Louisiana. For a lot of folks, this is where The South truly begins. Some people consider Texas to be part of The South, but they're probably from Texas. And yes, technically anything below the Mason Dixon Line is part of The South, but there's something about being in Mississippi, Alabama and especially Louisiana that really and truly feels like you're in a part of the country that is unlike anywhere else. There's an atmosphere, a "je ne sais quoi," if you will, that is only found only in The Pelican State. The food, the people, the architecture, the art, the music, the politics, there's absolutely nothing like the flavor of life that you'll find throughout this state.
You'll even see it if you manage to catch an airboat ride and glide through the swamps and bayous. Or, in a case more likely, you'll see it when you find yourself winding your way through the moss-draped back roads and highways. And there's plenty of driving to be done in and through Louisiana. For instance, Louisiana is home to the world's largest bridge over water with the Lake Pontchartrain causeway, which connects Metairie with St. Tammany Parish stretching for about 24 miles. Louisiana drivers log an average of 14,724 miles annually in the 4 million or so registered vehicles found in the state. Nearly 2,000 dealerships are in Louisiana with cars for sale, generating about $8.5 billion in sales for 2013. That's a lot of cars. So many, in fact, that it helps generate about 75,336 auto-related jobs across the state.
Just be sure that, when in Louisiana and serving as a firefighter in the wonderful city of New Orleans and you happen to be driving the firetruck to a fire, you don't run any of the red lights. That's against the law.