New Orleans vs St. Augustine (living, better, rates, crime)

[Hawaii4evr]

I love both cities but think New Orleans has more to offer, so I prefer there. However, which do you like better? Consider:
-weather
-food
-history
-art/culture
-COL
-activities (airboating, beaches, etc)

[annie_himself]

You must be really excited about your move.
However, this is an unfair advantage for New Orleans.
Weather: St. Aug
Food: Duh
History: While St. Aug was the first city in America it doesn't hold a candle to New Orleans history
Art/Culture: New Orleans
Activities: New Orleans has more volume but I pick St. Aug because I love the beach.

[Hawaii4evr]

I agree with what you said. I wish there were some nice beaches near New Orleans. Grand Isle Beach doesn't look too pretty, neither do the nearby Mississippi and Texas beaches, but will give 'em a try anyways.

[kevinDUBrow]

New Orleans:
Cesspool of crime and ne'er-do-wells
Miserable hot sticky weather along with Hurricane threat and that whole being-below-sea-level thing.
If you leave New Orleans on a drive you are basically nowhere.
History is just that. Aside from looking at old buildings, what is it doing for you?

St Augustine:
Way less congested.
Beaches.
Superior weather.
Proximity to everything else in Florida.
And possibly a lower COL due to Florida's taxation rates but that's just guessing.

[annie_himself]

Houston's crime is worse than New Orleans. St. Aug will be just as humid away from the water fronts, and is probably more prone to hurricanes. New Orleans is in proximity to Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Gulf Coast beaches, etc.
With history comes culture, enough said.

[urbanologist]

I've actually been to both places. There are a few spots in St Augustine that's older than America itself but other than that New Orleans is a more developed city. I have wondered what it would be like had St Augustine became a large major city. Just imagine what it would look like today. Should Jacksonville be able to claim St Augustine as part of it's metro since it's close by?

[Hawaii4evr]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

Houston's crime is worse than New Orleans. St. Aug will be just as humid away from the water fronts, and is probably more prone to hurricanes. New Orleans is in proximity to Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Gulf Coast beaches, etc.
With history comes culture, enough said.

Shockingly, St. Augustine is not very prone to hurricanes. At least not as much as other areas in FL.

[Deezus]

St. Augustine is nice, but it's really small. I mean, it might rank for one of my favorite small towns--not even 15,000 people living there--and it's got an interesting mix, but it's small town living. The downtown is cool to walk around--Flagler College has a nice campus with the Spanish-Moorish architecture and there's the touristy old quarter--and the Spanish fort(along with the smaller one down the waterway at Matanzas) are pretty unique for the US. The rest of the town and surrounding areas is sort of typical northern Florida mix, sort of Old South feeling in parts and sort of standard Sun Belt suburban feeling in others. The beach areas are fairly typical for Florida--nice fairly untrammelled beaches if you go further to the north or south. Good cheap seafood and plus they have the Minorcan spicy clam chowder which is unique to the region. My grandmother lives in Palm Coast/Flagler Beach so I go there almost yearly. It's really relaxing in some ways, but it can feel a little slow at times.

On the other hand, New Orleans is an city--and one of my favorite cities in the US for the culture and food and cityscape alone. St. Augustine is a nice place to stop through, but it's only going to appeal to people who like a quieter lifestyle. New Orleans isn't for everyone, but I love the place--I find it fascinating and always have a good time there.

[urbanologist]

I was in Hurricane Andrew so the only thing I recall is that it went up towards Louisiana. New Orleans was spared I think.

[nature's message]

New Orleans. It's not even close.