Dump Truck Work In New Orleans And Surrounding Areas Of Louisiana (Lake Charles: best neighborhoods, foreclosure)

[Denise324]

We are from Brooklyn, New York and decided to move to Palm Beach, Florida. What a mistake that was! We have built a decent trucking business which had just started getting some what decent amongst these couple of months. Yet we have to be extremely low in price and barely make any profit just to get work, to keep our men moving. We are unhappy with the competitiveness, the high taxes, the worries about having steady work, the broken promises, the lies, the desperate workers that are lowering the rates by working for $38/Hour, the poor government, the ridiculuously LOW building industry that keeps decreasing, the post poned or cancelled construction projects, the HIGH unemployment rate that keeps increasing every month, High Foreclosure Rates, a lot of businesses going out of business, everyone wanting everything for free, and the high prices on aggregates. We have lost a lot of money living here. It was the worst mistake of our lives. We are miserable here.

Now we get a call the other day about a contract to happen in January for Dump Truck Work - Hauling material back and forth for a 6 mile run in New Orleans, Louisiana. We are told that they need 600 trucks, but already have 300 trucks signed up. The rate is $4/yard (our truck can hold 18 yards which would equal $72/Load. There are 2 shifts: a 12 Hour day shift and a 12 hour night shift. We would have our truck moving all day.

Yet, after reading many questions, I am concerned. I keep reading consecutive posts about murder, HIGH CRIME, pick pocketing, robbery, getting jumped or attacked, NO WHERE IS SAFE, watch you back at all times, a lot buildings/communities were no fixed correctly after Katrina, HIGH Poverty, A LOT OF RACISM FROM BOTH RACES, Bitterness, High Obesity, Crooked Cops in Jefferson Parrish that tell homeowners to shoot and kill, Cops not helping people that get attacked and robbed, hotels not being safe or helpful, Break-ins into homes, expensive "Good" areas for tiny living area, a lot of bad traffic, poor roads, slow street lights, an essence of a one minded/ignorant mentality that is only slowing the process of fixing the damage of Katrina, #1 state for Crime and Murder, you have to live close to where you work because of the traffic, the West Bank is bad, all the cities are dangerous, some areas are still under water, you can get attacked at the airport and near the airport, and more.

I am not saying I think or agree with this at all. Hey, I've never been to Louisana at all, so who am I to make any statements or opinions.

I just would like to know everyone's opinion on what I have read. What is true, what is exaggerated, what is false, etc.

I do know AOL had listed New Orleans, Louisiana & Baltimore, Maryland as #1 for the most dangerous areas to live in due to the highest Murder rates. This alone is not very encouraging.

Is it worth leaving to Florida for work in Louisiana? I know the dump truck work will be all over Louisiana, mainly New Orleans. It sounds great that this 3-10 year project can be our answer to Long steady work.

I wonder: how many loads can be completed for a 6 mile run as well as other runs, How safe would my father and the other drivers when they have to drive and work in bad areas of New Orleans, How safe would they be if they were in need to stop at a local gas station for gas, Are the any truly good gated communities, what is the price for gas in Louisiana, how is the weather, how is the recovery for the areas damaged by Katrina, how is the construction activity, how is the economy, and if it is worth it to leave crappy economy-dying Florida for Louisiana?

I would appreciate everyone's opinions. Thanks everyone!!

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Denise324

I just would like to know everyone's opinion on what I have read. What is true, what is exaggerated, what is false, etc.

I do know AOL had listed New Orleans, Louisiana & Baltimore, Maryland as #1 for the most dangerous areas to live in due to the highest Murder rates. This alone is not very encouraging.

Is it worth leaving to Florida for work in Louisiana? I know the dump truck work will be all over Louisiana, mainly New Orleans. It sounds great that this 3-10 year project can be our answer to Long steady work.

I wonder: how many loads can be completed for a 6 mile run as well as other runs, How safe would my father and the other drivers when they have to drive and work in bad areas of New Orleans, How safe would they be if they were in need to stop at a local gas station for gas, Are the any truly good gated communities, what is the price for gas in Louisiana, how is the weather, how is the recovery for the areas damaged by Katrina, how is the construction activity, how is the economy, and if it is worth it to leave crappy economy-dying Florida for Louisiana?

I would appreciate everyone's opinions. Thanks everyone!!

There'll definitely be recovery work for some time in NO, so it's worth exploring. They could sure use laborers.

As to the safety, if you're hauling in broad daylight, you're probably OK. At night, it very much depends on the area. I would not be comfortable at night in any part of the 9th Ward, on Clairborne, on parts of Carrollton, the area between the French Quarter and I-10, and so forth, but anyway......

Some of the crime stuff is exaggerated. I've been in/around NO about five times since Katrina, and it's been fine. Now, I wouldn't venture in certain areas after dark, but then, that's no different than in any other city in America.

Having said that, I'll finish by giving my soundbite answers to the wild rumors you have heard...

"...murder, HIGH CRIME, pick pocketing, robbery, getting jumped or attacked, NO WHERE IS SAFE, watch you back at all times..." - the crime is in certain areas and is a gang rivalry kind of thing. Or is drug related.

"....HIGH Poverty, A LOT OF RACISM FROM BOTH RACES, Bitterness, High Obesity,..." This was not a Katrina thing - it was always this way. And the racism is no better or worse than other cities

"....Crooked Cops in Jefferson Parrish that tell homeowners to shoot and kill,...." This one is news to me. Jeff Parish cops take less crap, though, because New Orleans is in its backyard.

"...hotels not being safe or helpful,.." Actually, I think they appreciate tourism business post-Katrina

"...Break-ins into homes,.." Probably. This was a huge issue when you had neighborhoods that were 10% repopulated and/or had new appliances just installed.

".....expensive "Good" areas for tiny living area, a lot of bad traffic, poor roads, slow street lights,..." Don't agree in the street lights, but the other stuff was already there BEFORE Katrina

"....an essence of a one minded/ignorant mentality that is only slowing the process of fixing the damage of Katrina, #1 state for Crime and Murder,..." NO Government had competence issues, but I think the citizens have way less tolerance for that now.

"....you have to live close to where you work because of the traffic,.." Not sure if this is just a New Orleans thing, though....

"... the West Bank is bad, all the cities are dangerous,..." The West Bank is mixed, but these two statements are a serious exaggeration.

"....some areas are still under water, you can get attacked at the airport and near the airport,..." These are WAY false. The flooded areas drained out several weeks after Katrina. As in, in September 2005. The airport is not near the best neighborhoods, but I've been there several times and have never had issues.

[Vampgrrl]

I don't know enough about the dump truck industry...but where are these loads coming from and where are they going?
Oh and traffic in New Orleans is light, but I'm from Atlanta. Traffic here is a mild annoyance at most.

[scotthoy9083mbsc]

Every city has poverty and racism. I feel it is a matter of handling yourself and your buisness properly. It is not hard to figure out where not to be and where you can travel safely... Remember there will be 1200 other dump truck drivers there trying to work and feed there families. Hopefully there will be some comrodery between the drivers.... I know alot of us can stand another bad winter....best of luck and happy new year....

[darylwi]

I have a relative that has his own dump truck business. He has been back and forth between the Mississippi gulf coast, NOLA, and north Mississippi. I think he did better jobs on the gulf coast (Biloxi/Gulfport). I could have sworn he was getting up to $12-15/yard though, but I know he had some pretty big hauls too (one that went from a dirt yard in Hancock County, MS to the NOLA Westbank). So he could only do 4 or 5 of those loads in a regular day, and they did not work 24/7.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that there should be plenty of work all along the coast. You can check into coastal Mississippi because I know they were doing some good paying work that way as well.
Around here, some good contractors to look into to see if they need any extra hands would be Boh Brothers and James Construction Group.
And no, I would not stay in NOLA if my life depended on it.

[jacksandgizmo]

We are looking for work for our tri axle dump. Can you tell me more about the job in NOLA? We are in central MS and work is scarce here.

[Mark Goldstein]

I am a dump truck owner from Naples Fl looking for steady work also.I was told that Lake Charles had work. I dont really care were i go i just need good steady work. contractors here lie so much and dont care if you lose it all.I dont want to go someplace and find out ive been lied to.If you know of steady work we can go in a group and we will be safe.If we stand together we can thrive.Good luck to you all.Feel free to contact me about this[mod]please contact via DM - please do not post email addresses, enable through your profile. No good to have email on open forums. thanks [/mod]

[paumendo]

Hi Denise324

We are also toying with the idea of going to new orleans for the dump truck work. We also spoke to someone in regards to the same. Maybe we can share information. I am going to give you my e-mail address. We are in Myrtle Beach and work has come to a halt.
Please contact me at
Moderator - please contact via DM - never a good idea to put your email on a public forum! Thanks!
Thank you
Paula

[daniel bowman]

I've been working in NO for a little over a year now as a drywall finisher/specializing in renovations. I have over 25 years experience am alcohol and drug free, but I made the big mistake of moving from Cali to MS in '06 with my wife and 2 boys. Working in NO has really opened my eyes to the way things really are in poverty stricken areas and dealing with people who want nothing more than a hand out instead of a hand up. I am african american and had lived all my life in Cali around a variety of people, both good and bad, but let me tell you that the people in NO are definitely a different breed of people. I have never gotten more ripped off and shafted before in my life by my own people and let's not even talk about the crime rate, it's mind boggling how people just don't care about human life. I'm definitley considering pulling out of NO with my crew and heading for the Gulf Coast area in hopes of finding a better caliber of people who appreciates a hard working, honest man that gives quality work and can hopefully get paid fairly. Anyone out there who's thinking of making a living in N.O. DON'T because you'll only get ripped off by people who think they deserve everything for nothing.

[Denise324]

wow, well David, I do appreciate your responses. I see that the guy supporting this contract, now all of a sudden doesn't have a contract #, that he so claimed he did. He also is saying the project is be post poned because it is being revised. He sounds like a thief to us and a con. We are going to stick with our instincts, and after reading all this, I am glad we are making this decision to stay. Thank you alot David. I wish you luck, and a positive future. Hopefully things will get better, hopefully.