re: Life in Louisiana - Considering moving home

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thinking about Darbonne.

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I often think about Upper Ouachita when I am stuck in gridlock in the concrete jungle. What I miss the most about back home is being able to go out on the river and being able to go catch some CrapiSacaPerch when the mood hit me.

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quick to disagree with the advice you are seeking

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Not really, I have just considered some of the points already. Going back and forth on property taxes and state income taxes is kind of moot, unless there are numbers to go along with it. I know people in each state who say they won't leave either because they "can't deal with paying that high of property taxes" or "don't want to have to pay state income taxes." My point was simply I know the dollar amounts are comparable. And traffic is a pain in the arse both places.

I'm on the other end of the decision you are pondering. We moved to the suburbs north of Atlanta after LSU and stayed there for roughly 12 yrs. We discussed moving back to LA from time to time and pulled the trigger on it about 2 years ago. A lot of our pull was to get back close to family with the knowledge it would take some time to get re-established from a career/earnings standpoint. Unfortunately, I am regretful about our decision for several reasons (most of them already laid out other posters). My two big issues have to do with the chaotic education system and overall lesser quality of life. I'm just not going to pay $10-$15K per year to send our kids to private school when I've seen how good the public schools are elsewhere. Also, within 1.5 miles from our old house we had a greenway trail system (+/- 15 miles of concrete and dirt trails through the woods for walking/running/biking), restaurants, shopping, multiple grocery stores that way surpass anything here, a large amphitheater that has great music shows, and multiple golf courses/clubs. The only outdoors related plus for me in BR is proximity to duck hunting and marsh fishing, but I rarely get to do much with young kids. At the end of the day, for us, I don't think the pro of being close to family outweighs all the cons. Whatever you do, make sure you really think through all the details before pulling the trigger. We underestimated/didn't put enough value on several things that have turned out to be problems for us. Good luck man.

Go home ET

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I moved to Houston then back and couldn't be happier

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This sounds like my bro and his wife. I guess if you're from LA born 'n' raised, it's tough to uproot and move. But we grew up all over the US. Been in LA 15 years, but still open to relocation.

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I can't remember the last time I-10 West was NOT gridlocked on a Sunday afternoon. Morning rush? gridlock. Lunch rush? gridlock. school traffic? gridlock. Evening Rush? Gridlock. LSU game? gridlock. Sunday just because? gridlock. BRPD/LA State Police/EBRSO checkpoint? gridlock. Midnight just because? gridlock.

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I feel like I should point out that it's not technically called gridlock when you're referencing the interstate. Just traffic/bottlenecking. Gridlock is when, like the name suggests, cars with a red light are block an intersection to where cars with a green light cannot move, locking all sides.

I'd normally say you are insane. However, I somewhat understand what you are saying. Houston and Dallas are currently the only (big) cities I have visited that have given me an empty, unfulfilled feeling. I find that both lack a strong community there. They are those kind of towns that have to pay you well and offer affordable housing because it doesn't appeal to much after that. Before the OT Texans came in spouting sports, restaurants, museums...all big cities offer that.

That all said, my advice, I'd suck it up for as long as possible in Houston. Make the most of it while you can. The Oil and Gas industry has seen better days. Ride it out for as long as possible. Baton Rouge isn't going anywhere.

What's stopping you?

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Baton Rouge is turning into a shithole... The areas around it aren't bad just some meth labs , but the schools outside BR are great.............

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It's really more of the opposite. BR was a shithole and is now slightly less shitty.