Will New Orleans and it's metro ever become a safe, attractive place to live? (Atlanta: transplants, apartments)

[The Postman]

Despite problems with crime and other setbacks, NOLA is still a huge tourist draw for American and international tourists. After NYC I must say it's the most unique, characterful, unforgettable, stylish, fabulous, beguiling, atmospheric, eclectic, historic, interesting, fun and intoxicating (not to mention adjective-inspiring lol) city in the States. Anyway, partly given this, do you see New Orleans ever becoming an attractive place to visit but also to live? Do you think it's overall economy will bounce back, it's crime rate will drop.etc? What are the city planners.etc doing to make that happen? To address things like widespread poverty etc. New Orleans really DESERVES to be the New York of the South, IMO, it has more character in it's little finger than the likes of Houston or Atlanta.

[sconley9922]

Originally Posted by The Postman

Despite problems with crime and other setbacks, NOLA is still a huge tourist draw for American and international tourists. After NYC I must say it's the most unique, characterful, unforgettable, stylish, fabulous, beguiling, atmospheric, eclectic, historic, interesting, fun and intoxicating (not to mention adjective-inspiring lol) city in the States. Anyway, partly given this, do you see New Orleans ever becoming an attractive place to visit but also to live? Do you think it's overall economy will bounce back, it's crime rate will drop.etc? What are the city planners.etc doing to make that happen? To address things like widespread poverty etc. New Orleans really DESERVES to be the New York of the South, IMO, it has more character in it's little finger than the likes of Houston or Atlanta.

The city is working on everything you touched upon. The crime rate steadily decreases every year, quality of life is also getting better with various activities and events the city and metro can take part of, plenty of new miles of biking paths, the lafitte greenway in process of being constructed, city officials are trying to attract new businesses all the time with the tax credits, an aggressive push to curb blight has been in effect for a good while now(even tho we still have a ways to go) , new, quality homes/apartments are being built also

[Standard111]

I agree that New Orleans is fabulous, but, as a place to live, it isn't as practical as places like Atlanta, Dallas or Houston. Those places have jobs, are more centrally located, schools are better, taxes are lower, crime is lower, etc.

How many corporations are HQ in New Orleans? How many great research universities or great research hubs are in New Orleans? What are the chances the "next big idea" will be coming from New Orleans (as opposed to someplace like Silicon Valley, NYC, or Austin)?

And NYC, while a huge tourist center like New Orleans, has so many other things to offer. New Orleans is really dependent on tourism, while for NYC, tourism is just one thing out of a thousand.

All that said, I would still prefer to live in NOLA over somewhere like Houston. It just isn't as practical to most folks.

[sconley9922]

What are those cities more centrally located to? Houston is on the gulf coast like new orleans, atlanta is in the east......side note: atlanta's unemployment is higher than new orleans' (so much for abundance of jobs)

[Standard111]

Originally Posted by sconley9922

What are those cities more centrally located to? Houston is on the gulf coast like new orleans, atlanta is in the east......side note: atlanta's unemployment is higher than new orleans' (so much for abundance of jobs)

Higher unemployment has nothing to do with relative abundance of jobs. The fact is that Atlanta has far more jobs than NOLA, and higher unemployment can be for a variety of reasons (like more people actually in the job market hunting for jobs).

Often unemployment rises when the economy gains (because more people enter the job market). Often places have low unemployment because they aren't desirable to outsiders, and companies have problems recruiting folks.

And Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas are all more centrally located. They're bigger air, rail and road hubs. This matters to companies. You can't fly from NOLA to London or Paris. Even flying to NYC or LA is a pain, with limited direct flights.

[Neworleansisprettygood]

Originally Posted by Standard111

Higher unemployment has nothing to do with relative abundance of jobs. The fact is that Atlanta has far more jobs than NOLA, and higher unemployment can be for a variety of reasons (like more people actually in the job market hunting for jobs).

Often unemployment rises when the economy gains (because more people enter the job market). Often places have low unemployment because they aren't desirable to outsiders, and companies have problems recruiting folks.

And Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas are all more centrally located. They're bigger air, rail and road hubs. This matters to companies. You can't fly from NOLA to London or Paris. Even flying to NYC or LA is a pain, with limited direct flights.

Actually, New Orleans is served by more class A railroads than any other city. And considering that we're on the Mississippi, we have a more strategic location for water transport than the other three. We have 6 flights a day to LAX and are served by two airlines to JFK and EWR and one to LGA, and all but Southwest at EWR has multiple frequencies.

I would have agreed with your post wholeheartedly maybe 10 years ago, but New Orleans is thriving now.

[jabe]

Are you kidding me?

Here in the murder rate for each of the past 40 years or so for the whole New Orleans Metropolitan Area.

New Orleans metropolitan area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It should be noted that the highest the U.S. murder rate ever reached in any of these years was only a 10.6 (in 1980).

NEW ORLEANS METRO MURDER RATE BY YEAR
2012 - 29.8
2011 - 24.7
2010 - 20.9
2009 - 22.9
2008 - 21.9
2007 - 26.5
2006 - 25.5
2005 - 21.9
2004 - 24.6
2003 - 24.1
2002 - 23.5
2001 - 20.6
2000 - 15.4
1999 - 17.9
1998 - 20.9
1997 - 24.7
1996 - 30.4
1995 - 31.5
1994 - 37.1
1993 - 37.0
1992 - 27.4
1991 - 34.6
1990 - 23.4
1989 - 22.9
1988 - 20.3
1987 - 18.9
1986 - 24.7
1985 - 21.3
1984 - 25.6
1983 - 28.9
1982 - 35.7
1981 - 41.2
1980 - 42.3
1979 - 39.7
1978 - 38.6
1977 - 35.5
1976 - 33.1
1975 - 34.7
1974 - 31.0
1973 - 31.1
1972 - 29.8
1971 - 26.7
1970 - 27.8
1969 - 25.6
1968 - 34.5

And that's not even counting killings by the police.

NEW ORLEANS IS AND HAS BEEN FOREVER THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE IN THA USA!!!!!!


Yearrrrrrme! - Ross Kemp New Orleans Gangsters! - YouTube

[Standard111]

Originally Posted by Neworleansisprettygood

Actually, New Orleans is served by more class A railroads than any other city.

I don't believe that for a second. You're telling me that New Orleans has a more strategic rail location than someplace like Dallas or Chicago? That doesn't even make any sense.

Originally Posted by Neworleansisprettygood

And considering that we're on the Mississippi, we have a more strategic location for water transport than the other three.

Water transport is like 1/100 as important as road-rail-air transport. And oceans are far more important than rivers for water transport.

Originally Posted by Neworleansisprettygood

We have 6 flights a day to LAX and are served by two airlines to JFK and EWR and one to LGA, and all but Southwest at EWR has multiple frequencies.

That isn't exactly heavy service. Heavy service is hourly service, like you get from huge global hubs.

Originally Posted by Neworleansisprettygood

I would have agreed with your post wholeheartedly maybe 10 years ago, but New Orleans is thriving now.

There were far more people in NOLA and far less people in Atlanta/Dallas/Houston 10 years ago, so that doesn't make any sense. The gap has obviously widened over the last 10 years, by basically any measure (though largely not due to specific policy considerations but because of natural events).

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by Standard111

Water transport is like 1/100 as important as road-rail-air transport. And oceans are far more important than rivers for water transport.

Really? I don't think every port on the Gulf is rushing to grab all the extra freight from the Panama Canal if that were true.
Oh yea, New Orleans is on an ocean and still the largest port in the Western Hemisphere.

[Neworleansisprettygood]

Originally Posted by Standard111

I don't believe that for a second. You're telling me that New Orleans has a more strategic rail location than someplace like Dallas or Chicago? That doesn't even make any sense.

Water transport is like 1/100 as important as road-rail-air transport. And oceans are far more important than rivers for water transport.

That isn't exactly heavy service. Heavy service is hourly service, like you get from huge global hubs.


There were far more people in NOLA and far less people in Atlanta/Dallas/Houston 10 years ago, so that doesn't make any sense. The gap has obviously widened over the last 10 years, by basically any measure (though largely not due to specific policy considerations but because of natural events).

The railroad thing is true, though I erred in calling them class A- they're actually Class I (1). We have 6; Chicago also appears to have six, and Dallas has two. And that's because of the Mississippi.

The airport was the fastest growing in the country last year (Atlanta actually shrank).

We did lose a lot of people, though that was because of Katrina, as you alluded to. We've been one of the fastest growing metros and cities in the country for several years now, and that's largely a result of a "brain gain" of young, educated people moving in. This place is crawling with transplants. And the tech scene has grown faster than the available workforce.