Story of my life in geography...
Born in Shreveport, age 0.
Lived/grew up in-between Waskom and Bethany, age 0-7. (very favorable opinion, Waskom struck me as a very friendly town. More later on this).
Parents divorced, moved to live part-time with one of them in Greenwood, age 7-8. (Did not like it there so much. Bad apartment complex.)
Mom re-married, moved to Blanchard (Hated it, was stuck in a private school with a bunch of higher-income families kids and didn't fit at all.) Age 8-13.
Moved to McAllen,TX for highschool. Took a few years to realize that people WERE cool and then I LOVED having the friends I never had when I went to the rich-kid school. Life was good. 13-18.
Moved back here for college and took over the home I grew up in from 0-7. Worked in Waskom. Very friendly town and all the people waved at me. I was City Maintenance and made $5.75 and hour, but the work was honest, and simple, and I had time to think. I really liked it. I then held a few different jobs in Shreveport (Ford, Sears, Direct TV. Those were Okay, LOVED working for Ford, though.)
Moved to Shreveport when I was 19, lived there ever since. People are rude, very clannish/cliqish and I have learned just to go to work, pump iron, shop for food, and otherwise keep to myself. Very hostile environment here outside of work/the gym imo.
Moving to the Fayetteville, AR area in early '13 is my plan. Review demographics, population, education, crime, etc. and you will see that it's much more in-line with what people on this forum, and myself, seem to lust after--An educated, lower-crime population with nation-leading lows in unemployment and beautiful country reasonably priced, with very relaxed gun-laws. During my visits there, people have been relaxed and friendly, and don't mind talking to a stranger.
I see what you mean, as no matter what, I would no longer be able to enjoy living here. Too much water under the bridge. As to middleschool, never could do anything with people at school like eat after basketball games or go to parties or have friends over. I'm sure that didn't help my cause.Rich or poor,black or white, shades of grey when your being honest with yourself. Most times in a relationship, good people just want to know first, if you are trustworthy.I grew up with some of the poorest and wealthiest of folks.I helped some to overcome there fear of water,swim and do tricks off the diving board. They don't care how much money you have, or what color you are. Knowledge and trust is a commodity The way I see it,your pent up resentment is cloudingyour judgment. Best of luck to you.
I see what you mean, as no matter what, I would no longer be able to enjoy living here. Too much water under the bridge. As to middleschool, never could do anything with people at school like eat after basketball games or go to parties or have friends over. I'm sure that didn't help my cause.
It's about numbers for me, but also about heart. Every time I go to places like north Carolina, Vegas, Dallas, northern Arkansas, anywhere really, it just feels good. People are friendly, and its great. I feel most at home in the northern ozarks and north Carolina. It just feels like home. The. I come back here and feel sick to my stomach. It's like going from a world of.color back to one in gray scale. Living here, to me, is just not natural. The hostility, clannishness, etc. That I have encountered are staggering.I've lived all over the place from east coast to the west coast to the south and I can honestly say that I am the happiest by far here. That being said, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that here is where we started our family. Just me and my parents then just me and wife in the other places. Here is where we had the kids and that made all the difference in the world.
Like was said above, life is too short to be unhappy but the grass is not always greener on the other side. Do a lot of soul searching and a lot of research on potential places but don't discount your heart and even fate. My wife and I researched cities all over the country when we decided to move out of California. We had lists and charts and demographics and housing prices. You name it. One night we decided to go on a date in the city (San Diego) and picked this little New Orleans inspired place. While eating dinner it hit us. We looked at each other and both said "New Orleans?". Six months later we were moving here.
This is an amazing country with countless opportunities. Blaze your own trail and most of all, be happy with where life takes you.
that's what I said. It is calculated to save the state over $300kOk I will shed some light on the whole gift card thing (going back to the start of the thread).
1. Gift cards have a tendency to have left over balances ... Called "breakage" as mentioned before $1.00 on 100k cards is a lot of money left over! They keep it and probably share it with the state.
2. The "issuer" of the debit cards gets a portion of "intchange" essentially every place you use that credit card chase & the state get a portion of the "3%" charged to that business for accepting it as payment.
So it is all a money grab!!!!
I don't want The state or the gov to use my money interest free for a whole year so if I did get a w2 I would claim zero....... Pointless for me since I pay quarterly
...folks that receive social security benefits will (next year) either have to have direct deposit or their benefits will be added to a debit card if they dont have a bank acct....
I have only lived in shreveport, so maybe you're right, but from the posts on this forum...I dunno. It sounds like the whole state is very crime filled. I have not lived in other parts of it though.
I've lived in Virginia, Maryland, PA, GA, AR, FL, and Germany....been throughout all of Europe. Have family on the West Coast and in Texas, etc. LA is the best place I've ever lived. Crime is high, but that's just a part of the "nothing is perfect" scenario. Food is fantastic. Hell, in most places in this country there are so many gun laws, drinking laws, traffic laws, J-walking laws, even CURFEWS! Move out of Shreveport, if you can. I know people from there and they hate it.
If getting refunds on debit cards will move whining yankees north I'm all for it...
Is this really 4 pages of John Wayne Gacey223 bitching ???
We need a smiley for sticking fingers in ears and crashing into solid object...
I ain't even heard females go this long...uh oh...wait..Naaaaaa, he couldn't be
Keep pushing, it just makes me shake my head and laugh. Probably not the effect you're after, sorry.
I respect that a lot of you have friends and family here that you are partial to, but to someone who is not a big family person, and whose friends have all snapped and left, I don't think you have anything to say to me about why this place has anything to offer as compared to many other locations that would be more favorable.
Keep pushing, it just makes me shake my head and laugh. Probably not the effect you're after, sorry.
I bet I would like new Orleans better than where I am now, but its just not my cup of tea. I'm glad that your opinion is important to you, but you really don't have much to go on. Neither do I, but ill return the ball by saying I'm smart enough to not care whether or not you think I am.Your not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'll go ahead and help you. You live in an undesirable area of the state for some one your age. You could move down this way and I bet your whole outlook on life would change. New Orleans is voted the number 24 out of cities for young professionals. It's got a lot to offer, but you would have to be eccentric enough, just like any large metropolitan city.
back at ya! Smiles all around.I've been laughing at you for a while.
JR1572
I think laughter is as close as we come to immortality.Xactly what I'm doing...laff enuff and u start to see yourself