Moving to NO in a week...help!

[woofenstein]

The cheap rent in Kenner is tempting, and if you don't plan on living in the thick of things, that's a great opportunity.

However, if you're young and/or plan on having a good time in NOLA (which you WILL) you won't want to drive home or take an expensive cab out of the city.

In my experience, the Bywater/Marigny area is perfect for those who want to live near the French Quarter. It's the neighborhood next to the FQ, 15-20 min. walking (maybe less?) and 10 or less minutes biking. I think it's even better than the FQ, personally, being that the likelihood of running into drunk frat boys is 99% less likely and it has its own charm that rings more authentic. The architecture is GORGEOUS and the residents are very friendly. For the most part, it's not even sketchy! Before I lived in that area, I was very worried about safety, being a young woman. After just a few days, though, I had no problems with riding my bike around at NIGHT (either from the FQ or still in Marigny). Just be smart, and if you're really concerned, carry some pepper spray. You can get around in metro New Orleans on a bike (with tough tires).

Before I lived there, I was very apprehensive about all the crime people were going on about on the Internet--that's why I bought the pepper spray. However, I never had to use it. It might be a different story if you travel on foot, but if you're streetwise, it's gonna be okay.

My point is this: if you're gonna live down there, do it all the way (if you can afford more than $600/month, that is). Don't settle for a suburb, cause you'll regret not having anything to do there. Anyone who's lived in NOLA can tell you it's worth all the hype!

In my opinion, the biggest thing to watch out for is the humidity.......which you get used to, unless you're a spoiled priss.

[nawlinsdude]

Hey, I'm a 42 year-old caucasian male living in the lower Garden District. I enjoy where I'm at because I can walk to the Warehouse District, CBD, and French Quarter easily from my home. I've gone out walking during the day and at night and have never been robbed or attacked, even though I'm only 5'7" and would probably make an easy target.

There's a rule of thumb in New Orleans: no matter where you are in the city, you're about 2 blocks away from the ghetto. Avoid Uptown/Garden District on the lake side of St. Charles, or to the river side of Magazine; don't prowl Canal or Rampart beyond the French Quarter after dark, and if you live downriver from the Quarter in the Marigny or the Bywater, ride a bike after dark (or drive), and don't engage strangers in conversation or flash money or other valuables more than you have to. Dress like a thrift store pauper, and you'll fit right in, and be relatively hassle-free!

Your choice of neighborhood depends largely on your personality and social interests. Kenner and Metairie are largely for people who want safety and functionality to the exclusion of Bohemian pleasures. For Kenner and Metairie, picture Wal-Mart and the Olive Garden; for the Marigny, the Bywater, and Lower Garden District, picture coffeehouses, bicycles, thrift store clothing, and a counter-culture attitude. The French Quarter's available housing has largely been converted into condos and corporate rentals, and has a pretty rowdy, frathouse crowd, with the exception of Decatur Street close to Esplanade, which has more of a local vibe. What housing remains in the Quarter is artificially high. The ambience there isn't what it used to be; even though only a portion of our population has returned, parking is really difficult, and the sidewalks are overwrought most nights with ghost and vampire tours. Most of the locals gravitate toward the Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods, and these are the centers of counterculture and creativity. People in these areas, however, tend to be a little elitist and clicky in their mindset, and disparage people from Jefferson Parish (and St. Bernard Parish) in much the same way that people in Manhattan eschew the bridge-and-tunnel crowd. So...creativity, yes, it's here, but with a side of clicky elitism, in a much more down-home, less materialistic kind of way. The Warehouse District and Uptown/Carrollton neighborhoods maintain the style-consciousness of the more Bohemian neighborhoods, but are more yuppie by nature, sanitized and materialistic. Uptown/Carrollton is more old money, and the Warehouse District is more trendy, new money.

If you have a distaste for homogenous sprawl and a cookie-cutter lifestyle, the Marigny, Bywater and Lower Garden district are probably the place for you. Mid-City has pockets of counter-culture, but has a decidedly blue collar vibe to it (which is good and bad), and hasn't recovered quite as much from Katrina as have neighborhoods closer to the river. The lakefront neighborhood used to provide a wonderful sense of peace and quiet, without the need to acquiesce to the sterility of suburbia, but, sadly, it's still a mess of shelled-out homes and construction hell.

Traffic is going to be a mess all over, because there are a lot of people in town doing contracting work. It's better to live close to downtown and to travel on foot or bicycle. There is, to a degree, a sense of lawlessness here right now, because the police don't ticket speeders and there are knocked-over traffic signals all over the place from speeding, anarchist 18-wheelers and oversized pick-up trucks with Texas license plates. Many of the lights that are still up are blinking continuously. The city's contractors will come and and fix them one week, and they go back out the next.

We still don't have public mailboxes, and I can't get any third class mail, even though the Post Office maintains that it's being delivered. I understand that emergency rooms in hospitals are still overcrowded, and that the court system is overburdened, with violent felons being released on a 60-day-charge-or-release technicality (article 701), but thankfully, so far, it hasn't affected me. Felons have to be released after 60 days when witnesses don't come forward and/or the police didn't fill out their report correctly.

Rents have skyrocketed, because there is a shortage of housing in the metro area, and property taxes and home insurance have gone through the roof. The most reasonable rents are in the Garden District/Uptown areas, and in Kenner/Metairie, but what you save to live in the burbs, you pay the price for in longer commutes and lack of originality and style.

In terms of safety, as in the case of most of the US, the suburbs are safer, but more sterile. However, we have a Chinese vigilante sheriff in Jefferson Parish named Harry Lee that openly profiles minority neighborhoods while letting some of his moneyed friends get out on bail (google Vince Marinella). New Orleans has a much higher crime rate. However, what makes it excel so high in the crime statistics is the murder rate -- and 90% of these murders are gang-related, black-on-black crime, and retaliation-based. Not that that's good, but it probably won't affect you if you're not involved with that crowd. So, unless you're caught in the crossfire, your chances of being murdered in New Orleans are much lower than many other urban centers in the US. Crime in other areas -- such as larceny, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, is -- according to the most recent FBI statistics, actually lower here than many other US urban centers. That said, there has been a rash of bar shootings and robberies, and I'm not sure how that figures into these statistics, or if we can trust the NOPD to accurately portray them. I'm not generally out when these incidents are happening, though, but they are widespread -- happening in the Quarter, Uptown, Garden District, as well as the Marigny and Bywater. A filmmaker was murdered during a home invasion robbery in the Marigny (corner of Rampart and Spain) a few months ago, where a friend of mine used to live until he evacuated for Katrina.

Nonetheless, I live an easy life here refreshingly free from the rat race you would have to live in another city of similar size. I live in a creative, urban area where there are lots of bougainvillea, oaks, and crepe myrtle trees, and I can walk everywhere I need to go. And that easiness has a way of keeping me here, even though I'm tempted to try living elsewhere.

[Vampgrrl]

Im definately pro Orleans Parish but Harry Lee seems he is doing more to combat crime than Riley.

[jrmaher]

I have lived in Kenner since I was born so hopefully I can give you a good review about. Kenner has really expanded since I was little. Half of the city was woods now they are suburbs. Everyday it seems like they are knocking woods down and putting up a new suburb. Problem with this is it hurts the species living in the woods and the ones who survive are left to wander the streets at night, such as oppusom,raccons, etc. Iam just warning you cause in my neightborhood it has been a problem. As far as Kenner itself it doesnt offer much nightlife at all but it is a great place to call home. If you want to find nightlife and want to avoid crowds Metairie might be a great place to go which is also in the N.O. metro area and is about 10 minutes away without traffic. They have various local hangouts and bars. Of course there is good ole' New Orleans and Bourbon street as well. At first I would suggest going down there with someone cause parking can be tough after a certain point. Now back to Kenner, it has a reputation for having a very strict police force. As long as you dont speed you should be fine. Also be careful if you do party because Kenner is known to setup DUI checkpoints in various parts of the city. As far as cost Kenner has gone up post Katrina but most of the N.O. metro has. Which is why Iam thinking of moving plus limited job offers in my field. But you should love it I know I have since I was little.

[NOLA Bass]

Bayou St. John area of Mid City (City Park/Esplanade) is a wonderful neighborhood. Lived there for the last 10 years and now we're renting our duplex there. One of my tenants is my cousin (early 20's, nursing student). She loves the neighborhood, lots of culture, stuff to do, 10 minutes from the French Quarter, Uptown, etc. ,etc. I think you'll be bored out of your mind in Kenner.