Which Northern City is New Orleans Most Like? (restaurants, architecture)

[Chilly Gentilly]

I need to visit the north more. I've been all over the Sun Belt from Thousand Oaks to Jacksonville, but in 28 years have only been up north a couple times. My business partner on the other hand has been to SF, Montreal, Detroit, Grand Rapides, Chicago, and NY. This has me curious...

Several times on this thread I've read New Orleans referred to as a "northern city in the south". The aforementioned business partner has even called N.O. a "hybrid mix of San Francisco with Montreal nuances".

What do you think? N.O. is certainly one of the most unique cities in North America so obviously we're not looking for twins. We're also not talking about economy or size...just overall feel. But what would you consider to be the most similar northern city to New Orleans?

Ciao

[OrilliaONT]

My vote is Philly. You have the humidity, the history, the tourism, the poverty, and the street food. Both are near the sea, but on rivers.

[SawBoi]

I've been to New York and Philly. They definitely don't look like New Orleans.

[OrilliaONT]

Originally Posted by SawBoi

I've been to New York and Philly. They definitely don't look like New Orleans.

New Orleans is truly one of a kind. I never said Philly looked like New Orleans. I just said that New Orleans has the most in common with Philly given the OP's selections. Do you have a better suggestion?

[Bobloblawslawblog]

I'm drawing a blank here. I've been to all the cities in your poll, and none of them really reminded me of New Orleans at all, though I'm sure each of them shares at least one attribute that New Orleans has. New Orleans is just too damn unique. Nowhere else like it anywhere in North America. I definitely don't agree with the people who call New Orleans a "northern city in the south", as I feel that NoLa shares more in common with Southern cities than it does with any Northern city, but that's neither here nor there.

So, to answer your question as best I can, I'd say it's only like San Francisco in that it's on the water and has many fine restaurants. It's only like New York in that it's on the water and has many fine restaurants. It's only like Boston in that it's on the water and has a lot of history. It's only like Detroit in that it has French colonial origins and is on the water. I can't think of any way at all that it's like Minneapolis, other than that they're both on (opposite ends of) the Mississippi River. It's like Philly in that it's on a river and has a lot of history. It's like Montreal in that it's on a river and has a large French-speaking population.

Sorry, those are the only real similarities that I can think of.

[Metro Matt]

Boston probably.

It has the Irish-Catholic influence while New Orleans has the French-Catholic influence.

Downtowns are about the same size.

Both have loads of history.

[Mutiny77]

Tough one, but I'm tempted to go with Baltimore (although not truly Northern). That's about the best I can do.

[SawBoi]

Originally Posted by OrilliaONT

New Orleans is truly one of a kind. I never said Philly looked like New Orleans. I just said that New Orleans has the most in common with Philly given the OP's selections. Do you have a better suggestion?

Probably St. Louis.

[MidtownMars]

Interesting topic! I give the nod to San Francisco. They're both small cities geographically, but both pack one helluva punch culturally. Both cities also have their own special brands of uniqueness. Both are very wallkable and use streetcars. Both are on water and are older cities.

Yea, definitely San Francisco, though I could also see a comparison being made with Montreal for architecture and the French influence.

[Chilly Gentilly]

Lol. Here we go again. Before anyone insults my intelligence, I'm aware that SF is in Northwest California and that Montreal is in Canada.

My OP may have not been clear, but I thought it was obvious that I meant cities north as opposed too the colloquial "North" or what the Census Bureau defines as "the North".