BWFoster78
Veteran Starter
Offline
The movers are at my place packing up as we speak.
I've seen a few threads about native New Orleaneans wanting to come back or not coming back or moving away, so I thought I'd give my perspective of someone not born here who moved to Metaire after Katrina.
I grew up in Shreveport, and my wife grew up in Baton Rouge. Both of us always thought "New Orleans is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." I think that that attitude is fairly common for La. residents not from here.
In the summer before Katrina, I accepted a position as a construction manager on a renovation project in downtown New Orleans. We weren't thrilled with the assignment, but there were a lot of positives - mainly, I could get Saints season tickets for the first time ever and she would be close to her family.
The job got delayed, and I ended up making my house hunting trip the weekend before Katrina (the weekend prior to it being on the radar, not the weekend it was bearing down on the Gulf Coast). I was lucky enough to sign a lease that weekend. Katrina obviously delayed the job further, and we ended up moving here in Oct 05. Like I typed, it was very lucky that I signed that lease. The townhouse received almost no damage, and the rental agency honored the much lower rent from my pre-Katrina signing.
The first few months here SUCKED! It was mainly minor inconveniences, but they all added up quickly. Stores had very abbreviated hours, and there were always long lines everywhere. I had to bribe a Cox guy to come after hours to hook up cable/internet. Trying to set up a household and an office was challenging to say the least.
Slowly, things returned to what I assumed was a more normal state, and we settled into a routine. We really enjoyed Mardi Gras, and even my wife became excited about the Saints games. Overall, however, we pretty much maintained our somewhat negative view of New Orleans.
The people in the area seem a little bit more rude than what we had experienced in other places. The drivers are absolutely horrible; I really think that some of them go out of their way to not let you in. Maybe that's why no one, not even cops, use turn signals down here. The weather is not to my liking at all. It always seems dirty here. Tonti management goes up on our rent literally EVERY time that it comes up for renewal.
All that being said, we were prepared to accept if my company decided to keep me down here (assuming, of course, that enough compensation were offered). I had heard crime was bad, but it didn't seem to have a direct impact on me. Then, one of my coworkers was killed on his way home as a result of an apparent carjacking.
As my project drew to a close, my company had several projects down here to which they very much wanted to assign me. My wife and I decided that, given all the negatives and the general feeling of unease we now feel in the city, we just could not accept.
Now, we're moving to Honolulu for a project there. I'd say that it worked out for us!
I've seen a few threads about native New Orleaneans wanting to come back or not coming back or moving away, so I thought I'd give my perspective of someone not born here who moved to Metaire after Katrina.
I grew up in Shreveport, and my wife grew up in Baton Rouge. Both of us always thought "New Orleans is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." I think that that attitude is fairly common for La. residents not from here.
In the summer before Katrina, I accepted a position as a construction manager on a renovation project in downtown New Orleans. We weren't thrilled with the assignment, but there were a lot of positives - mainly, I could get Saints season tickets for the first time ever and she would be close to her family.
The job got delayed, and I ended up making my house hunting trip the weekend before Katrina (the weekend prior to it being on the radar, not the weekend it was bearing down on the Gulf Coast). I was lucky enough to sign a lease that weekend. Katrina obviously delayed the job further, and we ended up moving here in Oct 05. Like I typed, it was very lucky that I signed that lease. The townhouse received almost no damage, and the rental agency honored the much lower rent from my pre-Katrina signing.
The first few months here SUCKED! It was mainly minor inconveniences, but they all added up quickly. Stores had very abbreviated hours, and there were always long lines everywhere. I had to bribe a Cox guy to come after hours to hook up cable/internet. Trying to set up a household and an office was challenging to say the least.
Slowly, things returned to what I assumed was a more normal state, and we settled into a routine. We really enjoyed Mardi Gras, and even my wife became excited about the Saints games. Overall, however, we pretty much maintained our somewhat negative view of New Orleans.
The people in the area seem a little bit more rude than what we had experienced in other places. The drivers are absolutely horrible; I really think that some of them go out of their way to not let you in. Maybe that's why no one, not even cops, use turn signals down here. The weather is not to my liking at all. It always seems dirty here. Tonti management goes up on our rent literally EVERY time that it comes up for renewal.
All that being said, we were prepared to accept if my company decided to keep me down here (assuming, of course, that enough compensation were offered). I had heard crime was bad, but it didn't seem to have a direct impact on me. Then, one of my coworkers was killed on his way home as a result of an apparent carjacking.
As my project drew to a close, my company had several projects down here to which they very much wanted to assign me. My wife and I decided that, given all the negatives and the general feeling of unease we now feel in the city, we just could not accept.
Now, we're moving to Honolulu for a project there. I'd say that it worked out for us!