Anyone live in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina/Rita?Will u go back?
444933
I moved away from NOLA (Gretna) several years ago.  I was thinking about moving back the beginning of last year, but my mother became ill so I stayed in Texas.  When I found out Katrina was heading for New Orleans I stayed glued to the T.V. I couldn't sleep.  When the mandatory evacuation order was issued I broke down and cried like a baby.  I got so depressed watching the footage of the aftermath I had to make myself stop watching.  Next thing I knew here comes Rita, heading straight for my area. (Texas coast)  The poor people evacuating from N.O. now have to evacuate, because of Rita, along with all the people from Galveston, Houston, Baytown etc. It was horrible!!!\n\nTo answer your question about going back to N.O., yes, I plan on moving back.  You can take the people out of New Orleans, but you can't take New Orleans out of the people!!!
139764
I dont know..i have a hard time with giving billions of dollars to a city where people chose to live below sea level and that will likely flood again in the future.  Many of New Orleans residence have found homes elsewhere and will not be returning. The ones that do should have insurance, right?  Why should we pay for them to rebuild?
789573
We live on the coast of Mississippi,and made it through hurricane Katrina,it was very scary.We had so many trees up rooted,Roof damage lots of water damage from the storm surge,We didn't get it as bad as a lot of people,but it is something I hope we never have to go through again.What everyone saw on TV is nothing compared to what we saw here,There is nothing like driving down the streets and seeing dead bodies of people and animals and coffins floating from where they washed up.It was horrible.
1116176
Not anymore....used to live in Laredo.
1165542
Sounds like your'e just lucky.\n\nCheck nhc.noaa.gov for past hurricanes.
1091048
I went down to that area staying in the Madevlline Church of Christ.  While we did liittle work working in New Orleans.  Most  of the work was in Waveland, Mississippi, It is impossible not to be effected by the devestation.\nEspecially when you speak with people who have a job and no home.  If you have been there just for five days you will be traumatized.
39804
Katrina says it's ok to come out now !!!\n\nLet's try this again !! We're taking the world by storm! But this time, our love will be flooding the streets of (insert address) ! Because you have stood by us as family and friends ... we would love for you to join us as we celebrate the uniting of our worlds ... etc, etc, blah, blah, blah .... :)\n\nnot word, for word ... but something like that\n\nps ... SOOO many couples are going through this right now, due to Katrina and Rita... Rita kicked the hell out of us, and it's refreshing to see people finally getting back to their pre-storm plans. Congratulations!
592391
I was at home in New Orleans. I live on the second floor of my building, so I didn't get flooded, but the whole neighborhood did.  I never realized just how loud a hurricane could be. Katrina is the fourth one I've stayed for, and it was the noisiest.  The worst moment was when the siding ripped off and slammed against the windows, then the laundry room roof blew off.
307821
I have been through Lafeyett,La. Not much their. La. Got hit so hard by Katrina Hurricane, they all have not recovered yet, I would wait another 1-2 before moving their.
76514
I do not think so.  I think it is only for those families that lived here prior to the storm.  The city is currently looking to re-vamp 10,000 aprtments for rent.  Be patient.  There is plenty of rental property on out lying areas.  The suberbs that I live in have plenty to offer and it is only 30 mins from New Orleans without traffic.  With traftic it is about an hour.
461287
They were WARNED that they MUST evacuate.  Busses were running full time to get people out, yet so many refused to leave.  Some were on the news dancing in the streets of the French Quarter as the storm approached.  After the storm, they all ran for the Superdome, and there were not enough supplies for the additional people, so that screwed the people who originally went to be sheltered there.  Something else angers me: The National Guard gets blamed for not responding, but the storm was over Tuesday, and TV cameras broadcast National Guard at the airport on Thursday.  This pretty enlisted female told the reporter that they arrived Wednesday, and were setting up relief.\n\nThen cops are out there looting Wal Mart (caught on video).  It would have been one thing if they were getting food, but, well you know the rest of the story.  \n\nPeople cry for the idiots in New Orleans (no, the ones who evacuated are NOT idiots), while Rita pretty much levelled some towns in Southwest Louisiana.  Places where there were towns were now just a bunch of cement foundations.  One person found their house a few miles away.  Nobody even talks about these people--Mississippi gets more attention.
640312
True Story:   I stayed at home in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina, had plenty of supplies, food, water, cat food, etc.  There were 6 other people in my apartment building who also stayed.  3 of them were just as prepared as I, the other 3 had decided at the last minute to ride out the storm and thus had very little supplies.  When the flooding began, and we realized we were going to be stuck for a while, the 3 with no supplies immediately ate and drank all they had.  The other 3 kept to themselves and didn't share anything.  I took a hard look at what I had and decided it would be in my best interest to at least appear social, in case things got nasty later (these people were drug addicts with no drugs and becoming irate) so I gave them some of what I had and I pretended it was ALL I had.  I saw how they had been so wasteful with their own stuff.  I hoarded most of my food and water and never let them know just how much I did have.  Two days into the flood, they looted a bed and breakfast down the street, and they looted a pharmacy for drugs.  They shared the food from the B&B with me, because they thought I had shared my last with them.   After a week, I was forcibly evacuated onto a bus.  I carried with me the food I thought would be portable, crackers and tuna fish.  The other people on the bus had been removed from a hospital and hadn't eaten in three days.  I gave them everything I had, walked up and down the bus aisle in the dark, handing out crackers and holding out cans of tuna for people to dip into.  I'll never forget that trip.  So, to answer your question, the idea of charging money never entered my head.  My only concern was how long my supply would last.
85331
Good luck!  Most of the apartment complexes in the Greater New Orleans that did not have extensive damage are packed with people and will not have any vacancies.  Your best bet would be to either look on nola.com in the classified section for apartments being rented by individuals or possibly under wwltv.com under the forums.  Also try craigslist.com
47780
Jay- You may want to try the local newspaper. http://www.nola.com there is a section on housing and I agree housing is going to be tight. Perhaps your new employer has some contacts.\n\nGood luck and I think you will be busy for years. Thanks for playing a role in the rebuilding the city is worth it.
106791
The major destroyer of Hurricane Katrina and really of all hurricanes is the storm surge.  Biloxi and coastal Mississippi was decimated by the surge which swept inland as far as a mile or two and destroyed most everything in its path.  Flooding in New Orleans came after the hurricane when the levies broke due to the increased strain by the surge.\nHomes further inland were not that badly damaged.  Wind can definitely do damage, but very few homes are actually obliterated by the wind, even in category 5 hurricanes.  And most that are are again right along the coast, as winds very quickly decrease as friction from the land slows them down as you travel inland.\n\nSo, if you aren't too near the coast (a few miles), the danger is not nearly as high.  Still, evacuation is always your safest bet, and from one who's been in quite a few hurricanes, you won't have much to do if you do stay.  No reason not to leave.  You make the choice, you have weigh the risk.\n\nIf you are within a couple miles of the coast, your location is prone to flooding, or you live in a mobile home (which are very weak and easily destroyed by the winds), then you definitely should evacuate.
1075156
I lived in Belize for a few months in 2003. I was a free-lance sailor at the time and we stayed at Moho Caye (pronounce KEY), the ppl that were running the marina (Linda and Russ) had retired and sold their deli in FL and bought an RV to travel thru central America. Anyway, I talked to them quite a few times abt how they got there and basically in Belize you are encouraged to stay and build a business if you are an American retiree, but you MUST have money to put in the bank of Belize and it also helps a great deal to have an income from the states, like SSI or retirement payments.\n\n There are quite a few beautiful resorts there already (my friend was an insurance adjuster for F&G insurance and I got to go visit all of the resorts they insured for free!). Belize City is a cool place to visit but try to be careful, there is a lot of violence in the area. I would watch the local news at Chef Bob's (great place to go and eat) and there wasn't a day that went by that there wasn't a murder or serious crime. I am not saying it is a bad country, please don't get me wrong. I loved the ppl I met and had a great stay. But there are some very violent elements, it may have been more harsh to me because ppl don't get shot there, they get macheted. The crime rate may not be even as high as New Orleans (I lived THERE too!).\n\n Belmopan is the capital and it was beautiful. Peaceful and clean. There are more ppl in Belize City but Belmopan is where I would live if I moved there. It is a very well-laid out city. Anyway, leave me a message on my 360 page if you want more info. I loved Belize! As a matter of fact if the Real ID becomes a reality I plan on going back to sailing or at least go travelling in the less facist places once the USA (which I am TOTALLY PATRIOTIC about, but I want to protect my daughter from technological slavery) turns into a police state. Hope I don't sound like too much of a fruitloop!\n\nGood Luck!
7676
Yes I do!!!! I've lived here now for 8 years and I would never live anywhere else. The weather is beautiful, there's always something to do, and my health is much better than it was when I lived in the Midwest. \nI'd take hurricanes over snow ANY day! *smile*