re: The State of Louisiana

I didn't read the rest of the thread. All I saw is the header "The State of Louisiana" and the first thing that came to mind was how ugly the geography is north, south, east and west. Having lived there and owned several businesses spread across all four corners of the state there for several decades I feel my perspective on the state is pretty honest. Aesthetically Louisiana is the ugliest state in North America. There are some beautiful farm lands mid-state north of Marksville moving diagonally northwest and some beautiful lakes and waterways in the southwest and northcentral part of the state but the rest of Louisiana is a charmless eye sore. Everything from Baton Rouge south is ugly scruffy brackish swamp. Virtually everything in south & mid-west Louisiana is flat and featureless - the rest of the state is just plain unattractive flat land - featureless and spectacularly boring. There are no mountains in Louisiana, no waterfalls, no scenic vertical panoramas or magic vistas or anything else ultra-pleasing to the senses. There are a few miles of beaches, a couple of nice lakes, and swamps - lots of swamps. Other than that really there is nothing else but a little prairie land west of Shreveport. Louisiana is a shockingly ugly state. It is losing population at the highest per capita rate in the US. 100,000 people fled fled Louisiana in 2020 and 2021. The numbers aren't in for 2022 & 2023 because of high a influx of illegal immigration. Keep in mind the huge population decline in Louisiana is despite the significant influx of illegal immigrants. The economy is a complete wreck. There is no industry, no tech sector, no health care hub, nor any other future major economic reason to live in or move to Louisiana other than a natural gas liquification plant in Port Sulphur, Louisiana - another particularly ugly & remote place.

The best metaphor for Louisiana is Angola - both the African nation and the prison.

Louisiana is a dead state.