I LOVE New Orleans / I HATE New Orleans (Metairie, Lafayette: homes, transfer to)

[Vampgrrl]

I'm 32. And no kids, no plans to either.
The city is going to do ok...it is what it is, a city perched on the highest ground it can be near the river.
I didn't come here to party and I don't go out all that much, maybe once a week. I came here to get involved, work and use the opportunity for more education. I'm a registered voter in Orleans Parish and there isn't much I wouldn't do to help this city.
Life is not that hard here in terms of day to day living...and it is a pleasure being out of the rat race, keeping up with the Joneses in Atlanta.

[Jamison]

Thanks for answering, I would normally never ask such a personal question. I feel the same way about keeping up with the Joneses. Have always found that mentality to be wholly nauseating, and absolutely refused to participate in the "look what I've got - so how much do YOU make?" game. Revolting.

You are an asset to this city and, for New Orleans to recover, she will need people like you.

:-)

[Xcaped NOLA]

Since Katrina, I've been liviing in Little Rock, AR (BORING, no culture , nothing to do, non-progressive ) with a decent job and have been here 2 years and need to decide what I'm going to do as far as where I will settle. I am not moving back to NOLA but am still skeptical about moving back to Louisiana in general. Even before HK, I felt that I was not able to get ahead or accomplish goals because of the economy of LA even with a degree. Sure at that time housing and cost of living was low but the jobs and economy there, in my opinion, were crap. Before HK I wanted to leave and went back to school 1 week before the storm hit. Now all of my family has left Little ROck (which they all hated, as do I) and moved to Baton Rouge and seem to think that thats where I want to be but I'm skeptical and its soley because of the economy. And people say, well Baton Rouge a different city...BUT ITS STILL LA. Its quite a nice city with things to do but a little to "college-y", but even that I can overlook. I'm deciding on whether to go to Texas(DFW area or Houston), which I've always wanted to go to or risk going back to LA and the prospect of dead end, not more than $10/hr, jobs that were prevalent in NOLA.

[vgreen]

We are returning! We left before Katrina in 1999, to pursue our corporate dreams, and lived up North for 8 LONG LONG years. There is a quality of life in New Orleans that, even after Katrina, is still there (we visit often and still have half our family there, the rest moved away after Katrina). We have been moved all around the country by my husband's job, and now we find ourselves coming home. We have done the "suburban, two cars in the driveway, kids in private school" american dream long enough. Believe me, it just ain't what's its cracked up to be. We are basically servants to our corporate jobs, and have both quit, decided to start new businesses, and come back home. You just can't trade the way of life we had in New Orleans for anything they have to offer in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana or Illinois. We are coming home, and hoping to put our best interests back into rebuilding our city. Remember, Hurricanes Betsy and Camille!!! They wiped out everything, but everything was rebuilt. It took time, but the Gulf Coast in Mississippi looked better after it was rebuilt from Camille, and Grand Isle had a lot of new construction after Hurricane Betsy. Hurricanes will come and go, but the little ways of life that are so European, that we have in New Orleans can't be bought or sold. Hope this helps with your decision to move away.

[stephonee3]

i have lived in new orleans my whole life, and while i love my home town i'm leaving for good after college(im talking moving out of state)!

[Drouzin]

Jamison, I'm not clear on why you want to leave the Ponchatula area so I can only offer why I can't leave...

My family has been in this area since 1721, why bail now?
You can't get a real po-boy anywhere else.
The lady at the cash register always calls me darling or hon.
I know what it means to miss New Orleans, and believe me it stinks.
I can only eat fresh seafood.
Apparently they don't sell everything I need to make a pot of gumbo elsewhere.
Who else is going to tape the legs together of passed out tourists in the Quarter?
There is only one Rocky & Carlos.
I am required to hear "alwrite" at least 3x a week.
If I can live in a tent in a backyard for 6 weeks without running water, there is no excuse for giving up now.
I am tougher and stronger than the ACOE and FEMA and am insane enough to prove it.
The Districts C&D clean-up groups need me.
The neighbors need my porch lights to see at night.
The Saints need me to continue feeding "Gumbo the Saints Cat" good luck tuna right before the game.
My therapy sessions at the Pirate's Alley are absolutely necessary for the semblance of sanity I have left, and no other counslers will do.
I get homesick after 4 weeks of travel.
Any thing "normal" will bring on a seizure.
Where else am I going to be able to wear a spacesuit with a diaper and no one blinks an eye?
I've got a million reasons why I can't leave, but I'll stop here 'cause there's not enough room.

[violet70]

I can understand both sides here... New Orleans is a complex place and definitely not for everyone. I'm from south Louisiana (small town) and did a stint in New Orleans in the early 90s, waiting tables, having a blast. I moved all over after that: London, Paris, small-town Spain, Brazil & Argentina, San Francisco, Vermont, back to LA, to Lafayette then Kansas City and now Ohio. I have to say that New Orleans is nothing if not original, especially here in the U.S. where one town too often resembles another with loaded down strip malls full of chain stores and restaurants and suburban allotments spread far and wide. New Orleans metro has that, all cities do in the U.S., but New Orleans proper is a special place that attracts a certain type of person. Chris Rose said it well, I think, in the following excerpt from his Times-Picayune column:

"I live Uptown -- and in New Orleans, for that matter -- because I am enchanted, nearly seduced, by the sights, sounds and smells of street corner bars, restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques. I love that when I walk my dog, I can pass linen-table cloth restaurants and vicariously feel that it is the good life I lead.

I love that when I walk my dog, I pass through drifts of humanity at play. It makes me feel interesting and safe.

From the city's flagship restaurant, Commander's Palace, to its more working-class distant relatives -- say, Domilise's -- neighborhood dining is deeply rooted into the fabric of New Orleans family life.

It is one of the strongest pulls on my allegiance to this bizarre city, a reason I stay here. I may have to drive six miles to get a three-pack of men's boxers and a gallon of milk, but I can walk four blocks for a smoked soft shell crab and a glass of port.

The impracticalities and eccentricities of life here are almost admirable."

On the flip side, I'm also 36 with two small children and another on the way. I can understand the need for the feeling of safety and good education, etc. On the other hand, I'm not willing to sacrifice 'life' for that and New Orleans, even post-K, still has that feeling of being alive. And there are always other parents who feel the same and doing the same thing... finding the best education available where they want to be. We have several friends in NOLA still, some working on getting back there. We are talking about moving there, somewhere where my husband's career can really be of use (he's a doctor). I'd trade the vibrant streets of New Orleans for the BORING, safe streets where I am now any day.

[etland]

Originally Posted by violet70

On the flip side, I'm also 36 with two small children and another on the way. I can understand the need for the feeling of safety and good education, etc. On the other hand, I'm not willing to sacrifice 'life' for that and New Orleans, even post-K, still has that feeling of being alive. And there are always other parents who feel the same and doing the same thing... finding the best education available where they want to be. We have several friends in NOLA still, some working on getting back there. We are talking about moving there, somewhere where my husband's career can really be of use (he's a doctor). I'd trade the vibrant streets of New Orleans for the BORING, safe streets where I am now any day.

I am one of those parents who chose to leave New Orleans. With all due respect, I don't think you can quite understand our position because you evidently did not go through Katrina, lose your home and possessions, and deal with children who are still scarred from the experience and who in New Orleans were afraid every time it rained. I do not think we have "sacrificed life" as you call it; instead, we feel quite passionately that we have begun a new, positive chapter in our lives and while we miss certain things about New Orleans and respect all those who've chosen to stay, we are more than glad to confine ourselves to the status of frequent visitors rather than residents. In other words, we're not just people who've decided to trade a vibrant, interesting life for a boring, safe life -- instead we're people who had to make a very tough decision for the sake of our kids. At any rate, all the best should you decide to move to New Orleans.

[violet70]

I surely didn't mean that anyone who chose to leave New Orleans, especially after Katrina and its aftermath, is 'sacrificing life.' I was just trying to make a point that it's a personal choice of where you want to live and how you want to live your life. For me, personally, I enjoy urban environments and I'd like to raise my kids in one, as opposed to a more suburban existence. We are just looking at New Orleans as an option because we love it there, we have family and friends nearby and there is a definite doctor shortage there. We were not there for Katrina but hope to possibly be part of the rebuilding of the city.

I am very sorry for what you and your family have been through. I too have friends whose homes were destroyed, families dispersed and chose to move on to a new cities. I cannot even imagine going through everything that all of you did and come out sane on the other side. I'm happy to hear that you've found a positive end to all of it.

[etland]

Originally Posted by violet70

On the other hand, I'm not willing to sacrifice 'life' for that . . .

I value living in a culturally vibrant city just as much as you. I am no fan of cookie cutter suburbs and have never lived in one. I too am well traveled and understand that New Orleans is a unique American city. This is what I took issue with. You seem to indicate that those of us who have left or are considering leaving are sacrificing the quality of life in New Orleans (as Chris Rose describes it) for safety and education and other concerns and that this is something you, as a culturally informed person, would not do. My point is simply that you have not walked in our shoes. Perhaps you would be willing to sacrifice whatever appeals to you about New Orleans if you had experienced what we've experienced. Perhaps those things would even lose their appeal completely. After what we have been through, safety and education are very appealing, I must say. And I should add, life is what you make of it. New Orleans is no magic cure for boredom. There've been many times over the past 17 years I've been pretty bored in New Orleans. I would even contend that you can make an interesting and vibrant life just about anywhere. Attitude and purpose have a lot to do with it. Not to discourage you from moving to New Orleans -- more power to you if you do.