The 2005 hurricane along the Gulf Coast left more than 1,700 people dead and wracked up billions of dollars in damages. Gasper is among the countless New Orleanians who chose to rebuild their lives in Texas after losing their homes, possessions and communities in the storm.  Since then, Gasper has developed a complicated relationship with his adopted city and his beloved hometown. You can't take the 504 out of him, he says, referring to the city's area code, but he won't be moving back to New Orleans anytime soon, either.  "New Orleans is a hard place to live now," the 34-year-old says. "For the hard-working people who are trying to build wealth and establish themselves, it's a hard journey -- a tough journey."  Houston is a better place to raise families, evacuees like Gasper say, with better schools and less crime. They believe the economy here is healthier, with more jobs and higher pay. They're convinced that Houston offers more security against another devastating hurricane.  The new residents have opened bookstores, restaurants and barbershops, and brought some of the flavor of New Orleans to their apartments, retirement homes and subdivisions in Texas.  "You can't never take the New Orleans out of me," Gasper says. "But I can't see myself moving back there for a long time."  At least for now, this is home.  The Houston mayor's office reported that 150,000 to 250,000 evacuees journeyed to Texas' largest city immediately after the storm, but researchers who have tried to document those numbers have failed.  "I was shocked," said Sean Varano, a Roger Williams University professor, who spent years researching crime and Katrina evacuees. "I queried every available source. No matter how many times and how many places I looked, I could not find this information."  What's even blurrier is how many Katrina survivors chose to stay.
A logo painted on the floor of Terrence Gasper's barbershop says it all: "New Orleans' finest."But this isn't New Orleans. This is Houston.Six years ago this month, Gasper and most other New Orleans