I'm Moving from New Orleans!

[cajungal]

I never thought in just a couple of hours that New Orleans and the MS Coast would be changed forever. I went to New Orleans last weekend for a friend's wedding. New Orleans is only an hour drive from my home and I always loved the city. It brought tears to my eyes to see the devastation still there 6 months later. There is not a whole lot of progress. So many have left to never return again. Hurricane Season is only 3 months away. And whose to say the same thing won't keep happening over and over again. As soon as you rebuild, you have a chance of the same thing happening again. You got to do what is best for your family. Good luck. Denver is very beautiful. I been to Colorodo when I was just turning 4 and barely remember it. I would love to go back.

[Sean in New Orleans]

Good luck to you. And I'm proud to say it, I'm staying. My heart and soul lie in bringing my city back and every day I get that much more joy in seeing my beloved home town come back more and more. And fear not to those who are leaving, I work at a bank, and you are being replaced daily by thousands who are moving here that have never lived here before to take the jobs you are leaving behind. New Orleans will not die. In the end it will be a bigger and better place. Everyone is different. Some like greener pastures, and other believe in fertilizing brown grass when it's brown and watch it turn green again.

[TSmith274]

I can understand it. People who have families to care for are in a difficult position right now. The job ahead of us seems insurmountable. But, we will succeed. We'll rebuild this city into something to be proud of. I hope people like yourself can return one day. I'm sure New Orleans is in your blood, and it'll call you home eventually. Good luck.

[Lindaloo]

Good luck to you. And I'm proud to say it, I'm staying. My heart and soul lie in bringing my city back and every day I get that much more joy in seeing my beloved home town come back more and more. And fear not to those who are leaving, I work at a bank, and you are being replaced daily by thousands who are moving here that have never lived here before to take the jobs you are leaving behind. New Orleans will not die. In the end it will be a bigger and better place. Everyone is different. Some like greener pastures, and other believe in fertilizing brown grass when it's brown and watch it turn green again.

Sorry Sean, but IMO this was cruel.

[vbhoutex]

Good luck to you. And I'm proud to say it, I'm staying. My heart and soul lie in bringing my city back and every day I get that much more joy in seeing my beloved home town come back more and more. And fear not to those who are leaving, I work at a bank, and you are being replaced daily by thousands who are moving here that have never lived here before to take the jobs you are leaving behind. New Orleans will not die. In the end it will be a bigger and better place. Everyone is different. Some like greener pastures, and other believe in fertilizing brown grass when it's brown and watch it turn green again.

Sorry Sean, but IMO this was cruel.

I agree!!! Sean go back and read the reasons he is leaving. Then tell me you would say the same thing to him. When I say read it, I mean read it, not just glance at it.

[MGC]

I just can't tear myself to move. I grew up in New Orleans but loved coming over to the Mississippi coast to camp and hit the beach. So, I've always considered the coast my playground. I understand the reasons many of you site in your decisions to move on. Good luck to all of you that decide to relocate. The coast will be back one day......MGC

[Sean in New Orleans]

I didn't mean it to be cruel, but, I see no reason for anyone to leave. There are all kinds of specialists in this city that has over 1.2 million, again, living in it's metro area. If he wants to move to Denver and begin a new life, that's great. I love Denver and am an avid skier. It's a big world and people do all kinds of things. I, for one, think that if one's heart is here, then they are here. If your heart isn't, then you aren't here. I stand by my beliefs...many will leave while the times are tough and after the grass gets green here again, they will return. They'll leave all of the tough work to us and when we are finished, they'll come back. And we will welcome them back. I understand the original post, but, the poster clearly states that they weighed options and they chose the option of leaving the city. It's his choice and I certainly believe it is his right and his wife's right to do what they think is best for their children. However, life isn't as bad as many would deem it...I'm here every day. My own mother, who lost everything with the storm, suddenly had a brain aneurysm and open brain surgery which caused her to have a small stroke, in November. We were crushed. She was in the hospital in critical care teetering on death for almost 4 weeks at the age of 57. But, she's fine now and in therapy. But, she has had some of the best medical treatment in the US with this entire event here. I'm not sorry for my opinion, but, I view it as an abandonment when times are tough. I enjoy you all, but, don't think I'm a cruel person. I'm really not. I just don't buy into a people using the storm as a reason to leave. That isn't the reason...it can't be that way, because it's truly impossible..we have what we need here. The one thing that the storm is truly causing problems with today is it is NOT ALLOWING people to return home. It is definitely not causing people to leave. If people are leaving, after all of these months, now, it's because they have other reasons than just the storm or their favorite doctor not coming back.

[sunny]

Sean, while I appreciate your optimism, I wonder if we live in the same city.

This is a quote from wwltv.com on February 25, 2006:

Only an estimated 189,000 of the city's roughly 500,000 pre-Katrina residents have returned.

Complete Story Here

As far as your comment "However, life isn't as bad as many would deem it...I'm here every day. " - there are so many of us who also are here everyday that would disagree with you - in a big way. You paint a rosy picture where there are no roses. Not yet. And not for a very long time.

[Sean in New Orleans]

My figures are received at GNO, INC meetings and include the entire metro area, which, now includes Tangipahoa Parish. I'm involved with the business community and the Young Leadership Council. Don't get me wrong, we have our work cut out for us, with Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines Parish suffering the hardest with the storm. But, West and North of New Orleans is thriving. Downtown, the Westbank, Uptown, and parts of Mid-City, are back in full force, as well.

[Sean in New Orleans]

And I wouldn't say life is "rosy." But, life isn't so bad here that it is chasing people away, IMO. As I stated, if anyone is leaving, right now, it's because of other reasons than those that relate to the storm (which includes proper medical care). But, the medical industry is strained. I will definitely say that. We need more hospitals to open, ASAP.

[sunny]

And I get updated daily from New Orleans CityBusiness. I have attorneys involved with the YLC. I have attorneys involved with Bring Back New Orleans. So I'm pretty much in the know, too. We have a very long road ahead of us. And we have not really begun yet.

[Sean in New Orleans]

I don't think the real action will begin until Summer, Sunny. That's when most of the money will begin to flow, IMO.

[sunny]

But, the medical industry is strained. I will definitely say that. We need more hospitals to open, ASAP.

Yeah, no kidding.

[Audrey2Katrina]

I can relate to the "deep roots" concept of not wanting to leave; but I also feel that one has to do what one has to do for the best of themselves and their family. I don't doubt that you didn't intend to come off as sounding cruel, Sean; but your post does have a tone that smacks of taunting someone because of a very difficult decision they doubtless agonized over.

My Great, (a few times) grandfather was Louis Allard, who owned the plantation that became City park, in the 1770's, and he got it from HIS grandfather, so I know what it is to have roots here going all the way back to the French colonial period, and my heart is very much with New Orleans. Yet, when I had heard that my school might not re-open, and that my apartment was flooded, I had friends of mine from Ann-Arbor offer me a chance to move to Michigan, where they promised to secure me a position. I can't tell you how close I came to accepting that offer. I was beside myself with worry over what the future held, and quite frankly have lost any semblance of what LITTLE faith I could have had that the politicians in Louisiana would do anything right after this calamity. I honestly believe it was ONLY those very deep roots, plus the "hope" that my school would be one of those to re-open in October, that kept me clinging to the area. In hindsight, I'm glad I did, as I remain in the land of my forbears for well over 250 years; but I hold neither animus nor disdain for anyone who feels so overwhelmed that they simply wish to relocate to what they consider a safer environment.

One of my best friends lived with his wife and triplet daughters in Lakeview... the house they recently purchased is in total ruins--from flood mostly, and he does NOT want to put his babies back into an area so vulnerable to flooding. While I would greatly miss his family, I can hold nothing against him for deciding as he apparently has, to relocating (probably to North Carolina) as soon as he can.

Summing it up... it's a terribly difficult thing to decide to uproot your family and move many miles from a place that's been home--especially if your family has been in the area for generations; on the other hand, sometimes it's simply the only thing that will give that individual the inner peace they require, and deserve, to move on with a life that this monster had shattered on August 29. I only wish them the very best.

As I do the city that I hold so dear: New Orleans.

A2K

[TSmith274]

Hey A2K, I have roots back to the 1700's as well!... 1758 to be exact. My family started in the quarter, on Bienville. They then moved to Algiers and operated a dairy, which is present-day New Auroura. Our ancestors probably knew each other! Crazy, huh? We do have a difficult road ahead. I'm single and lucky enough to have a job, so it's easy to tell everyone to stay put... easier said than done... especially when you are single with no family to provide for. So I understand what the original poster is struggling with. But Sean... our population is up to 1.2 million again, right? This includes Tangipahoa? Let's go back to the metro population pre-Katrina of 1.4 million, which did not include Tangipahoa. See what I'm saying?? We have a long way to go. But I too have a problem with people bailing on us... believe me. But there is always more than meets the eye. As far as healthcare... you are correct. My dad has been practicing medicine for over 40 years in New Orleans... in Algiers. He says that he's NEVER been busier. He did say that the oil boom of the 70's and early 80's was close... but never busier than now. I'm actually suprised that the poster, who is a dentist, isn't just as busy.

[stormcrow]

Just a few thoughts from a weary traveler who has been in the NOLA area since Sept 3rd 05. You have a chance to repair the schools, the politics and the poverty. If you don't shame on you. You have a chance to repair buildings so the Cat 1 winds do not blow them apart. and the New Orleans of one year from now will be a very different city (if you are spared this hurricane season) with a signiciant spanish speaking population.

[Audrey2Katrina]

Hey A2K, I have roots back to the 1700's as well!... 1758 to be exact. My family started in the quarter, on Bienville. They then moved to Algiers and operated a dairy, which is present-day New Auroura. Our ancestors probably knew each other! Crazy, huh? We do have a difficult road ahead. I'm single and lucky enough to have a job, so it's easy to tell everyone to stay put... easier said than done... especially when you are single with no family to provide for. So I understand what the original poster is struggling with. But Sean... our population is up to 1.2 million again, right? This includes Tangipahoa? Let's go back to the metro population pre-Katrina of 1.4 million, which did not include Tangipahoa. See what I'm saying?? We have a long way to go. But I too have a problem with people bailing on us... believe me. But there is always more than meets the eye. As far as healthcare... you are correct. My dad has been practicing medicine for over 40 years in New Orleans... in Algiers. He says that he's NEVER been busier. He did say that the oil boom of the 70's and early 80's was close... but never busier than now. I'm actually suprised that the poster, who is a dentist, isn't just as busy.

Wel going on the fact that the city's population in 1800 was only about 8,000 and I imagine in the 1750's probably half that number (if that high) I'd say it's a safe bet they probably did.

All I know about my ancestors is what my mom has shown me, (Dad was from Georgia--whole different ancestry there), but I know that the Pitot house on Moss St. once belonged to one of my ancestors who had it built by the builder of the Cabildo itself--from whom he purchased the land that became the Allard Plantation, that was in the 1770's. Creole stock as both French and Spanish are prominent in a lot my progenitors. They had about 140 head of cattle out there in the backwater areas which probably made them of fairly wealthy status, although Louis died almost penniless from what I've read. Anyhoo, the only residences I know the family had in the city proper was one on St. Ann St.

I also understand the tie that binds being quite flexible when it comes to matters that hit closest to the heart. Both of my sons have served in the military, met their wives during that time, and live in different areas now. They keep in touch; but they just don't have the love of the area I do--perhaps one day that call to "home" will come through; but as has been shown, the body must wander where the heart will lead. (sounds profound huh? I know... makes no sense whatsoever).

Regarding what you said about a booming med business, absolutely. My oral surgeon told me that he can't believe how busy he's been, largely due to a LOT of people who sleep now with teeth "grinding" away from stress--wouldn't surprise me a bit... I do it.

A2K

[HurryKane]

My oral surgeon told me that he can't believe how busy he's been, largely due to a LOT of people who sleep now with teeth "grinding" away from stress--wouldn't surprise me a bit... I do it.

Thread hijack--I was given a shot of steroids Friday to combat a sinus infection and an odd side effect is that I have been grinding my teeth non-stop since (asleep and awake) and it's driving me NUTS.

Some friends of mine and I attended the Night for New Orleans opera gala last night at the New Orleans Arena and it was lovely. There was a fairly decent-sized crowd in attendance. I've spent a lot more time in NOLA after the storm than I ever did before and almost want to move there as the cultural/social life on the MS coast has been decimated.

BUT.

There's a lot of things that make me want to stay put, mostly the uncertainty of the levees and the politics.

The city sure has been singing a siren song to me lately though.

[Hybridstorm_November2001]

Hi all, I never thought that something I like to study so much, hurricanes, would change my life forever. Since I was a kid, I loved to study the weather. I am now 42 and a father of 2. As you all know, New Orleans is still devestated 6 months post Katrina. My wife and I have decided it is best for our family to move on. This was a very hard decision to make. My wife's family is here and I have a dental practice here. Our daughter has special needs and most of her doctors and therapists have not returned. This summer we will be moving to Denver, safe from any hurricane and great medical care for my daughter. I will continue to be a member of this great board. I wish all well who will be in harms way and for goodness sakes, please don't ever wishcast a storm to your neighborhood!
Dave

I think faced with what has happened most of us, myself included, would no doubt do the same. All I can say is good luck, and God speed.

[MGC]

I am positive New Orleans, Alabama and Mississippi Gulf Coast will florish again one day. Yes, it will take years but I am very optimistic about the region. To all of you that have decided to leave I wish you good luck and please consider coming home in the future......MGC