Rural living around NO (New Orleans, Lafayette: for sale, neighborhoods, school districts)

[TN-rox]

Hello,
I was wondering where good areas were to live outside of New Orleans, that are safe, smaller towns. Land seems to be very expensive down around NO, and what areas that were once rural look like they have huge subdivisions going up. Is it impossible to get land at a decent price to have our small farm like here in Memphis? Where are some good school districts? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[California Dreaming]

You might look around the NorthShore, i.e. Folsom, Loranger, etc.

[Doogie]

How far from N.O. are you willing to go? There are some citrus farms near / south of Belle Chasse on Hwy. 23. If you go west on Hwy. 90 there are some farms pretty much all the way to Lafayette. In particular they start around Raceland and go into New Iberia, etc. Most of those grow sugar cane.

I agree with Cal Dreaming that Folsom would be great but demand is high and therefore so are prices.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Around Kentwood or Amite, Sun, etc., you might find something. Remember Belle Chasse flood sbadly (think Katrina).

[mezzogirl]

There really isn't rural living around NOLA anymore. Ahhh, those were the good ole days...Any larger parcel of land (bigger than say your average third or fourth acre lot) is going to be hard to come by. If you find one, it will most likely be in an estate lot or equestrian subdividion and you will have a bunch of restrictions. It depends on what type of "farm" you want. My parents looked for a long time for property north of NOLA in Folsom, Bush, Sun, Franklinton area. It was very difficult because it is still the "good ole boy network" out there. Land is not necessarily advertised for sale because the neighbors who have been there since the dawn of time do not really care to have some newbie come out there to build a mansion with lots of lights and fancy guard gates. They sell through word of mouth. Your best bet is to visit the area, and drive around/ talk to locals about that old place on such and such road with the broken fence. Would so and so be willing to sell me a few acres?
If you need to be driving distance from NOLA for the typical morning commute- I would just give up on the farm idea. Maybe just a small backyard garden and possibly a mini orchard in the front yard?

[Noladave]

Mezzogirl is right.

The New Orleans area is surrounded by water. Pull out a map or google it. Land on the southshore of Lake Pontchartrain and on the east bank of the Mississippi River is all city.....office buildings, neighborhoods, subdivions, malls, strip shopping, restaurants...

If you want farm land, you'll have to go north of Lake Pontchartrain to Sun, Folsum, Bogalusa, or on the westbank of the River. If the latter, you'll also have to go pretty far south and west of the city like down toward Morgan City and New Iberia. Even if you stay on the Eastbank and go west toward Sorrento and Geismar......either way you go, you're talking about a minimum of a few hours drive into the City.

Land is less expensive in Mississippi, which is only about a 45 minute drive east on I-10. You may want to look around Picayune of Pearl River. Traffic coming in on I-10 from the east can sometimes be a *****, but if it makes your country living dream come true, you'll love it.

[Albanian09]

Why are you moving to the New Orleans area? If you have a job in the city, then there is no rural area within an hour's drive. An hour and a half, just maybe, if you look hard, but less exist every day. Two hours drive will be doable; but, who would want a two hour drive to work? And back? If you are moving to farm, surely there are better areas of the country. If you have a job in the city, and are mainly concerned about crime, most of the suburbs are decent. But, they are suburbs not rural. The schools on the northshore are better than the city, but all Louisiana schools compare poorly with those in other states.