Honestly, I think post-Katrina New Orleans is something every American really should experience. I was last there a few months ago... 5 full years after Katrina. I was there for about a week and was shown around by one of my DeLorean friends who lives in Metairie. The city is still in such a state of disarray it's alarming and highly sobering. So many roads are still impassable. Even outside the highly publicized 9th Ward, there are enormous areas which have been razed and left for dead. Nice, middle class suburban sections. Mansions in high end established areas which are damaged, boarded up, whose yards have gone to seed. Countless numbers of homes left abandoned, with the water line and number of dead still visible on the exterior walls. You have to leave the touristy parts of New Orleans and drive north towards Lake Pontchartrain to see it, but once you do, you realize how staggering the scale of the destruction still is. And the amount of people who STILL haven't come back after all this time, and probably never will. I can't even imagine how bad it looked the first year or two after the storm.
But the most amazing part of all is the spirit of the New Orleans people. I've never met friendlier, more optimistic, upbeat people in my entire life. They all seem to thoughtlessly take care of one another. You'd think after all the horrendous BS they've been through, they'd be bitter, guarded, and resentful. Nothing could be further from the truth. I could tell you several stories of the generosity I encountered from complete strangers, but I'm already rambling uncontrollably
. Seeing New Orleans earlier this year was just so humbling and enlightening. It is one of the most memorable, meaningful trips I've ever taken.
If you have the time and feel the desire to go to New Orleans, I can't encourage you enough to go. If you have any local contacts down there, that's the best way to really see the true state of the city. If you don't, there are Ledgies on here from New Orleans who I am sure would be more than happy to show you their city.