How dangerous is New Orleans post-Katrina? (Metairie, Slidell: loft, crime rate, house)

[Southerncharmer]

Reports indicate that New Orleans may be the deadliest/bloodiest city in the country? Some studies offer conflicting information and some suggest that it is concentrated in the impoverished areas where there have been disputes between the those living in the public housing projects for years. Is this really the case? Do you feel safe in New Orleans?

I am engaged to a New Orleans native that recently moved back to the city to be close to his aging mother. I live in rural Tuscaloosa, AL (home of The University of Alabama, ROLL TIDE! :~), so I am used to peace, quiet, and am virtually untouched by crime, the schools are great, life is good but in order to be with my fiance I'd have to relocate. I have to consider my 6 year old daughter's best interest and basically I AM SCARED by the thought of living in New Orleans!!!!!!!!!!! My fiance seems to live in a relatively quiet neighborhood with the occassional issues of crime such as buglary, theft, auto theft, etc. It's outside the city near Lake Ponch. Is love worth the risk? He says that he needs to be there for his 80 yr. old mom and that we don't have to stay there forever. . .

[gv0928]

I attend Tulane, and basically, it's just about street smarts. Don't walk alone at night. Or the day, really. Don't try and take shortcuts anywhere unless you're 100% certain, because as people will tell you here, you can go from a quiet street to a jungle within two minutes. Stay on the big streets and it shouldn't be a problem. Watch out for taxicab drivers - United is the only company that can be trusted, or so it seems.

Aside from that, you should be fine. I have personally never had anything happen to me, but you do hear things. Just be smart and you'll be fine. It's actually a nice city.

[Vampgrrl]

If you are outside the city proper (on the Lake? the Northshore? Slidell? Mandeville? or southshore? Metarie?) You should really be ok.

I don't see any problem even living inside the city itself especially Uptown (near Tulane).
If you move here don't be afraid to talk to your neighbors, or go out occasionally. I was terrified of all these stories and I spent the first month I was here too scared to leave the house for much other than milk.
Now I LOVE it here (except the shopping...I find the shopping here to be subpar unless you like a lot of art and antiques)

[SBCmetroguy]

WTF? Watch out for taxi drivers? What's the story behind that, will they try to rob you? Here it's the opposite... the taxi drivers are the ones who get robbed, beat, and killed. It's hard to imagine it going the opposite way.

[gv0928]

Well, firstly, they are keen of taking advantage of you - they will take you in a circle rather than just going down the street.

Secondly, the other companies aren't trustworthy. Moderator cut: editAt least don't go in them alone.

[Vampgrrl]

That's nuts. I take cabs all the time, never had a problem.

Moderator cut: edit

[san phlegmatico]

I AM SCARED by the thought of living in New Orleans!!!!!!!!!! ... My fiance seems to live in a relatively quiet neighborhood with the occasional issues of crime such as burglary, theft, auto theft, etc.

I'm always amazed at the softies from my home state of Alabama who constantly lament THE CRIME!, THE SIN!, THE DECAY!, and the idiosyncrasies of the New Orleans urban grab bag.

For one, Birmingham consistently ranks very high in national crime indices. And Tuscaloosa ain't no crime-free paradise either. It boggles the mind how Alabamians are so doggone circumspect in the 'Nolia. Maybe it's the conspicuous French influence which confuses the Scots-Irishmen who come flailing down the rolling hills into the bayou with bagpipes blaring and kilts flaring; perhaps it's the shocking shrill of a blaring trumpet -- WHAT NO BANJOS?! ... Maybe it's as simple as cultural rivalry. Or jealousy.

Seriously, it probably does have something to do with the stark differences in culture (at only a few hours' drive away, no less!) and the gumboed composition of neighborhoods which throw the perceptive faculties for a loop and thus render the observer fearful.

I once lived in T-Town -- ten years to be exact. I also once lived in New Orleans. So I do know what I'm talking about: I understand the mentality and dynamics.

But here's a News Flash for ya: Crime is alive and well in Tuscaloosa, AL especially in the University-abutted neighborhoods (and of course the campus itself). If you will accept an anecdotal testimony, here's mine: I have seen more guns out in the open, more burglaries-in-process, more robberies in progress, known more rape victims, and seen more villains fleeing a scene in Tuscaloosa than I have in New Orleans and Birmingham combined. You can add San Francisco to that mix (I've lived there too.)

Is love worth the risk?

Honey, if you find true love anywhere, with anyone, it's always worth a great measure of risk.

And for that matter, N.O. is always worth the risk as well. If you are so lucky as to have a chance to live in such a wonderfully rich gem of a city, DO IT. With a person you love, DO IT to the tenth power and don't look back. It's a no-brainer, in my book.

One of the bonuses of New Orleans: it is a wonderfully romantic place to be. A stroll through Audubon Park, a carriage ride through the Quarter, an afternoon picnic in City Park, sailing across the Pontchatrain... sublime, I tell ya.

I know people the-world-over that, if they could make it work financially, pull it off logistically, would move there in a heartbeat. It's truly one of those places. Alabama is wonderfully beautiful, and homey, and green in the spring, resplendent in the fall, gentile, and not-so-crowded -- all that and icing on the cake... but come on! -- We're talking about NEW ORLEANS: you get the cake, the icing, and sometimes even THE BABY!!

Who's got da Bay-Bee?

New Orleans...: Mardi Gras, and Jazz Fest, and palm-and-live oak lined streets with "neutral grounds" containing streetcars in-between;

Domilise's po-boys, Palace Cafe's crabmeat cheesecake, and Wolfman Washington at The Maple Leaf;

impromptu second lines through yer 'hood, of Hubiq's pies at the quick marts, of sweltering summers sucking on Sno Balls...

There's more history in certain neighborhoods of New Orleans than there is in the entire state of Alabama -- most any American city for that matter.

OK, maybe it's not a lily white place to raise a Leave It to Beaver family, but there is a realness, a community-knitness, and an endemic *FunKY FLaVoR* you just can't match for uniqueness, cultural depth, architectural splendor, brilliant cuisine, world-renowned entertainment, aesthetic and natural beauty, and pure ribald elegance. The funk alone will make you more interesting, add some much-needed colorful dimensions to your personality.

Raising a kid in NOLA? It may be a little unconventional at times, may be a little edgier (even grittier) than the stereotypical suburban-strip mall-soccer mom style; but N.O. is a very literary town, is open-minded & tolerant, can be quite inspiring to the creative side, and will certainly inject your child with heart and soul to balance matters of the gray matter.

Let's not forget just how many talented children have sprung from the loins of a New Orleans upbringing and into the world as pioneers, high achievers, and fine citizens. Wikipedia/ Google it and you'll be blown away! Authors, politicians, singers, chefs, educators, athletes...

Yes, I'm for real. But with N.O., I have found, either you get it, or not -- there tends to be no middle ground. Some people intuitively understand what NOLA is about, or catch on rather quickly; others repudiate its foreignness and RUN the other way.

My experience is that most Hinterlanders -- especially Alabamians, Tennesseans, Georgians, and mountain people -- never grasp the essence of New Orleans. They never really see the beauty. They dwell on crime statistics, exotic dialect, the strange landscape of public versus private schooling, and general provincial quirkiness.

They fixate on the (only slightly) greater risks, lifestyle adjustments and cultural disparities. (Of course, theses people are always the first to venture down for a bender, soak in a long and lascivious weekend, then return home to disparage the EVILS! of New Orleans.)

So, poster, which are you: do you get New Orleans, or not? If not, just spare yourself and the rest of us the inevitable jeremiads, lamentations, and e-screeds: stay in 'Bama.

Good luck to ya.

I know what it means to know New Orleans. -- SP

[Cookie0907]

I'm not gonna lie to you and say that New Orleans is a Beaver Cleaver type of city but it isn't as horrifying as the media makes it out to be. I have lived here my entire life and I am fine. You must be completely aware of your surroundings though. So far the worst thing that has happened to me is in maybe 2003 we had our family car stolen. But I've never been shot or robbed or raped or anything like that. As for your daughter, I would look into private school or something of that sort. Education kinda sucks, I went to public school and did fine but many others have not been so fortunate. If you don't mind me asking, what neighborhood does your fiancee come from? I dont know how safe or bad it might be but sometimes the crime here can seem random and areas that are usually safe may have a few incidences. Please reply soon and don't be scared!!!! lol

[AQUEMINI331]

New Orleans, if you can believe it, has a murder rate nearly twice that of Birmingham (New Orleans = 71 per 100,000 in 2007, and Birmingham had 40 per 100,000). I'm sure being from Tuscaloosa you know about Birmingham's crime problems, they're well-known and well-publicized. As I said, New Orleans is much worse. I had a friend from high school who attended Dillard and was robbed on the street four times in his first year down there. He's a big guy too - 6'7", about 350 lbs. To be fair, I know dudes in the hood actually target the biggest guys they see just to "prove themselves" so his size may have been a disadvantage as opposed to an advantage. But in any case, this was pre-Katrina. New Orleans post-Katrina is supposed to be much worse.


With that being said, even in the worst cities, it's ultimately about street smarts and in many cases, the particular area where you happen to be. Birmingham is a violent city, and yet its homicide rate is only a little bit more than half of what New Orleans' is. In Birmingham, crime is widespread throughout the city; there are only a handful of relatively safe neighborhoods within city limits. I would suspect that a city with even more violent crime would have it spread out even more, perhaps affecting every neighborhood of the city. Am I right, New Orleaninas? If I'm not feel free to correct me. I've been to New Orleans several times before Katrina, I went to the Lower 9th before Katrina, i've been to Uptown New Orleans around the Third Ward, Calliope, all of these areas made famous by New Orleans rappers such as Master P and Juvenile. It was pretty rough, and like I said, the crime rate in N.O. post-Katrina is supposed to be much worse (hard to imagine that).


_

[san phlegmatico]

The areas surrounding around Dillard: sketchy at best. The Third Ward in and around the Erato area and Calliope Projects: some of the most notorious and rundown slums in the city. I would never live near either area.

In fact, the most livable areas comprise a small swath of the city limits, but you can usually find something fairly affordable within them. Most of them are located upriver from Louisiana Ave., stretching out to Carrollton: places like the Universities' neighborhoods, Audubon Park, the Irish Channel, the Garden District, and some of the Lower Garden... many blocks in the Quarter and the Marigny are perfectly fine to reside in, as are some areas out by the lake and in Metairie. And there are always loft areas and high rises downtown.

Point is: there are some good spots that far from resemble Baghdad. As always, in N.O. you trade a little security and comfort for vibe, aesthetic, and proximity to the goings-on.

I've said it before: you either get it, or you don't.

And no, NOLA is nothing like Birmingham. Rather, I would say a good half of N.O. is safer than Avondale and Southside-type areas; another half is far worse than West End, North B'ham, and Ensley put together.

Most of Uptown is comparable in terms of pedestrian-friendliness and safety as is the Highland Avenue area in B'ham; yet Uptown is teeming with a far greater number of thriving business establishments, restaurants, bars, shops, and "things to do" -- perhaps producing a better safety-in-numbers effect.

The caveat, of course, is that within the nice neighborhoods of N.O. there are a few embedded "bad" streets, blocks, and slums which pepper otherwise safe sections of town. Knowing the lay of the land and using common sense goes a long way in averting trouble. Stay on the main paths! If you don't use crack or deal in it, wear bling, and flash bills out in the open, you're generally flying under the radar. In NOLA: keep a low profile! Another tip: stay on St. Charles, Magazine, and other main drags when walking.

SP