Priced Out

Priced out of my own city. It's the reason I started this blog. My husband says lets just head back to New Orleans. If it were only that easy. He's a cop and I am a first time teacher, among the lowest paid jobs in New Orleans. Rents are insane, I took a look at Craigslist and saw precious few rentals below $1000. That may be normal for other cities but not New Orleans. Even home prices are astronomical. We would be first time home buyers so buying a gutted home, financially, is out of the question. Renovated homes are priced out of our range. Don't even get me started on home insurance. We'd probably have to get citizens (insurer or last resort) and pay $4000 a year. All utility bills in the city have gone up. Even groceries are above the national average. Everything is expensive.

If you already own a home in New Orleans you have a fighting chance. I've talked to friends in New Orleans , who like us are just starting to come to the time in their lives when they want to be home owners. They too find that they have to put off that dream indefinitely. They all spend a good chunk of their pay on tiny apartments.

I worry that living in New Orleans now means poverty for the working and middle class. I worry even more that it will be a long time before I get to be with my family and friends.

This sucks.