upon your location, and there is the choice of going private if you have bright kids), pollution is lower than it is elsewhere in Louisiana, and the cost of living is lower than either New England or Colorado, which leaves us money to travel.

[snowsbunny]

What I have said about Lafayette, Louisiana should be considered if you are thinking about moving to New Orleans.

When I attended conferences at Tulane before Katrina, I could not find the address for the Bed and Breakfast which was nearby. Knocking on doors, I found myself ignored. People of New Orleans are afraid of strangers, afraid of answering their doors at night, triple or quadruple lock their doors during the day and night, and for outsiders trying to find their way, this is also terrifying.

Then there is the pollution from before and after Katrina. Landfills, incinerators, oil refineries and chemical plants poison the soil and poisons run off site with the potential to enter the properties of neighbors. This increases the risks of cancers, neurological, immunological, and other diseases to pets, children, and adults living downwind or downstream from such facilities.

Independent studies have found that communities high in pollution, also have high crime rates. Perhaps, that's why Lafayette is a safer place in which to live. Our pollution is considerably lower than the Greater New Orleans area.

Consider this when deciding where to move if you are coming to Louisiana.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by snowsbunny

We live in Lafayette, Louisiana. But, we are not Cajuns, Creoles, or Coon-asses or Rednecks. My husband is of Scot-English descent, and is New England blue-blood. And, I am the third generation of German-Russian immigrants who settled in Colorado. We were transferred here some 31 years ago, and have made some tough decisions regarding leaving or staying. After receiving transfer orders to move to Houston, Lafayette suddenly looked good to us.

If one has to live in Louisiana, living within the city of Lafayette is probably the best. The crime rate is relatively low, the schools are okay (depending upon your location, and there is the choice of going private if you have bright kids), pollution is lower than it is elsewhere in Louisiana, and the cost of living is lower than either New England or Colorado, which leaves us money to travel.

Hmm, we had some distant family move from Lafayette to Sugar Land (Houston suburb) a few months ago, and since then can't shut up about how much nicer Houston is...

[tjmlvs_stjude]

Hi, you are consider a registered coon-ass or a louisianaian!! Good Luck to you!!

Originally Posted by mdmagana

Since I am looking to move that way, Louisiana has been the topic of conversation at dinner the last few nights. An interesting question came up... What are you if you are from Louisiana?

For example, someone from California is a Californian, someone from New Mexico is a New Mexican, etc... What is the correct term for someone from Louisiana?

Louisianian? Louisian? Neither of those sounded right to me. My mom says say Cajun, but I thought Cajuns were their own group within Louisiana's population. Sorry if this seems like a really dumb question, but it has been on my mind for a couple of days.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by JJP

Hmm, we had some distant family move from Lafayette to Sugar Land (Houston suburb) a few months ago, and since then can't shut up about how much nicer Houston is...

You cannot adequately compare the two, for trying to is like comparing a marble to a basketball.

Glad your relatives are happier, but (no pun intended) it's all relative. Just because it is nicer to them doesn't make it nicer in reality - only in THEIR reality.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by tjmlvs_stjude

Hi, you are consider a registered coon-ass or a louisianaian!! Good Luck to you!!

I know you meant this as a friendly joke, but again, I don't want to see someone from outside of Louisiana misunderstand this...

"Coonass" is a nickname, derogatory to some Cajuns – enjoyed by others. There is no such ethic group by this name.

[Mississippienne]

Originally Posted by Vampgrrl

Creole from what I can tell is not a definite term.
Some say it's mixed Spanish and African heritage, French/African or originally it was just French heritage no African?
I cannot tell and I'm taking a Louisiana history class at Tulane right now.

"Creole" is a term that's changed meanings with the years. Originally, it meant someone of French descent born in the Americas. Josephine de Beauharnais, the empress of Napoleon, was called a Creole because she was born in Martinique to French parents. Later, the word Creole came to mean anyone in the French-speaking communities of Louisiana, and a lot of those people happened to be mixed race, French and Spanish with African. Cajun is a bit more specific, because that term refers to the descendants of Acadian settlers from Canada.

Louisianans can be from Cajun stock, or African, or Creole, or Scots-Irish, or English, or Native American, or any imaginable combination of all of the above.

[tysonsongbird]

all of my family are called Redbones from my part of south central la. Some indian with other mixes, they are dark complected and dark hair,

[Mississippienne]

Yes, the Redbones are another Mestee group of Louisiana. Mestee groups are racially mixed groups of people in the Deep South who tended to live together and formed their own communities. Some Mestee groups are Cajuns, Creoles, Redbones, Lumbees, Melungeons, Brass Ankles, etc. A couple of the Mestee peoples are found as far north as New York, but almost all of them lived in the Appalachias, Louisiana, Missisippi, or Alabama. Some identify more with the whites, others with blacks, and some (like the Lumbees) are trying to be recognized as Indian tribes. They are a testament to the complex and rich history of the Southern US. My grandmother was a Melungeon, the rest of my ancestors were white. There is an excellent essay on the Mestee peoples here.

[MDMcLaney]

A Louisiananians, thats what we are. Cajuns are only from the swamp areas. Same as Coon asses. But most of the time when people ask where we are from, we tell them New Orleans due to pride. If indeed you are. Then you are a New Orleanean.