I've been in New Orleans a few times since the 'thing'. Some areas are coming back a lot faster than others. The French Quarter, most of downtown, and the warehouse district for example. Conventions are being hosted again. In other areas rebuilding is spotty, but you do see more & more FEMA trailers in neighborhoods - - that usually means people are living there while working on their property.
We went by our old house in NO East - - it had about 5-6' of water in it for a few weeks. Sure glad we moved to the country 13 years ago.
In part, recovery is slow due to lack of workers. You see 'now hiring' signs everywhere. There's been quite an influx of hispanic workers - - from the hotels to construction. McDonald's & other fast food places were offering signing bonus $ last time I noticed. Homeowners are having real problems finding contractors, & contractors are having trouble hiring workers. Plenty of work here for capenters, electricians, etc.
Not sure what the long-term impact will be. I know a few people who came back to look at their homes & decided on the spot not to rebuild. Others are still trying to decide what to do, weighing their insurance $ along with whatever other assistance there might be.
The help from church-based groups gets good publicity here & is deeply appreciated. I know in the few weeks after the storm aid from out of town churches was tremendous - - much more evident that the Red Cross or the feds.
I've got mixed feelings too about rebuilding. I moved to NO over 40 years ago and while I don't live in town anymore, it's still seems like home. The areas settled originally did not flood in the Katrina aftermath. I guess the early New Orleanians were smart enough to build on higher ground. The problem is that the city expanded into lower areas. When the Corps of Engineers built levees along the river & later the lake & drainage canals, it became 'safe' to develop that land. And, if the levees had held, Katrina would not have been the disaster that it was for New Orleans.
I have not been to the Mississippi gulf coast. Those people took the worst of the storm. I hear that they have 3 casinos back in operation, but residential areas are lagging. Unlike New Orleans, those structures just did not exist after the storm - - there was nothing to gut & repair.
Sorry this is so long - - it would be longer if I could type better!
