Looking for nice place between Metairie & Houma (New Orleans, Kenner: apartment complex, hotel)

[Doctorsteve]

Hi everyone. I will likely be moving to SE LA to work in both Metairie and Houma. I would like to live closer to Metairie (or in it), but I'm not familiar enough to know the decent/safe places in Metairie, or what towns between the two would also be good to live it. I'm definitely a cityboy, so nothing too rural please! Any suggestions???

By the way, I'm initially just looking to rent, not house shopping at this point - so please fill me in on any nice apartment complexes (especially in Metairie). Thanks! Steve

[sumwunzma]

I would recommend Harahan or River Ridge. Harahan is in the bend of the river - the one west of the big "crescent" that the city is famous for. It has an extremely low crime rate, it's own police department, and that small town feel. There are a lot of professionals and really friendly people. It's bordered by Metairie and New Orleans so you're close to the benefits of the city. Ochsner hospital is just up the road and it's right on the river so you can hop over the Huey P. Long to get to Houma (about an hour south).

I'm selling my own house right now if you're interested - MLS #683504. It's on realtor.com!

[Doctorsteve]

Thanks for the reply (*sniff*, the ONLY one too) A friend says RR and Hanrahan are nearly one in the same, and describes Kenner as "Funky" (she pronounces it phone-key and does not mean it in a good way). I understand La Place would be cheaper than Metairie, but that would defeat the purpose of trying to find a balance between my drives to Metairie and Houma.

Nice house by the way, but not in the market...sorry. Any other tips you could share? (and if anyone else is reading this - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE put your two cents in... Thanks!

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Doctorsteve

Thanks for the reply (*sniff*, the ONLY one too) A friend says RR and Hanrahan are nearly one in the same, and describes Kenner as "Funky" (she pronounces it phone-key and does not mean it in a good way). I understand La Place would be cheaper than Metairie, but that would defeat the purpose of trying to find a balance between my drives to Metairie and Houma.

Nice house by the way, but not in the market...sorry. Any other tips you could share? (and if anyone else is reading this - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE put your two cents in... Thanks!

Hi Steve Sounds like Metairie is the place for you for sure. I would pass on LaPlace or Kenner myself. Really, just about any place in Metairie you can find to rent will be fine. Metairie is basically all pretty nice, relatively speaking. Plus you are 15-20 minutes to the French Quarter for great food and some fun. Additionally, when leaving from home in the morning to go to Houma you would be going against the traffic heading out of town, which would be a really good thing. The problem is, rentals everywhere are hard to come by since the hurricane so the pickins may be slim. I would check with a local realtor who also handles rental property management - that will be your best bet for finding out what is available. Sorry I don't have a name to pass on right now, I will try to get one for you and post back tomorrow okay? For now, google rentals in the section of Metairie known as "Old Metairie" - this is a nice and pretty safe area and see what comes up. Basically you want to stay away from all areas on the west bank and only look in Metairie, which is on the east bank, in my opinion.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Doctorsteve

Hi everyone. I will likely be moving to SE LA to work in both Metairie and Houma. I would like to live closer to Metairie (or in it), but I'm not familiar enough to know the decent/safe places in Metairie, or what towns between the two would also be good to live it. I'm definitely a cityboy, so nothing too rural please! Any suggestions???

By the way, I'm initially just looking to rent, not house shopping at this point - so please fill me in on any nice apartment complexes (especially in Metairie). Thanks! Steve

- I would not recommend LaPlace - it floods a lot, and it's racially changing;
- Kenner north of Esplanade is nicer. Kenner (or "Kenna" as the locals pronounce it) has a split personality; nasty south of Esplanade (and especially I-10) but OK north of that street
- For Metairie, I'm not too crazy about stuff near the interstate or south of it, especially when you get near Airline
- Agree that Harahan/River Ridge is worth looking into

[janbeebe]

The N.O. area is chaotic, Metairie included! On Veterans Blvd. I had a Mexican man running at my car (7:00pm) with a police officer chasing him, gun drawn, both on foot. Also, My husband and I went to a wedding in Metairie on the night of the Kenny's Key West shoot out. My sister in law had a broken leg and went to check into a hotel (after the wedding) in which the security guard had to quickly carry her in to lock down the hotel that night. The crime is beyond control and as our local paper has quoted "All of the sane have left." We are here because we own a business but we will get out A.S.A.P. If you have children please do not bring them here there is no future here for them. There are no good public school districts and you will pay a fortune for private education. Good Luck.

[Doctorsteve]

Actually, single - no kids. So I'm looking for a fun, bustling area where I can live in an apt. that I'm not going to be embarrassed in. Intelligent and unmarried neighbors would be nice (No retirement areas for me, please). Good restaurants are a plus, but basically, I don't want to be out in the sticks or feel the need to be surrounded by barbed wire (I had that in Memphis). My options are open, so Im looking to get on with the next part of my life. Whats a 30something single to do (ahem, yeah... straight single, that is)

I will likely be working 3 days Metairie, 2 days Houma, so I'd probably want to stay closer to Metairie. A short ride to downtown is a big plus (especially for during festivals and MG.

So a few quick questions:

Damn! Is Metairie as bad as Janbeebe says? Are RR and Harahan out in rural areas , or is it just as cityish as Metairie? and Which of these areas is most prone to flooding???

Thanks for all the info so far (NEW replies still very welcomed and needed! Thanks!)

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Doctorsteve

Actually, single - no kids. So I'm looking for a fun, bustling area where I can live in an apt. that I'm not going to be embarrassed in. Intelligent and unmarried neighbors would be nice (No retirement areas for me, please). Good restaurants are a plus, but basically, I don't want to be out in the sticks or feel the need to be surrounded by barbed wire (I had that in Memphis). My options are open, so Im looking to get on with the next part of my life. Whats a 30something single to do (ahem, yeah... straight single, that is)

I will likely be working 3 days Metairie, 2 days Houma, so I'd probably want to stay closer to Metairie. A short ride to downtown is a big plus (especially for during festivals and MG.

So a few quick questions:

Damn! Is Metairie as bad as Janbeebe says? Are RR and Harahan out in rural areas , or is it just as cityish as Metairie? and Which of these areas is most prone to flooding???

Thanks for all the info so far (NEW replies still very welcomed and needed! Thanks!)

Honey, it's Louisiana, finding a bad restaurant is really hard to do, lol. Any one you're near is likely to be good!

There are little areas of Metairie that aren't great, but certainly not the hood. Metairie is truly your best bet for all you are looking for - and it doesn't usually flood there at all - the fact that there was flooding after Katrina (and it wasn't all over Metairie by any means) was a fluke. Harahan and River Ridge are quiet little areas, not terribly far out of New Orleans so don't discount them either - though my first choice for you is still Metairie

[shaneevans1]

You think Memphis was bad? Moving to New Orleans?
www.secondchance.com

good luck.

but hey in Houma, you HAVE to go to the French Loaf and have a shrimp or oyster poboy.

[shaneevans1]

Doc, are you an ER/Trauma Doc?
If so, pm me.