I Hate Shreveport! (New Orleans, Denham Springs, Haughton: appointed, go bankrupt, university)

[Magic Qwan]

Anchorage is attracting me since it is close to a huge natural wonder. Really, though, the intellectual level of a city is important to me.

I believe towns that are too small are mentally insular, and cities that are too big choke out greatness with their urban sprawl.

You need a happy medium, as elusive as it may be.

[Carlito Brigante]

Originally Posted by SHVtoATL

Never in my life have I been to a more backwards town as the one I was born in. Shreveport epitomizes a "could be" town, full of so-called "potential" with nothing significant ever really occuring...no real growth, no real progression EVER! Just the same racist, close-minded, segregated mentality that other cities left behind in the 60's!

Trust me, I know how you feel. Sounds like my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee...

[BeenThereDunThat]

Shreveport is ( and Bossier too, to some extent) is a bit of a "Boss Hogg" mentality as far as local progress is concerned. The real truth is people are simply furthering their own self-interests & strategic alliances under the guise of promoting things for "the greater good". That's how the convention center & downtown entertainment district were developed, more or less steamrolled into being without voter input. Some would argue that these things have been good for the area but the accounting shows that they are still very much in the red. There was a recent study by local demographer Elliot Stonecipher who concluded that Shreveport has higher-than-most taxes than other cities in Louisiana and even went on to say that
"...when compared to the DFW metro, Shreveport is more expensive and doesn't deliver the same infrastructure for the price".

But hey, we got Mardi Gras.... throw me sumptin' mister and pass the jug!

[Magic Qwan]

Blah…

I can see why brain drain is so bad.

Brains like me leave, fools stay.

[imaterry78259]

Everybody hates Shreveport but it has some excellent food

[Chilly Gentilly]

Originally Posted by imaterry78259

Everybody hates Shreveport but it has some excellent food

I can't disagree with your there. My only rebuttal is that there are only a handful of good, local restaurants here. You've got Bella Fresca, Superior, Wine Country Bistro, and Bistro Byronz...all fantastic, but all on the same side of town. Did I miss one?

[IveBeenEverywhere]

I just moved from Shreveport to California a few months ago. I lived in SHV for three years. My husband is in the Air Force, but we didn't live on base and I worked civilian jobs, so I feel as though I was able to make a pretty fair assessment of the city. I made some friends and had some good experiences, but ultimately Shreveport was not for me. I think my number one complaint was the weather--though I'm a native Floridian, the endless heat and humidity of the region was like nothing I've ever experienced. I used to get "cabin fever" in the summertime because I just couldn't bear to be outdoors for more than ten minutes at a time. Spring and fall were beautiful in Shreveport, but they didn't last nearly long enough for me.

I also echo some of what other posters have said about SHV's cultural stalemate. I was captivated and hopeful about the potential in the downtown area, but it seemed like nothing ever went forward without a whole lot of red tape and hemming and hawing. Eventually I just lost interest, because it became apparent to me that no amount of volunteering or other community involvement would change a thing in the foreseeable future. I do admire the work and vision that organizations like the DDA have, but I was afraid of wasting my life in a town that was going nowhere (I'm in my 20s and went through something of a "quarterlife crisis" while living there). I enjoyed the Robinson Film Center, the farmers market, and a few other activities, but it seemed like the go-to activity on a standard weekend was shopping or drinking. My husband and I joke that the Youree Drive Target must be experiencing massively decreased sales since we left.

I also found it very difficult to find satisfying employment. I understand that the economy is hard on job seekers everywhere, and I knew that I couldn't afford to be picky. I did some secretarial work and freelance writing (I have an English degree), but it was frustrating to see my friends in larger cities find relevant, fulfilling employment. The "magazines" (SB and the Forum, specifically) in Shreveport are a joke--just cover-to-cover advertisements disguised as articles.

I think one of my Shreveport friends, an older woman who was a native of the area, said it best: Shreveport is very insular. Sure, there are fun things to do and places to go, but you have to know the right people first--it's nearly impossible to start from scratch. Everyone knows everyone, but no one knows you--and it gets tiresome to see the same 15 or 20 names thrown around in every flyer, article, and advertisement.

Anyway, sorry to threadjack, but I noticed you mentioning moving to CA. We live on the central coast, about 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara and 5 hours south of San Fran. Though our current town is sleepy, there is no shortage of things to do on weekends. We're a short drive from the beach (too cold and sharky to swim, but whale watching and tidepools are fun), wineries, good hiking, etc. San Luis Obispo is a great, funky city and just a few minutes north. I believe it's about the same size, population-wise, as Shreveport, but it has an awesome, thriving downtown, and the people are very friendly and inclusive. Yes, California is more expensive than Louisiana, but in general, jobs here pay more--it's all relative.

I think one of the things that struck me most when I moved here is just how lively everybody is. On weekends, everyone is out and about--biking, having cookouts at the park, antiquing, enjoying a cup of coffee at an outdoor cafe, hiking, surfing, hitting up one of the massive and plentiful farmers markets, etc. Sure, people are kind of up their own asses a little bit in wealthier areas like Santa Barbara, but overall everybody is so nice and just--alive. I don't recall feeling that in Shreveport. I feel like a lot of Shreveporters were on the defensive all the time, just waiting for somebody to say something remotely negative about the area so that they could jump down their throats. I once had a lady at World Market butt into my conversation when I mentioned to somebody else that there was nowhere to get a bagel in Shreveport. Buttinski told me they had "biscuits, not bagels," and that I was free to leave whenever I wanted. I think that incident was a pretty accurate representation of life in SHV--very "us vs. them," all the time. It was exhausting.

Anyway, I hope you find what you're looking for, wherever you end up. No place is ever going to be perfect, of course, but some just suit us better than others.

[BeenThereDunThat]

FWIW... I love San Luis Obispo, Solvang, Morro Bay area. Do they still have the Wednesday night street festivals in SLO? I did some contract work in that area many years ago.

You are right about the area being highly defensive about itself either culturally, socially, politically, etc., etc. I was invited to dinner with some colleagues last week and while I generally had a good time, the evening started to turn sour after some folks had too many glasses of wine and started in about politics which segued into religious beliefs and the lack of bible teaching in schools becoming the basis of all problems. I pointed out that a lot of social issues can be attributed to economics and access to better education and better paying jobs but that point was doomed from the start. I don't drink much and I could tell that those who were on their 4th glass weren't going to let go of their point-of-view for a moment to even consider mine so I tried to change the subject and then tell everyone it was nice to meet them and politely excuse myself for the evening. I get so fatigued by the local psyche' here as if NW La. was some oppressed small island nation being screwed by Washington or whatever. I have to bite my tongue so much it hurts.

And I am tired of seeing the same couple dozen social & political sycophants in the Ad Rags masquerading as local news magazines. If the hospitals, doctors, lawyers and casinos didn't buy ads, those things would probably be out-of-business.

As for places to eat, there are a few. Winecountry, Bella Fresca's, Guiseppe's is OK, Superior Steaks ...hit or miss -- overpriced IMHO, The Village... good but expensive, Casino restaurants (not the buffets), Ralph & Kacoo's is pretty good for La. grub, there are a few others but I rarely eat out as much as I used to because I got burned out of the same-ol', same-ol'. I save my money for the few out-of-town trips to Dallas or NOLA and dine really well.

A lady-friend took me out to dinner at El Dorado's Vintage restaurant for my birthday and I had a wonderful meal there. The only sour-note of the evening was being seated adjacent to some Okie's who obviously were comped for their gambling because they let everyone within earshot hear about their bragging rights. One guy actually was wearing coveralls under his windbreaker. I was really looking forward to the evening so I could mentally escape this redneck paradise, even if just for an hour or so.
Guess that was too much to hope for.

[hdwell]

I always thought Shreveport and Memphis had some similarities. As a matter of fact I thought of Shreveport as being a "little Memphis"

As a side-note, so many evangelicals in this area seem to believe it is some kind of holy land where people do no wrong. Hardly the case; we have the same problems as anywhere else but no one wants to deal with them.

[BeenThereDunThat]

Saw today in the Shreveport Times that the SHRAC folks are at it again with yet another "vision" for downtown revival.
Years ago they convinced the Mayor to spend thousands for a "Neon Bridge" to serve as a catalyst for riverfront tourism and revival. Now they want to bookend this with the Westend Common so that local artists can have a public venue for performances, art exhibits and sales. Uh...isn't this what the Artists Lofts at the former Lee Hardware Bldg. were supposed to do some 10+ years ago? I really think SHRAC has good intentions but this has a "Neon Bridge" smell all over it. The "uncommon, unscene" effort is probably "unrealistic" for the long-term, just like the Neon Bridge and the "dreamed of artist galleries" that Lee Hardware was supposedly going to encourage.

Guess since it's been what 12, 15 yrs since the Neon Bridge debacle, they must figure people have forgotten about it.

BTW, the Neon "Texas St." Bridge has much of the neon not working.... they convinced the Shreveport Times in an article that all the lights are working.... uh...all one has to do is look at a picture of before and after to see that they're not. Yet no one wants to admit to this failure.

For more reading: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/artic...nclick_check=1