New Orleans
I said on Twitter that I'd forgotten how beautiful, vibrant and fantastic New Orleans is, and that I've put it on my 'places to live' list. It's not that long a list; it includes Paris, Melbourne and the Northern Territory. I could be convinced to add Buenos Aires, Chicago or Cape Town, and I want to give Amsterdam another go some time, but NOLa is only the fourth solid addition.
The tweet seems to have generated some controversy. People are saying that while it's a great place to visit, it's not a good place to live. They haven't said why yet, but that would be hard to explain in 140 characters. I can guess, though.
I suspect the summers are at the top of the list; I hear people complaining about them all the time. But both of the other times I've been here have been in August, and I don't mind the heat and humidity. Hell, I've lived in Malaysia, so I know I can handle that. Similarly, I can handle a small town overrun with tourists-I've lived in Amsterdam. Crime? Oakland. Hurricanes? Well, no, but most places I've lived have had the threat of bushfires or floods or huge earthquakes, and that's a trade-off I make when I live there. Besides, I spoke with a couple of people who moved to New Orleans, got washed out by Katrina, and then moved back in again. They seem to like it, and they're the kind of people I'd hope to hang out with more some day.
It's the character of the place that does it for me. The streets are irregular, which makes them easier for me to navigate, and the neighbourhoods are colourful and distinct. Transit's better than most American cities; street cars run very late. And yeah, it's full of pissheads, but they're happy pissheads.
