considering a move to Nola (New Orleans, Metairie: 2009, apartments, rental market)

[MSvirgo]

I am a 31 year old single mother of three from Jackson, MS and I am thinking about moving to New Orleans to attend Graduate school at UNO. My children and I visited New Orleans in October and we all fell in LOVE with it! Nobody was ready to leave. I actually felt like I was at home. My children are anxious to get back. We will visit again in March 2009. I just want to know what type of oppurtunities are there for me. I am a foreign language major with a concentration in French and a minor in Spanish. I would also like info on what neighboorhoods are family friendly and affordable. I like Gentilly and Marigny. Any help you can give me will be appreciated.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Do you want ot rent or buy? What ages are your children? Public or private schools? Price range? How far willing to commute?

[Puddinhead]

I like Gentilly, too...that's why I've lived there since 1984 and raised my two teenaged sons there.

We live in Gentilly Terrace and Gardens, and there are a number of homes in the neighborhood that are now being renovated, we assume to place on the rental market. The neighborhood is a served by Gentilly Terrace Elementary, one of the UNO Charter Schools. Typical not-quite-but-almost suburban living; you have the houses on a little bigger lots, set back from the street with front yards...but many of the houses are California bungalows built in the 30's and 40's and you're also a short bus ride down Elysian Fields from the Quarter. And an even shorter bus ride out Elysian Fields to UNO...which my oldest son is now attending.

Marigny is a really nice historic neighborhood (New Orleans' first "suburb"), but it's probably a little more of an adult neighborhood with a bit of a "counter-culture" feel at this point in time. A lot of folks who might have liked to live in the Quarter but not at Quarter-type prices have found the next-best thing across Esplanade in the Marigny...and are now actually sort of extending further into Bywater. Like I said...nice neighborhoods, and I'm not going to say they are or aren't "child-friendly". I grew up in a neighborhood not too far from there myself. There's a lot to be said for growing up in a historic neighborhood near the heart of a city.

[MSvirgo]

I would like to rent for right now. I am having a hard time finding info on apartments in New Orleans that aren't extremely high. Any suggestions? My daughter is 12 and I have two sons, 8 and 4. I wouldn't mind them going to a charter school. Catholic school is okay too. I went to a Catholic school for several years. I am Baptist, but I did like the courses that were taught. I also didn't mind mass on Fridays either. When I entered public school, I was actually ahead of my classmates. I would like to stay close to UNO if possible. If that's not possible, I would like to be within the city limits. I don't think I could cross the Causeway on a daily basis.

[MSvirgo]

Thanks for that info. My psychology professor here at Jackson State University is from New Orleans, and she said that I would probably like the Gentilly area. Is it terribly expensive? What about the area around Tulane?

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Renta have been very high since Katrina. My son lives in Old Metairie and the house next door is a duplex, renting at $1200 per side. It looks like a minor dump from the outside, never been in it. One side has been empty for 3-4 months, the owner is not lowering the price. I think rents are high all over. Tulane sits in Uptown/Carrollton which is quite pricey.