I was born in NOLA, moved to CA as a child. We visited NOLA often during my childhood, visiting with grandparents and a huge extended family. I have continued to go back frequently as an adult. I've always felt more at home in NO than in Los Angeles where I was raised. Around 2000 I even contemplated moving to NO.

I was in the city a week before the hurricane. I visited again in March this year. The tourist areas in the Quarter were largely intact and recovering. But it was a different story in the outlying areas. Even the Westbank area had damage that had not been repaired.

It did seem to me that the greater NO area was in decline prior to Katrina. While a couple of my cousins lived in the city prior to Katrina (one lost his Lakeside house), many have moved out of the city, others plan on leaving when their elderly parents pass. Several of my aunts and uncles have moved away - some to the north shore, others to more rural areas. It is no longer the city that my parents loved, and I doubt that it will ever will be again.

Janelle

Being a life long resident of Louisiana, I know what you're saying. I lived in Gretna for a few years and worked in and around the New Orleans area for most of my adult life; I agree with you, it's not the same place it once was.
New Orleans is a crime and drug infested city with the thugs ruling the streets. An inept mayor and DA, that can not or will not do the job they were elected to do. Thanks to them, New Orleans is the murder capital of the world, again.