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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.
My wife and I were driving over the Texas Street bridge and laughing at how Shreveport-Bossier can't even replace the freaking LIGHTS on the bridge in 20 years!
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.
You have perfectly articulated how my wife and I feel. We are in our mid 20s and, as business owners, had become very active in the downtown community. That is until we realized we had been DUPED by the false hope of change in Shreveport.
Since my last post, we have definitely decided on Sacramento! It seems like the perfect balance of calm during the week, with Sactown being a bit on the mellow side, then with Napa's Wine Country an hour away, San Francisco's big city amenities a short drive to the west, Lake Tahoe's a rustic mountain/lake getaway, and Reno a little further east for a change of pace. Not to mention my family in LA just a 5 hour drive south! All this plus Sacramento is as affordable as Atlanta. Its perfect!
These river towns like Shreve or Mem, won't change in the next 20 years, and if you don't want to hang around two more decades for these cities to be smarter, yes, the best chaoice is to not waste time any more on them, pray for them, and get out to a better part of the nation. This nation is quite diverse-unbelievably so, but these people don't know that, or acknoeldge that, they think their socieities are microcosms of the rest of the nation ! Wrong ! let them drown in their own malaise and indifference I say. you can come back to these kinds of cities in 2023, and I assure you that nothing much, or significant will have changed. Bookit
I think this is spot on! While some things bounce slowly along in the way of "progress", there is a cyclic pattern of ebb & flow as far as downtown (re)development and so-called "quality-of-life" issues. The Caddo school mess was a problem in the 1980's and when I came back in the 90's...same deal, and the same divisive / political drama is still going on with that with each successive superintendent either leaving or being forced out. Same deal with the DDA, anyone outside the "one-of-us" clique' is going to be frustrated with the status-quo and leave. Those entrenched in the local mutual admiration society cliques' have learned how to be effective bureaucrats at self-promotion and in keeping their jobs and social status; that's 99% of their occupation or so it seems. As long as there are people willing to keep sipping and serving the Kool-Aid of hyperbole and wishful thinking, the delusion will live on.
You're right, leave now and come back in 10 years and not much will have changed unless it was fostered by outside influences... like the casinos, or looking back at how GM wound up here and how it will probably sit mostly vacant as the Elio prospect is questionable. You'll see people interchange politically-appointed positions and work them in a custodial manner and not a progressive one; but you can bet they'll make themselves look and sound more significant than they (or their positions) really are. I'm mentally checked out elsewhere ... hopefully out of here sooner than later.
For those of you who are moving from shreveport, have you checked out the southern half of the state? It is quite different. You dont have to give up on Louisiana entirely!
For those of you who are moving from shreveport, have you checked out the southern half of the state? It is quite different. You dont have to give up on Louisiana entirely!
Oh most definitely. My wife was born and raised in the Gentilly area of New Orleans, a city that I have a sizable affinity for. I would consider it an a definite option if we weren't so sick of the South...although I love the fact that New Orleans is its own world. Its still a bit "familiar" for us at this point...(not saying that its, even remotely, similar to Shreveport)
Magic Qwan: I'd love to look into Anchorage, but I HATE the cold half as much as I hate North Louisiana. Haughton is the pits... Let me know how it works out for you in Alaska. You might make me throw on a jacket and head that way!
BeenThereDunThat: I really want to get out of this region. All of my grade schooling was in Texas so Dallas and Houston feel like the same ole, same ole...Plus Texas is the "buckle" of the bible belt and my wife and I are agnostic
SHV, I'm probably outside the mark here as I only read the first two pages of posts and maybe your business requires a huge city like SF or ATL, but if I were going to take a chance on living in California (given it's high taxes, high gas prices, still expensive housing (compared to other areas of the country), and the possibility that the state might go bankrupt, I'd chose San Luis Obispo to live in. It's beautiful there, close to the coast and to wine country. Has a 35,000 student university that provides plenty of college athletics and cultural activities, too. During the summer, I think it's every Thursday night, they close off six city blocks for an enhanced farmer's market, that includes hot food being sold, jams and jellies, cakes and pies, all sorts of fresh vegetables--and the night we were there the place was packed.
Not sure how an entrepeneur goes about getting a spot, but all of them were having a lot of traffic the night we were there.
SLO is a different kind of small city. There are fast food restaurants, but no drive through windows on any of them as they are prohibited by a municipal code, I believe.
I was only there once, but lived in Vacaville and San Diego both for a short while when I was much younger. Nothing I had ever seen in California compared to what I saw in SLO when my wife was interviewing for a position with the hospital there. Ultimately we chose Dallas because of the huge cost differential. But in terms of sheer beauty and variety in that beauty, SLO has a lot of places whipped easily.
Anyway, if you are able to move and are set on either Georgia or California, here is another pebble in the puddle.
Good luck to you.
And, by the way, my grandparents lived in Denham Springs and my father grew up holding onto a plow drawn by a mule somewhere south of New Orleans where he was born. We spent lots of vacations in DS.
I'd chose San Luis Obispo to live in. It's beautiful there, close to the coast and to wine country. Has a 35,000 student university that provides plenty of college athletics and cultural activities, too. During the summer, I think it's every Thursday night, they close off six city blocks for an enhanced farmer's market, that includes hot food being sold, jams and jellies, cakes and pies, all sorts of fresh vegetables--and the night we were there the place was packed.
SLO is a different kind of small city. There are fast food restaurants, but no drive through windows on any of them as they are prohibited by a municipal code, I believe.
I was only there once, but lived in Vacaville and San Diego both for a short while when I was much younger. Nothing I had ever seen in California compared to what I saw in SLO when my wife was interviewing for a position with the hospital there. Ultimately we chose Dallas because of the huge cost differential. But in terms of sheer beauty and variety in that beauty, SLO has a lot of places whipped easily.
Double-ditto on the SLO post. I had a wonderful time there and you're right the Street Fair is Thursday nights where they close off the streets for the food vendors... it's like a farmer's mkt too. BTW... Central Coast has some really good wineries and the cost is no-where close to what it is in Napa to do tastings. Much more laid-back. I think the movie: "Sideways" was shot there. Less crowded and more upbeat area with a good downtown, reminds me of a mini-Santa Barbara without the expense or pretense.
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If you consider California
