Metairie, my new home, is a city in Louisiana suburban to New Orleans. Metairie is West of NOLA and belongs to Jefferson Parish ("county" to foreigners), New Orleans to Orleans Parish. Metairie is intersected by several highways that run East and West, Airline Drive on the South, I-10 in the middle and Veterans Memorial Boulevard on the North. I live South of I-10 by a half-mile. Most of my outdoors activity takes place on Veterans: CC's Coffee House, Barnes & Noble, BK, McD's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, WalMart, and CompUSA all run onVeterans, as does the only bus line I've taken so far. It is a walk of a mile for me before I can do anything each day, so I get daily exercise.
Metairie seems to consist mostly of cars, roads, "communities" (gated multiple dwellings, garden apartment or motel-traditional style) and a few honest to god real homes. Except for Mardi Gras, few people can be seen outdoors except in cars or between a car and a destination. When I have actually encountered another soul walking, we have greeted each other in passing. I have even been picked up (I hitchhike every so often, to keep in practice should I ever really need to) by drivers on my way to B&N and CC's.
In the map below, the section on the bottom right is the French Quarter. Give me time.
This page begun February 22nd