You left out pollution. Isn’t Louisiana supposed to be the most toxic state in the US (being on the receiving end of everything that floats down the Mississippi River)?
I think I would still vote for San Antonio. Nice Riverwalk area, plus close proximity to the thriving music scene in Austin. I seem to recall you being musically inclined DoctorJ.
Well, you can take some of our comments with a grain of salt, knowing that this could be a temporary location for you. Any of these places, given their attractiveness, could be liveable for the duration of a residency no matter what drawbacks they also harbor. Obviously you care about quality of life, but on the other hand it’s a smidgen less of a worry than if you were looking at a permanent move.
I’ve heard multiple opinions outside of the SDMB that New Orleans is okay for visiting, not great for living. Wet weather a lot of the year, crime, poverty, corruption… On the other hand, I’ve heard that doctors and med students are treated like royalty by local officials. And you’ll have lot of people delighted to visit you.
San Antonio is nice. Nice weather, nice culture, good quality of life. One drawback is that it’s very spread out, a very sprawling city. And as others have said, not particularly close to other things (although Austin isn’t that far away).
Charleston’s downside is growth, and humidity. Did I mention the humidity? But such a lovely place, truly nice people. People I know who live there or used to live there rave. If you move there, I’ll come visit! We chose that city for our wedding. Here’s another reason I lean toward Charleston: I’ve got to say that this Midwesterner has developed a huge bias for the East Coast. Everything is so (relatively) close! You’re close to Atlanta, to Charlotte…really, just about anywhere on the East Cast isn’t hard to get to by car or train. Or plane.
Here’s my take on New Orleans after having lived here for 1.5 years:
This city has a fair helping of the sublime, the sacred, and the profane; often these aspects appear on the same street. If you are really seriously considering living here, take the time to talk to doctors, residents, and med students at the hospital you plan to work at. I only hear rumors about Charity Hospital, and they’re all pretty scary. To me knowing precisely the job environment is much more important than choosing which city to live in. Let’s face it, if you LOVE N.O., or S.A., or Charleston, but HATE the job, the commute, the co-workers, etc., etc., you’re not going to have a pleasant time.
General stuff I’ve learned about living here:
The police force has made a major improvement in recent years. Our beloved Mayor, Marc Morial, has done precious little to encourage industry and other non-tourist sector related job growth in the city, but he did bring in a great police chief who has made a big difference. Corrupt? Aren’t they all to some degree?
The biggest adjustment I had to make socially in the move is coming to terms with living in a city that, depending upon which statistics you believe is either 58% or 69% African American. Partly due to its history, but partly due to the fact that that’s just how life is, I’ve seen less racial angst here than I did when living in SC and NC.
South Louisiana is still under the influence of the European style of public service and management. Many city gov’t jobs are patronage positions and are used by their holders to enrich themselves (usually a tiny bit at a time) and to “reward” their constituents. Case in point: our tax assessor reduced our home’s assessment as a favor (without my asking him to), then asked if I was a registered voter. I hear his father was our ward’s tax assessor before his son “inherited” the position. We’re also under Napoleonic law, meaning that judges largely base their decisions on the merits of each individual case, and are not entirely bound by precedent. This makes for some strange decisions. If this low-level “corruption” and irrationality are likely to drive you nuts, don’t move here.
I’ve not found the crime to be as bad as folks have said it would be. Mind you, I don’t go into the bad areas, I’m careful when I’m out, and use common sense. I hate to say it, but most of the crime is black-on-black (it’s a fact, not racism). Much of the other property crime (car theft, burglary, etc.) is either random or occurs on streets that are on the pedestrian pathways between “bad” areas. Crimes of opportunity, in other words. Crime can be avoided by picking the part of town to live in. The Fabourg Marigny (neighborhood immediatly downriver of the French Quarter) is historic and pretty, but folks have razor wire strung along the tops of their courtyard fences so their lawn chairs won’t be stolen at night. I live Uptown in the Carrollton area and left my truck unlocked ALL WEEKEND (one time only) and nothing happened. (Our car was pilfered the one night we left it unlocked in Raleigh.)
Folks are right about the schools: the public system is in bad shape. Luscher Elementary, Hines Elementary, and Audubon Elementary are all good public schools for little people. Older kids have good options, too. You have to work to get your kids in to these better schools, however. Our kids are going to private schools and we’re happy with that decision. Other friends of ours know how to work the public school system to get their kids in the good ones. They seem satisfied.
Yes, we have three kids (soon to be four). Raising a family here is great. There are great parks, great museums, fun stuff to do, neat folks to meet, and we’re happy with our situation. You can do as much Mardi Gras as you want to, do as much tourist stuff as you want to, but I’ve found that many of the neatest parts of the city are off the tourist track. One thing: the Mardi Gras mentality affects a substantial number of residents: there’s litter EVERYWHERE. If you like a tidy place, don’t come here. Some areas (residential neighborhoods, for example) are better than others, but I’m constantly amazed how clean other places are in comparison.
It gets hot here in mid-June and stays that way until mid-September. And it doesn’t cool off at night. Daytime temps are in the mid 90’s with HIGH humidity - - if it gets hotter than that it rains, then it’s steamy. It might drop down into the mid 80’s at night. However, winter ('cept for this year) is largely non-existent, save for a few cold fronts.
The roads are bad. The soil here swells when wet and shrinks when dry, making the asphalt roads grow potholes and the concrete slab pavers tilt to crazy angles. The side streets are the worst, but even some main thoroughfares are bumpy. Drainage is also a problem. Ask around before picking a spot to live. Some areas flood in even minor rains (a friend’s mother checks the forecast each evening and moves her car to higher ground if rain is expected). The city is slowly making the transition from numerous community grocery stores to few (very few) big grocery stores. Prices are relatively high and we’ve yet to find a really good produce section. Financially, taxes are relatively high and rather regressive. There’s a 9% sales tax on everything. Our auto insurance rates doubled when we moved here from Raleigh, and they’d doubled when we moved there from S.C…
I’ve pointed out the many less savory aspects of living here. Great music, great food, great architecture, history, etc., etc., balance out the negatives for us. Even with all these odd things, we like it here and will stay for a while. We moved here knowing it wouldn’t be permanent, and since my specialty is U.S. forest policy, this would likely be our only opportunity for a “foreign” job location.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by D Marie *
Yep. My wife’s cousins live in “The Holy City” and her brother married into one of the first families there. If you crave the social scene, don’t expect to be welcomed into it if you aren’t related to someone important (even that doesn’t help in our case - - like we care) or cannot buy your way into the right neighborhood and right club. Then again, if you’re not related to the right people, you’re not likely to be able to buy your way into either, anyway.
In the past decade, for each 1% growth in the Charleston area, there’s been a 6% growth in development/land claimed for development. The place is sprawling.
No, unfortunately that’s Texas. Houston and Galveston really screwed us up. I live about 65 miles away from San Antonio, so it’s the only one I’m familiar with. It’s got it’s fair share of cowboys, but it’s got a lot of diversity too. As far as being too far away from everything, that’s just Texas. Our cities don’t just bump up against each other. It’s about 2 hours from Corpus Christi, an hour from Austin, a little bit longer to Houston. Lots of small towns in the area if you like touristy kind of areas. Lots of local state parks and a few really nice caves. Nice lakes for fishing, skiing, jet skis, whatever. There’s even a few that are big enough for sail boating. San Antonio has a big military community if that interests you at all. That’s part of what insures the diversity of the area. Hmm… there’s the Spurs if you’re into basketball, the Iguanas if you’re into hockey. They’re still trying to get a NFL team.
All that, and I don’t even like San Antonio…