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You may well have point regarding people coming and people leaving. It's certainly a mixed bag of things. Many of the Big Cities are not longer prospering mecca's they once were, and people move back expecting a more simple life, still we have many who leave, for more opportunities they perceive in bigger cities. The young people. They will especially after education and skill development, seek to move where they can get stable employment, and have a social environment as well.
We are leaving because this place is a dump with crooked politics, tons of crime for its size, and zero appeal in any form or shape or fashion for building a career, raising a family, or clubbing, or joining the local chess club, or outdoor activities, or anything at all, really, that would appeal to anyone not in a nursing home.
What is often true in poor areas, people may seek to move to other cities, but often end up only transferring from one poor areas in this city, to a poor area in another city. This many times simply cause people to be transits jumpers between the two locations, and stability and prospering means seems even further away.
It can, sure.
The dynamics of life are so many with so many variables. We've seen great cities fall, small places gain in popularity, and some result to prosper and some fall back into being a once upon a time place.
For sure, but Shreveport isn't one of them. Look at the Shale deal. TONS of money pumped into the local economy from true external sources (not robbing Peter to pay Paul, basically). How is this area better for it? It's not. You can't throw enough money at this place to fix it. Money isn't the answer. What IS? Stable businesses that people want to be a part of. Well-run city planning. Etc. Will it ever happen? No. Because people who can succeed at that don't waste their time in places like this. Want proof? Local history provides an abundance.
There are States which go through this same maze of transitions. California was once a State which had income greater than many Countries. New York was once a import and export mecca and business administration and marketing capital. Yes, and I still meet people from California who moved here for one reason or another and run back as soon as they can. Even the pro-2A conservatives who prefer our local state laws. They just can't stomach the blight and know they can do better. Again, there are only 2 kinds of peolpe here: Those who can't move, and those who are scared to move (sick parents, never grew up and are scared of leaving their neighborhood, etc.), or old money, who has it made here and stays because that's what they are tied to.
In all cases, we have much political discord, political graft and much sold out to special interest, and suddenly only a handfuls prosper and the masses deteriorates, and the State and/or its cities find default, when the few imposes their wills.
Poverty is a global epidemic, it is a generated condition, by many factors. No nations has found a way to eradicate Poverty especially no nations that has the basis of "diversity" in its populations.
We see the closest thing to eradication of Poverty in Nordic Regional Countries. many who have stern policies against immigration and work transfer permits. That is unlikely to exist in the United States, and even though we have areas which seek to minimize the people who move to certain areas, Federal Law gives all American the right to move where they want.
Yet...poverty isn't the problem. The people here are. You want poverty? Look at Owsley, KY. Check out their crime-rate while you're at it...average. No, I don't think poverty is it at all. It sure doesn't help, but it's not the problem.
Why and How - industry became a dwindling elements in this city, area and region, is a mixed bag full of many things, but it's evacuation effect, left a devastated landscape and diminished the sense of hope that once existed in American Cities, including Southern Cities the size and scope of Shreveport.
What will it take to fix it all... is a very big task with many many elements ... over many years.
So, in effect, one can choose to live in a dump for "many years" that "may or may not be fixed"...
...or you can take the precious 70-80 years you have on this planet, pack your bags, and move to a place that won't burn decades of your life working to fix it.
Time is money...except "on average", we all have the same size bank-account...
...why throw good money after bad? Why pour thousands into a hooptie? Why bother with SBC? Did someone lose a huge bet or something like that guy who hack-sawed his VW bug in half years ago? It makes no sense *shaking my head*.
The city does not build for unity mingling. Not Shreveport and Not Bossier... neither places has a area where walk street pedestrian traffic can mingle and merge together.
Everything is drive up, shop and go. It's unlikely in the very near future that either side of the river will grasp the division based modeling they create enough to think in terms of change. It first has to become a ideology shift in people, to want better, and build better.
But what do you see.. apathy in this site, apathy in the news paper comments, and apathy in general. It's really a sad situation, of division based designs that may not have a means to find merge point.
There is no such thing as Southern Hospitality in the demeanor of people, what is all to prevalent is contempt, contrite faces, despaired looks, despondency, depression and a mixture of some who try to put on the happy face, only to be met with a deficit of hope and lack of positive faith looks of contemptuous rivalry staring back. It's insanity for a place that every place you look someone wants to tell you to come to their church or praise their preacher, and if you don't link with it, you are an outcast. It's pure craziness. It's like people forgot about God, and worship their pastors. sadly, the pastors seem to support more division than they do unity. because if they supported unity, all the churches would be in a common network, of God worshiping Union and that would be the basis of their unity. But that does not exist. Every one wants to be its own kingdom. If we were living in Feudal days, it would probably be a city wide religious fight going on every day, depending on what street you cross, some would have multiple fights on the same street, with the many churches across the street from each other and they don't even have a connected fellowship outreach with each other. It's a rivalry for patrons and profits. or based on the name, a rivalry which produces a stand off effect on the same street with one church type on one side and another church type on the other side. Both claiming to be about God, but failing to meet the basic simplicity of "One God Unity'.
the My Church is better than Yours is a undertone theme that reverberates with a force of a raging river between the factions.
We have a mass of every empty space that someone has a sign up "building yet another church", then you see abandoned churches, where ever these pastors think they can't make more money.
In many areas where there is blight people are so use to seeing it, until they accept it as part of the landscape so it remains and will continue to remain, because apathy is so great, that blight is considered part of the landscape with no concerns for its removal.
Some areas it will be 30 yrs before it is bulldozed over..... as is today some areas where the houses just fell down and finally were removed, is nothing but a checker board of run down housing.
We don't have a strong methodology about what is Urban Renewal.... and we are gutless to make the calls and take over the areas and set them up for rebuilding.
It not likely that any major change will take place in the near future. 30 yrs many today will be much older and still seeing the same things only in an expanded deterioration. We need visionaries with means and methods... and that is not something that is likely to come quickly.
These are the same realities that exist across this nation, of the many run down cities, that seem to continue to fall down. Detroit should be a study for all cities, but no one heeds the facts so... change is slow if it comes at all.
Already all we see is people trying to move further out to build and insulate themselves, by vast wilderness barriers.
We are still a system on both sides of the River with black/white divides, as well along with the religious divides, it makes of a mixture of many conflicting challenges that ultimately negate the unity building that is needed to have a city with a positive life pulse.
Last edited by Chance and Change; 01-13-2015 at 06:12 AM..
For sure, but Shreveport isn't one of them. Look at the Shale deal. TONS of money pumped into the local economy from true external sources (not robbing Peter to pay Paul, basically). How is this area better for it? It's not. You can't throw enough money at this place to fix it. Money isn't the answer. What IS? Stable businesses that people want to be a part of. Well-run city planning. Etc. Will it ever happen? No. Because people who can succeed at that don't waste their time in places like this. Want proof? Local history provides an abundance.
We had no investment growth financial intelligence to push nor direct the infusion of cash-flow into investment vehicles or investment products.
Remember we had no Economic Development; how and why is itself a major question, without an answer. Even when the nations was talking about the Economic Crisis, still we did not move to get an economic development.
The people in our financial industry, resulted to close shops, rather than open them. Because they had no creative concepts to develop regional investment products which people would seek and feel as a means of utilizing resources to uplift the areas.
We offered nothing, so those who had big windfalls, took off... !!!! and they carried their money with them. The only thing we got was maybe Some Stores made a few more dollars, the Casino made a few more dollars, and a few more cars were bought and sold. But as to "long term"... Nada !!!!
Not only did we not gain, the Council made a decision in how it sold leases of city land, which provided very little and resulted to undercut the people and resulted to diminish the potential Lease Profits in which the citizens could gain.
Chesapeake was about as happy as Walmart to do business with the city, because they knew it was a windfall gain for Chesapeake the same as it has been for Walmart.. Both at the expense of the citizens, business and property owners and our hope for progress. All consumed by ineptitude in negotiating strategy and understanding what is at stake. The deal is done and the money is gone.
The result from Shale now: is we risk toxicity from the stuff they inject in the ground and contaminated ground water, and as with Texas, I guess next we can wait for the earthquakes to comes. We already have large swatches of trees that by strange means just flat out died, since the shale drilling. but everything is claimed other than Shale Drilling for these massive patches of dead trees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What it takes to win, will always need the quality and integrity of "inclusion mentality", and no one likes that concept. Even with ideas, people will rather attack one if they have an idea, and then work to defeat it, or try and stall it out, until they can find a way to claim it for their own credit seeking self consumption. It's insanity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are a city of so many Cliques, it's amazing we don't have wars raging across and within Council Districts. Southern U wants to dominate sector, WK wants to dominate a sector, Schumpert wants to dominate a sector, LSU wants to dominate a sector, and LA Tech wants to dominate a sector, then there comes the Fraternities, and Sororities, and saturating the field is the disjointed- dis-unified minister brigade. We can't leave out the various levels of the "money people" and the socialite sector and their various organizations. It's competitive nightmare, that does not see its own chaos sadly, its driven and covered over and over shadowed by the "degree madness" of status labeling by such claims, often driving us into greater stagnation; trying some professor script, followed up by trying to downplay the working people and the individual creative people, with some delusion as if University is the only means of learning. The labor force is demoralized by these egomaniac.. creativity is stifled, innovation is assaulted, until a sense of hope and faith has been replaced with anguished faces and despondent demeanor's. All the while the Clique's strut with their eyes wide open but blinded by their own egos of self aggrandizing pageantry.
We are far from ready for prime time. The same aims and structures used to keep disunity in slave quarters and among the newly freed slave and indenture servant ranks, is now used across the spectrum and its not directed solely by ethnicity - it's more about - status labeling vs what is categorized as the poor, working poor and dire poor- which includes all ethnicity. As unfit to have a sense of belonging to participate and contribute - lest they do so only by the status seekers taking credit for their participated efforts and contribution. If they speak up or try and promote and ideal and the status seeker can't stake claim to it, the individual is attacked by every contrived means of character assassination imaginable. These were principles used to contain slave and indentured servants. It's now the system across the lands used upon and against THE POOR (know who is among the poor, it is not based on skin, but status claims and money manipulations)... It's like the Old European Caste and Class system, recreated in America, to resemble the Antebellum programs of a previous century madness.
We can't change it till we acknowledge it as being what it is.
Sadly, these things can be found all across the nations, in many cities...
The best hope is To Push to maintain a sense of hope that we soon awaken that we may grow and prosper for all by and through the embrace of all.
Last edited by Chance and Change; 01-13-2015 at 09:23 AM..
We had no investment growth financial intelligence to push nor direct the infusion of cash-flow into investment vehicles or investment products.
Remember we had no Economic Development; how and why is itself a major question, without an answer. Even when the nations was talking about the Economic Crisis, still we did not move to get an economic development.
I've got your answer: Smart people with a future move, typically.
The people in our financial industry, resulted to close shops, rather than open them. Because they had no creative concepts to develop regional investment products which people would seek and feel as a means of utilizing resources to uplift the areas.
See above.
We offered nothing, so those who had big windfalls, took off... !!!! and they carried their money with them. The only thing we got was maybe Some Stores made a few more dollars, the Casino made a few more dollars, and a few more cars were bought and sold. But as to "long term"... Nada !!!!
Well, yeah! There is no reason to live here if you don't have to. That's like being surprised that someone who drive a 1993 Ford Taurus ditched it for a Lexus ISF after they won the lotto. Well...what did you expect? A new coat of paint and some rims on the Taurus? ROFLMAO!
Not only did we not gain, the Council made a decision in how it sold leases of city land, which provided very little and resulted to undercut the people and resulted to diminish the potential Lease Profits in which the citizens could gain.
Chesapeake was about as happy as Walmart to do business with the city, because they knew it was a windfall gain for Chesapeake the same as it has been for Walmart.. Both at the expense of the citizens, business and property owners and our hope for progress. All consumed by ineptitude in negotiating strategy and understanding what is at stake. The deal is done and the money is gone.
The result from Shale now: is we risk toxicity from the stuff they inject in the ground and contaminated ground water, and as with Texas, I guess next we can wait for the earthquakes to comes. We already have large swatches of trees that by strange means just flat out died, since the shale drilling. but everything is claimed other than Shale Drilling for these massive patches of dead trees.
Yep, you didn't expect this area to suddenly sprout competence just because someone sprinkled some money on it, did ya?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What it takes to win, will always need the quality and integrity of "inclusion mentality", and no one likes that concept. Even with ideas, people will rather attack one if they have an idea, and then work to defeat it, or try and stall it out, until they can find a way to claim it for their own credit seeking self consumption. It's insanity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are a city of so many Cliques, it's amazing we don't have wars raging across and within Council Districts. Southern U wants to dominate sector, WK wants to dominate a sector, Schumpert wants to dominate a sector, LSU wants to dominate a sector, and LA Tech wants to dominate a sector, then there comes the Fraternities, and Sororities, and saturating the field is the disjointed- dis-unified minister brigade. We can't leave out the various levels of the "money people" and the socialite sector and their various organizations. It's competitive nightmare, that does not see its own chaos sadly, its driven and covered over and over shadowed by the "degree madness" of status labeling by such claims, often driving us into greater stagnation; trying some professor script, followed up by trying to downplay the working people and the individual creative people, with some delusion as if University is the only means of learning. The labor force is demoralized by these egomaniac.. creativity is stifled, innovation is assaulted, until a sense of hope and faith has been replaced with anguished faces and despondent demeanor's. All the while the Clique's strut with their eyes wide open but blinded by their own egos of self aggrandizing pageantry.
that is one thing that really has shocked me about my time here. So many people want to be King Turd in this pile of BS. Everyone's "has to be bigger!" It's crazy how cliquish this area is. Another reason I'm out.
We are far from ready for prime time. The same aims and structures used to keep disunity in slave quarters and among the newly freed slave and indenture servant ranks, is now used across the spectrum and its not directed solely by ethnicity - it's more about - status labeling vs what is categorized as the poor, working poor and dire poor- which includes all ethnicity. As unfit to have a sense of belonging to participate and contribute - lest they do so only by the status seekers taking credit for their participated efforts and contribution. If they speak up or try and promote and ideal and the status seeker can't stake claim to it, the individual is attacked by every contrived means of character assassination imaginable. These were principles used to contain slave and indentured servants. It's now the system across the lands used upon and against THE POOR (know who is among the poor, it is not based on skin, but status claims and money manipulations)... It's like the Old European Caste and Class system, recreated in America, to resemble the Antebellum programs of a previous century madness.
We can't change it till we acknowledge it as being what it is.
Sadly, these things can be found all across the nations, in many cities...
The best hope is To Push to maintain a sense of hope that we soon awaken that we may grow and prosper for all by and through the embrace of all.
Your posts remind me of a guy I worked with. He spent hours reading motivational books by the likes of Zig Ziggler, and kind. He could always put a smile on your face with an encouraging word, and was a truly pleasant person. He never got much done, though, and he never put the rubber to the pavement. He was too busy dreaming about how great he could/would be to ever actually get off his arse and be anything. Great guy, great motivation. No go.
I'm a bit colder when it comes to things as you see. I see something that is broken, and I am going to throw it away and move one, because:
-It costs me nothing to do so.
-I will be happier for it.
-I owe the area nothing.
-This area owes me nothing.
What you have confirmed again and again is that anyone with any money, or any sense, is doing what I'm doing: Leaving. So why on earth would one stay?
Instead of telling us "what we need to do to fix the area", why don't you give us just a couple of CONCISE reasons that we shouldn't just throw it away and start life in a low-crime, economically sound, well-run town? I mean, didn't you just say anyone successful has left, by and large? You're not painting a very reasonable picture of "why anyone should stay who doesn't have to."
Your posts remind me of a guy I worked with. He spent hours reading motivational books by the likes of Zig Ziggler, and kind. He could always put a smile on your face with an encouraging word, and was a truly pleasant person. He never got much done, though, and he never put the rubber to the pavement. He was too busy dreaming about how great he could/would be to ever actually get off his arse and be anything. Great guy, great motivation. No go.
I'm a bit colder when it comes to things as you see. I see something that is broken, and I am going to throw it away and move one, because:
-It costs me nothing to do so.
-I will be happier for it.
-I owe the area nothing.
-This area owes me nothing.
What you have confirmed again and again is that anyone with any money, or any sense, is doing what I'm doing: Leaving. So why on earth would one stay?
Instead of telling us "what we need to do to fix the area", why don't you give us just a couple of CONCISE reasons that we shouldn't just throw it away and start life in a low-crime, economically sound, well-run town? I mean, didn't you just say anyone successful has left, by and large? You're not painting a very reasonable picture of "why anyone should stay who doesn't have to."
It's OK that your personal choice is not to like this city and region. But reality is simple. Many people do live here and many have lived here a long time and others will come and some will leave. That's the nature of life.
No one can fault you for seeking out a place which has the attributes and amenities and social environments that you seek. That is not something for anyone to condemn.
No place is without its type of problems.
As to whether or not I am effectively productive, that you'd not know, because you don't know me any more than I know you. It's ok that you are as you say, colder in the choice making department.
but equally so, spilling your utter disgust at this city and the nature of it, won't change the city or the people in it.
We both know its a "Southern City" it has issues and problems, the same is true in some Midwestern Cities, Eastern Cities and Western Cities.
Across America the reality vs the Ideal are often at great distances, except in communities with high income which can afford to put what they want and enforce regulations to insure it stays that way.
I've seen cities that were once very good, "fall"; and I've seen areas that were next to nothing rise up and become amazing well structured cities, often pricing itself in ways to insure it stays so.
I don't know what Shreveport will become, there are many reasons people move here and many reasons they leave. Some is as you say, family and elderly family members, some for a variety of other reasons. I can't discern who is here for what reason.
I do know when I moved here, I had hopes for many things, tried to push business ideas, and communicate with the establishment. It did not produce the desired results, I lost a lot of money, even ran into a mass of situations telling me "I'm over-qualified', as well being within a certain age specturm, that too was a challenge. (I personally detest the phrase "over qualified"). Business should be looking for people who can bring contributions. Unfortunately here, people have a protocol madness which is designed to repress and suppress. I find that something which has not changed much.
It's an oddity, because here I have found it is not easy to rebuild equitable and monetary resources - It's the strangest thing ever, people wait for one to fall, and some will do anything to block progressive ideas if they think it might put another in a economic status parallel or even above them. Did I make mistakes, you betcha.... I lived with the economic standards of where I came from, until it took me a couple few years to trim it down to meet with the median here. Not many people can make it years utilizing their own resources, I did. I refuse to let the environment make me submit to hopelessness or any of the other self diminishing mental compositions.
The longer I'm here, the outlooks is not sunny, but I know why I'm here, and as being here the matter is to work, contribute where I can and acknowledge the realism of what's what. But to not loose a sense of hope because there is oppositional grid-locking stumbling stones all about. Certainly not to let it diminish the faith in my own constitution of self.
There are many place about the world, better and there certainly are many places that are worst. and no one can fault anyone for seeking out better opportunity for themselves, where ever it may take them.
I've seen various foreign localities, who are highly innovative and ahead of us in many ways, I understand the racial tonality that has always been a deterrent to southern progress, as well as various other factors that hold this area back. I see when people get positions, they often spend more time protecting the position than progressing the responsibility they assumed. It's insane, but that's within the cultural expanse of how the areas functions. But likewise so, many other areas functions with that stagnating ideological madness.
I've never understood why anyone or any place would embrace the ignorance of racism nor the stupidity of its aims. As well as I find the class-ism within ethnic and racial groups is itself something that is equally maddening.
In some ways Shreveport is a massive Retirement Town of people from an era before. They fight for aims to re-establish yesterday, shun the youth and gridlock change ...
but life itself will force it to make some nature of changes over the course and span of time.
My company sent me down to Shreveport-Bossier for the past year which I am winding up. Having never traveled to Louisiana outside of Baton Rogue and of course New Orleans, I wasn't familiar with this region of the state. Within the first few days I realized that there
was virtually no connection to Southern Louisiana, it was instead a mix of working class, back water Texans, Red Necks, Poor Blacks, some old money, illiterate Cajuns, and hood rats.
It is absolutely the least healthy area that I've seen. More fried chicken and wing outlets than any city it's size in America. Shreveport developed first apparently, and has a good deal of abandoned factories and office buildings, along with enclaves of upper-middle class homes, better stores, and restaurants.
Bossier City is mostly a bedroom community, with a long strip of endless chicken wing shops, burgers, low rent strip malls, chalk full of 99 cent stores, cheap haircut places, and gun stores. Shreveport and Bossier have a few good steak houses, sea food, and regional fare, but for the most part the restaurants are god awful chains, or greasy spoons.
One the Bossier side of the Red River there are 9-10 hotel casinos, such as Sams Town, and Golden Nugget. They are more the JV team of casinos, bland--bad odds, bad food, and the worse customers (mostly from Dallas or Houston) big, fat, flatuent, with no manners. It is somewhat akin to the kind of people you see at the DMV or at Traffic Court, they will engage you in conversation, when you're not remotely interested "the casino sucks...my wife is pissed I went through 2 grand last night ..ha ha...where ya from ?" You'll find horny 40 year old women prowling with their teased hair and outfits that remind me of 1985, if you do get involved with them, just be careful, because the next day you find out their Ex is a cop or sheriffs deputy with a restraining order, or they are still married.
The old money is mostly sons and daughters of developers, bankers, and lawyers, who serve as the proverbial big fish in a stinking pound. They generally have a chip on their shoulder "y'all were not
big league like you Yankees". Yes, you've pretty much convinced me. Big advice: except for real friends you meet down here, don't engage much casually with these people. They aren't very bright, their perspective is severely lacking, and always full of disingenuous crap.
Nailed it on every level.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JWG223
I was very sociable when I moved here. Now? I pump iron, hit the range from time to time, and keep the hell to myself. Leaving in 2 months, and never felt happier about a life change.
Things you will learn:
Noone here is competent.
DO NOT ENGAGE IN ANY SERVICES HERE THAT YOU CAN OTHERWISE TRAVEL FOR!
Go to Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Little Rock, etc. Yes, even for window tint and simple things like that. People here dick everything up that they touch because they are always trying to "be the cheapest", because that's how this area works. Quality doesn't motivate. Cost (least possible) does.
If you simply cannot travel, at least ask others who you deem intelligent before getting a service performed. Maybe they can steer you away from the worst of it.
Also...vehicles...DO NOT LET ANYONE WASH YOUR VEHICLE! The dealerships here often do it without telling you. They will sworl the living hell out of your paint. They did it to every car I've ever seen them wash. DON'T! If you do, you will have to compound the paint out to get it back the way it was before your $19.99 oil change and Go-Jo washing.
I lived there for 26/32 of my years... yup. I moved and couldn't be happier.
But I do want that place to change. I feel deeply sorry for it, even if so many people that live there are just bitter for so many reasons. Growing up there I always felt like it has potential, but leaving it I can understand how deeply fundamental the issues are. It's an attitude thing... people are just so exclusive and drive off anybody with a personality that differs from theirs. The problem is they're so content with their lives that nothing ever happens, thus stagnation with the negative effects of the young people moving and never coming back.
People tend to be rubber stamps of one another here. I dont see any self thinking or individualism. That certainly leads to stagnation. If their happy that way so be it. But I dont believe they are.
The Weather is crappy !!!! its very unstable in being something one can make a day play an expect it to remain stable during the day. I found that to be something I do not like very much As I kid I did not pay much attention to it, but as an adult who lived away from here more than 30 yrs, moving here, one of the first things someone ask me, "why would I give up the good West Coast weather for this". First few months I thought it was great, that was in August. but geez!!! the up and down of the next year showed me that this is not the best climate.
There certainly are worst places when it comes to weather. Here, everything is one extreme to the next.
It curbed a variety of things I use to frequently do before moving here.
But there is nothing people can do about 'weather", it is what it is.
I still have not figured out why people have such 'hopelessness in so many ways', where there is not a happy spirit environment. I think it has a great deal to do with the economics and certainly still with the Old South divisions in mentality. Both of those things could change, but there is nothing to drive the passion to change.
I don't know what it will take in that regards.
Even driving around, its basically an older person environment, as you can drive the highway, roadway, freeway and mostly you see older adults.
the young are very challenged economically, except those who have parents who can keep their pockets suitable with monies.
Unhappy kids is not a good sign for any city, kids should be inspired about many things, but we have not designed anything which promotes that demeanor change. I don't know if people will invest and make decisions to bring youth friendly things to the region and city.
Even the schools don't listen to the kids, yet they wonder why the kids are unmotivated in the schools.
I think the hopelessness is the constant feel that the city could be something, but it's never anything. And it's not just Shreveport, but Bossier as well. Cyber Command should've been in the pocket with BAFB and the fiber optic network they were installing, but that fell through even though this huge parking lot was made for it. It seems like the only thing that ever goes there is casinos. Local businesses can't thrive because everybody wants something from a chain. There's no top colleges in less than an hours drive. But the retired Air Force (who are content with Bossier being quiet) love Bossier, and it's incredibly difficult to find any economic mobility in Shreveport so they can move, so I'm sure things will never change
It's OK that your personal choice is not to like this city and region. But reality is simple. Many people do live here and many have lived here a long time and others will come and some will leave. That's the nature of life.
No one can fault you for seeking out a place which has the attributes and amenities and social environments that you seek. That is not something for anyone to condemn.
No place is without its type of problems.
Correct on all points, the way I see it.
As to whether or not I am effectively productive, that you'd not know, because you don't know me any more than I know you. It's ok that you are as you say, colder in the choice making department.
but equally so, spilling your utter disgust at this city and the nature of it, won't change the city or the people in it. No, no it won't. No, I don't know you.
We both know its a "Southern City" it has issues and problems, the same is true in some Midwestern Cities, Eastern Cities and Western Cities.
Across America the reality vs the Ideal are often at great distances, except in communities with high income which can afford to put what they want and enforce regulations to insure it stays that way.
Yes, successful people usually make up successful communities.
I've seen cities that were once very good, "fall"; and I've seen areas that were next to nothing rise up and become amazing well structured cities, often pricing itself in ways to insure it stays so. Very true, but I honestly don't think Shreveport has a chance. There are zero indicators of potential here. The only potential it ONCE had was being a legitimate "port" city, but it's a bit too far inland to get much in the way of that business, especially since rail and truck are now the way to go intranationally. Let's be honest with ourselves...what does Shreveport have? Natural resources (I think that got exploited already)? Natural beauty (Not really, New Orleans has more "swamp", and all the lakes around here flat out suck, are dirty, or filled with water plants, we have no hiking to speak of, etc. etc.)? Economic stability (we chased of GM, Cyber Command, AT&T, and one hospital dominates the healthcare industry---Healthcare is 20%+ of our nation's GDP---in the region.)? Really, other than the fact that YOU ARE HERE, what is in Shreveport that would make you care? Don't take that as a jab, take it as an objective emotionless statement, and try to answer it in kind. I simply cannot find a silver lining.
I don't know what Shreveport will become, there are many reasons people move here and many reasons they leave. Some is as you say, family and elderly family members, some for a variety of other reasons. I can't discern who is here for what reason.
I do know when I moved here, I had hopes for many things, tried to push business ideas, and communicate with the establishment. It did not produce the desired results, I lost a lot of money, even ran into a mass of situations telling me "I'm over-qualified', as well being within a certain age specturm, that too was a challenge. (I personally detest the phrase "over qualified"). Business should be looking for people who can bring contributions. Unfortunately here, people have a protocol madness which is designed to repress and suppress. I find that something which has not changed much. So...why are you here? Let me guess...it wasn't a move you made "because you wanted to and liked the area"...
It's an oddity, because here I have found it is not easy to rebuild equitable and monetary resources - It's the strangest thing ever, people wait for one to fall, and some will do anything to block progressive ideas if they think it might put another in a economic status parallel or even above them. Did I make mistakes, you betcha.... I lived with the economic standards of where I came from, until it took me a couple few years to trim it down to meet with the median here. Not many people can make it years utilizing their own resources, I did. I refuse to let the environment make me submit to hopelessness or any of the other self diminishing mental compositions. Did you ever read Frank Herbert's "DUNE" series? Remember when Leto stuck his hand in that "box of pain" to "determine if he were human"? That's how I view this area, except it determines nothing, and you don't get anything for it. It just hurts.
The longer I'm here, the outlooks is not sunny, but I know why I'm here, and as being here the matter is to work, contribute where I can and acknowledge the realism of what's what. But to not loose a sense of hope because there is oppositional grid-locking stumbling stones all about. Certainly not to let it diminish the faith in my own constitution of self. When you die, I highly doubt you will lay smugly back and say "I sure did tear into that **** sandwich and I ate every CRUMB! Life was GOOD!" At least, I have yet to see that. I have had one dying man tell me his biggest regret was "getting my degree in accounting before my psychology/counseling degree". That really threw me...so I might be wrong. Eating a **** sandwich without flinching might be your ultimate drive. I'm not to judge.
There are many place about the world, better and there certainly are many places that are worst. and no one can fault anyone for seeking out better opportunity for themselves, where ever it may take them.
I've seen various foreign localities, who are highly innovative and ahead of us in many ways, I understand the racial tonality that has always been a deterrent to southern progress, as well as various other factors that hold this area back. I see when people get positions, they often spend more time protecting the position than progressing the responsibility they assumed. It's insane, but that's within the cultural expanse of how the areas functions. But likewise so, many other areas functions with that stagnating ideological madness.
I've never understood why anyone or any place would embrace the ignorance of racism nor the stupidity of its aims. As well as I find the class-ism within ethnic and racial groups is itself something that is equally maddening.
In some ways Shreveport is a massive Retirement Town of people from an era before. They fight for aims to re-establish yesterday, shun the youth and gridlock change ... That is one of the most accurate things I've heard.
but life itself will force it to make some nature of changes over the course and span of time.
One simple question...
Living here...if you don't have to...why would you? Sell it to me!
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