I lived in New Jersey for the first 18 (and a half) years of my life, only to be thrown into Louisiana for college, with no family or friends within a thousand miles of me. This was absolutely the best decision I could ever have made.
Although New Jersey and Louisiana are not as radically different as I had thought they would be, there certainly are noteworthy differences between the two. Aside from the accents and the food, I discovered differences that I never even thought about before coming here! Here are three (strange) ways that New Jersey and Louisiana are complete opposites of each other!
1. The weather in Louisiana is bipolar and unpredictable.
Let's be real: New Jersey is well known for its crazy snowstorms. Nothing is worse than driving in the snow or having to deal with the bitter cold for days on end. This is one thing I certainly do not miss about the North. That being said, at least the weather in New Jersey can be predicted. Louisiana weather, on the other hand, is completely unpredictable. With drastic temperature changes from the morning to the afternoon, I never know if I should be wearing a jacket or a sleeveless shirt!
Don't even get me talking about how quickly it can go from super sunny to super rainy. Our recent flooding situation in Monroe, LA, was very much a reminder of how different Louisiana's weather is from ours back in New Jersey.
2. There is so much less to do here.
If I'm going to be honest, Louisiana doesn't have that many places to go within a reasonable driving distance. Living in Monroe, we have Shreveport, but any other major city is hours away.
Let's be clear: I'm not complaining. I'm just saying that I took for granted how much access I had to attractions in New Jersey. New York City, Philadelphia, the beach, and mountains, just to name a few. And think of all of the vegan restaurants? Come on.
3. The Wal-Marts in the South are amazing.
Before I came to the South, I did not like Wal-Mart...at all. In fact, it really was one of my least favorite places to shop back in New Jersey.
That's until I came to the South....
I'm not going to lie. The Wal-Marts here are absolutely amazing. I actually prefer to shop at Wal-Mart rather than other local supermarkets. I'm not saying Wal-Mart has become a health food store like Whole Paycheck, but it certainly shares some characteristics of one. They have a great selection of produce and are even beginning to offer some more health foods throughout their stores. Plus, for those who like to get in and out of the supermarket as quickly as possible like me, two words: Neighborhood Wal-Mart.
My experience moving to the South has really been a wonderful one and I have to (partly) contribute this to the above differences. Although I may sometimes miss the North, this place has certainly become my home away from home.
