New Orleans

We finally made it to New Orleans! After our week in Cleveland filled with AP tests, interviews, and Relay for Life, the four of us began driving down south. Because the drive was so long and there was some reluctance to us driving the route in one sitting, we were fortunate enough to find a place to stay in Jackson, Mississippi. So last night, we stayed at the Fairview Inn, owned by a good friend of the Jaffe family, and we drove down to New Orleans this morning. Both drives were surprisingly easy, and being able to see such a city makes the long hours worth it. We arrived at David's cousin's house at around 1:00 pm, and after getting settled, we traveled over to the French Quarter to meet with an associate of the area.

We had some time to kill, so we walked down Decatur St. for a little while, checking out some of the local shops as we passed. We then headed up the staircase of 400 Decatur St., eventually coming to the office of Annie, an associate who deals with the businesses of the French Quarter. It was an interesting interview because she herself wasn't a local business owner, but she worked with many that exist in the French Quarter. Annie talked to us a lot about how New Orleans is a community that is very keen on keeping everything local and friendly. Obviously there are chains dispersed throughout the city, but in the French Quarter itself, there are mainly only locally owned businesses and shops. Because New Orleans is such an old city, many of the citizens put in an effort to maintain its originality and history. The people often protest change for this reason - when a Walmart opened up in a suburb nearby the French Quarter, many were upset and wanted it to close.

Part of the reason that most of the French Quarter remains full of local businesses is because if some of the businesses had the opportunity to expand, they wouldn't be able to easily because much of their success comes from the fact that they were located in New Orleans in the first place. For example, if a famous seafood restaurant were to try to open up in another state, it wouldn't have the same kind of success because it wouldn't have the popularity in a different type of environment. Also, the local businesses create an atmosphere in the French Quarter that is very personal and friendly, and it is an atmosphere that the community wants to keep. New Orleans is an extremely unique community, and luckily, the citizens want to keep it that way according to Annie.