Why do people still live in New Orleans?

Started by thspfc, August 29, 2021, 10:41:51 PM

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thspfc

I genuinely wonder why people still live in New Orleans in 2021. There's only one way that the story of New Orleans can end, and it's with a hugely devastating flood that leaves the city completely underwater. How do the residents live their lives with the thought that everything they own could, realistically, be literally washed away from them during the next, or ongoing, storm season? With every passing tragic hurricane that hits NOLA I just wonder how anyone still lives there when there are so many other places to be around the US and beyond. And this isn't even getting into the host of non-weather related other issues that the city has. I understand that there are a lot of jobs in New Orleans; yet there's also a major labor shortage in every city around the country. But if you are a resident of NOLA who can afford to leave, yet you haven't, why?


brad2971

Quote from: thspfc on August 29, 2021, 10:41:51 PM
I genuinely wonder why people still live in New Orleans in 2021. There's only one way that the story of New Orleans can end, and it's with a hugely devastating flood that leaves the city completely underwater. How do the residents live their lives with the thought that everything they own could, realistically, be literally washed away from them during the next, or ongoing, storm season? With every passing tragic hurricane that hits NOLA I just wonder how anyone still lives there when there are so many other places to be around the US and beyond. And this isn't even getting into the host of non-weather related other issues that the city has. I understand that there are a lot of jobs in New Orleans; yet there's also a major labor shortage in every city around the country. But if you are a resident of NOLA who can afford to leave, yet you haven't, why?

Because of a four-letter word more important than Love: Home. It's their home. Not to mention, frankly, America wouldn't be America without New Orleans. Too much of our national history, culture, even society is tied up in that geographically fragile place.

thspfc

Quote from: brad2971 on August 29, 2021, 10:47:19 PM
Quote from: thspfc on August 29, 2021, 10:41:51 PM
I genuinely wonder why people still live in New Orleans in 2021. There's only one way that the story of New Orleans can end, and it's with a hugely devastating flood that leaves the city completely underwater. How do the residents live their lives with the thought that everything they own could, realistically, be literally washed away from them during the next, or ongoing, storm season? With every passing tragic hurricane that hits NOLA I just wonder how anyone still lives there when there are so many other places to be around the US and beyond. And this isn't even getting into the host of non-weather related other issues that the city has. I understand that there are a lot of jobs in New Orleans; yet there's also a major labor shortage in every city around the country. But if you are a resident of NOLA who can afford to leave, yet you haven't, why?

Because of a four-letter word more important than Love: Home. It's their home. Not to mention, frankly, America wouldn't be America without New Orleans. Too much of our national history, culture, even society is tied up in that geographically fragile place.
I think the United States might just be able to survive without a city that consistently ranks very close to the bottom within the country in most major indicators of quality of life.

I guess I feel differently than the residents of NOLA, because while I love home in Wisconsin, I would have no problem moving somewhere else, and I likely will do so within the next decade (the Omaha, Kansas City, Denver, and Oklahoma City areas are the places I have in mind, but who knows).

TheHighwayMan3561

#3
Seattle and Portland could realistically be wiped off the map by a megaquake in the next 50-200 years, but no one questions why people still live there and waves of people can't wait to relocate there.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

Rothman

As long as there is money to be made there, New Orleans will be there.  That's been the case for centuries:  Storms do their damage and money always brings people back.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

triplemultiplex

Why do people still live in other below sea-level places like Amsterdam?  Because it's economically viable to do so.  The importance as a trade/port facility will always incentivize residents to overcome the physiographic obstacles to live in a primo geographic location like the outlet of the largest river system in North America.

A hundred years from now, New Orleans is going to be a goddamn island, constantly adjusting itself to a rising ocean and a subsiding land, but it's going to still exist.  And that is because it will never not be important to have a population center near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

There's an argument to be made to let Morgan City become the next New Orleans since that's where the Mississippi has wanted to shift its primary outlet to the Gulf of Mexico for about a hundred years, but we can maintain New Orleans with minimal effort for at least another 2 centuries.  If the Dutch can do what they did for so long with just windmills, then surely 'mur-cah can spot NOLA another two centuries. 
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

Max Rockatansky

The ease of access for a major port and inland access on the Mississippi River will keep a city where it is for a long time to come.  Galveston and South Florida have faced similar effects from Hurricanes in the past, so this is not exclusively a New Orleans-only phenomenon. 

Scott5114

Quote from: thspfc on August 29, 2021, 10:55:03 PM
Quote from: thspfc on August 29, 2021, 10:41:51 PM
How do the residents live their lives with the thought that everything they own could, realistically, be literally washed away from them during the next, or ongoing, storm season?

I guess I feel differently than the residents of NOLA, because while I love home in Wisconsin, I would have no problem moving somewhere else, and I likely will do so within the next decade (the Omaha, Kansas City, Denver, and Oklahoma City areas are the places I have in mind, but who knows).

I mean, in Omaha, Kansas City, or especially Oklahoma City, the residents live their lives with the thought that everything they own could, realistically, be literally blown away from them during the next tornado.

You just kind of learn to ignore the obvious threat, make dark humor jokes about it, and go about your daily life.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

kenarmy

I think the more shocking thing is people still living in Grand Isle. Or maybe that Grand Isle still exists..
Just a reminder that US 6, 49, 50, and 98 are superior to your fave routes :)


EXTEND 206 SO IT CAN MEET ITS PARENT.

SkyPesos

Is there even a part of the US that will never be affected by some sort of natural disaster event? There's earthquakes in the west, tornadoes in the midwest and south, and hurricanes in the gulf and Atlantic coasts.

gonealookin

There's always some danger, isn't there.  I live at Lake Tahoe, and demand for housing and the price thereof have been going through the roof, really since the end of the Great Recession and particularly here in the remote-work era.

I'm not under any evacuation warning or order this evening but that's a possibility in the next few days, and in any case wildfire is an ever-increasing concern from about the middle of June through October.  My homeowners insurance comes through the HOA and that price has been going up fairly steeply the last few years; I do wonder if we're going to get to a point where it's not available at all.

ilpt4u

Quote from: SkyPesos on August 30, 2021, 12:05:44 AM
Is there even a part of the US that will never be affected by some sort of natural disaster event? There's earthquakes in the west, tornadoes in the midwest and south, and hurricanes in the gulf and Atlantic coasts.
Earthquakes can happen in the Midwest, too. The New Madrid is an Active Fault Line

TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: ilpt4u on August 30, 2021, 12:17:01 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on August 30, 2021, 12:05:44 AM
Is there even a part of the US that will never be affected by some sort of natural disaster event? There's earthquakes in the west, tornadoes in the midwest and south, and hurricanes in the gulf and Atlantic coasts.
Earthquakes can happen in the Midwest, too. The New Madrid is an Active Fault Line

Memphis has put some effort into retrofitting infrastructure over the last 10-15 years.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

michravera

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on August 29, 2021, 11:00:08 PM
Seattle and Portland could realistically be wiped off the map by a megaquake in the next 50-200 years, but no one questions why people still live there and waves of people can't wait to relocate there.

Anyone who has ever built a sandcastle knows: Land that is below sea level near the ocean will eventually be underwater. In Sacramento County, we have lost whole islands (all below or near sea level)-- Not due to sea level rise, but due to sand shifts. Most of the levees in the Sacramento area held in the "9 days in February" back in 1985, but even then their were two towns that were inundated. My hunch is that most of the levees wouldn't have made it 11 days. Fortunately, the rain stopped. At the beginning of those 9 days,  let me remind everybody, we were in our fourth year of drought.

In California, even in the relatively seismically stable Central Valley, everything is built to earthquake codes. I'm not ideologically in sync with most of California politics, but not everything that we do here is completely stupid! Seattle and Portland are late to the game, but they at least are in the game now. That doesn't help old structures or old freeways that haven't gotten the retrofit yet, but they are at least aware of the potential problem and are likely going to do what it takes. However, to a certain extent, it won't matter when the official pronouncement from the State Emergency Management (I forget if it was Oregon or Washington) is "Our working assumption is that everything west of I-5 will be toast." after a tsunami.

Either the Gods or the Devil will take New Orleans. It is our choice whether we want to aid in relocating a quarter million people and the location of the commerce that draws them there or to mourn their loss and abandon that commerce. People have the choice: watch it sink beneath the waves from a steamboat while crying or try to swim once they are waist deep in it while crying for help. I pick the first one!

Duke87

Quote from: kenarmy on August 29, 2021, 11:59:20 PM
I think the more shocking thing is people still living in Grand Isle. Or maybe that Grand Isle still exists..

A lot of oil which is drilled out from under the Gulf of Mexico is brought ashore in that area. So Grand Isle and Port Fourchon will continue to be maintained as inhabited settlements until the oil runs out or until there is no longer demand for it.
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

hotdogPi

Quote from: SkyPesos on August 30, 2021, 12:05:44 AM
Is there even a part of the US that will never be affected by some sort of natural disaster event? There's earthquakes in the west, tornadoes in the midwest and south, and hurricanes in the gulf and Atlantic coasts.

I've tried to figure this out myself. Kentucky and Tennessee seem to be safe. (I'm including blizzards in the list of natural disasters, which you didn't mention.)
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

SectorZ

Quote from: 1 on August 30, 2021, 06:58:05 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on August 30, 2021, 12:05:44 AM
Is there even a part of the US that will never be affected by some sort of natural disaster event? There's earthquakes in the west, tornadoes in the midwest and south, and hurricanes in the gulf and Atlantic coasts.

I've tried to figure this out myself. Kentucky and Tennessee seem to be safe. (I'm including blizzards in the list of natural disasters, which you didn't mention.)

A blizzard is not a natural disaster, it's just a pain in the ass. In a blizzard most of the deaths are people dying of heart attacks removing the snow.

silverback1065

Quote from: SectorZ on August 30, 2021, 07:56:03 AM
Quote from: 1 on August 30, 2021, 06:58:05 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on August 30, 2021, 12:05:44 AM
Is there even a part of the US that will never be affected by some sort of natural disaster event? There's earthquakes in the west, tornadoes in the midwest and south, and hurricanes in the gulf and Atlantic coasts.

I've tried to figure this out myself. Kentucky and Tennessee seem to be safe. (I'm including blizzards in the list of natural disasters, which you didn't mention.)

A blizzard is not a natural disaster, it's just a pain in the ass. In a blizzard most of the deaths are people dying of heart attacks removing the snow.

Explain how a blizzard isn't a natural disaster.

tdindy88

I'm guessing natural disaster here refers to something that inflicts a lot of damage, something that would cost money to fix. An earthquake, a flood, a fire, a hurricane or tornado. It's a natural phenomenon that destroys and leaves a mess to clean up. Blizzards typically don't do that. A blizzard can cause problems and difficulties, but the mess is usually not that bad when all is said and done. Ice storms on the other hand...

hotdogPi

A typical blizzard isn't as bad as the others. However, considering that the other natural disasters mentioned only hit once every several years at most, there are some really bad blizzards once every several years.

However, I'm more interested in whether you agree or disagree that Kentucky and Tennessee (or at least parts of the two states) are safe.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

GaryV

Don't parts of KY and TN get ice storms?  They can cause a lot of damage, like bringing down power lines.  Sure, buildings aren't flattened in ice storms.  But lives are affected.

Plus floods, including one recent one.

thspfc

#21
Some false equivalencies here. Tornadoes have a very narrow path of destruction, meaning that it's highly unlikely that your property will be significantly damaged by one, beyond a few small branches falling off a tree. I think the general perception of tornadoes from people who live outside Tornado Alley is much more dangerous than they really are. Wildfires can only start in largely rural areas, so only the worst ones in the worst areas impact a large number of people. Notable earthquakes are also much rarer than notable hurricanes (in the US anyways).

And blizzards/ice storms are not natural disasters. I would put them in the same category as severe thunderstorms, small flash floods, extreme heat, and extreme cold.

1995hoo

Regarding New Orleans, some people just plain don't have a practical way to leave, especially homeless people and extremely poor people. There were various pictures on the news of people who were still living in tents under I-10 or sleeping in the streets even this weekend because they had nowhere else to go and the whole COVID problem had them even more reluctant than usual to go to any sort of shelters or other such places.

My brother moved to New Orleans about two years ago. He just plain likes it there. I had thought he'd be more likely to move to Colorado because he likes outdoor recreation, but he says he has come to hate cold weather more and more as the years have gone by. I hope he still has a home to return to later this week.
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commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
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SkyPesos

Quote from: 1 on August 30, 2021, 08:29:01 AM
However, I'm more interested in whether you agree or disagree that Kentucky and Tennessee (or at least parts of the two states) are safe.
It seems like "tornado alley"  is moving a bit southeast lately. Like I've seen more tornado news from states like Tennessee and Alabama than tornadoes in the Great Lakes states.

WillWeaverRVA

Quote from: 1995hoo on August 30, 2021, 09:08:37 AM
Regarding New Orleans, some people just plain don't have a practical way to leave, especially homeless people and extremely poor people. There were various pictures on the news of people who were still living in tents under I-10 or sleeping in the streets even this weekend because they had nowhere else to go and the whole COVID problem had them even more reluctant than usual to go to any sort of shelters or other such places.

My brother moved to New Orleans about two years ago. He just plain likes it there. I had thought he'd be more likely to move to Colorado because he likes outdoor recreation, but he says he has come to hate cold weather more and more as the years have gone by. I hope he still has a home to return to later this week.

Pretty much this. A lot of people didn't leave after Katrina because they simply couldn't afford to, and they still can't. They have nowhere else to go.
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