How dangerous is New Orleans post-Katrina?

[Drouzin]

That's it ya'll, I know everybody has a version of our Pie Man! We called him the Pie Man, but it was his elderly Aunt who did the cooking while he did the deliveries. How lazy is it that I'm debating on whether or not to go to the FQF? Ok, I will definately get there in time for Rockin' Dupsie (she says with resolve).

[Vampgrrl]

I went.

Good god. The vendor on the Square with the hot sausage po boy, holy crap pass the syrup...that was GREAT.
The weather is perfect out too.

[KCarr]

My husband & I are from Tuscaloosa & we have always adored New Orleans. We've been many times & have always felt very at home there. Thankfully, we have never had any bad experiences while there. The only thing we might have had to complain about was the persistence of some of the panhandlers we encountered but the locals had told us to basically ingore them as well as we could & not hand over cash & we'd be ok...which was what we did. We stayed at a very old & haunted B & B way down Bourbon St. on the quiet end, which meant we had several blocks to walk in order to get there which would be the perfect place to get mugged since it's quiet & not alot of folks around. But...KNOCK WOOD...we never had a problem with anyone. We'd always see alot of what I assume were street kids but they never gave us any trouble at all. We havent been for a visit since before Katrina but a friend of ours who is from NY recently went & she had a very bad experience. She was basically assaulted & sexually harrassed by some guys one night & she said it was the worst experience she'd ever had (& she's a New Yorker!) & she would never EVER go back. She said it was a BAD & very scary place. From my point of view, that could have happened anywhere. I'm anxious to hear more of what happened to her to make her so terrified of New Orleans...not that the assault wasnt bad enough. It did make me wonder if things ARE worse now than they used to be??? Or did my friend just have some really bad luck while there? We'd like to go back to New Orleans & I'm hoping we'll be able to perhaps around Halloween. We attended a couple of the Anne Rice Vampire Lestat Balls years back, which were so much fun. I saw online that they're having them again! So...has anyone else noticed a difference in the dangers of New Orleans post Katrina? Or is it pretty much the same as it's always been??

[Butterhead]

If we didn't have good food in New Orleans, we'd really be screwed!

I can't wait to move out of here...simply because things are just so tough. Post-Katrina is really difficult and after 3 years of hoping things will get better, doing my part in rebuilding and so forth, I'm tired. Tired of having my home broken into; tired of not being able to find a suitable job (I have an education and excellent work experience); tired of locals making excuses about crime, and tired of listening to our crooked politicians preach lies.

And I don't know how long it's been since that person who loves New Orleans sooooo flipping much has lived here, but things ain't all that rosy!!! I must stress...it's one thing to visit and a completely different thing to live here right now. So, in case you haven't gathered, my suggestion is not to move here. Maybe you should just wait 6 months or something. If it's true love, it will endure, right??

New Orleans is truly a great place and will be a great place to live again, maybe in 10 or 12 years! The city just needs some time to fix the potholes and everything else that's wrong, like the pumping stations for instance!!!

By the way, anybody know of good jobs in Asheville North Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina or Portland???

[Farouche]

Originally Posted by san phlegmatico

OK, maybe it's not a lily white place to raise a Leave It to Beaver family, but there is a realness, a community-knitness, and an endemic *FunKY FLaVoR* you just can't match for uniqueness, cultural depth, architectural splendor, brilliant cuisine, world-renowned entertainment, aesthetic and natural beauty, and pure ribald elegance. The funk alone will make you more interesting, add some much-needed colorful dimensions to your personality.

Raising a kid in NOLA? It may be a little unconventional at times, may be a little edgier (even grittier) than the stereotypical suburban-strip mall-soccer mom style; but N.O. is a very literary town, is open-minded & tolerant, can be quite inspiring to the creative side, and will certainly inject your child with heart and soul to balance matters of the gray matter.

San Phlegmatico, I just found your incredibly eloquent post about the beauty of living in New Orleans, and it has inspired me enough to consider moving to New Orleans. I've always been curious about the city, and it's on my calendar as the next place to visit with my soon-to-be-teenage son. I was teetering back and forth wondering if now is the time to go, and your post pushed me over the edge! I loved Galveston, Texas, and have heard it called a "mini-New Orleans." I think if I saw New Orleans I'd want to be there instead, "risk" and all. Thanks, SP, and all the best to you.

[LadyMaDia]

I love you! I know because you love the most amazing unduplicated city in the world and I've lived in many cities. NEW ORLEANS IS THE BEST MOST ROMANTIC WONDERFUL DIVERSE city ever. Only those who have been there can understand. Those that have not will never know what a diamond of a city they are missing. Its European/friendly! People look you in the eye and say hello! I live 195 miles away and thats way too far. I will move back and grow old and die there(happily) and may all who wish dance as I go to the next place!

I DO know what it means TO MISS NEW ORLEANS.

PS.Its helps me choose friends! If someone says they hate it? I have NOTHING in common with them! Music Food fun 7 nights a week. If I sit alone in the house of blues to hear music within the night I've made 5 new friends. I adore New Orleans

[MetroBTR]

What we need to remember is that our oldest American cities are barely 300 years old, compared to their European counterparts that have existed for thousands of years in some cases. Cities like New Orleans are reaching the finish line of their first cycle of prosperity and decline. The city will likely get worse. Havens such as Lakeview and the Garden District may go bad by the time the cycle is finally finished, but the city will recover eventually (if it can keep it's head above the waves long enough). I can remember a pre-decline New Orleans from my childhood in the 1950's, when it was still considered a "nice" place by a majority of people. Those days will come again, though most likely not in our lifetime.

Safe places are to be found in New Orleans, but you just have to learn how the city operates.

[Jpierpont]

Originally Posted by san phlegmatico

I'm always amazed at the softies from my home state of Alabama who constantly lament THE CRIME!, THE SIN!, THE DECAY!, and the idiosyncrasies of the New Orleans urban grab bag.

For one, Birmingham consistently ranks very high in national crime indices. And Tuscaloosa ain't no crime-free paradise either. It boggles the mind how Alabamians are so doggone circumspect in the 'Nolia. Maybe it's the conspicuous French influence which confuses the Scots-Irishmen who come flailing down the rolling hills into the bayou with bagpipes blaring and kilts flaring; perhaps it's the shocking shrill of a blaring trumpet -- WHAT NO BANJOS?! ... Maybe it's as simple as cultural rivalry. Or jealousy.

Seriously, it probably does have something to do with the stark differences in culture (at only a few hours' drive away, no less!) and the gumboed composition of neighborhoods which throw the perceptive faculties for a loop and thus render the observer fearful.

I once lived in T-Town -- ten years to be exact. I also once lived in New Orleans. So I do know what I'm talking about: I understand the mentality and dynamics.

But here's a News Flash for ya: Crime is alive and well in Tuscaloosa, AL especially in the University-abutted neighborhoods (and of course the campus itself). If you will accept an anecdotal testimony, here's mine: I have seen more guns out in the open, more burglaries-in-process, more robberies in progress, known more rape victims, and seen more villains fleeing a scene in Tuscaloosa than I have in New Orleans and Birmingham combined. You can add San Francisco to that mix (I've lived there too.)



Honey, if you find true love anywhere, with anyone, it's always worth a great measure of risk.

And for that matter, N.O. is always worth the risk as well. If you are so lucky as to have a chance to live in such a wonderfully rich gem of a city, DO IT. With a person you love, DO IT to the tenth power and don't look back. It's a no-brainer, in my book.

One of the bonuses of New Orleans: it is a wonderfully romantic place to be. A stroll through Audubon Park, a carriage ride through the Quarter, an afternoon picnic in City Park, sailing across the Pontchatrain... sublime, I tell ya.

I know people the-world-over that, if they could make it work financially, pull it off logistically, would move there in a heartbeat. It's truly one of those places. Alabama is wonderfully beautiful, and homey, and green in the spring, resplendent in the fall, gentile, and not-so-crowded -- all that and icing on the cake... but come on! -- We're talking about NEW ORLEANS: you get the cake, the icing, and sometimes even THE BABY!!

Who's got da Bay-Bee?

New Orleans...: Mardi Gras, and Jazz Fest, and palm-and-live oak lined streets with "neutral grounds" containing streetcars in-between;

Domilise's po-boys, Palace Cafe's crabmeat cheesecake, and Wolfman Washington at The Maple Leaf;

impromptu second lines through yer 'hood, of Hubiq's pies at the quick marts, of sweltering summers sucking on Sno Balls...

There's more history in certain neighborhoods of New Orleans than there is in the entire state of Alabama -- most any American city for that matter.

OK, maybe it's not a lily white place to raise a Leave It to Beaver family, but there is a realness, a community-knitness, and an endemic *FunKY FLaVoR* you just can't match for uniqueness, cultural depth, architectural splendor, brilliant cuisine, world-renowned entertainment, aesthetic and natural beauty, and pure ribald elegance. The funk alone will make you more interesting, add some much-needed colorful dimensions to your personality.

Raising a kid in NOLA? It may be a little unconventional at times, may be a little edgier (even grittier) than the stereotypical suburban-strip mall-soccer mom style; but N.O. is a very literary town, is open-minded & tolerant, can be quite inspiring to the creative side, and will certainly inject your child with heart and soul to balance matters of the gray matter.

Let's not forget just how many talented children have sprung from the loins of a New Orleans upbringing and into the world as pioneers, high achievers, and fine citizens. Wikipedia/ Google it and you'll be blown away! Authors, politicians, singers, chefs, educators, athletes...

Yes, I'm for real. But with N.O., I have found, either you get it, or not -- there tends to be no middle ground. Some people intuitively understand what NOLA is about, or catch on rather quickly; others repudiate its foreignness and RUN the other way.

My experience is that most Hinterlanders -- especially Alabamians, Tennesseans, Georgians, and mountain people -- never grasp the essence of New Orleans. They never really see the beauty. They dwell on crime statistics, exotic dialect, the strange landscape of public versus private schooling, and general provincial quirkiness.

They fixate on the (only slightly) greater risks, lifestyle adjustments and cultural disparities. (Of course, theses people are always the first to venture down for a bender, soak in a long and lascivious weekend, then return home to disparage the EVILS! of New Orleans.)

So, poster, which are you: do you get New Orleans, or not? If not, just spare yourself and the rest of us the inevitable jeremiads, lamentations, and e-screeds: stay in 'Bama.

Good luck to ya.

I know what it means to know New Orleans. -- SP

Sold me and I am I'm not even looking to move. Good post.

[hudsucker]

I have been told how dangerous NOLA is since I started to visit in 1999. It is like any other city, you have to use your head. I once watched as two men were dragging a blond age 20 something off of bourbon st down a dark street. My opinion is if you are that stupid you get what you get. Like Ron White said, you cant fix stupid. NOLA has a lot locals who try to hit you with everything from I just ran out of gas can you give me a $ to I can tell you where you got them shoes at to giving you a ticket for being to good looking and a hat for 10$ to help the homeless. You have to use common sense and keep like me a fake wallet in your back pocket with old out of date credit cards and a couple of 1s and some fake photos. People like that girl Natalie what ever who disappeared in Aruba will always be easy pickens for those who are inclined to look for marks.

[Happy in Wyoming]

Originally Posted by hudsucker

I have been told how dangerous NOLA is since I started to visit in 1999. It is like any other city, you have to use your head. I once watched as two men were dragging a blond age 20 something off of bourbon st down a dark street. My opinion is if you are that stupid you get what you get. Like Ron White said, you cant fix stupid. NOLA has a lot locals who try to hit you with everything from I just ran out of gas can you give me a $ to I can tell you where you got them shoes at to giving you a ticket for being to good looking and a hat for 10$ to help the homeless. You have to use common sense and keep like me a fake wallet in your back pocket with old out of date credit cards and a couple of 1s and some fake photos. People like that girl Natalie what ever who disappeared in Aruba will always be easy pickens for those who are inclined to look for marks.

I couldn't live with myself if I'd watched someone attacked and done nothing. It's not about being a hero; I'd be scared to death. But to see evil and do nothing is morally the same as being the attacker. It's the same if someone is attacked and meekly submits. Not only does the victim increase the risk of major injury or death; the victim also allows the criminal to commit his next crime.

It's a question of whether one wants civilization or is willing to accept savagery.