The new immigrants to the Crescent City

[KJW]

Hello, all...

I was just wondering...N.O. saw significant immigrant waves from Germany, Italy, Africa, etc. in its past.

Count me in with the "New Orleans will be rebuilt" group. I wonder, though...who will the new "immigrants" be? Will there be a wave of hispanic (latin American - not european as before) growth in the metro area?

I'll never forget the week and one half I spent with an N.O. Jesuit High School graduate and college buddy of mine in that city in 1979. It remains my favorite college memory apart from my wife. I'm amazed that while people of other cities in the south have lost their accents as their population has grown (i.e. Atlanta, D/FW) the "Orleaneux" I've seen interviewed have sounded just as Brooklyn-meets-Terrebonne-Parish as my college friend and his guy/gal pals did a quarter century ago.

Wonder if those accents will remain in the area? I certainly hope so.

[TSmith]

KJW, New Orleans will not change one bit as far as accents. We will lose a lot of our lower class, which is fine with me. New Orleans will be the same New Orleans that you know and love... that in and of itself is worth celebrating.

[sleepy]

KJW, New Orleans will not change one bit as far as accents. We will lose a lot of our lower class, which is fine with me. New Orleans will be the same New Orleans that you know and love... that in and of itself is worth celebrating.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why is it fine with you to lose the "lower class"? And how will that be the same New Orleans?

[EastSideResider]

Not to start drama, but I agree. But on the other hand, New Orleans will have less families below the poverty line and less crime (probably). But I think that kind of made NO unique ? I know this is off topic, but the African-American population might go down a lot in NO?? Thoughts?

[TSmith]

Why is it fine with you to lose the "lower class"?  And how will that be the same New Orleans?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I shouldn't have said that. I just don't see people coming back if they have nothing to come back to. The people who will return are those who own homes, businesses, or jobs to come back to.

This "lower class" I'm referring to are in a much better situation where they are. Most of them are in Texas. Texas has better schools, and I'm happy for the kids who will get one semester of a good education. New Orleans' schools are broken, and the kids weren't the top priority. These evacuees actually have a great opportunity where they are. I'd love to see them all return, but only if they have something to return to. Most will lose their homes with no means of rebuilding. It's a touchy subject, and one that I probably should have steered clear of.

[sleepy]

^ Thanks for your reasonable response.

I'd just like to say that schools in innercity Houston, San Antonio, or Dallas aren't a whole heckuva lot better than NO. I take it too that you're a native New Orleanian, and you know that the draw of the place exists whether you're rich, poor, or in the middle.

Also, the lower 9th was flooded during Betsy, and everyone returned.

The news reports look like things are returning to "normal" much more quickly than was anticipated a week or so ago.

I do think that the storm may give rise to an opportunity to create a better New Orleans, but I don't think that should mean excluding the majority of law-abiding, yet poor, people who lived there previously. I think the culture ought to be preserved beyond the Bourbon St. stuff--look at the Mardi Gras Indians for example.

[TSmith]

Sleepy, those are very good points. Hopefully, a large portion of those people returning will take advantage of the tens of thousands of construction jobs that are surely to be created. It really is an opportunity to uplift that sector of the populace. And hopefully, there will be incentives in place to hire locals, especially those who lived in those areas hardest hit... like the 9th ward.

[Aporkalypse]

KJW, New Orleans will not change one bit as far as accents. We will lose a lot of our lower class, which is fine with me. New Orleans will be the same New Orleans that you know and love... that in and of itself is worth celebrating.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you are right. Places like the 7th ward and 9th ward may end up largely abandoned. The vast majority of the evacuees I talked with in Dallas are staying and most are fairly poor. I think you'll see the poorer people move for higher pay and cheaper cost of living as well as safety while the wealthier will return - it seems like uptown, the Garden District and the Quarter fared relatively well. I think it will benefit New Orleans and those that were in living poverty for this to happen, both of them were caught in a negative cycle for a long time.

[EastSideResider]

what do ya'll think about the African-American population being lost? Do you think it will? And if you do, will neighboring cities become more diverse (in race)?

[NCB]

what do ya'll think about the African-American population being lost? Do you think it will? And if you do, will neighboring cities become more diverse (in race)?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think it is to early to tell how much of the African-American population will leave or return to New Orleans.

But Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Baton Rouge, maybe even Mobile and Atlanta will grow in African-American population because of Katrina, but no one knows how much yet.

[Mith242]

You can even tell here in northwest Arkansas that there are evacuees here because there still isn't a real large Afro-American population here. It already sounds like with our good job market here that many of them don't plan on returning. But then again New Orleans isn't a regular city. I have wondered if after the city is back on it's feet if some people might feel pulled back to the city even if they don't plan to go back at the moment.

[teshadoh]

Despite anything - people will be needed to run New Orlean's huge tourism business, which will return. These are low paying, low skill jobs - you can't expect a huge loss in lower income people can you? Not to mention many of the port & refinery jobs are blue collar as well - New Orleans is a working class city...

A friend of mine said he is returning to work on Friday in New Orleans. Of course it is a non-profit organization he works for, but is downtown that far from being nearly back to normal?

[NCB]

Despite anything - people will be needed to run New Orlean's huge tourism business, which will return.  These are low paying, low skill jobs - you can't expect a huge loss in lower income people can you?  Not to mention many of the port & refinery jobs are blue collar as well - New Orleans is a working class city...

A friend of mine said he is returning to work on Friday in New Orleans.  Of course it is a non-profit organization he works for, but is downtown that far from being nearly back to normal?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dowtown is actually getting back to normal very quickly.

Last I heard, Entergy has been able to restore power to a large part of of downtown, and they are expecting all of the CBD to get back up and running much earlier then originally expected.

I've heard that many office buildings around the River have power, such as Canal Place which is on the foot of Canal St. I have also heard that Bank One Center has power now as well.

I was actually very suprised to hear that downtown was coming together so quickly, that is a VERY good sign.

[monsoon]

There was an interview on CNN of a 30 something couple who got to get in and see their flooded house in NO. They were required to put on hazmat suits just because the toxic waste was not safe. After the ordeal was over they said they would never go back again. The house is a complete loss, the water damage has made it non-repairable, and the smell is horrific. Nothing was salvageable. The camera man that was with them stated that he had never seen anything that was as bad as the destruction they were witnessing now. They plan to leave NO and advise others not to bother coming back. The guy that owned the house said he was 32 years old and did not see investing more of his life in NO when the chances of it happening again are just as great as they were befor the storm happened.

On a related note, NO apparently was not considered a flood zone, so residents were not elegible for federal flood insurance and as a result, most people did not have flood insurance. Insurance companies are therefore refusing to pay for much of the damage as they are claiming it is flood damage and not hurricane damage.

[bobliocatt]

^I thought Sleepy said, if you purchased real estate in New Orleans, it was required that you must purchase flood insurance as well. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be a suprise to see insurance companies try to wiggle out of this. I'm sure this will get tied up in court big time.

Btw, I'll be happy to take that couple's property off of their hands. Mark my words, but this place will become the South's next boomtown (property value-wise) in the next couple of years.

[sleepy]

On a related note, NO apparently was not considered a flood zone, so residents were not elegible for federal flood insurance and as a result, most people did not have flood insurance.  Insurance companies are therefore refusing to pay for much of the damage as they are claiming it is flood damage and not hurricane damage.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As Lakelander said, every property in Louisiana south of the I-10/I-12 line is required to have flood insurance if they get a mortgage.

Homeowners insurance never pays for flood damage. It pays for wind, fire, etc. You have to have a separate policy--usually underwritten by the feds, but I guess available on the open market for an astronomical premium--for flood/water damage.

Everyone, no matter where they live, should have flood insurance. If not, your homeowners policy may give you grief over a broken pipe, and so on.

Problems arise when homeowners say the wind blew the roof off their house which caused the interior to flood. If they don't have flood insurance, they'll say the water was caused by wind damage. And so on.

One note--while homeowners will pay for some relocation and temp. housing--flood insurance won't. The fed flood insurance is also capped at $250,000.

[JCT]

Btw, I'll be happy to take that couple's property off of their hands.   Mark my words, but this place will become the South's next boomtown (property value-wise) in the next couple of years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you are right about property values in the city. Here is an interesting artical about speculators looking at property in New Orleans after the flood:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/sou...mostemailedlink

[alon504]

New Orleans will still have it's accent, but, it will be a little more typical American English sounding for many as the city will be inundated with those in the 20's to 40's age group moving in by taking advantage of incredible tax incentives the Federal Government will be offering.

[sleepy]

New Orleans will still have it's accent, but, it will be a little more typical American English sounding for many as the city will be inundated with those in the 20's to 40's age group moving in by taking advantage of incredible tax incentives the Federal Government will be offering.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Seems to me that the only room for those people would be where former residents lived.

If new people are coming in, why wouldn't the original inhabitants as well?

[NCB]

If new people are coming in, why wouldn't the original inhabitants as well?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think that if a new levee system that can withstand a category 5 hurricane is built around New Orleans, everyone will come back. If people think New Orleans is safe and is better prepared for a mjor hurricane,the old residents will come back, and new residents will come because the job market and the economy will be booming.

[tombarnes]

Many are forgetting that a vast portion of the population simply won't be coming back to New Orleans. The poorest people who had little or nothing to begin with will likely not be returning to the Crescent City. This can be debated back and forth, but I seriously doubt that everyone will return. Will New Orleans survive? Of course it will. Will it be the same place it was before? That remains to be seen.

[sleepy]

Many are forgetting that a vast portion of the population simply won't be coming back to New Orleans.  The poorest people who had little or nothing to begin with will likely not be returning to the Crescent City.  This can be debated back and forth, but I seriously doubt that everyone will return.  Will New Orleans survive?  Of course it will.  Will it be the same place it was before? That remains to be seen.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The poor will have little or nothing wherever they live, yet love New Orleans as much as anyone--rich or poor.

The middle-class had already abandoned the city. If anything, I'd say they'd be the ones permanently leaving.

There was a Gallup Poll taken last summer that 53 percent of New Orleans residents were extremely satisfied with their personal lives in the city. That was higher than any of the other 22 cities polled--higher than NYC or Boston.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/weekinre...ml?pagewanted=2

There's a sense of rootedness and family there unlike any other place I've lived.

[KJW]

The poor will have little or nothing wherever they live, yet love New Orleans as much as anyone--rich or poor.

The middle-class had already abandoned the city. If anything, I'd say they'd be the ones permanently leaving.

There was a Gallup Poll taken last summer that 53 percent of New Orleans residents were extremely satisfied with their personal lives in the city. That was higher than any of the other 22 cities polled--higher than NYC or Boston.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/weekinre...ml?pagewanted=2

There's a sense of rootedness and family there unlike any other place I've lived.

I had a fraternity brother in college who graduated from DeLaSalle High School on St. Charles Ave.

Yesterday on nola.com they had an article about DLSHS resuming classes in a temporary building, and had a link to the DLSHS web site. There was post after post from kids who were either back, coming back to NO soon or couldn't wait to get back. A few were apparently elsewhere for good, but the vast majority were returning.

That was good to see...

[alon504]

Many are forgetting that a vast portion of the population simply won't be coming back to New Orleans. The poorest people who had little or nothing to begin with will likely not be returning to the Crescent City. This can be debated back and forth, but I seriously doubt that everyone will return. Will New Orleans survive? Of course it will. Will it be the same place it was before? That remains to be seen.

I agree. I'm quite concerned about the large number of upscale developers lining up to buy large chunks of bulldozed land for condominium development...particularly in the Ninth Ward as it has great views of Downtown. We need to step back, in New Orleans, and really answer if we want this kind of development in our city. We need to guard our unique culture and neighborhoods fiercely from outsiders who would ruin it in a minute for top dollar condos. I'm watching this situation closely and am getting close to writing letters to the appropriate people. The Red Beans and Rice, Boiled Crawfish, and live music must remain alive in all of our neighborhoods.

[NCB]

^Amen to that.