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There is a good chance a company makes me an offer and I know it will be below six figures, which is a step down from my salary with is slightly under 120k however I know the cost of living change (moving from the bay area to Louisiana) could be considered significant. I don't want to tip the exact town as I don't really want the company to be indentifiable for privacy purposes, but it's not a major city like shreveport, more like a smaller city/town but not rural either.
What should I consider before making a decision?
Is taking the salary hit compensated by COL?
Ideally I would like to hear from someone who lives/works there. I am familiar with the south in a general sense as I have lived in Texas and Georgia so the culture shock wouldn't be extreme, but I am not familar with Louisiana. I am a bachelor in his prime, so local education, home ownership, etc are not my priorities right now, getting the most bang for my buck expense wise, and slaying copious amounts of southern belles are. My background is I was born and raised in Cali but spent six years in the army where I did live in the south, but now am more of a stereotypical "techie" as we are derragatorily termed here in the bay area.
Also, a few points I would like to hear informed opinions on:
taxes
gun laws
marijuana laws
any climate factors etc that could affect my car (i.e. if I was moving to Jersey, concerns might be snow and salt...guessing here)
Also I must add that it would be in the Shreveport area, which after reading the thread bashing Shreveport in another section, makes me sad that it sounds so bad.
There is a good chance a company makes me an offer and I know it will be below six figures, which is a step down from my salary with is slightly under 120k however I know the cost of living change (moving from the bay area to Louisiana) could be considered significant. I don't want to tip the exact town as I don't really want the company to be indentifiable for privacy purposes, but it's not a major city like shreveport, more like a smaller city/town but not rural either.
What should I consider before making a decision?
Is taking the salary hit compensated by COL?
Ideally I would like to hear from someone who lives/works there. I am familiar with the south in a general sense as I have lived in Texas and Georgia so the culture shock wouldn't be extreme, but I am not familar with Louisiana. I am a bachelor in his prime, so local education, home ownership, etc are not my priorities right now, getting the most bang for my buck expense wise, and slaying copious amounts of southern belles are. My background is I was born and raised in Cali but spent six years in the army where I did live in the south, but now am more of a stereotypical "techie" as we are derragatorily termed here in the bay area.
Also, a few points I would like to hear informed opinions on:
taxes
gun laws
marijuana laws
any climate factors etc that could affect my car (i.e. if I was moving to Jersey, concerns might be snow and salt...guessing here)
Hit me with it!
OMG. I wouldn't advise anyone to move to a small city in La., unless they had family nearby or some other very good reason to be there. It's just not a great place to be. I'm from there, so there are things I love about it. But I know what it's like compared to other places.
Have you considered there won't be good shopping (probably no Sam's or Costco, no Macy's, only one mall, only one theater, etc.). Do a Google search and see the amenities.
If you like to hunt & fish, La. is a great place. There is no winter to speak of. It rains a lot. A LOT. When i rains, it can rain for hours or all day. Hard. Natural disasters, like hurricanes and floods. Of course, that depends on where exactly you'd be going.
Hard to say w/o knowing where you're going, whether in the northern half or southern half. About the southern half:
Having said that:
*Property taxes are third lowest in the nation (this makes the cost of houses higher than they seem to be worth, though) AND it helps seniors that the house value freezes at 65, so a senior will pay increased property taxes only when the rates go up;
*Grocery food can be taxed whatever the local taxes are (the tax is 5.75% where I am), altho the STATE doesn't tax groceries;
*Sales tax is about 10.75% where I am in La. now (except for grocery food);
*Sales tax on cars is high, but I forget what it is (6% maybe? Not sure);
*Electricity rates are among the lowest in the nation, AND it doesn't have extremes of temps, so that keep it low;
*Gun laws - concealed carry if you have a license, I think; a LOT of people have guns (I do, too) - this area has a history of gun use by all members of families, incl. many of the kids;
*Marijuana laws - as usual; it's against the law...period;
*Cars - if you're in the southern half, old cars rust because of the salt from the Gulf; if you're really far south, green moldy stuff will get on your car at times, but if yu keep it washed, no problem;
*Cars - helps to have a vehicle with a little more than avg road clearance, because of the roads with water (SUVs and trucks do best because they're high off the road...but any car is fine; no snow or ice);
*Climate - in the south part, it's a subtropical climate (leaves don't turn colors, very few cold days; lot of rain; sweltering humid summers that some find oppressive if not used to it; this is what makes growing figs and citrus so easy here...but short sleeves at Christmas is the norm; no need for a heavy coat).
*Homeowner's Insurance - high, because of the natural disasters (flood insurance is a separate ins. and is required for certain flood zones); some insurers won't insure homes here at all (I just got a quote that amounts to about $100 per sf of house for HO ins., with every discount imaginable, which is about 1/3rd more than what I paid in Dallas, TX);
*Very conservative here...very... don't go around talking about "them liberal" issues, or talk about treehuggin' things, and whatever you do, don't even suggest that you eat for health (La. is really big on food..fatty meats and fried foods) or suggest that cutting back on fossil fuels might be a good thing ("them's fightin' words" - this is an oil state);
*Health insurance is high here, I suppose because of the obesity and unhealthy lifestyles here? I don't think the cost of health care is higher. But the people are unhealthier and many people are overweight;
*Auto insurance is a tad higher in La. than a lot of other states, but small city auto ins. should be less than ins. in a big city in another state;
*Some of the waters are polluted from various industries (depends on where you're going) - La. has lots of oil and oil-related industries and businesses, plus chemical plants and such;
*Grass is a beautiful green color almost year 'round...and it grows fast;
*The soil in La. is great for growing things. A lot of all sorts of plants will grow easily in La.
*You don't have to water your lawn, if you're in the southern half;
*With all the info you have to look up on a house to buy here, you will have to know the flood zone...very important.
*Some areas in Louisiana have very high crime rates;
*Louisiana has a lot of birds and animals of different sorts, for those interested in that;
*The food is great, if you like rich, spicy, fatty foods (I eat these only on occasion, but worth it! Crawfish dishes, boiled crawfish, gumbo, red beans n'rice, cracklins, po boys, shrimp, etc.);
*Where I am, I would say that most people have never lived for any length of time outside the state; my own family (except for me) has lived in this area since the 1700s; they feel sorry for people who move to other states, assuming that they "had to," because who would leave otherwise? Which means most in this area have had their friends for years, are involved with their families, and see no need to make friends with those coming in from elsewhere because of a transitory job or whatever. But the people here are very friendly, IMO. But I'm from here, so it's not the same as being an outsider.
If you move to a small city or town near Baton Rouge, that may be more cosmopolitan and less conservative because B.R. is the capital and has more of an influx of people from other places. B.R. will have all the shopping anyone would want. Be warned, though...Baton Rouge gets more rainfall than any other city in the nation, I believe. And an extremely high crime rate. But way more accepting of outsiders than some other regions, I think. New Orleans is also accepting of outsiders, I think. People are always coming & going there.
There is a good chance a company makes me an offer and I know it will be below six figures, which is a step down from my salary with is slightly under 120k however I know the cost of living change (moving from the bay area to Louisiana) could be considered significant. I don't want to tip the exact town as I don't really want the company to be indentifiable for privacy purposes, but it's not a major city like shreveport, more like a smaller city/town but not rural either.
What should I consider before making a decision?
Is taking the salary hit compensated by COL?
Ideally I would like to hear from someone who lives/works there. I am familiar with the south in a general sense as I have lived in Texas and Georgia so the culture shock wouldn't be extreme, but I am not familar with Louisiana. I am a bachelor in his prime, so local education, home ownership, etc are not my priorities right now, getting the most bang for my buck expense wise, and slaying copious amounts of southern belles are. My background is I was born and raised in Cali but spent six years in the army where I did live in the south, but now am more of a stereotypical "techie" as we are derragatorily termed here in the bay area.
Also, a few points I would like to hear informed opinions on:
taxes
gun laws
marijuana laws
any climate factors etc that could affect my car (i.e. if I was moving to Jersey, concerns might be snow and salt...guessing here)
Hit me with it!
I grew up in Louisiana and most of my family still there including many in Shreve area, I'm going to say you will live more opulently on $90K in Shreve than you would in Bay area on $120K but you will be giving up some quality of life such as a worse climate, generally more crime, less to do, no mountains nearby and less intellectual discussion.
On your specifics:
taxes - Income taxes less than Cali, very low property taxes, high sales taxes. Overall less than Cali.
gun laws - Very gun friendly
marijuana laws - It's an add on crime, so if you commit a crime and yu have marijuana, it's an add on crime. They won't really care that much if you aren't a dealer.
any climate factors etc that could affect my car - Occasionally hail but otherwise, not a bad climate for your car.
There is a good chance a company makes me an offer and I know it will be below six figures, which is a step down from my salary with is slightly under 120k however I know the cost of living change (moving from the bay area to Louisiana) could be considered significant. I don't want to tip the exact town as I don't really want the company to be indentifiable for privacy purposes, but it's not a major city like shreveport, more like a smaller city/town but not rural either.
What should I consider before making a decision?
Is taking the salary hit compensated by COL?
Ideally I would like to hear from someone who lives/works there. I am familiar with the south in a general sense as I have lived in Texas and Georgia so the culture shock wouldn't be extreme, but I am not familar with Louisiana. I am a bachelor in his prime, so local education, home ownership, etc are not my priorities right now, getting the most bang for my buck expense wise, and slaying copious amounts of southern belles are. My background is I was born and raised in Cali but spent six years in the army where I did live in the south, but now am more of a stereotypical "techie" as we are derragatorily termed here in the bay area.
Also, a few points I would like to hear informed opinions on:
taxes
gun laws
marijuana laws
any climate factors etc that could affect my car (i.e. if I was moving to Jersey, concerns might be snow and salt...guessing here)
Hit me with it!
I think you'd be bored stiff within a year or two, to be honest. Don't believe the comments about no Costco, etc.. Shreveport has a nice little riverfront with a lot of casinos and the Mall of Louisiana. Lots of the standard stores you would expect.
The food is out of this world good there but is not the healthiest. The women are a little on the thick side overall because of the food but lots of fun. They like to dance, drink, watch football, are more "down home" than the CA girls you are used to. The gals up in Shreveport are very Christian and religious but that never held them back.
Southern Louisiana (New Orleans, Lafayette, Baton Rouge) is where all of the Cajun culture and "joie de vivre" exists. Shreveport is just "Dallas meets Montgomery".
If you were moving to New Orleans or Lafayette I would say go for it, but not Shreveport. God no!
Come on now. Shreveport isn't that bad for those like minded souls who live there. I should have never lived here so long because I 'm not a like minded soul. There is a small group of us who are more moderate to liberal in our way of thinking but that's not the norm here.
As far as weed goes, there is plenty of it here in spite of La.'s harsher laws. You just have to be discrete about those things. Some reform has supposed to have taken place at least decriminalizing it but I don't know the final result of that. Yes your money will go far here compared to other areas. It's cheap to live here. I am nearing retirement age and I need cheap at this time.
All the fun is far down in the south part of La. They really know how to have a good time down there. This up here is a little safer from Hurricanes although can be tornado prone at times.
Shreveport, like Baton Rouge and New Orleans, suffers from high crime. If you do come, Bossier City offers low crime and better schools (if you need that).
Just remember, like every other city, Shreveport has good and bad people. Some are great, others not so. You just have to find them and avoid those who are not to your liking. Works that way everywhere.
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