The Vibe: Louisiana Is A Southern-Cajun-Creole Wilderness Of Awesome
Two parts Southern, one part Cajun, one part Creole. Put it all together and it makes the perfect
Louisiana pie. (No wonder it’s called the Sugar State.)
The cultural roots are deep throughout Louisiana and are what make this state one of the most distinctive. Everywhere you turn, there is something new to eat, another festival to celebrate, another accent to decipher, more music to keep your toes tapping, and even more wilderness to explore. It’s a place where everyone knows how to cook, food is meant to be spicy, tea is meant to be sweet, family and traditions mean everything, and hunting isn’t voodoo because actual voodoo is voodoo (and you don’t mess with voodoo).
Louisiana might be considered the boot of the country, but anyone who’s ever lived here knows that it’s really the soul.
Local Flavor: Festival Season Brings Louisiana To Life
Mardi Gras is one of the most well-known parties in the country. But it’s far from the only celebration in Louisiana. This state knows how to festival and the party isn’t reserved just for
New Orleans. Fall season kicks off festival season in Louisiana and there’s something going on in every corner of the state.
Food lovers will love the Jambalaya Festival, Rice Festival in Crowley, Gumbo Festival in
Bridge City, the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta, Meat Pie Festival in Natchitoches, a strawberry fest in
Ponchatoula, a Shrimp Festival and a Watermelon Festival, or a celebration for crawfish in Breaux Bridge, just to name a few.
Music lovers can tap their toes and groove to the sounds of the Jazz & Heritage Fest, Voice of the Wetlands Festival in
Houma, or the Festival de Musique Acadienne to catch the best Cajun and zydeco bands. There’s the Festival Acadiens et Creoles in
Lafayette, the Red River Revel art festival in
Shreveport, and the Jim Bowie Festival in Vidalia. Joan of Arc’s birthday gets its own NOLA parade and party. Even the mudbugs get their own festival.
Cuisine: Louisiana Cuisine Is Cracklin’ For Crawfish
The same cultural influences that fill the state with distinct accents are the same things that fill dinner tables across Louisiana with food most people can only dream of. Beignets for breakfast, po’boys for lunch, cracklins and boiled peanuts for a snack, and the perfect gumbo for dinner.
Don’t forget the muffalettas, red beans, etouffe, crabs, oyster roasts, pig roasts, and if it’s Mardi Gras season, a few dozen king cakes will make their way into your diet. Shrimp and grits, collard greens, cornbread, and chicken with waffles are just a few of those amazing Southern dishes that are highly beloved in the Bayou State.
But never underestimate the Louisiana power of the crawfish. If you’re bored and having trouble getting friends to come out, all you need to do is boil some crawfish with some corn on the cob, potatoes, and Old Bay seasoning and pile it into a mound in the middle of a newspaper-covered table. You’ll have a houseful of guests before you can even sit down. Or just invite everyone to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival.
Nightlife: The Music Of New Orleans Never Sleeps
Louisiana might not have the biggest scenes for night clubbing or raving. But that’s only because they don’t need it. There is a nightlife unique to its own here in the Bayou State where live music rings everything from the smooth sounds of jazz, blues, country, swamp pop, salsa, rock, Cajun music, and zydeco music through the Louisiana air.
There are vibrant outdoor music festivals where people come from all over the state to enjoy together like Voodoo. And even though this is known as the Birthplace of Jazz, new stars still continue to shine including big names like Kermit Ruffins, Fishbone, and Trombone Shorty and many more.
Restaurants with the amazing signature-Louisiana cuisine give foodies a place to gather together. Trendy bars, saloons, casinos and resorts, and entertainment venues can be found everywhere including New Orleans, Shreveport-Bossier,
Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and beyond.
Weather: Snow Isn’t An Issue But Storms Are
Louisiana weather is much more consistent throughout the state than the accents are. Overall, you’ll find generally the same climate. Summers are hot and muggy, with July averaging 82 degrees and reaching highs in the 90s. Falls bring an Indian summer through the state and mild winters are why locals can enjoy temperatures in the 50s and 60s while everyone else around the country is digging out from snow. But that’s about the only thing you can depend on about the weather around here.
Weather patterns can shift in the blink of an eye in Louisiana. You can wake up to a chilly 40 degree morning only to be sweating to death in 90-degree heat and 300 percent humidity by late afternoon under clear blue skies that turn into apocalyptic-thunderstorms in seconds flat. The storms definitely take some getting used to, as the state gets hit with the most thunderstorms only second to
Florida, averaging about 60 annually.
Safety & Crime: Feel Safe In Louisiana
At first glance, Louisiana’s overall crime rate might not be too desirable for a lot of people. But as with any state with a higher-than-average crime rate, how safe you feel depends on how well you know where you’re going and what places to avoid. Even New Orleans, which is not only known for being the carnival city as well as being the biggest city in the state, has neighborhoods like Audobon that boast a crime rate that is 60 percent lower than the New Orleans average.
Commute: Time Spent In Cars Is Only Long When You’re In A Louisiana Parade
Louisiana isn’t a state where you’ll want to ditch your car. You’ll definitely need four wheels to get around the state as well as your neighborhood. But the good news is that the traffic is entirely manageable almost everywhere you go in the state. The average commute time is on par with the national average of 25 minute each way. New Orleans is the biggest city in the Bayou State and the commute time there still averages 25 minutes each way.
Cost Of Living: Louisiana Doesn’t Break The Budget
Life is definitely something unique in Louisiana. But believe it or not, that doesn’t mean expensive. Data reveals that Louisiana’s cost of living index is just 93.8 against the average median index of 100, falling nearly seven percent lower than the national average.
Everything from the groceries to the utilities are cheaper here than most other places but it’s the housing market where you’ll save the most. The median home value across the state is $154,000, a difference of a whopping $30,000 against the national average home value.
Who Dat? Louisiana Sports, Dat’s Who
Louisiana is known as the Sportsman’s Paradise. It actually doesn’t have anything to do with recreational or professional sports (it’s all about the hunting) but considering that the Bayou State has a sports team for literally everyone, maybe it should.
With two women’s football teams, the Acadian Zydeco and New Orleans Krewe, a pro-baseball team in the Zephyrs, an NBA team with the Pelicans, a team for soccer lovers thanks to the Jesters, and even a hockey team keeping Louisiana cool in the winters with IceGators, Louisiana sports fans can always find something to keep them occupied.
But it’s no secret that the true sports loyalty goes to football. And in turn, there are two teams that get the love? Who dat, you ask? Well, the New Orleans Saints are the nationally known NFL team and pride of Louisiana. But the LSU Tigers are just as big throughout the state, having won 11 Southeastern Conference titles, six Sugar Bowls and three national championships.
The Haunted Side Of Louisiana
There’s something in the air in Louisiana. No, it’s not the vibrant energy from carnival season—although that’s there. And no, it’s not the mouth-watering aroma of all of that amazing food. Although that’s there, too. It’s not even the music, although it could be argued that there’s no escaping that, either (not that you’d want to).
But there is an unmistakable energy to Louisiana that outsiders can’t quite identify. It’s a spooky feeling, perhaps that you’re being watched and sometimes a heavy dose of deja vu. And it’s definitely not all in your mind. Louisiana’s history is rich with stories of paranormal activity, hauntings, and tales of voodoo and spiritual practices. Whether or not you believe in such things is entirely up to you but enough people agree that spirits linger in the Bayou state enough so that some places have to be advertised as being not haunted.
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