Two weeks ago, I moved over 400 miles away from my hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, to come to LSU.
Leaving home was a terrifying experience. I didn’t know a soul. Louisiana is a new place with a new culture. The bubble of Tallahassee is much quieter than Baton Rouge.
When I moved here, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew about Louisiana was its love of Mardi Gras and football. In my short time here, I’ve already realized several things I wish I had known before moving.
First is the unforgiving Louisiana summer. I’m used to the rainy, Florida heat, but my years in the Sunshine State did little to prepare me for Louisiana’s climate.
When it’s 80-90 degrees in Tallahassee, the air is so dry that your lips cry for ChapStick. In Baton Rouge, your clothes begin to stick to you because of the heat. It feels like you took a shower in your own sweat. There have been several occasions when I’ve wanted someone to take a five-gallon Gatorade cooler of water and dump it over my head.
“Honestly, [the humidity’s] kind of worse here,” said anthropology senior and Florida native Gracie Bass. “It just feels still, there’s no movement. It feels very swampy.”
As someone from Tallahassee, I’ve known days and weeks of constant rain. Still, Baton Rouge has us beat.
Florida has a state-wide annual rainfall average of 53 inches, whereas southeast Louisiana faces up to 70 inches a year, according to the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies. And Baton Rouge rain isn’t dainty droplets but rather a complete downpour. You must always have an umbrella, raincoat or rain boots with you. I fell under the illusion that Tallahassee’s rain was bad simply because it happened nearly every day. But I never had to carry an umbrella with me 24/7, and the rain wouldn’t get my clothes so wet that I had to squeeze water out of them — something I’ve already done at least once at LSU.
Over the last couple of weeks, driving in Louisiana has been another adjustment.
There’s nothing quite like the quiet traffic within Tallahassee. The smooth flow of cars makes you feel safe while blasting music, singing and driving. Sure, there are some reckless drivers, but unless you travel downtown, you’ll be fine.
The same can be said for parts of Baton Rouge. Most people use their turn signals and follow basic traffic laws. But on I-10, death seems to be right around the corner. People in Louisiana always seem to be in a rush, and you must copy that attitude — or get run over. I-10 is not a playground, and outsiders need to realize that as soon as possible.
Though the weather and traffic can be ruthless, Baton Rouge has its perks. Bass said she liked that Baton Rouge is more walkable than her hometown of Panama City, and it’s not as much of a hassle to travel around the state.
“You know you can pretty much just get on the interstate and drive as close as you need to go instead of going 30 minutes to the next town,” she said.
As someone who grew up in Florida, I’ve never been in such a lively environment. Whether you’re strolling down Free Speech Plaza and witnessing people sharing their thoughts about religion and involvement opportunities, hearing people play instruments in the Quad or seeing people play games on the Parade Ground, there always seems to be something to do in good ol’ Baton Rouge.
Taylor Hamilton is an 18-year-old mass communication freshman from Tallahassee, FL.
