I met a lady in the Grocery here in NC who was born/raised in N.O., lived there 52 years and moved here last year. When I told her I lived there part of my youth she told me "hold on to those memories of what it was because the N.O. we knew is gone forever".
That lady was exagerating. If you didn't live in a flooded area things are in pretty good shape. Homes with minor damage are well on the way to being restored. Some of the severely flooded areas are starting to come back; but, it is going to be a long, long time before things are really re-established. Those areas won't ever be the very same again. But, with good luck and good planning things can and will be better than before.