Richmond vs. New OrleansRecently I was thinking about how I live two different lives.
My one life is the main one, where I live in New Orleans, LOISUANNA, and go to a Community College. I have my circle of friends and my girlfriend, but I always feel like something is missing. My other life resides in Richmond, VA. I have no idea how my mom found the place, but she did. I have been going to Richmond since I was very young. I grew up with most of the kids in town and consider those guys my family.
There is only one street light in the whole town and nothing, but trees, mountains, rivers, and lakes. I always find myself contrasting my two lives and wishing I could have them both. In New Orleans, where I have lived for four years, I have a lot of friends, but can’t help notice the difference in the way people in Louisiana are compared to Virginia. People in Louisiana are all about their materials. What they have, what kind of car they drive, and how big the wardrobe is. I even find myself competing to look the best and have the fastest ride, but the people in Virginia are not materialistic at all.
They don’t have any Burberry purses or 12 pairs of Nike Air Force Ones. All they care about is having fun and going to work. Richmond also feels like a bubble in comparison to New Orleans. By that I mean Richmond doesn’t have any hardcore drugs, thieves of the night, or crazy police. The town has about 2 police officers and that is more than enough. Since it is a small town everyone knows everybody and when a bad seed pops up, that person is usually exiled from the town.
The kids there are so naive, because they have really never been to a city, but once ore twice. They don’t see any bad people in the town and they rarely have had any encounters with them. My friends in New Orleans are the complete opposite. Most of them are scam proof and don’t fall for any tricks. They are tough and have had to deal with bad people all their lives.
In city-life I find there isn’t as much loyalty to each other as in a small town. Most people in a city are usually looking out for themselves and people they care about and usually nothing else matters. People in Richmond go out of their way to help you even if the don’t know you. For example, when I broke down on the highway in my car I called a tow truck to tow it, but I noticed not one person asked if I needed help, a cell phone, or a lift. When I was in Richmond and broke down in my Jeep people I didn’t even know the guy who came up to VA, asked if I needed help, offered a ride, and even opened the hood and try to fix the engine. Don’t get VA wrong by reading this essay, I don’t think everyone in Louisiana is horrible and everyone in Virginia is perfect I just am illustrating on things I see.
They both have their perks and downfalls. If I was asked though where I would rather live I would definitely say Richmond, VA, where I basically grew up.
