alt Hacker NewsI grew up in Louisiana and have been to NOLA a lot (also studied at Tulane). While there's NOLACon etc. there isn't much tech here and not a lot of jobs. Lots of us live in poverty. Laissez faire and corrupt politics have been in Louisiana for a long time. Lots of public schools are closing to be replaced by private schools. NOLA floods pretty good every 5ish years, so it's not a good place to live imo + the insurance and crime rates are very high.
However, I've lived in Chicago, Austin, KY and Omaha. I moved back and honestly I like it here. I hated it when I grew up, but the cost of living is cheap and the food is good. I got my real ID here back in 2016 when I got my learners permit which surprised people in Chicago. Also we got phone app IDs pretty early. It's getting a little better.
My biggest complaint with NOLA is absolutely the school system. There were too many people taking advantage of the destruction of Katrina post hurricane, and the government was shamelessly complicit in the cash grab. Middle and upper middle class kids benefitted immensely, while the poor were further tracked into shitty schools for the most part.
When we were evaluating places to settle as adults, the schools are what kept us from stopping when we were there.