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I'm entering Americorps VISTA the year after next and I'm stuck between these two cities. I spent almost a month in NOLA over a 3-year period (2001-2004), and I spent about 2 weeks in Phoenix during that time, too. I was traveling the U.S. coast to coast during this time for work, and I absolutely loved both of these cities, especially NOLA.
I haven't been back to either city since then, but I will visit them both for a week before making a final decision. In the meantime, do you have an idea of which would be best for me? Or have I lost my marbles in thinking that either would be a good fit, at least for a 1-year trial period? For the record, I've routinely checked the Americorps VISTA listings in both cities for the last 6 months, and both cities are large enough that I can find what I'm looking for in either place within 3 months, so this isn't a big issue.
Here are some of the things that matter to me:
Environment
Likes:
A good ratio of heat and humidity (both are fine)
The ocean
Green environment
Dislikes:
Snow
Brown environment
Culture & People
Likes:
People (esp. neighbors) who value minding their own business but won't fire their shotguns because you walked up their walkway to ask a question (can you tell that was based on experience? lol)
political (at least on the statewide level) and religious diversity
Tolerance and acceptance of interracial couples, foreigners, atheists, and third-party politics
A somewhat ghetto atmosphere, like where I grew up (Warrendale and Southwest neighborhoods; Detroit, MI)
Dislikes:
Social conservatives (sorry!)
Racism & Rednecks
Overzealous religious community (I feel like I'm living in Utah currently), regardless of how cordial.
People who are nosey. Period.
College-town atmosphere and/or overwhelming presence of college students
Things to do
Likes
Good movie theaters
Fishing and swimming
Good shopping within the suburbs and/or downtown
Wally World & Sams Club (Costco, etc), in a neighboring suburb anyway
Beautiful places for amateur photography (esp. sunsets!)
Good cajun food
Economics/Other
Likes
Improving economy
Low cost of living (NOLA & Phoenix are about equal)
Cheap real estate (minus a real estate market on its deathbed)
A good ratio of heat and humidity (both are fine) I don't know what you consider a good ration, but there is plenty of humidity in NOLA.
The ocean NOLA sits on the Gulf of Mexico
Green environment NOLA is greener than Phoenix
Dislikes:
Snow Snow is rare in NOLA, but can happen
Brown environment NOLA is usually green year round unless it gets unusually cold like this year.
Culture & People
Likes:
People (esp. neighbors) who value minding their own business but won't fire their shotguns because you walked up their walkway to ask a question (can you tell that was based on experience? lol) New Orleans definitely, for the most part.
political (at least on the statewide level) and religious diversity) New Orleans again for this one
Tolerance and acceptance of interracial couples, foreigners, atheists, and third-party politics Yep, New Orleans
A somewhat ghetto atmosphere, like where I grew up (Warrendale and Southwest neighborhoods; Detroit, MI) You probably can find this in either city.
Dislikes:
Social conservatives (sorry!) They exist every
Racism & Rednecks This exists everywhere too, but isn't really a serious problem in NOLA. It usually only surfaces when it is convenient and normally has a political angle
Overzealous religious community (I feel like I'm living in Utah currently), regardless of how cordial. New Orleans has a church on every corner, but you'd never be able to tell
People who are nosey. Period. They are everywhere, but NOLA tends to have an "I could care less" attitude overall
College-town atmosphere and/or overwhelming presence of college students NOLA has at least 7 four year colleges/universities so there are enough college students to go around, but they usually stay confined to certain areas so they aren't necessarily noticeable.
Things to do
Likes
Good movie theaters Don't really know what makes a theater good.
Fishing and swimming NOLA surrounded by water/swamp on all sides
Good shopping within the suburbs and/or downtown NOLA isn't the best for shopping, but it's not bad either
Wally World & Sams Club (Costco, etc), in a neighboring suburb anyway NOLA has too many
Beautiful places for amateur photography (esp. sunsets!) New Orleans
Good cajun food it'll be hard to find good Cajun in NOLA since NOLA isn't a Cajun city. There is this restaurant calledCochonthat is really good, but it's the only real Cajun spot in the city
Economics/Other
Likes
Improving economy NOLA
Low cost of living (NOLA & Phoenix are about equal) New Orleans isn't exactly what I'd call cheap
Cheap real estate (minus a real estate market on its deathbed) ^ New Orleans isn't cheap
1/1 apartments <$450/month You wouldn't find a 1/1 apt in a NOLA slum for less than $600-$650. A nice one will be in the $750-$1100 range
Good public transportation!! NOLA has that
Confidence in local government Definitely something that NOLA is lacking
Stable local economy I don't know exactly how stable it is, but NOLA's is in the process of diversifying
Thoughts?
I can speak for NOLA, but I don't know anything about Phoenix.
NOLA isn't known for its beaches, but it is on the Gulf and close to the beaches of Miss., Texas, and Alabama. There are some islands in Louisiana as well. I would choose NOLA. Phoenix is very dry, and so it is just brown for much of the year. The only rain it gets is some in winter and some in the summer monsoon. NOLA is more tolerant and also greener. Phoenix is a conservative city, NOLA is a liberal one.
Idk original poster, people mess with you in New Orleans. Like if I was asked whether people are more or less nosy in New Orleans, I would say more nosy. But that's a good thing at least to me. New Orleans is majority liberal and its real laissez faire but it is Louisiana. People bust each others chops here a good bit.
I'll speak my thoughts in respects to the Phoenix metro:
Environment
Likes:
A good ratio of heat and humidity (both are fine) - Humidity only during the monsoon and even then nothing like "humid" places. Typically very dry and in the summer very hot. You get a lot of sun.
The ocean - Not in the city. You can reach it via mexico (in approx 4 hours or CA approx 5 hours). We do have some man made lakes - but they definitely aren't the ocean.
Green environment - Overall it's brown. The mountains don't have trees, a lot of front facing rock landscaping, etc. There are neighborhoods that are very green. A good portion of the city is well landscaped with a variety of trees, shrubs and other plants and it seems like some plants are always flowering. That's enough for some, for some others it is not.
Dislikes:
Snow - Not really an impact in our lives. We've had a couple light flurries over the past few years near the metro - but unless you go up into the mountains you're not going to see snow.
Brown environment - As discussed, Phoenix is fairly brown.
Culture & People
Likes:
People (esp. neighbors) who value minding their own business but won't fire their shotguns because you walked up their walkway to ask a question (can you tell that was based on experience? lol) - We are the home of the 6' block fence. It's not a pedestrian city where you share walls with people. People tend to be cordial and in my experience aware of their neighbors, but not overtly nosy. I grew up in a small town and it drove me nuts because everyone was gossiping about everyone.
political (at least on the statewide level) and religious diversity - The state is almost evenly split between registered republicans, independents and democrats. Most of the independents lean right though. Most of the control in the state leans right. I'd say the leadership in the state is a bit more extreme than the populous - but it's the nature of politics out here, although there has been some return to the more moderate right. Not sure what religious diversity means to you. Typically no one out here is going to care what religion you are. The predominant religions would be "christian" and by that I mean the standard denominations as well as the non-denomination mega church, evangicals, etc. To go with them we also have a pretty big catholic presence and LDS presence. Other religions can be found and I think pretty much all are represented. All sorts of temples and what not around the city. Religion really isn't a topic of discussion out here. You'll probably never hear a lead question when you meet someone that goes "so what church do you attend?"
Tolerance and acceptance of interracial couples, foreigners, atheists, and third-party politics - Very tolerant. There are a couple pockets where gays may meet some resistance (typically the ulta conservative, LDS centric, suburbs - but even then it's very limited to certain neighborhoods ... I've had friends who have had problems in Gilbert, but others who have had no issues in other parts of the city). Interracial couples are common, as are foreigners, religion isn't a focus of life and you can feel free to follow whatever 3rd party you want.
A somewhat ghetto atmosphere, like where I grew up (Warrendale and Southwest neighborhoods; Detroit, MI) - Even the "ghetto" areas out here aren't that bad. There is south phoenix, parts of west phoenix (maryvale), parts of glendale, parts of mesa, parts of north phoenix - it really varies. There are also some more industrial type areas. Most of the city is pretty new though
Dislikes:
Social conservatives (sorry!) - there is definitely a bit of that here and they do tend to be vocal, which can get obnoxious. I typically ignore them like any other blowhard. On the whole the conservatism out here is more financial with more of an "if it doesn't bother me than why do I care" element. The social conservative have picked up steam over the past few years - but it's not in tune with the population and it's starting to turn a little. There is a real disconnect here between the politicians, the voting population and how those votes are concentrated with the overall general population.
Racism & Rednecks - Not all rednecks are racist and not all racists are rednecks. There are definitely some of both out here, but again they won't be a daily part of your life unless you want them to be.
Overzealous religious community (I feel like I'm living in Utah currently), regardless of how cordial. - Nope, although it has started to bleed into the politics of the state.
People who are nosey. Period. - Not an issue
College-town atmosphere and/or overwhelming presence of college students - Avoid parts of Tempe and you'll be fine. ASU is a gigantic university. However, tempe is only a portion of the metro and ASU is only a portion of tempe.
Things to do
Likes
Good movie theaters - They are pretty much everywhere, a lot of new building & development so a lot of new screens. AMC & Harkins are the main ones out here, but there are some independent options as well, dollar theaters, etc.
Fishing and swimming - Swimming is pretty easy to come across. Many pools are "play pools" as opposed to "lap pools", however most communities have rec centers that will offer access to larger pools that you can do some actual swimming in. They are usually pretty cheap. For a little more money there is always places like the Y. Not much as far as lake swimming or any "non-pool" swimming. Water gets cold in the fall/winter so unless you have a heated option you may not swim as much as you'd think. Fishing exists in the metro proper in stocked urban lakes. The AZ game department has maps, etc. There are also lakes outside the city and better fishing if you head up into the mountains. It's not ingrained into the culture like some other places, but it does exist. May or may not work for you.
Good shopping within the suburbs and/or downtown - Yep
Wally World & Sams Club (Costco, etc), in a neighboring suburb anyway - A given
Beautiful places for amateur photography (esp. sunsets!) - Excellent options and the sun setting over the mountains is incredible
Good cajun food - Obviously not that many options, but a handful of really good options do exist.
Economics/Other
Likes
Improving economy - Define improving?! - It was beat up really bad when the housing market fell out, construction is a big part of the local economy and it completely bottomed out. Things are getting better, they continue to try to diversify and there are solid employment options, but still somewhat limited. A lot will depend on what you do though.
Low cost of living (NOLA & Phoenix are about equal) - Cost of living is pretty good. Good prices on produce and the like compared to other places I've lived.
Cheap real estate (minus a real estate market on its deathbed) - real estate market is still in the hospital, but off the deathbed. A lot of cheap real estate still available. It's a city that built (actually overbuilt) outwards with a lot of new migration and speculation during the boom.
1/1 apartments <$450/month - Not sure what that will get you out here.
Good public transportation!! - That's a negative - there is the light rail that while it covers a good amount of miles, it barely scratches the surface to the metro. I've found the bus system to be unreliable and it takes forever to get around the city if you have to cover any distance. Phoenix covers a lot more land than NO (and many other cities). It's very car oriented and while you could probably survive without a car, you'd be limited and miss a lot of what makes this city a great place to live.
Confidence in local government - I've yet to live anywhere where this existed.
Stable local economy - As mentioned, it's getting better, but still has a long way to go.
Your likes/dislikes are pretty much a prefect fit for NOLA. Except I'm not sure what a "brown environment" is.
As for rent, do not ever sign a lease to an apartment in NOLA if the rent is 450. You will most definitely be in a very dangerous neighborhood. I do know that a lot of Americorps people live together and make rent very cheap in pretty cool neighborhoods like the marigny or bywater. Not sure if you would want to live with 4 other people but that's what you get with Americorps salary.
If you're from Detroit you should be right at home in NOLA. I just googled the Warrendale neighborhood and it looks very similar to Gentilly in NOLA. Not that I would call either of those "ghetto." But you could definitely find somewhat cheaper rents out towards the lake around Gentilly Near UNO. Again, it seems really similar to Warrendale.
I just realized this post is 2 years old.....
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