It's tongue in cheek, referencing the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries novels as well as the "True Blood" HBO series. They take place in the fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps, which is near Shreveport (which these real towns are also near).
Louisiana is the setting for many Vampire novels. Anne Rice, the renowned novelist, lives in New Orleans. My Blood Thorne series takes place in Thibodaux and New Orleans. South Louisiana has tons of supernatural lore.
I appreciate people like you that take the time to film and put out these type of video. I'm retired and simply can't afford to travel, so watching your trips is a happy substitute. I love your voice by the way, very pleasant.
The median household income number of $22K/year is much closer to what most Americans experience than what the media/government tells us. The working class of this country have had their incomes and wealth "sucked" out of them by the rentier portion of the capitalist class - those who extract wealth from collecting land rents and financial rents. Fantastic that you include this data in your video.
That house you found for sale was just listed not long after you filmed this video for the price of 25,000. It is a cute 2 bedroom 1 bath built in 1950.
Kentucky here. I tell ya: it makes me sad to see how very alike we are. Too many towns with no means to support their people. Too many people forced to move from towns where everyone looks out for each other to cities where no one gives a damn and will treat us like trash if we commit the sin of actually sounding like we come from the places we call home by people who never take the time to go there and see what they're missing and what they lost by living in a city. It's heartbreaking. So much lost and thrown away 😢
It’s almost like a president in the 80s did away with all manner of regulations. Allowing companies to centralize and move to Mexico and China. Then the narrative was grow up and move. Be a nuclear family which means no community. Capitalism is destroying us.
also, I had a stroke reading that, you said towns don’t care of their people but then said people have to move from towns which do give a damn to cities who don’t, and no. Louisiana just have bad roads or whatever but that’s part of it (Monroe) or other cities, Ruston and other towns are more well contained.
Great to see these places. My mother grew up in Oil City and was married in the Methodist church you passed. While oil still flowed, the place was quite a bit more prosperous. We enjoyed many a summer vacation visiting my grandparents there. Thanks for the tour back in time!
I actually drove down that highway about ten years ago from Texarkana to Shreveport and had to stop for gas. Pull up to a gas pump at an ole convenience store that still had the rolling numbers instead of the digital numbers. I yelled over to my daughter and told her to check it out. She’d had never seen one and chuckled. ( The land that time has forgotten. )
There's a gas station like that in a town called Cotton Valley, LA. Confused the hell out of me because I didn't think something like that still existed. This was back in 2010.
It’s pretty wild. I miss them days where you could fill up a tank for less than ten dollars. Not only that you could stop on exactly on the dollar amount. As I said my youngest daughter had never seen one before and was quite amazed.
@@Woketardit seems the nWo doesn't agree with you because your comment is shadow banned. In other words it's actually the rich folk who realized they don't want all their peasants to live near them because they know they are coming for their heads now. They want everyone out in no where so they can have the cities back. Make no mistake dem politians know they ruined the greatest cities in America, they are surprised themselves that Americans have not strung them up by the light poles 😂
I’m from that area. Born and raised there on Cross Bayou, Greenwood La. Live in NH now. Been up and down those very roads. That one stretch of road between Oil City and Vivian (La1) was Caddo Lake. The Parish you were in is Caddo Parish. Named for the Caddo Indians who lived there and had a reservation there where the Lake is now. Reservation sunk and all parished Thanks for the ride down memory lane. 😎
All these places could have manufacturing shops and factories, but the manufacturing got sent to Asia and South America. So probably most on disability, social security, or welfare.
I was born and raised in Vivian,Louisiana and left in 1982! The town was a thriving town back then in the 1960’s 70’s and very good place to raise a family! I finished high school there and my job with the railroad took me to other places! After my parents passed away I never go back up there! It started going down hill in the 2000’s -2010 when my parents were still living there! When my parents generation passed on ,the town wasn’t as good as it used to be! Most of my generation left for better jobs and opportunities!
Yep. Your story is what's happening to these towns. The kids are growing up and leaving, and the parents and grandparents that stay there are slowly dying off. You see it all over the country.
That field with the oil equipment is full of what are called "pump jacks", which pump oil out of oil wells. Oil rigs are the tall towers used to drill/rework the wells. My Dad was an independent oil driller all his life, so I was immersed in the lingo. Great episode!
@@steveokula5762 Yes they are! To be precise, the oil rig is the actual equipment within the derrick that “works” the well. The derrick is the tower. Very good! You pass!!! :-)
From Alberta Canada here. We have so many oil wells in this province. Derricks and pump jacks everywhere. I work on abandoned oil wells sampling the soil for contaminants
I adore the prowling of back roads to discover such things as what you show here. It's a combination of sad beauty and stark depression that haunts these places in a way that you can't describe unless you see it first hand. Thank you, Sir.
Check out these Mississippi towns - very low cost of living, low crime, all the services you need. You might like them for what you're looking for. ua-cam.com/video/tOaNrJHuSJM/v-deo.html
My husband was stationed at Ft. Polk LA in 1987. Our daughter was born there and we lived there until 1993. There was something different about LA. Some of it was very desolate but very spiritual and mystical as well. Before we moved onto post we lived in DeRidder and there was a older woman that lived next door to us who had lived there all her life. She was a descendant of slaves and she practiced voo doo. It was kind of scary but she was the nicest kindest woman I had ever met. She so many interesting stories to tell!!
@@Brwneydgrl69 My son who is 38 now lived and worked in Lake Charles and while he was there he went back to Deridder and the house where we lived in is now gone and a police station is built there LOL. Everything had changed. All the houses are gone on the street where we lived. We lived on Stewart St. Maybe you are familiar with that.
Lol. I work at that hospital in Vivian. I've been watching you on and off the pass few weeks/months. Crazy coincidence. @ 20:00, I can see- someone is in my spot as I had the day off. If you ever come back to the area- I'll treat y'all to lunch. Cheers!
I'm an armchair traveler, so I really enjoy your videos. I wish that, along with the statistics,dollar stores, and cats, you could show and/or comment on the libraries in these little towns -- if they have them. Thank you. You're doing a great job!
In Louisiana, most towns have bookmobiles (libraries on wheels) that comes from the parish seats. These rolling libraries have been around since the 1960's. Each parish (counties to you) has it's own state funded library systems.
I know Plain Dealing has a very nice library with a very good librarian. It is part of the Bossier Parish library system. I spent my summers and afternoons in that library reading everything I could get my hands on.
Plain Dealing was large enough (in the past, not sure about now) to get funding for a small library through Bossier Parish. A small town near me has dropped in population so much they closed the branch library a few years back and now use bookmobiles. @@amyflanagan2896
Je suis française et j'apprécie beaucoup de voyager au travers de vos vidéos fort intéressantes. Je m'aperçois, que dans beaucoup d'etats américains, les maisons sont de plus en plus abandonnées notamment à Détroit où les américains ont dû fuirent. Espérons que les prochaines décennies seront meilleures. Bravo pour votre travail. Merci.❤😊
🇬🇧 Also a Brit watching your interesting tour of out the way places in Louisiana ( incidently my daughter is named Louisiana Charlotte!). We in the UK are in a horrible recession at present & food & house prices are astronomical! But at least our wages, at least mine, just about cope I make £45,000pa & although im a professional in the mental care area, im not as well paid as others in my position get paid in the south, London areas. I live in the far North East of Britain. Our local house prices are around £250,000 on average. I bought my house in the 1980s for £30,000 its now worth £385,000! Rediculous! I feel sad that good people in these places with low crime rates, single parents live in such restricted circumstances. So much land attached to properties, they should grow their own vegetables & fruit. It would save money & eke out a staple diet with more variety. Thank you for this look into another world! We need to be grateful for what we have & remember those less fortunate. Peace & Good Cheer 🇬🇧🙋
Stayed at Caddo Lake State Park last year and went to Vivian for “supplies” and was shocked to see an old school Wal Mart. Such a nostalgic feel with the same layout of all the Wal-Mart stores I remember as a kid.
Have you ever done a video just talking about weird or unusual interactions you’ve had with people in the towns you visit? I’d love to hear the stories!
This town of Vivian,La brings back sad memories when I drove from New Orleans to Vivian in 2018 or 2019 (4 hour drive) to a good friend’s funeral. It’s a beautiful small town, but poverty is really evident.
Just a bit of info. When a church shuts down, unless in cases of emergency, natural disaster, etc. Typically, every pastor, priest, deacon or whoever knows the rule is when the church no longer meets the first thing you do is take down the sign. The rule of thumb is, if the sign is still up, the church is still meeting. Of course you can find exceptions for one reason or another. Alot of the catholic churches here in NE Louisiana only meet once a month (or high holidays, etc.) depending on the circut of the available priests. There are more "catholics" than there are priests. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes rather than counties because of the church's influence in the beginning of the state.
No... All the trash is pile up in people's yards. Graffiti just indicates.... BLACK.... Not scary dude. Being a single mom, making less than 15K a year with no way out, ever, is something that would concern me more than graffiti. Racing to the bottom and proud of it!
In a world full of annoying youtubers, Joe and Nic are the oasis of the good stuff! A perfect blend of information, humor and in general a down to earth vibe which is so unique nowadays. Keep up the good work!
I enjoyed seeing these small towns. Despite the poverty, it’s great to see remnants of the past in Oil City and Vivian. I like the displays. I appreciate learning so much about this area of Louisiana! Thank you!
Viewing from England , I am rather surprised when you go through the poorer towns , that there is so little gardening /horticulture visible . Given the spacious lots and what is clearly forest soil , ideal conditions .
The people there are too lazy to plant a garden.Keep your eyes peeled for SAT dishes on ramshackled houses or in the yards.Some of it is due to lacking a decent education. There is government assistance and some public housing if people are truly disabled.Not having a two parent household (20% marriage rate) doesn`t bode well for a balanced upbringing.Not saying this is definitive but it doesn`t help if they don`t know who is there daddy.
Yes everyone is too lazy to do that now but not too long ago a lot of people did everyone is usually in drugs or overweight the just push junk food to everyone now
I’m pretty sure I drove this when I was moving From Florida to California & when I tell you this was the scariest most desolate area I’ve ever been in …
What was shocking was driving through SW Arkansas, then crossing into Louisiana on my way to Shreveport. The highways got MUCH worse (yeah I know some people won't believe it) and the number of abandoned buildings, shacks. It just looked like the State had given up on that corner, much the way Arkansas has given up on their Eastern delta region which is overwhelmingly agricultural now with a vanishing population. Same with SE Missouri.
I happened upon this channel this week and so glad I did. JOe's voice is like a smooth radio announcer! I can work and listen along. Keep up the great work!
Everytime Lord Spoda mentions A House Is Returning To Nature it reminds me of the house my grandfather lived in for many years in Eden NC . Every visit I make to that town the old house continues to return to nature more and more . If these old houses could talk and tell their past it would be amazing .
Man , where's all the people in the towns? That's what makes them creepy . It's like post apocalyptic looking. Thanks for sharing the video. It's very cool seeing places in the country, that I'll never get to see in person. 👍
Some of those abandoned oil rigs aren’t really abandoned. After it becomes economically unfeasible to have them pumping, you will often find a local person who will tap them for their last bit of oil. They put a small gasoline powered pump down the hole and let it run and suck up the oil until they fill a barrel. Usually they come by once a day to make sure that the gas pump still has enough gasoline to run. Depending on the price of oil, you can make a decent living doing this.
Your Dad or grand dad was a Roustabout. Roustabouts work at oil fields and off-shore rigs on a variety of tasks to keep the oil flowing and operations safe. They assemble and disassemble pipes, pumps, and engines; load and unload trucks; search out leaks and repair equipment.
That house for sale in Vivian is part of a package of 9 rental properties. The assessment value of that house in $15,877. 2br, 1 bath 903 sq. ft. I read every True Bood book and even went to New Orleans to meet the author at a book signing. She is cute as a bug and so much fun! Thanks, Joe. Be careful in Cancun. About 30 years ago a friend and I got caught in a civil uprising on the way back to the airport and were held at gunpoint by teens wielding aks! We weren't held long and made our plane. LOL Just another adventure for 2 old ladies! Keep the videos rolling! 💙
Here's a few thumbnails of these towns,. What is Oil City LA known for? The town is situated on the banks of Caddo Lake, a massive freshwater reservoir that is popular with anglers and families looking for a weekend getaway. As its name implies, Oil City was a boom town for the oil and gas industries in the early 20th century. Vivian is home to friendly people who simply want to enjoy a leisurely lifestyle. Our mild climate allows us to have many year-round activities. Among the activities are the Louisiana Redbud festival held the 3rd Saturday of March, the Black History Parade held the 3rd weekend in February, and the Annual Christmas Festival held the 1st Saturday of December every year in downtown Vivian. There are also excellent public and private facilities throughout the area for golfing, tennis, swimming, and boating. Hunters and fishermen will find plenty of land and waterways for their outdoor activities. Caddo Lake, Black Bayou, and the Red River are the center points of outdoor activities. Vivian was incorporated in 1898 as people moved from the former Caddo Lake port of Monterey and the surrounding lakes and woodlands to be near the railroad terminal built in the late 1800’s. Through its 121 year history, Vivian has witnessed the booms and busts of the oil business and been a local center for commerce, transportation, education, health care and manufacturing. With Caddo Lake, Black Bayou, and the Red River, and numerous large tracts of forest surrounding the Town, it is no wonder that pre-dawn weekend traffic may be busier than the more typical rush hours in larger areas, especially on opening days of deer and duck season. Newcomers are welcomed to a friendly, safe, small town atmosphere with affordable real estate, attractive neighborhoods, and good schools. It is a great place to work and raise a family, or retire and enjoy the numerous recreational opportunities. Plain Dealing: Prior to 1839, the United States government forcibly removed the Caddo Nation of Native Americans-longtime local inhabitants who had first settled the area over 1,000 years before Europeans' 16th-century arrival in mainland North America-from the area of Northern Louisiana that included the parcel that would later become the town of Plain Dealing.[4] In 1839, George Oglethorpe Gilmer and his son, James Blair Gilmer, bought 5,000 acres of this land-now described as a "vast, unsettled wilderness"-from the United States government, calling a portion of this acreage "Plain Dealing" after the family's Virginia plantation.[4][5] The "Plain Dealing" name became official when the town was formally chartered on April 24, 1890.[4]
@@Mark-z7r8y You are very welcome , sometimes it’s hard for the people making these vlogs to add details, but these small dying towns deserve a. Look at their pasts.
@@bunnyman6321 Thank you They don’t always have time to Fill out the comments, so sometimes I add stuff. I usually keep them short But these towns had a lot to offer.😊
What I like best about your videos is the comments and stories that people post. You could write a book about each one. The encyclopedia of lost towns.
My maternal great grandmother was born in Plain Dealin! When I saw your thumbnail, I hoped you would pick it because of it’s unique name. Thanks for your videos. And if someone hasn’t answered, those are pumping units. I live in oil country in California.
103 Georgia st is no longer on the market. These areas are so sad. I bet they're simple friendly people. I grew up in poor neighborhoods and my memories of the people are friendly people. All though I grew up the first ten years of my life in Cedartown Ga. My memories are sweet. I went back to Cedartown and didn't recognize the place it has built up so much. Areas like these towns in Louisiana send me imagining what they looked like back in the day when the town was new. Another awesome video. Look forward to your next adventure. You guys stay safe. God bless.
Those machines are derricks AKA grasshoppers. And those tanks you saw are called knock-out tanks. it's where the oil goes and is held and processed before it goes to the big companies to end up in your tank and so forth. And I really love traveling with you.
I am from Thibodaux, deep south Louisiana, but my Aunt and Uncle lived in Hosston after he retired from the Airforce in the '70s. We spent many days fishing that shallow bridge near Caddo Lake. Brought back many memories... I wish you went into Hosston. But I'm sure it's gone.
I know a girl that was a Hoss from the people that Hosston is named for. Well, she's in her late 40's now and lives in DeRidder, but her people went not far away to outside of Magnolia, Arkansas.
Hey guys! Another great video as always! Looked up the house for sale at 301 Georgia Street and it is off the market now as of Sept 17/23 - don't know why as it doesn't indicate that it sold. However, it has been on the market several times in the past, starting in 2008. When is was active though, asking price was $30,000. No inside pics but the house was built in 1950 and has 2 bdrms, 1 bath, 848 square feet and lot is 7,013 sq ft. Thanks for another interesting video xoxo
Just want to say that I’ve been watching (bingeing?!) several of these drive arounds in rural America and the things I really like is how consistent they are and also how you Don’t make it about yourself. Well done. You did 2 towns where I had lived in the past. Very surprised that the children’s poverty level %ages are so high in some of these back water towns. Chilling.
Thank you for the tour! Being a curious creature, I looked up the house at 301 Georgia (in Vivian). As of today, 7/3/24, it is listed for $29,000 and still for sale. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and was built in 1950. Now we know. :)
I'm in SE Louisiana and here across the lake from New Orleans we have the opposite problem these towns in this video have. When we moved here from River Ridge (between Harrahan and Kenner) there was only a caution light at the intersection of Highway 190 and Highway 445. There was an old run down gas station, a small diner with a little area for candy bars etc, another small restaurant called Cooter Brown's (which is still here), a tire shop and a garage. You blinked and you passed it up. Since Katrina ppl been steadily moving up here. Now there's all kinds of places to eat, a grocery store, a Dollar General, a Walmart DC, and massive amounts of subdivisions. We live close to the Tangipahoa River which now floods so easy. In fact in 2016 it flooded twice, both times where i live a good square sized area was closed, you couldn't go in or out for about 3 days. My road got almost 5 ft of water the second flood that year. We stayed and even though we are way off the ground we still got a foot and a half of water that night. I miss the days when no one lived here tbh. Too much traffic stresses me out lol
small towns like these in Louisiana seem to have high electric bills and bad water systems, also little grocery stores are sometimes the more expensive place to shop.
Weak tax base makes for low quality infrastructure. And of course small stores lack economy of scale. There's a reason that Walmart started in the South. Definitely filled a need
This vid had some of my fav things to see /hear in small towns. A caboose, vintage style bridge, lovely church bells, regular sized homes although sad evidence if poverty. No Norman Rockwell downtown but hey!!! they have a Country Club! LOL . Awesome vid Joe. Thank You so much. 🥰
Welcome to my neighborhood😂 lots of cotton & corn grown here, a humongous solar farm going in too. One prominent farmer here told me he's fine with being paid big bucks for his land use. Abandoned oil & gas wells are everywhere as you saw, 4,300 + orphaned statewide😢
Driving through these small towns is nice on the weekends for a day trip. We did this when I was a child. The only thing is , you have to be careful of your speed. Some of these small towns are speed traps( That's how they get revenue.) The people are usually friendly and you see a lot of interesting things.
Hello Joe & Nicole hope you are having a Blessed day. The house in Vivian on Georgia St was listed @ 30,000 in Sept 2023 but is no longer on the market.I really enjoy the ride along's and seeing all the site's.
Hello! Just started watching your videos a few days back. Husband and I will watch one or two videos during breakfast. We enjoy your travels and commentaries. What amazes me most is the clarity and steadiness of your videos whether you are driving or walking around! What do you use to film such clear videos? Thank you for your travels so that we can travel vicariously every morning through you. 😊
Another amazing video. Seeing all the oil pumps there is a small taste of what we see everyday here in Oklahoma. Especially the town I live in, Cushing, which is labeled the pipeline crossroads of the world having a tank farm for every major oil producer. It wouldn't be so bad if all the abandoned sites weren't left behind to become eyesores. Will watch for the next wonderful video. Until then stay safe and God bless. Steve in Oklahoma
Joe, if you want a weird small little town, try Lufkin, in East Texas. It's very close to the Louisiana borderline. I moved there in July, felt extremely uncomfortable there and moved back to the city in Houston.
Hi Joe & Nic Thanks again for all the effort you are putting in to those road trips . You have highlighted the good and ever so sad areas of many towns and cities . Detroit was especially a very impressive down town but so depressing on the outskirts . Just wondered Joe , when residents leave these properties and move on , is there any system of recovering monetary value from these properties ,if not how do residents afford to buy homes any where else . Thanks again to you both for all the effort ,so much to enjoy . F & P Yorkshire GB.
That house is going for $30,000. A town like Vivian would be a reasonable choice for someone wanting to retire on the cheap. Could buy a home in this town outright, some medical and shopping locally, city an hour away, good one. Those are called Oil Pumpjack's.
Vampire Country...sounds like a good name for a Goth bluegrass band 🙂 Trivia tidbit: the "oil rigs" have various names including pumpjacks, nodding donkeys, pumping units, horsehead pumps, beam pumps, sucker rod pumps, grasshopper pumps, thirsty birds, and jack pumps. In the oil fields of central California there used to be bunch of painted/decorated pumps that was called the "Iron Zoo". The R.C Baker Museum in Coalinga (worth a visit) used to sell a set of postcards with all the different oil pump creatures.
It's interesting to watch, I'm from Norway and visible powerty like this is not so usual. Sadly we also have buildings that nobody lives in on the country side, and they are decaying.
Without doing research, I wonder if that school was abandoned? Or, a lot of smaller schools in the south have gone to a 4-day school week as a cost-savings measure. It could be that this was their off day.
My dad maintained oil rigs in southern Illinois in the 80s and 90s. I have 2 uncles, one in Texas and one in southern Illinois who drilled oil wells. Also a few uncles and aunts and parents who invested in oil wells that my uncles drilled. Love those old rigs! I think they’re also called derricks. Love your channel. Thanks
The derrick is is basically a stationary crane structure. The older standard derricks were built onsite and left their for well servicing purposes. They look cool, but after a few years they are Not Much Fun to work. Nothing like a 50 year old monkey board held on by baling wire and clamps. The more modern portable rigs are brought to the site complete with draw works and derrick and leave after the job is done. Much safer, if anything in the Patch can be called 'Safe'.
Louisiana DOES NOT have counties. We are the only state that has parishes. I'm sure someone somewhere in the comment section has already mentioned this but I thought I would go ahead and reiterate... Great video none this less :) born and raised in Louisiana and never heard of this place
I've lived here off and on for years and never heard anything about vampires except in NAWLINS. I've lived in Shreveport but hopefully never again. It's horrible now. I'm in Bossier City. Ty for taking us along for the ride.
The oil pumps are called pump jacks and your grandfather was a roustabout .. they are the guys who keep the equipment operational 😊 My big brother use to be a deck hand in Pampa Tx . Good paying work but extremely dangerous to work the rigs . Thank you for the great videos .. !
That small looking pump you saw was a distill-ant pump, untreated liquid gas from a gas field. They are located all over Tx and La. In 74 I worked for Waukeshau Pierce in Houston as a field serviceman. I also saw an old smaller engine on the left. You are not too far from Tyler TX where we had one of our shops located. There were oil and gas companies all over the place. I was 50 miles from the nearest place to eat on one job and stuck in a motel with nothing to eat unless I drove that far each evening after work. It was a great job and one I should have kept ,. I would be living much better today had I done so.
One of my favorite things on UA-cam is couples pursuing a common interest. It makes my heart soar to actually see the participants from time to time. Recently, I saw an episode that featured a Creole restaurant and saw a glimpse of Nic...I'm assuming Nicole...you are so lucky. How about sometime we see you too?
Very nice to see another part of America! Being from the Netherlands I ask myself: the villages shown are very poor but the cars are huge and many times do not look that old. How is that possible?
Many people here in the US buy cars WAAAY out of their practical price range. Pretty much any lender here says this to be true. A pickup runs between 65-80k for a BASE 4wd model. People here are car poor... it's really sad to see. Fun fact... many self made millionares here in the US buy affordable cars as their daily drivers. Think Honda and Toyata type sedans and crossovers. Many of those big SUVs and trucks you see that are shiny and new are driven by people who literally can't afford them. It's maddening. I live near Oil City in Shreveport LA... the amount of lifted shiny trucks and SUVs parked in government housing or in front of broken down trailer parks is astounding.
That leaves me with the question how it is possible they can get a loan in the first place. In the Netherlands it is impossible to get a loan with that kind of income. And there exists a register with all loans you have so that banks and persons taking loans are protected.
@bewew8156 yeah that doesn't exist here. You can really pretty much get a loan for anything... it's up to the consumer really. You would find financial smarts to be at a minimum here though
@@russm4677 So their cars are more expensive then their houses. But why is paying for health insurance such a big deal then? The banks do not seem to care about getting the money back.
Keen observation! It's a cultural thing here that men buy trucks far out of their price range as a status symbol. We joke about it all the time. They live in a mouse infested trailer, but drive an F250 with a lift kit and aftermarket tires that's 3x the value of the trailer. Never take it off-road, or pull anything, it's simply a local status symbol. It's quite ridiculous. I used to drive a small car and was very out of place, like something was wrong, lol.
A great video, as always, and so interesting. These old country towns are endlessly fascinating. It's funny that we are watching a video about Vampire Country, a few days after Halloween !! Good timing ! Thanks very much, Joe and Nic, I always enjoy your videos !🥰
I looked at that 1st house (with cyclone) and wondered if it was for sale or rent, I liked it except it needs more plants!!!! And the rusty oil Rig, I thought that was a little museaum, everyones perspective, considering if you come from dry climate or wet climate.... Nearly every place I lived as an adult was found by driving around and looking for vacant places. Curtains were generally the sign of occupancy, and the walkway. Can they walk up a path to get inside...lol. Love your stuff, glad to see these early programs.
Why is it called vampire country? ive never heard that before... and love your vids Joe. always informative and entertaining! keep up the good work!
It's tongue in cheek, referencing the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries novels as well as the "True Blood" HBO series. They take place in the fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps, which is near Shreveport (which these real towns are also near).
@JoeandNicsRoadTrip oh wow that's cool never heard of that lol but I don't watch TV alot if it isn't the Saints!
Not sure if or how it might relate to Anne Rice and interview w a vampire, although that took place partly in New Orleans.
Louisiana is the setting for many Vampire novels. Anne Rice, the renowned novelist, lives in New Orleans.
My Blood Thorne series takes place in Thibodaux and New Orleans. South Louisiana has tons of supernatural lore.
Louisiana is just plain spooky. All that voodoo makes it seem like satan resides there.
I appreciate people like you that take the time to film and put out these type of video. I'm retired and simply can't afford to travel, so watching your trips is a happy substitute. I love your voice by the way, very pleasant.
Me too. Their channel is my therapeutic entertainment place to go. I learn so much.🥰
I totally agree. Well said.
Same here! My travelling days are long behind me, so I really appreciate people like Joe and Nic who take us shut-ins along with them.
here! here!
That is so true..
As a Brit, I find these videos of small town America absolutely fascinating… love your channel..👏👏🇬🇧🇺🇸👍
Living in the 1800’s was probably the best time to be alive
Thank you!
@@TOCC50No it wasn’t not for us white Americans and especially not for black Americans or natives.
Same here, from UK
@@rollitupmars I’m not worried about them
The median household income number of $22K/year is much closer to what most Americans experience than what the media/government tells us. The working class of this country have had their incomes and wealth "sucked" out of them by the rentier portion of the capitalist class - those who extract wealth from collecting land rents and financial rents. Fantastic that you include this data in your video.
Well said!!!!
That house you found for sale was just listed not long after you filmed this video for the price of 25,000. It is a cute 2 bedroom 1 bath built in 1950.
wonder how much more it would be ti fix it up
Good question, @@frwystr I would like to know that as well.
Kentucky here. I tell ya: it makes me sad to see how very alike we are. Too many towns with no means to support their people. Too many people forced to move from towns where everyone looks out for each other to cities where no one gives a damn and will treat us like trash if we commit the sin of actually sounding like we come from the places we call home by people who never take the time to go there and see what they're missing and what they lost by living in a city. It's heartbreaking. So much lost and thrown away 😢
Amen Jl
You're so right jL❤
It’s almost like a president in the 80s did away with all manner of regulations. Allowing companies to centralize and move to Mexico and China.
Then the narrative was grow up and move. Be a nuclear family which means no community.
Capitalism is destroying us.
Louisiana is not alike, and people don’t do that last part, and I live in Louisiana.
also, I had a stroke reading that, you said towns don’t care of their people but then said people have to move from towns which do give a damn to cities who don’t, and no. Louisiana just have bad roads or whatever but that’s part of it (Monroe) or other cities, Ruston and other towns are more well contained.
Great to see these places. My mother grew up in Oil City and was married in the Methodist church you passed. While oil still flowed, the place was quite a bit more prosperous. We enjoyed many a summer vacation visiting my grandparents there. Thanks for the tour back in time!
I actually drove down that highway about ten years ago from Texarkana to Shreveport and had to stop for gas. Pull up to a gas pump at an ole convenience store that still had the rolling numbers instead of the digital numbers. I yelled over to my daughter and told her to check it out. She’d had never seen one and chuckled. ( The land that time has forgotten. )
There are still quite a few of what I call ‘primitive’ gas stations with the rolling numbers that are still operating in Louisiana.
There's a gas station like that in a town called Cotton Valley, LA. Confused the hell out of me because I didn't think something like that still existed. This was back in 2010.
It’s pretty wild. I miss them days where you could fill up a tank for less than ten dollars. Not only that you could stop on exactly on the dollar amount. As I said my youngest daughter had never seen one before and was quite amazed.
I worked on Fort Polk, traveled from New Orleans maybe 5 years ago. They still have those.
If Joe Biden gets back in office we’ll all be living on less ,unless we are in the elite class.
You know nothing wrong with living in these areas. Life is so hectic in a big city. Watching and enjoying.
Well, folks need to stop encouraging city dwellers to flee their cities...
@@Woketardit seems the nWo doesn't agree with you because your comment is shadow banned. In other words it's actually the rich folk who realized they don't want all their peasants to live near them because they know they are coming for their heads now. They want everyone out in no where so they can have the cities back. Make no mistake dem politians know they ruined the greatest cities in America, they are surprised themselves that Americans have not strung them up by the light poles 😂
Man you can say that again it's better to be in a small town or out in the toolies like I am.
A lot of crime and poverty in these areas. There’s a reason people flee rural areas like these even though they are cheap.
The majority of monthly income in these towns is from tax payers ...handed out by the Govt. @@DD-ws6cu
I’m from that area. Born and raised there on Cross Bayou, Greenwood La. Live in NH now. Been up and down those very roads. That one stretch of road between Oil City and Vivian (La1) was Caddo Lake. The Parish you were in is Caddo Parish. Named for the Caddo Indians who lived there and had a reservation there where the Lake is now. Reservation sunk and all parished Thanks for the ride down memory lane. 😎
All these places could have manufacturing shops and factories, but the manufacturing got sent to Asia and South America. So probably most on disability, social security, or welfare.
I was born and raised in Vivian,Louisiana and left in 1982! The town was a thriving town back then in the 1960’s 70’s and very good place to raise a family! I finished high school there and my job with the railroad took me to other places! After my parents passed away I never go back up there! It started going down hill in the 2000’s -2010 when my parents were still living there! When my parents generation passed on ,the town wasn’t as good as it used to be! Most of my generation left for better jobs and opportunities!
Yep. Your story is what's happening to these towns. The kids are growing up and leaving, and the parents and grandparents that stay there are slowly dying off. You see it all over the country.
After Reagan signed the OPEC agreement, he put hundreds of small towns from Louisiana to Kansas outta work overnight. Now our heritage is dying.
That field with the oil equipment is full of what are called "pump jacks", which pump oil out of oil wells. Oil rigs are the tall towers used to drill/rework the wells. My Dad was an independent oil driller all his life, so I was immersed in the lingo. Great episode!
Thank you for explaining that to us. I was about to annoy my husband and ask him what they were, but then I saw your comment. 😊
Aren't they also known as oil derricks?
@@steveokula5762 Yes they are! To be precise, the oil rig is the actual equipment within the derrick that “works” the well. The derrick is the tower. Very good! You pass!!! :-)
From Alberta Canada here. We have so many oil wells in this province. Derricks and pump jacks everywhere. I work on abandoned oil wells sampling the soil for contaminants
I adore the prowling of back roads to discover such things as what you show here. It's a combination of sad beauty and stark depression that haunts these places in a way that you can't describe unless you see it first hand. Thank you, Sir.
I’m searching for a small town to move to the outskirts of, in an old house. Watching your content is so helpful
Check out these Mississippi towns - very low cost of living, low crime, all the services you need. You might like them for what you're looking for.
ua-cam.com/video/tOaNrJHuSJM/v-deo.html
From rural UK, on the Essex/Suffolk border, just discovered this channel and am never likely to visit these places, so found your video fascinating!
My husband was stationed at Ft. Polk LA in 1987. Our daughter was born there and we lived there until 1993. There was something different about LA. Some of it was very desolate but very spiritual and mystical as well. Before we moved onto post we lived in DeRidder and there was a older woman that lived next door to us who had lived there all her life. She was a descendant of slaves and she practiced voo doo. It was kind of scary but she was the nicest kindest woman I had ever met. She so many interesting stories to tell!!
I’m from lake Charles, LA born & raised. I’m familiar with the cities you mentioned.
My birth mother is from DeRidder Louisiana. And my grandfather worked at Ft. Polk as a cook.
@@Brwneydgrl69 My son who is 38 now lived and worked in Lake Charles and while he was there he went back to Deridder and the house where we lived in is now gone and a police station is built there LOL. Everything had changed. All the houses are gone on the street where we lived. We lived on Stewart St. Maybe you are familiar with that.
@@use2bmrs828 My son who is now 38 lived and worked in Lake Charles for several years. It's a small world.
Do you happen to know the old woman's name and if she's still alive?
Lol. I work at that hospital in Vivian. I've been watching you on and off the pass few weeks/months. Crazy coincidence. @ 20:00, I can see- someone is in my spot as I had the day off. If you ever come back to the area- I'll treat y'all to lunch. Cheers!
.......an invitation back to the lair......😮
To lunch or as lunch? 😂
You never know in Louisiana..
Boo!❤
I'm an armchair traveler, so I really enjoy your videos. I wish that, along with the statistics,dollar stores, and cats, you could show and/or comment on the libraries in these little towns -- if they have them. Thank you. You're doing a great job!
In Louisiana, most towns have bookmobiles (libraries on wheels) that comes from the parish seats. These rolling libraries have been around since the 1960's. Each parish (counties to you) has it's own state funded library systems.
I know Plain Dealing has a very nice library with a very good librarian. It is part of the Bossier Parish library system. I spent my summers and afternoons in that library reading everything I could get my hands on.
Plain Dealing was large enough (in the past, not sure about now) to get funding for a small library through Bossier Parish. A small town near me has dropped in population so much they closed the branch library a few years back and now use bookmobiles. @@amyflanagan2896
Je suis française et j'apprécie beaucoup de voyager au travers de vos vidéos fort intéressantes. Je m'aperçois, que dans beaucoup d'etats américains, les maisons sont de plus en plus abandonnées notamment à Détroit où les américains ont dû fuirent. Espérons que les prochaines décennies seront meilleures. Bravo pour votre travail. Merci.❤😊
🇬🇧 Also a Brit watching your interesting tour of out the way places in Louisiana ( incidently my daughter is named Louisiana Charlotte!).
We in the UK are in a horrible recession at present & food & house prices are astronomical! But at least our wages, at least mine, just about cope
I make £45,000pa & although im a professional in the mental care area, im not as well paid as others in my position get paid in the south, London areas.
I live in the far North East of Britain.
Our local house prices are around £250,000 on average.
I bought my house in the 1980s for £30,000 its now worth £385,000!
Rediculous!
I feel sad that good people in these places with low crime rates, single parents live in such restricted circumstances.
So much land attached to properties, they should grow their own vegetables & fruit.
It would save money & eke out a staple diet with more variety.
Thank you for this look into another world! We need to be grateful for what we have & remember those less fortunate.
Peace & Good Cheer
🇬🇧🙋
Stayed at Caddo Lake State Park last year and went to Vivian for “supplies” and was shocked to see an old school Wal Mart. Such a nostalgic feel with the same layout of all the Wal-Mart stores I remember as a kid.
Have you ever done a video just talking about weird or unusual interactions you’ve had with people in the towns you visit? I’d love to hear the stories!
He might want to forget about those interactions
I bet he rarely ever get out of the vehicle🤣
@@Stoneygreat If he knows whats good for him he should stay in the vehicle, some of those Dem. run places are sketchy at best
@@nozzledrich I know well.
Are all the people indoors in these towns
This town of Vivian,La brings back sad memories when I drove from New Orleans to Vivian in 2018 or 2019 (4 hour drive) to a good friend’s funeral. It’s a beautiful small town, but poverty is really evident.
Native Houstonian here, living up in Missouri these days. My family is from deep east Texas and these backroads really look like home to me. Thanks
Just a bit of info. When a church shuts down, unless in cases of emergency, natural disaster, etc. Typically, every pastor, priest, deacon or whoever knows the rule is when the church no longer meets the first thing you do is take down the sign. The rule of thumb is, if the sign is still up, the church is still meeting. Of course you can find exceptions for one reason or another. Alot of the catholic churches here in NE Louisiana only meet once a month (or high holidays, etc.) depending on the circut of the available priests. There are more "catholics" than there are priests. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes rather than counties because of the church's influence in the beginning of the state.
First thing I noticed was how neat and clean the streets are in nearly any town/village, nearly no garbage and no graffiti. Interesting.
No... All the trash is pile up in people's yards. Graffiti just indicates.... BLACK.... Not scary dude. Being a single mom, making less than 15K a year with no way out, ever, is something that would concern me more than graffiti. Racing to the bottom and proud of it!
In a world full of annoying youtubers, Joe and Nic are the oasis of the good stuff! A perfect blend of information, humor and in general a down to earth vibe which is so unique nowadays. Keep up the good work!
Wow, thank you!
I totally agree.
I enjoyed seeing these small towns. Despite the poverty, it’s great to see remnants of the past in Oil City and Vivian. I like the displays. I appreciate learning so much about this area of Louisiana! Thank you!
Viewing from England , I am rather surprised when you go through the poorer towns , that there is so little gardening /horticulture visible . Given the spacious lots and what is clearly forest soil , ideal conditions .
If burgers and junk food came straight out of the ground, a lot of them would be gardening
The people there are too lazy to plant a garden.Keep your eyes peeled for SAT dishes on ramshackled houses or in the yards.Some of it is due to lacking a decent education. There is government assistance and some public housing if people are truly disabled.Not having a two parent household (20% marriage rate) doesn`t bode well for a balanced upbringing.Not saying this is definitive but it doesn`t help if they don`t know who is there daddy.
No hedges, no bushes, no flowers...
NO I LA FRANCE NO ENGLAND
Yes everyone is too lazy to do that now but not too long ago a lot of people did everyone is usually in drugs or overweight the just push junk food to everyone now
I’m pretty sure I drove this when I was moving From Florida to California & when I tell you this was the scariest most desolate area I’ve ever been in …
What was shocking was driving through SW Arkansas, then crossing into Louisiana on my way to Shreveport. The highways got MUCH worse (yeah I know some people won't believe it) and the number of abandoned buildings, shacks. It just looked like the State had given up on that corner, much the way Arkansas has given up on their Eastern delta region which is overwhelmingly agricultural now with a vanishing population. Same with SE Missouri.
I happened upon this channel this week and so glad I did. JOe's voice is like a smooth radio announcer! I can work and listen along. Keep up the great work!
Everytime Lord Spoda mentions A House Is Returning To Nature it reminds me of the house my grandfather lived in for many years in Eden NC . Every visit I make to that town the old house continues to return to nature more and more . If these old houses could talk and tell their past it would be amazing .
Lotta houses like that in Ahoskie NC too, it’s sad but kind of beautiful at the same time
Man , where's all the people in the towns? That's what makes them creepy . It's like post apocalyptic looking. Thanks for sharing the video. It's very cool seeing places in the country, that I'll never get to see in person. 👍
😂😂
Some of those abandoned oil rigs aren’t really abandoned. After it becomes economically unfeasible to have them pumping, you will often find a local person who will tap them for their last bit of oil. They put a small gasoline powered pump down the hole and let it run and suck up the oil until they fill a barrel. Usually they come by once a day to make sure that the gas pump still has enough gasoline to run. Depending on the price of oil, you can make a decent living doing this.
Your Dad or grand dad was a Roustabout. Roustabouts work at oil fields and off-shore rigs on a variety of tasks to keep the oil flowing and operations safe. They assemble and disassemble pipes, pumps, and engines; load and unload trucks; search out leaks and repair equipment.
That house for sale in Vivian is part of a package of 9 rental properties. The assessment value of that house in $15,877. 2br, 1 bath 903 sq. ft. I read every True Bood book and even went to New Orleans to meet the author at a book signing. She is cute as a bug and so much fun! Thanks, Joe. Be careful in Cancun. About 30 years ago a friend and I got caught in a civil uprising on the way back to the airport and were held at gunpoint by teens wielding aks! We weren't held long and made our plane. LOL Just another adventure for 2 old ladies! Keep the videos rolling! 💙
$15.000?? You couldn't get a detached garage that fits one car for that up here in NJ!
Interesting.
My property taxes per year are more than that in Austin TX for a 1500ft^2 3Br2Ba built in '64.
@@flexiblestrategist9922 15k in New Jersey gets you absolutely nothing. Rent here for a 2 bedroom is about 2200 a month smh
Here's a few thumbnails of these towns,.
What is Oil City LA known for?
The town is situated on the banks of Caddo Lake, a massive freshwater reservoir that is popular with anglers and families looking for a weekend getaway. As its name implies, Oil City was a boom town for the oil and gas industries in the early 20th century.
Vivian is home to friendly people who simply want to enjoy a leisurely lifestyle. Our mild climate allows us to have many year-round activities. Among the activities are the Louisiana Redbud festival held the 3rd Saturday of March, the Black History Parade held the 3rd weekend in February, and the Annual Christmas Festival held the 1st Saturday of December every year in downtown Vivian. There are also excellent public and private facilities throughout the area for golfing, tennis, swimming, and boating. Hunters and fishermen will find plenty of land and waterways for their outdoor activities. Caddo Lake, Black Bayou, and the Red River are the center points of outdoor activities.
Vivian was incorporated in 1898 as people moved from the former Caddo Lake port of Monterey and the surrounding lakes and woodlands to be near the railroad terminal built in the late 1800’s. Through its 121 year history, Vivian has witnessed the booms and busts of the oil business and been a local center for commerce, transportation, education, health care and manufacturing. With Caddo Lake, Black Bayou, and the Red River, and numerous large tracts of forest surrounding the Town, it is no wonder that pre-dawn weekend traffic may be busier than the more typical rush hours in larger areas, especially on opening days of deer and duck season. Newcomers are welcomed to a friendly, safe, small town atmosphere with affordable real estate, attractive neighborhoods, and good schools. It is a great place to work and raise a family, or retire and enjoy the numerous recreational opportunities.
Plain Dealing:
Prior to 1839, the United States government forcibly removed the Caddo Nation of Native Americans-longtime local inhabitants who had first settled the area over 1,000 years before Europeans' 16th-century arrival in mainland North America-from the area of Northern Louisiana that included the parcel that would later become the town of Plain Dealing.[4]
In 1839, George Oglethorpe Gilmer and his son, James Blair Gilmer, bought 5,000 acres of this land-now described as a "vast, unsettled wilderness"-from the United States government, calling a portion of this acreage "Plain Dealing" after the family's Virginia plantation.[4][5] The "Plain Dealing" name became official when the town was formally chartered on April 24, 1890.[4]
That was a great job you did explaining that areas history, you connected all the dots!!!!! GREAT JOB & I FOR ONE APPRECIATE YOUR SYNOPSIS!!!!!
@@Mark-z7r8y thanks lts good to add some extra info
Because even dying towns have
Great pasts to share
@@Mark-z7r8y You are very welcome , sometimes it’s hard for the people making these vlogs to add details, but these small dying towns deserve a. Look at their pasts.
Interesting stuff
@@bunnyman6321 Thank you
They don’t always have time to
Fill out the comments, so sometimes I add stuff.
I usually keep them short
But these towns had a lot to offer.😊
What I like best about your videos is the comments and stories that people post. You could write a book about each one. The encyclopedia of lost towns.
My maternal great grandmother was born in Plain Dealin! When I saw your thumbnail, I hoped you would pick it because of it’s unique name. Thanks for your videos. And if someone hasn’t answered, those are pumping units. I live in oil country in California.
103 Georgia st is no longer on the market. These areas are so sad. I bet they're simple friendly people. I grew up in poor neighborhoods and my memories of the people are friendly people. All though I grew up the first ten years of my life in Cedartown Ga. My memories are sweet. I went back to Cedartown and didn't recognize the place it has built up so much. Areas like these towns in Louisiana send me imagining what they looked like back in the day when the town was new. Another awesome video. Look forward to your next adventure. You guys stay safe. God bless.
Always fascinated by these towns in the states. I'm in the uk and there is also a lot of places like this in the north of england.
Are you not local to these communities anymore?
Those machines are derricks AKA grasshoppers. And those tanks you saw are called knock-out tanks. it's where the oil goes and is held and processed before it goes to the big companies to end up in your tank and so forth. And I really love traveling with you.
Old seed and feed stores are where I find some really cool old school things.
Great selection, but the equipment you mentioned are not rigs - they are pump jacks.
House at 301 W. Georgia is listed 1/9/2024 for $25K. 2 bed, 1 bath 848 sq ft. per Zillow.
I am from Thibodaux, deep south Louisiana, but my Aunt and Uncle lived in Hosston after he retired from the Airforce in the '70s. We spent many days fishing that shallow bridge near Caddo Lake. Brought back many memories... I wish you went into Hosston. But I'm sure it's gone.
I know a girl that was a Hoss from the people that Hosston is named for. Well, she's in her late 40's now and lives in DeRidder, but her people went not far away to outside of Magnolia, Arkansas.
Hey guys! Another great video as always! Looked up the house for sale at 301 Georgia Street and it is off the market now as of Sept 17/23 - don't know why as it doesn't indicate that it sold. However, it has been on the market several times in the past, starting in 2008. When is was active though, asking price was $30,000. No inside pics but the house was built in 1950 and has 2 bdrms, 1 bath, 848 square feet and lot is 7,013 sq ft. Thanks for another interesting video xoxo
cheers, I was trying to build the motivation to Google :P
Just want to say that I’ve been watching (bingeing?!) several of these drive arounds in rural America and the things I really like is how consistent they are and also how you Don’t make it about yourself. Well done. You did 2 towns where I had lived in the past. Very surprised that the children’s poverty level %ages are so high in some of these back water towns. Chilling.
Thank you for the tour! Being a curious creature, I looked up the house at 301 Georgia (in Vivian). As of today, 7/3/24, it is listed for $29,000 and still for sale. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and was built in 1950. Now we know. :)
I'm in SE Louisiana and here across the lake from New Orleans we have the opposite problem these towns in this video have. When we moved here from River Ridge (between Harrahan and Kenner) there was only a caution light at the intersection of Highway 190 and Highway 445. There was an old run down gas station, a small diner with a little area for candy bars etc, another small restaurant called Cooter Brown's (which is still here), a tire shop and a garage. You blinked and you passed it up. Since Katrina ppl been steadily moving up here. Now there's all kinds of places to eat, a grocery store, a Dollar General, a Walmart DC, and massive amounts of subdivisions. We live close to the Tangipahoa River which now floods so easy. In fact in 2016 it flooded twice, both times where i live a good square sized area was closed, you couldn't go in or out for about 3 days. My road got almost 5 ft of water the second flood that year. We stayed and even though we are way off the ground we still got a foot and a half of water that night. I miss the days when no one lived here tbh. Too much traffic stresses me out lol
I lived in Vivian in the early 1980's. I was told that the Walmart was one of the first ones built, maybe that's why it is smaller than usual.
small towns like these in Louisiana seem to have high electric bills and bad water systems, also little grocery stores are sometimes the more expensive place to shop.
Seems like you have first-hand experience with these examples.
Weak tax base makes for low quality infrastructure. And of course small stores lack economy of scale. There's a reason that Walmart started in the South. Definitely filled a need
This vid had some of my fav things to see /hear in small towns. A caboose, vintage style bridge, lovely church bells, regular sized homes although sad evidence if poverty. No Norman Rockwell downtown but hey!!! they have a Country Club! LOL . Awesome vid Joe. Thank You so much. 🥰
Thank you!!!
Just ran across your channel recently. Been watching every night. Just fascinating. I love the history and seeing how folks all over the country live.
No matter how much poverty there is, people can still take pride in their property if they chose.
I was raised in Plain Dealing. Currently living in Oil City. Ive never heard Sportsmans Paradise refered to as Vampire Country.😅
Except maybe when in Transylvania,Louisiana near Lake Providence in east carrol parrish.🤣
Welcome to my neighborhood😂 lots of cotton & corn grown here, a humongous solar farm going in too. One prominent farmer here told me he's fine with being paid big bucks for his land use. Abandoned oil & gas wells are everywhere as you saw, 4,300 + orphaned statewide😢
Driving through these small towns is nice on the weekends for a day trip. We did this when I was a child. The only thing is , you have to be careful of your speed. Some of these small towns are speed traps( That's how they get revenue.) The people are usually friendly and you see a lot of interesting things.
You're right!
More chance Joe gets fined for curb crawling speeds
Oh I’ve been waiting for you to do this area of Louisiana! I feel so pulled to this state & all southern states for some reason
Great tour!! What I have a difficult time understanding, given the income numbers, is HOW are there so many nice, newer vehicles everywhere?🤔
Oil rigs in yards is not that uncommon. My grandmother had a oil pump on her land and it paid enough to pay for her utilities.
Well done, sir. Thanks for the view of small town Louisiana.
Hello Joe & Nicole hope you are having a Blessed day. The house in Vivian on Georgia St was listed @ 30,000 in Sept 2023 but is no longer on the market.I really enjoy the ride along's and seeing all the site's.
The oil pump is called a Derrick
Ty$30, 2147 very cool oil well in action. Enjoyed that thanks tons😊 big school,looked nice.
They are extremely lucky still to have an original small town Walmart. Because where I live in Southwest Louisiana the Walmart left a long time ago.
Hello! Just started watching your videos a few days back. Husband and I will watch one or two videos during breakfast. We enjoy your travels and commentaries. What amazes me most is the clarity and steadiness of your videos whether you are driving or walking around! What do you use to film such clear videos? Thank you for your travels so that we can travel vicariously every morning through you. 😊
Thank you! I use a DJI Osmo 3. :)
Another amazing video. Seeing all the oil pumps there is a small taste of what we see everyday here in Oklahoma. Especially the town I live in, Cushing, which is labeled the pipeline crossroads of the world having a tank farm for every major oil producer. It wouldn't be so bad if all the abandoned sites weren't left behind to become eyesores. Will watch for the next wonderful video. Until then stay safe and God bless.
Steve in Oklahoma
The “oil rig” is called a Pump Jack. They are used to pump oil from the ground after the rig has finished drilling the well.
I’ve never been here but from this video it looks like these towns would be really spooky at night time.
In some places it's creepy in the daytime lol spooky
Joe, if you want a weird small little town, try Lufkin, in East Texas. It's very close to the Louisiana borderline. I moved there in July, felt extremely uncomfortable there and moved back to the city in Houston.
Lufkin Texas is not a small little town 34,000 people live there
Been to Lufkin a couple times, didn't get that vibe at all.
Being from south Louisiana (New Orleans specifically), I never had much interest in northern Louisiana but this was interesting.
My Mother's family lived in Plain Dealing in the late 1800s and believe some are still in the area. Many buried in the local area
The Walmart probably serves the entire county. That and Dollar General look like the only retail stores there.
we don’t have counties in Louisiana, we have parishes
Piggly Wiggly reminds me of “Driving Miss Daisy”! I didn’t know they still existed. Great video. ♥️✌🏽
There is a PW on Athens, TX and throughout East TX.
I love PW. The one in Athens has a cool butcher.
One of the coolest videos I’ve ever seen honestly. Just exactly what I was looking for!
Awesome, thank you!
Makes one wonder how this place will be 50 years from now, eventually maybe a ghost town..nice video 🙂
Hi Joe & Nic
Thanks again for all the effort you are putting in to those road trips . You have highlighted the good and ever so sad areas of many towns and cities . Detroit was especially a very impressive down town but so depressing on the outskirts .
Just wondered Joe , when residents leave these properties and move on , is there any system of recovering monetary value from these properties ,if not how do residents afford to buy homes any where else .
Thanks again to you both for all the effort ,so much to enjoy .
F & P Yorkshire GB.
That house is going for $30,000. A town like Vivian would be a reasonable choice for someone wanting to retire on the cheap. Could buy a home in this town outright, some medical and shopping locally, city an hour away, good one. Those are called Oil Pumpjack's.
Vampire Country...sounds like a good name for a Goth bluegrass band 🙂 Trivia tidbit: the "oil rigs" have various names including pumpjacks, nodding donkeys, pumping units, horsehead pumps, beam pumps, sucker rod pumps, grasshopper pumps, thirsty birds, and jack pumps. In the oil fields of central California there used to be bunch of painted/decorated pumps that was called the "Iron Zoo". The R.C Baker Museum in Coalinga (worth a visit) used to sell a set of postcards with all the different oil pump creatures.
Can't believe his grandpa didn't tell him that😊
It's interesting to watch, I'm from Norway and visible powerty like this is not so usual. Sadly we also have buildings that nobody lives in on the country side, and they are decaying.
Even though Vivian is poorer than Oil City, it looks nicer.
LOVE this kind of content. New subbie 🤗
Awesome!
Compared to Australia, many of the houses are very close to the street and don't have boundary fences.
but on large blocks of land
Without doing research, I wonder if that school was abandoned? Or, a lot of smaller schools in the south have gone to a 4-day school week as a cost-savings measure. It could be that this was their off day.
My dad maintained oil rigs in southern Illinois in the 80s and 90s. I have 2 uncles, one in Texas and one in southern Illinois who drilled oil wells. Also a few uncles and aunts and parents who invested in oil wells that my uncles drilled. Love those old rigs! I think they’re also called derricks. Love your channel. Thanks
The derrick is is basically a stationary crane structure. The older standard derricks were built onsite and left their for well servicing purposes. They look cool, but after a few years they are Not Much Fun to work. Nothing like a 50 year old monkey board held on by baling wire and clamps. The more modern portable rigs are brought to the site complete with draw works and derrick and leave after the job is done. Much safer, if anything in the Patch can be called 'Safe'.
Louisiana DOES NOT have counties. We are the only state that has parishes. I'm sure someone somewhere in the comment section has already mentioned this but I thought I would go ahead and reiterate... Great video none this less :) born and raised in Louisiana and never heard of this place
I've lived here off and on for years and never heard anything about vampires except in NAWLINS. I've lived in Shreveport but hopefully never again. It's horrible now. I'm in Bossier City.
Ty for taking us along for the ride.
Thanks for these videos. He helps me in viewing area to move to from CALIFORNIA!
The oil pumps are called pump jacks and your grandfather was a roustabout .. they are the guys who keep the equipment operational 😊
My big brother use to be a deck hand in Pampa Tx .
Good paying work but extremely dangerous to work the rigs .
Thank you for the great videos .. !
Thank you for the info.
I'd rather live in vampire country than one of the big cities. Much safer.
That small looking pump you saw was a distill-ant pump, untreated liquid gas from a gas field. They are located all over Tx and La. In 74 I worked for Waukeshau Pierce in Houston as a field serviceman. I also saw an old smaller engine on the left. You are not too far from Tyler TX where we had one of our shops located. There were oil and gas companies all over the place. I was 50 miles from the nearest place to eat on one job and stuck in a motel with nothing to eat unless I drove that far each evening after work. It was a great job and one I should have kept ,. I would be living much better today had I done so.
One of my favorite things on UA-cam is couples pursuing a common interest. It makes my heart soar to actually see the participants from time to time. Recently, I saw an episode that featured a Creole restaurant and saw a glimpse of Nic...I'm assuming Nicole...you are so lucky. How about sometime we see you too?
Very nice to see another part of America! Being from the Netherlands I ask myself: the villages shown are very poor but the cars are huge and many times do not look that old. How is that possible?
Many people here in the US buy cars WAAAY out of their practical price range. Pretty much any lender here says this to be true. A pickup runs between 65-80k for a BASE 4wd model. People here are car poor... it's really sad to see. Fun fact... many self made millionares here in the US buy affordable cars as their daily drivers. Think Honda and Toyata type sedans and crossovers. Many of those big SUVs and trucks you see that are shiny and new are driven by people who literally can't afford them. It's maddening. I live near Oil City in Shreveport LA... the amount of lifted shiny trucks and SUVs parked in government housing or in front of broken down trailer parks is astounding.
That leaves me with the question how it is possible they can get a loan in the first place. In the Netherlands it is impossible to get a loan with that kind of income. And there exists a register with all loans you have so that banks and persons taking loans are protected.
@bewew8156 yeah that doesn't exist here. You can really pretty much get a loan for anything... it's up to the consumer really. You would find financial smarts to be at a minimum here though
@@russm4677 So their cars are more expensive then their houses. But why is paying for health insurance such a big deal then? The banks do not seem to care about getting the money back.
Keen observation! It's a cultural thing here that men buy trucks far out of their price range as a status symbol. We joke about it all the time. They live in a mouse infested trailer, but drive an F250 with a lift kit and aftermarket tires that's 3x the value of the trailer. Never take it off-road, or pull anything, it's simply a local status symbol. It's quite ridiculous. I used to drive a small car and was very out of place, like something was wrong, lol.
Great video of my home state. Grew up in Winnfiield (about 90 miles south of 'Shreveport.) Left Louisiana in 1978.
I grew up in Natchitoches parish, went to Goldonna high school
My husband graduated from Calvin High School. I had a few friends from Goldonna. @@TEXASLOYAL
My family were from Winnfield. We would pass through after leaving Jonesboro. Sure miss visiting that area.
A great video, as always, and so interesting. These old country towns are endlessly fascinating. It's funny that we are watching a video about Vampire Country, a few days after Halloween !! Good timing ! Thanks very much, Joe and Nic, I always enjoy your videos !🥰
Right! :)
I really love your tour and videos thank you sir from kuwait middle east
Can appreciate this guy. Good morning beautiful day thanks again it says a lot. Can compare today to the rest of the week.
The caboose in Vivian looks like it's made from an old outside braced wooden boxcar, very odd. Another great tour, thanks much!
I looked at that 1st house (with cyclone) and wondered if it was for sale or rent, I liked it except it needs more plants!!!! And the rusty oil Rig, I thought that was a little museaum, everyones perspective, considering if you come from dry climate or wet climate.... Nearly every place I lived as an adult was found by driving around and looking for vacant places. Curtains were generally the sign of occupancy, and the walkway. Can they walk up a path to get inside...lol. Love your stuff, glad to see these early programs.
I really appreciate the way you research these places as you create your videos.
Looking forward to Cancun.👍
Our time on earth is so precious. Im former military used to travel alot. I love old buildings and antiques. So many souls and stories.