I've been where you are. After Katrina, my wife and I took our insurance money and moved to Houston. We both quickly found jobs there (I'm a CPA and my wife is a teacher). For us, though, it was New Orleans, not Baton Rouge, but I think the issues are similar. Both our girls are Texas natives.

We made the move back in Jan 2012, so it's been a little over three years.

I would say the big draw for us was being closer to family and to the culture we knew. We had no family in Houston. I often said that if one or two of the grandparents or someone would have moved to Houston, we never would have left. Having to try to find a babysitter and pay for them every time my wife and I wanted to go somewhere got old. We wanted the grandparents and family to be able to go to dance recitals, softball games, school ceremonies, etc. As they get older, that's going to be harder to make that trip for them. We were in a situation where, the time was kind of now or never. Being near our families, being able to see the kids in Mardi Gras parades at their schools, having access to cheap crawfish, etc, has been worth it.

That's not to say there haven't been days (a lot of them) where i seriously wondered if we made a huge mistake. At the time, child care costs were destroying us (child care for two kids in Katy is insane compared to NOLA) but eventually the kids would have gone to Katy ISD schools. Here, we pay tuition. (Although the tuition for Catholic school here is still cheaper than child care in Katy, so we were used to paying that cost).

As far as salary, yes, it's a big difference. My wife and I, in 2015, are making about what we made in 2011 in Houston. And it's taken a couple of payraises to get back there. We took about a 15K hit, combined.

It's all about what you value. We valued family and having the kids grow up around family and the culture we grew up in. We had great jobs and great income potential in Houston, here, we have good jobs and good income potential. But I'm not the type of person that needs to make as much money as possible to be happy.

As far as the budget / hospital issues are concerned... we always are going to need medical professionals, and none of the doctors/nurses/techs I know in NOLA are suffering. Unless you are working in higher ed, I'm not sure the budget issues would really effect you. Taxes may go up a bit, but not extreme.

I'd be happy to share more thoughts with you via e-mail if you like.