Should I come back? (New Orleans, Kenner: hotel, homes, school)

[bluebird39]

Ya know, I went to Tulane, and seem to remember that there is an alumni group in Seattle. You may check that out, or an LSU alumni, or whatever college. It may be a fun way to connect with other New Orleans folks. In Oregon we were in a small city that didn't have a group like that, but people who knew me always went out of their way to introduce me to other Southerners (there are very few out West). HTH

[Doogie]

Time for me to weigh in here. I've lived on the west bank (Gretna) my entire life and I am so ready to just get the hell out of here and let the rats have it (no I'm not talking about people but if the shoe fits anyone...). I can't imagine anyone making a conscious, informed decision to come back. New Orleans is a great place but it comes with a huge price - both figuratively and now literally as well. On every level.

I see people all the time on City-Data asking about a good place for the kids and I always think in the back of my mind "if you have kids, don't come to New Orleans". Then I realize that I have kids and wonder what I'm doing here. Adults are always so amazed at how polite my kids are because they say yes ma'am and yes sir and please and thank you. It's not because they do it so much nicer than the other kids, it's because none of the other kids do it! It amazes ME that there are so few people that teach their kids respect around here.

I really thought that post-K would be a chance for N.O. to turn the tables and make a serious rebound but it is much worse now. The table is instead spinning out of control. It is obvious to me that if N.O. can't turn it around when such a significant chance like this comes by, what will it take? Fast forward 5 years, 10 years, 20 years. What do I envision it being like then? Will it get better? Well if you graph the trend over the years and look at the precipitous drop the last 2 years, you're going to need to tape a new piece of paper to the bottom of the graph if you want to keep the same scale.

I pay taxes to fund schools that I wouldn't send my worst enemy to. Why not? Not the reason you might think. It's not because I wouldn't want my enemy to learn math and science. I wouldn't want my worst enemy to get the kind of training they can get in school these days. I wouldn't even think about walking in a public school myself as a grown adult unless I had a gun - and a bullet-proof vest. And if that is what the schools are like, what about the streets?

New Orleans is turning into a giant social experiment in "survival of the fittest" and unfortunately right now the fittest are the ones with the guns with no morals or conscience. If someone threatens their existence they take 'em out. Think about it for a second: right after the storm N.O. turned into a scene from the wild west. The thugs ran around shooting guns and scaring the daylights out of any sane person. The "smart" people left town until some semblance of lawfulness returned. That's the way it really has been all along both pre and post-K. The smart ones that are still here are leaving. Which leaves a higher percentage of thugs. The days following Katrina were a snapshot of N.O.'s future. And if you're thinking that it's isolated to only the bad parts (i.e. the projects) you're wrong. The projects don't exist anymore so the thugs have spread out.

That's ironic, I just took a break from typing and looked at the headlines in the paper. An article in this morning's paper talks about the spike in crime on the west bank. The article eerily mirrors what I just said here. The article even points out that the majority of the crime is related to the drug trade but that is a copout and an excuse. It becomes obvious when you read a couple of sentences later that "the drug trade has spread out" and "there are more arrests now than last year" and "the drug addicts are let out of jail 'cause there's no space" that this problem isn't going away, it's getting worse. And then the slap in the face is the sentence "Many armed robberies, in particular when someone is murdered (my word, they said "that become fatal" as if they were trying to minimize it), are committed to secure drugs...and can flare up at any time." I'm sure my widow and kids would be comforted by the fact that I was killed by someone who was "only looking to buy drugs". Poor fella. Kind of feel sorry for him, don't ya? Even my comment about taking someone out before they take you out (i.e. survival of the fittest) is printed right there in black and white "it's a kill or be killed mentality". So just exactly what do you think is going to change that mentality?

(Note: I didn't go looking for an article to support my argument, I just glanced at the paper and saw it. It was there today just like every other day.)

And it's not just the criminals. Eddie Jordan (the D.A.) has repeatedly dropped murder charges because he couldn't find a witness. The news media then finds them in an hour. Don't even get me started on the politicians.

Business? I just read this article yesterday in a satirical paper that was making fun of the fact that we missed out on a big steel plant that was considering LA:

"The site is perfect for large companies that don’t need low-cost energy, don’t care about high taxes, aren’t bothered by government bureaucracy and corruption, don’t need a highly trained workforce, and has great confidence that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers knows what it’s doing."

The sad thing is that they were dead on and it wasn't really very funny if you think about it. If you're looking for something fun to do because you don't have any friends up there, read NOLevee.com. It is very funny but it will also make you realize just how much is screwed up here.

Cost of living? Face it. It costs more. Lots more.

Insurance? Your only choice will probably be Citizen's, which is run by the state - at a stipulated 10% more than the market standard, which is astronomical. Also, do you trust that the state will be effective in disbursing insurance funds after the next storm (if someone hasn't embezzled it all)? Just ask those who are still waiting for their Road Home money. Last count as of yesterday - 2 years later - was that 37,000 of 165,000 applicants have been completed.

Need I continue? Let me know if you need more reality because there's plenty more where that came from.

I hate to put the poo-poo on your idea of coming back but this is just a reality check on your sanity. Make sure when you come back to visit to read the Times-Picayune and watch the news. Better yet, read Nola.com every day and that should snap you back to reality.

I'm sure you (and I) will miss N.O. a lot but if it's friends, food and good times that you are looking for, maybe you just went to the wrong place. I'm sure there are many other places in the world where you can find those things you want. As for the food, get some of the friends you have left here to FedEx you some. As for the friends, find out where they are moving to and meet them there (or try to talk them into moving to where you are) because if they have any sense they won't be here much longer. As for the good times, make some. I'm sure there are other people out there in the rest of the country that like to have a good time. Find them. Make it a challenge to see how many you can find. No concerts mid-week? If there aren't any, you and your husband should open a club and you'll surely get plenty business and you'll be able to spend your weekends together as well. You can even sell some good food. I'm sure you could easily find a N.O. chef that either has or would transplant there.

And after thinking about all of this you STILL just can't stand the thought of not being here, I suggest you move to Houma and drive the hour when you want to see your friends or have a good time. You shouldn't have any problem finding good food in Houma. (edit: I see caseyperkins beat me to the punch with this suggestion 'cause it took a while to type this).

I'm generally not a negative person at all but how many times does one have to slap you in the face before you realize "sh--, someone keeps slapping me in the face". Hopefully you can feel me slapping through cyberspace right now! Softly, of course Don't make me pull out the big guns

[sparklesprinkler]

Consider this: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.


If all those that are living in New Orleans and surrounding areas give up and give in to the idiotic morons by leaving, then those evil f*ckers will win and very quickly destroy themselves and everything around them. Like I said before: Those that stay and simply live their life there are the ones that will be the heroes of the city. Without them New Orleans could not be...imagine if all the good left the entire world...what would be left of it? Pure evil and eventually complete destruction of the entire planet...Now, flip back to the world as being filled with evil AND good (the way it is now). That is the way life is...Good is what keeps it going. Without the good people of New Orleans the city would be lost. They are my heroes and I hope to soon be one of them...NEVER GIVE UP THE GOOD FIGHT!!! Damn the cost of living there

[Vampgrrl]

It's not that expensive to live here if you are a renter. It's on par with Atlanta and there are jobs here, but you cannot easily live here sans actual job skills or job by waiting tables.

New Orleans needed a shake out of people pre K, and if FEMA would drop the Section 8 and rental assistance, and bulldoze the projects finally, we might be getting somewhere.

^And you are right about people running away and letting the evil win. This nation is full of people who would otherwise look for the easy way out. Living in New Orleans is a lot easier than most people have it in this world...and we as American citizens, should take a stand.

People who leave DIRECTLY contribute to the problems here.

[NOLA2SGF]

I keep pretty close track of my budget. Actually, that's an understatement since I am getting ready to retire in a couple of years. I'm a homeowner, so I don't face rising rents.

From September 2005 through the end of 2006, my average non-mortgage expenses were 133% of what they were before the storm.

By 2007 (when I believe you first moved here, Vampgryll!), the inflated prices we faced during the months immediately after the storm had gone down, and for 2007 were about 115% of what they were before the storm.

I haven't broken down the increases into food, utilities, taxes, insurance, repairmen, trinkets, or whatever. The amount of increase probably varies a lot from person to person.

People who need to leave shouldn't feel guilty about it, in my opinion. We all have to do what we have to do, in life. Life is getting better here for many of us, but others may need to be elsewhere for a variety of possible reasons.

[Vampgrrl]

Reasons yes but simply running away isn't a reason.
(And yes it's nearly impossible to buy here with insurance being what it is), but you look at some of the grand old cities in the United States,
Detroit, Philadelphia, New Orleans...people leaving hurt the city badly, especially when people in the 1700s and 1800s faced so much worse than today.
NOLA isn't any more expensive (sans insurance) than many cities, I guess the pain comes from people who could work in the service industry here and make a good living pre Katrina cannot any longer. But it's not terribly bad compared with other cities.

[Chinolala]

I moved from Chicago to Nola (pre-Katrina) for my husband's job. This thread was started by Shaley when she was trying to figure out whether or not to move back to Nola from Seattle. I just stumbled upon it today. What's ironic is I experienced the same thing she did when I moved to New Orleans. People at my work put up with me but never invited me to socialize with them. I can't tell you how many people sarcastically asked me why I moved to New Orleans...almost like they resented it. One couple that we met invited us to church, we declined and they never called us again. Another couple asked us to attend a gun show with them, we declined and that friendship soon ended. We did meet a few couples that we'd hang out with from time to time and ironically, they like us, were transplants. It seemed that the majority of out of towners that had moved to New Orleans were Tulane students (too young to be our friends). Everyone else was born and bred there and had their lifelong friendships established. Adults are busy with jobs, kids, etc. and don't always have time to make new friends. It didn't seem like a city that many people relocate to and we found it very hard to live there as transplants. We lasted 10 months and wound up moving back. 2 long distance moves in less than a year cost us a lot of money and we took a financial loss when it was said and done. I still love New Orleans have visited it twice since we moved away. It's a special place steeped in culture and history. But for me, not the friendliest place to move to.

[Vampgrrl]

It's pretty friendly here. But cannot make work friends...most people that work here live in Jefferson Parish or the Northshore...they are nice but not the most open people.

Generally anyone in Orleans, I've found, is pretty open and nice to any new people (exceptions being the over 50 crowd)

[Chinolala]

We were in our 30's when we moved to Nola. We lived in Metairie. I worked in Mid City and my husband worked in Metarie. We lived close to Veterans and Causeway.

[Jamison]

Hi Shaley: PLEASE DON'T DO IT. The grass is NOT greener here, I promise!!

DOOGIE!!! Your post was EXCELLENT, FABULOUS, and RIGHT ON, brother!!! AMEN, and I could not have said it better myself. Thank you for taking the trouble to write such a revealing, insightful post. And, even though I'm sure you did not intend them to be, your "doogie-isms" were HILARIOUS:

1) "I am so ready to just get the hell out of here and let the rats have it". Me too. We're hoping for eastern TN in a few years, how about your family?

2) "....and I always think in the back of my mind, 'if you have kids, don't come to New Orleans'. Then I realize that I have kids and wonder what I'm doing here". Doogie, what are you doing in my head??? Would you please get outta my head????

3) "I hate to put the poo-poo on your idea of coming back", LOL!!!

4) "... but how many times does someone have to slap you in the face before you realize, "S***, someone's slapping me in the face", OH, this totally cracked me up!!!!!

SparkleSprinkler: I respect your opinion. I'm just not willing to stay and fight. I'd rather live out the rest of my years in happiness. To that end, I'd rather LIVE period. (instead of gettin' shot up "wid da gat", know-whut-ah-mean??)

Vampgrrl: I appreciate your and SparkleSprinkler's can-do, fight the good fight attitude, I really DO. And if you believe New Orleans is worth fighting for, and if you want to give it everything you've got, I think that's great. (it says a lot of good things about you) It's just that we all have different tastes, likes, dislikes, wants.... so I don't agree that people who leave directly contribute to the problems in New Orleans. No, not at all. I also don't believe those who leave are "running away", the very term implies a cowardice that couldn't be further from the truth. New Orleans was fraught with corruption and crime prior to Katrina. Now, after the storm, those who have had enough are somehow "less than" because of it?? I have a child to raise, and I pray to God I won't have to continue raising her HERE. If I were in my teens/twenties with no children, yeah, I might think New Orleans was a great adventure! Until I got shot in da a** wid da gat.

LisaK64: I'm so sorry you were shut out like that. I guess that could happen anywhere, but it always embarrasses me when out of state people come to southern Louisiana to visit or move, and get treated like crap. (UGH, hate that) I think New Orleans is a FABULOUS place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here!! (moved from Houston when I was 9, have lived here for 31 years, my sister LOVES it and even SHE is ready to get the hell out of dodge)

:-)