Property Value in Galveston vs. prop. value in N.O.

[samplegirl]

I know i might be subjecting myself to some nasty posts
but in comparison to the homes i viewed from Galveston to
those in N.O. is a huge difference.
I dont mind my Tax dollars going to help rebuild N.O.
but Galveson homes were.........well much better than I
can afford complete with huge wrap around porches and
hot tubs. I did'nt see well......any shacks.

[merci_me]

1. You didn't see IN Galveston

Galveston has lots of poor districts. They just aren't on the waterfronts, where the media was. As for the "tourist areas", if those were being shown, that has a French Quarter look.

The poor areas are primarily down crowded little streets and alley ways. Where do you think the low wage dock workers and the hotel and kitchen help who serve the tourists live? I don't have time now to look up the demographics to show the median income of the people who live on the island (not the vacation home owners). Racially, my own observation is the island has a very large minority presence, both Black and Hispanic. Fortunately, most of them do have cars, even if just clunkers, because the only way off the island is by boat or causeway.

Believe me, if Galveston had taken the hit, poor and minorities (who make up the base of the residents) would have taken the major hit. As it is, the area of Texas and Louisiana that did take the hit are also mostly the poor. The camera lens just isn't wide enough to pan out to see them, in the all little towns.

The Chamber of Commerce brochures don't show the poor in Galveston. They show the Strand, the Historic Silk Stocking, and the beaches with the "fly-in vacation mansions. Just the way the NOLA brochures only show the French Quarter and Historic Garden District and Superdome.

[samplegirl]

3. Media

at its best.

[merci_me]

7. I can imagine..............

as it was, living in Houston, I didn't watch anything but local affiliates for what was happening here in Houston/Galveston.

Local media was also concentrated at the beach, because all we were interested seeing in was the wind and rise. We already know about the houses. As for fly overs after it passed, we saw the beach area was in miraculously good shape, so it was a given that the poor areas, which are clustered inland (without the beaches and views), withstood the storm.

BTW, Galveston's mayor and the rest of the city management did a great job of clearing the island. Anyone who was still there and that was very, very few, was there by choice, much to the city's frustration.

[pstans]

2. interesting observation

but what is your point?

[samplegirl]

4. I guess my point is

I dont mind my tax dollars going to someone whos
home has been demolished, but to help a rich guy
to replace his siding is well over the top to me.

[fishnfla]

6. Um, have you ever heard of this thing called homeowners insurance?

Most people who carry a mortgage are required to carry and pay for it. It has nothing to do with tax dollars.
Your opinion is entirely uninformed and baseless. Why would you assume tax money is used to rebuild where private insurances have coverage?
At best, a homeowner can get a LOAN from FEMA, which has to be paid back when their insurance coverage comes in.

[fishnfla]

5. Hurricanes don't discriminate, only people can do that eom

[pitohui]

8. a little more information

we do have some nice properties in new orleans that were destroyed as well, we don't all live in shacks

people in a flood plain or on a barrier island have flood insurance and also homeowner's, the fine homes on galveston will likely have both kinds of insurance to help them rebuild

the problem ppl don't seem to understand in new orleans is that thru a FREAK EVENT many areas were flooded that were NOT part of the flood plain, called Zone C or "No Flood" Zone, in those areas, for many yrs, insurance agents would not sell you the nat'l flood insurance for fear of being accused of fraud for selling you unnecessary insurance

therefore a great many ppl, and not just the owners of "shacks," in new orleans area were uninsured against water damage, depending on their location, gentilly, old metairie, lakeshore/lakeview would be among these areas, these folks WOULD have bought flood insurance if it had been offered to them but in many, many cases they were SPECIFICALLY told that it was unnecessary

i am one in Zone C so i have personal experience w. this, finally, after a severe flood of my neighborhood which narrowly missed my home, i was able to buy the flood insurance w.out getting backchat from the insurance agent, i was lucky, ppl in areas that have NEVER before been flooded are not so lucky

this is why you may see some ppl in new orleans, who don't seem poor to you, who will sink into poverty without aid, since their home is their only asset of value other than their job -- and of course now the job may be gone also

there is going to be much hew & cry in the wingnut press -- i already saw it today in the knoxville news-sentinel -- saying that ppl w.out flood insurance should not receive any aid, that they were "irresponsible"

don't buy into it

it is not likely that too many folks in galveston are going to need yr aid, it is going to be south louisiana & the mississippi gulf coast

some of those folks are already being spun in the media as "undeserving" & the spin is being cautiously adjusted to play to audience -- for the racist, we are "undeserving" because the money might go to some poor blacks, for the libertarian or liberal audience, we are "underserving" because the money might go to someone who is not living at the very bottom of the bottom & should have somehow known better against all history & advice

there's always a reason to be a butthead & not help anyone except yourself

don't buy into it

[A-Possum]

9. Agree

As to Galveston, it's much like NO in terms of the distributions of high-end and "shacks" on a smaller scale. For the info of those who haven't been there, yes there is some new beachfront property, but there's a lot that is very old and shabby. People are well aware of the lack of dunes and protection and the history of Galveston, so they have often just build cheap, figuring let it get washed away and we'll build cheap again. The wrap-around porches dont' mean much; a lot of those if you got a closer look are not fancy at all. A few are, but even being so close to a major city, Galveston has never really been able to maintain a "Miami Beach" atmosphere.

The beaches are not pretty, the water is not blue. It's had a small renaissance in the past few years because cruise ships now dock there. The old Victorian houses are lovely, very much like New Orleans, some have been fixed up but many have not been renovated and they look pretty much like the 9th ward. The old neighborhoods are mixed.

As to flood insurance, it's a mess. When I lived in Corpus Christi, we were on high ground about 20 ft above sea level in a non-flood zone. But just in case I wanted to cover "rising water" which normal homeowners doesn't.

Federal flood insurance was reasonably priced, but I discovered that you can only get it if you live IN a flood zone. You could get private flood insurance if you DON'T live in a flood zone but it was SO EXPENSIVE it was not realistic to carry it. How much sense does that make? It's more expensive to insure a property at less risk??

I don't think flood insurance should subsidize building on risky flood areas, but I do think there should be an insurance pool for it in which properties are realistically evaluated. The reason private flood insurance is so high is because nobody buys it now.