My relatives who were in NO will not be returning (to live anyway, they may see if there is anything left in their apartment) - looks like they will head west. Got me to thinking just what percentage of the residents are gonna say "enough" and head for greener pastures...



obligatory poll on the way...

Too many.  They will have the "it happened once, it can't happen again any time soon" mentality.  They don't equate living below sealevel right next to the sea with being dangerous even seeing it situated in a hurricane highway.

I'd say that many of the poor were not insured and wont be able to return and rebuild.  The flushing out of New Orleans might be good for the city.

We're out. Family and I have done this 3 years in a row. My new job is/was based on the tourism industry there. For God's sake, who in their right mind wants to visit New Orleans after this mess?
Not only would I not blame people for not wanting to visit (after seeing the looting, shooting, and pillaging), but I can't with a good heart and fairly decent mind, raise a family there.

I was in law enforcement for a number of years while living in New Orleans, and I KNEW, as soon as the storm hit, that a SHTF scenario was going to be real.

We are visiting relatives in Tennessee now. We will probably make this our new home. I consider this to be a pretty strong statement coming from a guy who has lived in New Orleans for 36 years.

I'm going to say less than 50%. It will take YEARS to rebuild all those houses.

Some refugee areas are going to have a lot of new residents.

50% or less.

Quoted: We're out. Family and I have done this 3 years in a row. My new job is/was based on the tourism industry there. For God's sake, who in their right mind wants to visit New Orleans after this mess? Not only would I not blame people for not wanting to visit (after seeing the looting, shooting, and pillaging), but I can't with a good heart and fairly decent mind, raise a family there. I was in law enforcement for a number of years while living in New Orleans, and I KNEW, as soon as the storm hit, that a SHTF scenario was going to be real. We are visiting relatives in Tennessee now. We will probably make this our new home. I consider this to be a pretty strong statement coming from a guy who has lived in New Orleans for 36 years.

I left for good after 38 years...Glad I got out in time.

Quoted: We're out. Family and I have done this 3 years in a row. My new job is/was based on the tourism industry there. For God's sake, who in their right mind wants to visit New Orleans after this mess? Not only would I not blame people for not wanting to visit (after seeing the looting, shooting, and pillaging), but I can't with a good heart and fairly decent mind, raise a family there. I was in law enforcement for a number of years while living in New Orleans, and I KNEW, as soon as the storm hit, that a SHTF scenario was going to be real. We are visiting relatives in Tennessee now. We will probably make this our new home. I consider this to be a pretty strong statement coming from a guy who has lived in New Orleans for 36 years.

What part of Tn are you in?

In Nashville now. Should have a job soon (hopefully), as my company has an office here. Praying I can transfer.

Also, wife is like 1 or 1 1/2 weeks from delivering our newest ARFCOMMER! Got an AR ready and waiting for him!
What really sux is we left most of his clothes and other assorted new baby type things in New Orleans. Was hoping to get home for a day or so and grab some stuff, but New Orleans is not letting us back in until who knows when. Just gonna have to make the best of it!

San Francisco Earthquake 1906 is a good comparison.  

"Part of every earthquake's aftermath is a frantic haste to return to normal. The newspapers and civic leaders insisted that the earthquake had made central California safer. Nevertheless, building codes were eventually strengthened in the face of public demand. Dangerous filled land was swiftly reoccupied once the wreckage was cleared. In fact, more fill was created when the rubble was dumped in a topographic basin on the north side of town. The great Panama-Pacific Exhibition of 1915, which signaled Frisco's recovery to the world, was constructed on that fill. (Years later, housing built on the site collapsed in the 1989 earthquake.)  

The great burst of rebuilding gave San Francisco its current character, as much of the housing is of the same vintage and style. The city regained its vigor and kept its position as principal city of the West. The populace returned, many after living for years in large refugee camps. A handful of the tiny refugee cabins survive and are being preserved today."  

I think it will be 3-5 years before you can even approach tourist figures of recent times.  Most of the efforts will be in rebuilding for people of means and insurance and anything that supports tourism, a main industry of the destroyed area.  I don't see a car dealership being in a big hurry to get back up and running.  It's almost like a theme park in concept.  It will need a grand re-opening in about 3-5 years to re-introduce the new and rebuilt "Historic City of New Orleans".....as it says above that's how SF got it's present charm and style.

Beats me, my crystal ball is in the shop today.

I guess it all depends on the policies in place.  If you remember, after the big Missippippi river floods a few years back the .gov decided it was cheaper to buy all those properties in many of the flood plains and forbid building in them ever again. (rather than pay to rebuild all those homes every few years)

NO is a great place to visit (OK was) but I wouldn't want to live there.  I'd rather move back to Houston than live in NO.  

NO ain't the worst part for LA though.  Yall from NO and LA ever hear of Venice, Port Fourchon, Grand Isle?  In NO the water can be drained, the city cleaned up etc. etc.  The people South of there, most don't even have land left where their houses were.  They've been reclaimed by the sea.  LA1 from Leeville South is gone.  There's a lot of jobless, homeless people down there.

The thing is, who wants to visit it now? Would you? HELL NO!!!

The people that remained and destroyed the city have only themselves to blame. I sincerely hope that the cities that have taken the refugees in know what they are in for, Granted, there are a lot of good people there who could not leave, for financial or medical reasons. But the people who did stay, and fired upon rescue workers, or looted Wal-Marts for the TV's. DVD players, guns, and other items normally NOT associated with keeping them in good health or for nutrition, should be PUNISHED.

I heard from a friend in NOPD just yesterday that one of the car dealerships next to the Superdome was completely emptied. They caught one of the theives driving a Cadillac down a side street. You know what they did to him?

Told him to get out of the car and go away.

You can get to Grand Isle on La1.  A friend of mine went down two days after the storm and surveyed the damage to his camp. It's right across the street from the community center.  You have to go on foot or fourwheeler though.  The bridge is knocked askew and sand is covering the road. The old bridge is down on both ends. 13 feet of water on the back end of Santiny Lane. My mothers house on Adam Lane is 10 feet up on pilings and she thinks there was a few feet of water in it.

Less than 50% of the originals refugees will return.  

They will find out that the .gov sends you a check no matter where you are, and moving is too much like work.

Quoted: Less than 50% of the originals refugees will return.   They will find out that the .gov sends you a check no matter where you are, and moving is too much like work.

Yep.  When your job is colecting welfare, home is anywhere.  Katrina was a big cash cow for the parasites.  

Quoted: ... moving is too much like work.

yep.

Quoted: You can get to Grand Isle on La1.  A friend of mine went down two days after the storm and surveyed the damage to his camp. It's right across the street from the community center.  You have to go on foot or fourwheeler though.  The bridge is knocked askew and sand is covering the road. The old bridge is down on both ends. 13 feet of water on the back end of Santiny Lane. My mothers house on Adam Lane is 10 feet up on pilings and she thinks there was a few feet of water in it.

That's not as bad as the last pictures I saw then.  I heard about the bridge but the last pic I saw it looked like a boat ramp just off the South side of it.  

Quoted: Less than 50% of the originals refugees will return.   They will find out that the .gov sends you a check no matter where you are, and moving is too much like work.

Bam. Right there.

Go to a job search site like monster and search on 'katrina'.  You'll find employers all over the country trying to cherry pick skilled evacuees.  When the productive segment of New Orlean's population finds jobs elsewhere and won't return is the point you know the city is DRT.