Reasons to love and live in Louisiana (New Orleans, Baton Rouge: real estate, crime rate)

[Drouzin]

North and South LA. I've heard that Bunkie is the Maison-Dixon line in LA. I always thought of that as funny. Probably because Mom's family is from the Bunkie area and believe me they are very southern. I'd never really been north of there until we evacuated for K. I was surprised to see HILLS in LA, I mean I'd heard they were there, but I just couldn't picture it! It was like being in a whole other country. If you haven't been up there, you should go. It was pretty country and the people have southern accents, unlike us yats.

[RulesRule]

Don't go. I grew up in Boston. I moved to Monroe, Louisiana. I moved away again as fast as I could. It is insular and corrupt, a place of haves and have nots. The poverty is heartbreaking and you'll see everywhere in the city except for a few dozen pristine blocks. The schools are about discipline, not about learning. In fact, corporal punishment is practiced in the Monroe schools -- just go into any public school principals office to see the paddle. The economy is in desparate condition because the people are uneducated and do not have the work ethic to survive factory work. I can't say it enough, stay in Boston.

[Rmaf623]

Originally Posted by Drouzin

North and South LA. I've heard that Bunkie is the Maison-Dixon line in LA. I always thought of that as funny. Probably because Mom's family is from the Bunkie area and believe me they are very southern. I'd never really been north of there until we evacuated for K. I was surprised to see HILLS in LA, I mean I'd heard they were there, but I just couldn't picture it! It was like being in a whole other country. If you haven't been up there, you should go. It was pretty country and the people have southern accents, unlike us yats.

This is the first that I've ever heard of Bunkie acting as the Mason-Dixon line of Louisiana! I would consider Bunkie a mixture of Cajun & North Louisiana culture. However, there are areas to the north of Bunkie that have a very strong Cajun presence, such as the towns of Marksville, Hessmer, Mansura, and Moreauville. And there some areas south of Bunkie that feel more like North Louisiana than South Louisiana (Beauregard Parish & parts of Allen Parish).

[clovecpa]

My family is from Mobile, AL, we moved to New Orleans when was very young. I grew up on the westbank and had a great life. The schools in Jefferson Parish were pretty good, but they did have their issues. I am somewhat in the same category as you. I'm thinking about relocating back to LA, but nothing but family is really pushing me to be there. I'm an accountant and I don't want take a $10,000 pay cut just to return to LA. It's okay, wonderful food, Mardi Gras is nice, but for the most part, if you don't have family or something really pushing you to be there, I would go elsewhere. The economy is not strong in LA, especially the New Orleans area and there are not many things to do. Unless you are a die hard party person, Bourbon St., the French Quarter will get old, really quick. There are no major corporations there, so just think about it and do your research. I think the Shreveport/Bossier area is really nice, maybe you should consider that area. Just do your research and think about it.

[collected_eve]

WOW! I cannot believe all the harsh words against Louisiana! I was born & raised in a little country town, Chataingier & lived a wonderful childhood with many great memories. I moved away when I was 18 with my dad to Southern Illinois, then after H.S. Southern Missouri & now I am currently in Arizona. I'm 24 now & ready to settle down in a place where I can raise my new family. Missouri is my state of choice, but I have absolutely no regrets being raised in LA. The culture, the weather, the food, the southern hospitality, lifelong friends, it's great!! I'm vacationing there for the first time in 3 years & am extremely excited.

[Drouzin]

Rmaf623, I agree the area is rather spotty. Grandma was Cajun and Grandpa was 1/2 English. Mom always had this twangy accent and ended a lot of words with the sound of er (window=winder). None of the Bunkie area relatives sounded Cajun except my Grandmother (or so I'm told).

Collected_eve, I knew that Chataingier sounded familar. Grandma was from Basile and we used to drive past there on 29 when Mom would visit her cousins.

[cassarina]

Why I love Louisiana. The culture is awesome. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is wonderful! Everyone on the planet should experience it at least 5 times in their lifetime. Mardi Gras, Brass band music such as the bands Soul Rebel,Rebirth Brass Band etc. Frenchman street in New Orleans where there are several clubs on the street where you can hear live music and catch famous musicians at Snug Harbor or hear reggae,rock or salsa at Cafe Brasil or eat Middle Eastern at Mona's or fried shrimp at Snug Harbor and listen to jazz. The people! Second Lines!The French Quarter! Soft shelled crab poboys. I miss and love so many things about Louisiana. I love sno balls and pralines and taking the ferry across the Mississippi River. I can finally say that I know what it means to miss New Orleans!

[Caa]

I moved here from south Florida and have not regretted it at all(except my family is there and we miss them all very much!we hated Florida-south-very different from north or central Florida by the way). Anyway, we have been here 3 years and are still in shock when a person lets us out from a side street. God forbid, you got out from a side street in Florida. We think the southern kindness is still prevalent in Baton Rouge at least. The food cannot be beat and there are more activities for kids here than any other city I have lived in(5 total). We love Louisiana and hope to continue to enjoy it more every day.

[Chinolala]

Originally Posted by hurricom

If you want the closest thing to a European city, move to New Orleans. Sure, it has its problems, but you simply will not find a city in the southern US (except perhaps for Charleston) that possesses the kind of cultural gumbo that New Orleans offers. A truly unique city, which in the US, has become a rarity in many ways.

I agree that New Orleans is unique, making it a rarity. However, I disagree that it's European. Granted, it has the French/Spanish influences and the French Quarter is charming with all of the wrough iron. But the general population of the area seems to be people who's families have been there hundreds of years or recent immigrants from various parts of Asia or South America. Other than Byblos, an Arab restaurant in Metairie, I was hard pressed to find any good ethnic food. New Orleans has such a strong culture of its own, including its food, that it seems that other cultures are greatly ignored. This was one reason I opted to move out of New Orleans. Where I live, I come into people daily from Italy, Poland, Greece, Thailand, Russia, Germany, etc. You can go to a German restaurant and the owner and cooks are from Germany. In Greektown, the restaurants are run by Greeks, from Greece. I live in an Italian neighborhood where you can hear customers and the shop owners banter in Italian. The European influences here are much more prevelant because the immigrants just got here. I once ordered lasagna at an "Italian" restaurant in Metarie on Causeway Blvd and it had crawfish in it. New Orleans seems to "Cajunize" and "Creolize" other cultures' foods. So in conclusion, I think someone from Europe would fare better in cities such as NYC, Boston, Chicago, etc. New Orleans is great if you want to embrace its culture and lose your own.

[san phlegmatico]

However, I disagree that it's European

European in physical city composition and ethos, not in its constituent population and not in its exactness of derivation of European cultural sensibilities.

When NOLA is referred to as a "European city," this is usually in order to connote the general ethos and physical bones of the city: the tight-grid layout (of the FQ in particular); the high-density yet low-profile skyline; the pervasiveness of bohemianism; the elegant and regal traditions; the emphasis and reverence for grand and traditional architecture; the retention of the Old World culture (i.e., European), albeit with a local twist and penchant to "Creolize" everything; an unabashed antithetical bent to conventional American culture and mores -- a feature prominent within the city limits only (and perhaps some of the surrounding bayous); and, the unapologetically provincial nature of New Orleans -- an attribute normally associated with the likes of most European hamlets and cities.

One of the most striking features of New Orleans culture (which is really manifested in the cuisine) is that NOLA does not often attempt to directly replicate a European style (or dish); rather, it borrows from the influences, reconfigures them, and presents its own 'take'. This penchant is part and parcel of the European ethos, in a sense -- to be original, to take pride in a local 'flavor' but to remain strongly rooted in local traditions and timelessless essences inherited.

The 'American Way' (as opposed to the 'European Way') is: to repackage the proven commodity with continuing emphasis on lowest common denominator, market-saturation factors and corporately, to stretch the sphere of a commodity's influence; to cater to consumer-driven mindsets and notions (such as what constitutes an 'ethnic food' in a very general or sometimes stereotypical sense); to be kitschy, overly-pragmatic, and to provide the MELTING POT experience. Or alternatively, it is to occasionally be radically, ruggedly individualistic and pioneering in its inventiveness.

New Orleans is not, and never was, a melting pot; it is a gumbo of certain disparate peoples, who have along the way cross-bred a number of hybrid citizens to somewhat complicate but also underpin its ethno-racial composition. Indigenous New Orleans descendants have co-existed in and amongst each others' neighorhoods since that point in time centuries ago when the actual Europeans last relinquished their toehold in America. New Orleans' 'inventions', as it were, have always been the next logical sequence in a long chain of deep-seeded heritage. Safe progressions, yet each link in the chain inextricably tied back to its past.