Tag Archives: Communities

Cities, Living, Retirement, Travel, Videos, Views

Communities: Ten Best Places To Live In Louisiana

Video June 26, 2021 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Louisiana is a southeastern U.S. state on the Gulf of Mexico, it’s one of the best states to live in the United States, with affordable housing, great public and private schools, and safe cities. Louisiana is one of the happiest states with vibrant culture, lively communities, flavorful and diverse cuisines, and beautiful outdoors.

Here’s our list of the best places to live in Louisiana. 10. Lafayette. (overall) 9. Baton Rouge. (overall, affordable) 8. Shreveport. (overall) 7. New Orleans. (overall, retire) 6. Lake Charles. (affordable) 5. Bossier City. (affordable) 4. Alexandria. (overall) 3. Metairie. (retire) 2. Mandeville. (family) 1. Prairieville. (family)

Famous for lively and colorful Mardi Gras celebrations that are full of soul, jazz music, distinctive foods, and flavors, and for its many festivals all throughout the year, Louisiana is also home to the world’s longest water-spanning bridge and the USA’s tallest state capitol. Unfortunately, the weather in Louisiana is unpredictable, to say the least. Plan to experience all four seasons in just a few days! Residents living in Louisiana enjoy a subtropical climate characterized by hot, humid summers and mild winters. Temperatures can vary wildly and while one day may be perfect beach weather, the following day could be wet and windy or shiver-inducing cold. Louisiana is filled with some of the most amazing small towns and bigger cities in the country. Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana provides a variety of outdoor recreation options from beaches and swamps to golf courses, hiking trails, and bike paths. New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles, LaPlace Kenner, and Shreveport are among the best places to live in Louisiana. Top industries in Louisiana include petroleum and natural gas production, tourism, filmmaking, and seafood, especially crawfish. Here’s our list of the best places to live in Louisiana. 10. Lafayette. (overall) 9. Baton Rouge. (overall, affordable) 8. Shreveport. (overall) 7. New Orleans. (overall, retire) 6. Lake Charles. (affordable) 5. Bossier City. (affordable) 4. Alexandria. (overall) 3. Metairie. (retire) 2. Mandeville. (family) 1. Prairieville. (family)

Cities, Design, Society, Transportation

Urban Design: ‘One-Minute City’ Pursued In Sweden

January 10, 2021 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

…Sweden is pursuing a hyperlocal variation, on a national scale. A plan piloted by Swedish national innovation body Vinnova and design think tank ArkDes focuses attention on what Dan Hill, Vinnova’s director of strategic design, calls the “one-minute city.”

A vision for a decentralized urban area that allows residents to meet their daily needs within a quarter-hour walk or bike from their homes, the concept has been pursued as a means of cutting greenhouse emissions and boosting livability in a host of global cities — especially Paris, where Mayor Anne Hidalgo has embraced the model as a blueprint for the French capital’s post-Covid recovery.

Read Master Plan

Called Street Moves, the initiative allows local communities to become co-architects of their own streets’ layouts. Via workshops and consultations, residents can control how much street space is used for parking, or for other public uses. It’s already rolled out experimentally at four sites in Stockholm, with three more cities about to join up. The ultimate goal is hugely ambitious: a rethink and makeover of every street in the country over this decade, so that “every street in Sweden is healthy, sustainable and vibrant by 2030,” according to Street Moves’ own materials.

Culture, Travel, Videos

Travel & Culture: The Friendly Citizens Of The Faroe Islands, Denmark

Video December 6, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The first thing visitors notice in the Faroe Islands is the breathtaking nature. But soon after, tourists notice something even more special: the way people welcome them into their homes.

The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean, connected by road tunnels, ferries, causeways and bridges. Hikers and bird-watchers are drawn to the islands’ mountains, valleys and grassy heathland, and steep coastal cliffs that harbor thousands of seabirds.

Health, Science, Videos

Health: “Making Sense Of Coronavirus Data” (Video)

Video July 9, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Public health organizations track the spread of coronavirus and use graphs and charts to visualize the data. WSJ’s Brianna Abbott explains what to look for in the data to understand how the virus is impacting your community.

Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann/WSJ

Reviews

Boomers’ Retirement: Find Purpose, Give Back To Your Community And Adapt Slowly (Barron’s)

December 1, 2019 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a Barron’s online article:

Retirements must evolve because everything won’t work out as planned, says Carolyn Taylor, president of Weatherly Asset Management, an investment-management firm in Del Mar, Calif. One of her clients, who worked in the biotech industry and had a very busy family life, trained before retirement to become a master gardener. As she trained, she found that she enjoyed teaching others and finally became a teacher of gardening, Taylor says.

Retirees who feel they have no purpose are more likely to find themselves at a loss or feeling depressed, says Black. Taking on part-time work, going back to school, volunteering, or participating in philanthropic endeavors can make retirees feel that they’re still making an important contribution.

Bringing the enjoyable aspects of your work into your retirement life can be helpful, says Black. “Maybe you enjoy mentoring young people; perhaps you can find a way to continue doing that into retirement,” she says.