re: It must suck to live in Alabama

So what. You have to leave Louisiana to do anything other than New Orleans (which is cool and unique for a weekend or short visits). Other than really good inshore/deep sea fishing and New Orleans, there's actually less to do in Louisiana than Alabama. Literally every other outdoor activity (deer and turkey hunting, bass/bream fishing, hiking, camping, rock climbing, recreational lakes for boating/swimming, beaches, golf courses, even snow skiing, and proximity to Atlanta and Nashville (both within 3 hours of B'ham/Tuscaloosa) and only 5 hours from the mountains of East TN/Western NC is superior in Alabama as compared to Louisiana. I happen to love the NOLA area and inshore fishing but those are literally the ONLY two things better about Louisiana than Alabama.