I had stopped posting but this is crazy. We go to New Orleans all the time and there are a couple of places that I know of where homeless people stay under an overpass on a regular basis but you will find that everywhere. Another thing Beggars? Honest to God I saw beggars one time in the French Quarter about 16 years ago. There are those who stand on the streets with signs stating, "need money for food", etc. Again, if you have not seen that elsewhere, you don't get out much because I have see that in every single city we've visited in this country. Go to NYC or DC or LA or Chicago, or Atlanta, or Miami or St. Louis or even yes, Orlando and you'll see the same type of thing.
The last time we went to the French Quarter we saw 1 building boarded up-1 and that was because this particular furniture store left its location in the French Quarter for a building 10 times the size and some idiot threw a rock through the empty store's front window. Also, I see boarded houses or even some businesses sometimes because once hurricane season starts some people, especially older people or those who are handicapped, hire workers to board their windows. They leave the boards up until the season is over and then they hire people to take them down. They want to be prepared and do not have relatives or friends to help them in an emergency.
As far as a beignet place for dinner on Canal, I think it must be close to Constitution which does not exist either.
Like notursula, if you don't like New Orleans, so what, however, before you post things, maybe get a little info.
Would you like me to post that NC is all yahoos, hillbillies, and cigarette shops with a few mountains thrown in because I saw that when I visited?
That would not be fair though because I saw some beautiful things too, like Biltmore and not everyone sounded like Jethro.
Of course I know that other cities have beggars too; however, I have never seen so many as I saw in New Orleans. San Fransico would be the second-runner up. We did see people with signs, and people approached us asking for handouts or offering to shine our canvas tennis shoes.
I said we'd just crossed over Canal and that our hotel was on Canal. Not that we were walking on Canal.
I don't really care whether you post negative things about North Carolina. Some of them will be true. I don't feel the need to make believe that places I like are without flaws. I hate the cigarette shops too. I would point out that we're one of the few states that have both mountains
and beaches. I'd point out to you that SC has far better beaches than we do, but if you hate all beaches, I won't be upset.
My mistake on your state, my apologies. Still, in general, NC's cities are far more prosperous than those in Louisiana. Outside of New Orleans, the worst poverty in Louisiana is also rural, but the difference in the size of the homestead exemption has a major impact on funding for education and other public services (police and fire protection are taxed separately). NC's homestead exemption is ~$27K with an income limit, but in Louisiana it is $75K with no income limit, and there are also all sorts of extra exemptions for farm property of up to 200 acres. The relative number of homes in Louisiana that are over the assessed value of the HE is quite small; for example, no one in my extended family has EVER been required to pay property taxes in the 60 years that we have owned property there.
FWIW, if you drove in from Mississippi you drove in through New Orleans East, which was arguably the area hardest hit by the storm. NOE is a newer part of the city that was developed in the 70's and 80's, and the build quality out there was very cheap (my brother worked construction on quite a few projects in NOE.) New Orleans East is lagging behind in reconstruction more than any other area; there is still no hospital and only one full-service supermarket open out there, and it took 6 months to get power and water service restored there after Katrina, primarily because the utilities companies initially considered it to be abandoned, until a priest who served the Vietnamese immigrant community got a petition drive under way to demand utilities restoration.
PS for Jujube: I'm sure that MrsPete's beignet place was Cafe du Monde, which to be fair, IS on Decatur, and presumably they were walking into the Quarter at the time. A street named Constitution does exist in NOLA, in fact there are two of them, but again, nowhere near any tourist areas. (Personally, I wouldn't go near the one in St. Roch even if I were driving an armored car at high noon.)
I couldn't begin to tell you what route we took into the city; however, I do know what I saw on the drive. I do not doubt that Louisiana is a poor state; that was never my point.
MrsPete, it's true that a lot of cities in NC are more prosperous than in LA, but you have to understand there has always been more job opportunities here also. Also, yes, there has been hurricanes hit this state and had lots of damage, especially on the coast, but not near the number of ones that have hit the LA, MS coasts, that's why you don't see" years old damage" here. And none (that I recall there) were more devastating than Audrey, Betsy, Camille, and Katrina. I know I am leaving out some. NC has had Fran & Floyd that made great impacts inland, but most that hit, do more damage to the outer banks. You can not compare that with what impact the storms have had on LA. I have lived here 17 yrs. but my heart is in So. LA. I live N. of Raleigh, and you can be sure there are places in Raleigh I would not want to go through during the day, let alone at night and it's not a city in size to NOLA. ALL cities have seedy, boarded up areas. They're in Raleigh too! Also, there are beggars here everywhere at intersections especially even in Cary and Wake Forest and especially downtown. For the record, (and someone correct me if I've not noticed all the times I've been there) but I've never seen them serve dinner at Cafe du Monde. Just noticed that someone had posted that there are no boarded up houses on MS coast because they are all gone - yes they are and so, so sad. There were some of the most beautiful old homes there that you'll see anywhere, and what Camiile missed (some only had steps, or two big concrete lions where the entrance was) Katrina finished off.
You left out the biggie: Hugo. I can remember a couple others that did severe damage to NC. I am not denying that New Orleans has been hard-hit by hurricanes. I'm saying that I'm surprised at just how much of it hadn't been rennovated several years after Katrina.
I cannot say that I've ever seen beggars in Raleigh, but then I don't go there all that often. If I were to pick the NC city with the biggest crime/homeless/whatever problems, it wouldn't be Raleigh.
Also, if you'll read again, you'll see that I said my daughter
was trying to convince me that Cafe du Monde would be a good choice for dinner. I didn't say that they served dinner.
Hurricane Katrina was 6 1/2 years ago. You state you visited 4-5 years after that. I simply dont believe there was still a tent city situation in the last year or two?
(I have visited a few times in the last 3 years and dint see any tent city)
But there were many workers living in campers and tents who all went to the city to help rebuild-but that was in the 2-3 years following the storm.
It was 5 or 6 PM, which is why we were walking towards places likely to serve dinner. I'm beginning to think I'm the only poster here with any reading comprehension.
I don't know which interstate it was, so I have no idea whether you would've driven that way or not; but the tent city we saw driving in/out of the city was
massive. I don't think the people would've been workers because it was the middle of the day, and workers would've been . . . at work. This place was populated. It was under a large, elevated interstate, and it was the first time I'd seen such a set-up.
Of course, I was not the one that said anything about the beaches, but was just making a comment. 
Yes, I suspect Charlotte would also have it's share of beggars, but have never gone downtown there, as we seldom go that direction. I don't think many places, regardless of size, is immune.
