Advice for Moving to New Orleans (Jefferson, Arabi: 2010, lease, homes)

[jacksonian]

I'm 26 and my wife is 25, and we both want to move to New Orleans! I also have 2 friends that moved there within the past year.

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by jacksonian

I'm 26 and my wife is 25, and we both want to move to New Orleans! I also have 2 friends that moved there within the past year.

Glad to hear that. New Orleans needs more good, young people. If enough of them move to NOLA then we can choke out the lousy thugs and drug dealers and NOLA can be a great city once again.

[Kellhashc]

Originally Posted by Prytania

And why New Orleans has a pretty big influx of young professionals coming into the city...

See ya Kellhashc...job market is better here than in most other places.

Yea and I was one of them. Now that I've gotten here I realize what a mistake that was (and I was a person who spent a lot of time here and even attended school here briefly, and truly loved this place before living here as a professional).

Where else have you lived besides New Orleans Prytania?

[Kellhashc]

Originally Posted by MetroBTR

Glad to hear that. New Orleans needs more good, young people. If enough of them move to NOLA then we can choke out the lousy thugs and drug dealers and NOLA can be a great city once again.

Why aren't you here helping in the cause?

[Prytania]

Originally Posted by Kellhashc

Yea and I was one of them. Now that I've gotten here I realize what a mistake that was (and I was a person who spent a lot of time here and even attended school here briefly, and truly loved this place before living here as a professional).

Where else have you lived besides New Orleans Prytania?

Texas and Atlanta.

This city has some serious downsides but most do. I still feel better about being here than anywhere else I've lived thus far. This place, is a place worth caring about...

[Kellhashc]

Originally Posted by Prytania

Texas and Atlanta.

This city has some serious downsides but most do. I still feel better about being here than anywhere else I've lived thus far. This place, is a place worth caring about...

New Orleans has more downsides than nearly all other cities of its size. I guess it all depends on what you like. I have one of the better financial jobs you can get in this city and I can go to Dallas, St. Louis, Atlanta, Miami, even Birmingham, make more or equivalent pay. Renting or owning a home is also more affordable... and you have more choices of where to live and without any real risk of catastrophic flooding. Insuring a car is cheaper. Insuring a home is cheaper (well except for Miami). And overall I do feel those cities are safer in terms of crime. Oh yea but there's not as much culture, no Mardi Gras, and there is an applebees on every corner. I guess the question is is culture and uniqueness worth the price? For some it may be, but not for me.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by Kellhashc

New Orleans has more downsides than nearly all other cities of its size. I guess it all depends on what you like. I have one of the better financial jobs you can get in this city and I can go to Dallas, St. Louis, Atlanta, Miami, even Birmingham, make more or equivalent pay. Renting or owning a home is also more affordable... and you have more choices of where to live and without any real risk of catastrophic flooding. Insuring a car is cheaper. Insuring a home is cheaper (well except for Miami). And overall I do feel those cities are safer in terms of crime. Oh yea but there's not as much culture, no Mardi Gras, and there is an applebees on every corner. I guess the question is is culture and uniqueness worth the price? For some it may be, but not for me.

Other cities may have more choices of where to live, but the homes that are in New Orleans are far more enchanting and charismatic. Often, you have to pay more for that, so it wouldn't surprise me that those homes are more expensive. Crime is in every city and for the most part, it is consistent to certain areas in most cities. New Orleans is one of the cities still existing that didn't buy into the corporate business plan to put a fast food restaurant on every block, which is why it still retains it's urban character without all the flashing bulbs and huge advertisements covering the facades of buildings. Everyone has a place where they belong and I'm sorry New Orleans was not it for you, but I hope you find yours.

[Prytania]

Well feel free to leave. No hard feelings and no one is stopping you.

You want to know what expensive is? Go to San Fran or Boston or New York and try to afford a house. It's pricey but still fairly inexpensive here compared with most...its on par with Atlanta.
And face it, River Ridge, Metairie or most othe suburbs around New Orleans are DAMN cheap. (Not that I would live in the suburbs).

But really, leave...go away. If you are unhappy then please, see ya later...

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by Kellhashc

Why aren't you here helping in the cause?

Because my business is in Baton Rouge smarty pants. And btw I'm in New Orleans virtually every other weekend spending my hard-earned cash to support the economy. Another tid-bit...I'm 63 years old. Far from a young professional, but when I was, I did in fact live in New Orleans.

[alaskaflyer]

Originally Posted by Kellhashc

New Orleans has more downsides than nearly all other cities of its size. I guess it all depends on what you like. I have one of the better financial jobs you can get in this city and I can go to Dallas, St. Louis, Atlanta, Miami, even Birmingham, make more or equivalent pay. Renting or owning a home is also more affordable... and you have more choices of where to live and without any real risk of catastrophic flooding. Insuring a car is cheaper. Insuring a home is cheaper (well except for Miami). And overall I do feel those cities are safer in terms of crime. Oh yea but there's not as much culture, no Mardi Gras, and there is an applebees on every corner. I guess the question is is culture and uniqueness worth the price? For some it may be, but not for me.

As you can read in another thread I'm looking to relocate there after having reason to visit off and on for four decades (cousins there.) I don't know many cities of NO's size where you can get a three bedroom, two bath house in a trendy historic neighborhood (on high ground no flood damage) for $250k. An equivalent house in Nashville or Dallas would go for above $325k easy even in this market. And then VERY nice houses in Jefferson from Marerro up to Metairie for much less than that. I'm an outsider looking in but in my real estate searches for PURCHASES (as opposed to rent) I don't see NO as being particularly expensive. High homeowners insurance cannot account for the gap no matter how much you are being gouged.

Folks should move on out. Makes the house purchase for folks moving in cheaper