Vacation planning... (New Orleans: hotels, safe area, college)

[Ocean Bourne]

My husband and I are planning a vacation to New Orleans. If we like it, we're planning on moving down there. Based on research and a friend who used to live there, we're pretty sure we will like it. But this will be our first time down there. I've got some questions, but any other insights would be great too.

Everyone we know who just vacationed there hated it. But it sounds like they just went to Bourbon and hated that street. Don't get me wrong, I like music and a good drink, but I'm getting the impression that Bourbon is kind of a circus... I don't mean any offense, but is that about right?

Because we're planning on moving, and also because we live in a tourist area ourselves -- we're looking for things to see and do that aren't tourism driven or tourism related. After all, we're trying to see if we'd enjoy New Orleans for at least many years... not just a week and some change. Any ideas?

Are there any reasonably cheap hotels in reasonably safe areas (I get that it's a city... and safety isn't a guarantee in any city I've been in, especially when there isn't an overabundance of money to throw around)

We want to avoid Mardi Gras (again, with the avoiding circuses, seeing if we'd like it year-round, and keeping costs low when possible). But I know there are a bunch of other festivals and events that will effect hotel reservations, and so on. What's a good time to visit?

As it stands at the moment, we're planning on spending most of our time in the French Quarter, Marigny, and Bywater because those areas appeal to us most -- probably with a few forays into the Warehouse district and the CBD. Can you recommend anything on the must-see list for those specific areas? We're also going to attempt to get a decent cross-section perspective of the city while we're there, as far as that's possible in a small amount of time. Any suggestions on that?

Anything else?

[Neworleansisprettygood]

I'll type a longer response later, but I would just say don't be so sure you want to avoid Mardi Gras. It's a BIG thing that occupies a lot of the city and surrounding area for about a month. In other words, there's a lot more to it than just drunk college students on Bourbon. If you do decide to move down here, having to plan some of your year around Mardi Gras would be a fact of life.

[Ocean Bourne]

Thanks. And I can see the logic in not avoiding Mardi Gras. Ideally, we'd like to get a good idea of how it is most of the year, first. But it makes sense, I wouldn't want to find out that commuting routes were blocked, or so on. But we are trying to keep costs down. Also, I'm sure it's not as all encompassing as Mardi Gras -- and our area is much smaller -- but we are from tourist area, so we deal with an influx of drunk college students and other vacationers every summer.