What are rents like in NO? (New Orleans, Clarks: apartments, lease, how much) - Louisiana (LA) -New Orleans - Metairie - Kenner metro area - City-Data Forum

Melissa78703 · 07-21-2010, 04:55 PM

I'm seriously considering moving away from Austin. Not because it's terrible here, but with the influx of people coming in from the West and East coasts, it's getting too crowded, too expensive and it no longer has the feel of the home city that I grew up in. I'm considering NO, Memphis, Raleigh and Nashville at this point.

Currently, I live in the NO equivalent of the Garden District. Rents start at around $2400, but it's still possible to find a 600-sq. ft. efficiency for $1200, if it's in an older complex. Can I get something comparable in a relatively nice central neighborhood in NO? I'd definitely want easy access to downtown, but don't want to right in the middle of it.

Not interested in living in the 'burbs, BTW. Defeats the point of living in a city.

aab7855 · 07-22-2010, 12:56 AM

Yeah, you'll be good. I think you can get a really nice 1 bedroom apartment Uptown for $1,000 a month if you look. More properties are becoming available which is driving down the rents citywide.

gearedtowardssalad · 07-22-2010, 03:49 AM

I don't mean to hijack your thread, Melissa, but I've been meaning to ask this question too. I'm curious about what rents are like in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood and other neighborhoods that have a large artist/musician community. Personally, I'm very frugal so size of apartments wouldn't matter much to me. Sorry again for posting in your thread, I just didn't want to fill up the NO forum with another topic asking the same question. If anyone wants to respond to me, feel free to reply in a message so I don't take over this topic. Thanks in advance!

Olive34 · 07-22-2010, 08:23 AM

As a former resident of both cities, what, may I ask, is the Austin equivalent of the Garden District? Clarksville? Hyde Park? Barton Hills?

But back to your original question, rents aren't especially cheap in either place. From my experience, NO is a little cheaper, but the quality of rent houses/apartments available is below that of ATX. You'll pay a little less, but your place will probably be a little older/dingier. Also, you should consider that jobs (or well paying jobs, at least) might be a little harder to come by here than in Austin.

Melissa78703 · 07-22-2010, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olive34

As a former resident of both cities, what, may I ask, is the Austin equivalent of the Garden District? Clarksville? Hyde Park? Barton Hills?

But back to your original question, rents aren't especially cheap in either place. From my experience, NO is a little cheaper, but the quality of rent houses/apartments available is below that of ATX. You'll pay a little less, but your place will probably be a little older/dingier. Also, you should consider that jobs (or well paying jobs, at least) might be a little harder to come by here than in Austin.

Older is fine. The place that I lease now is not exactly in chipper condition, and that's okay. It's not large, either, but it's in the neighborhood that I want to live in. I'm not too concerned with size, age or amenities. The key selling point for me is location. But, I'm not sure how much has changed in NO since I was in college. Could be that some of the neighborhoods have changed since then.

I'm a writer (self-employed), so I can take my job anywhere. Just sharing ... Austin is not that great in the job department. Sure, there might have been more jobs created, but with the steady influx of people coming in from the NE and West Coasts, it's far from enough to keep everyone working. Paraprofessional jobs that used to pay quite well are minimum wage jobs now. Also, if you don't speak fluent Spanish, you're pretty much disqualified from most of them.

in response to your first question, Pemberton. I'm right on the cup of Pemberton where Clarksville begins, South of Enfield.

BradfromNO · 07-22-2010, 01:27 PM

Haha, well it seems I can't escape you even though I "DOH'ed" over where you currently
were living. I thought you were recently out of NO and into Austin, but you are leaving, eh?
I am in Memphis and planning a possible jump to Raleigh, so pardon my planet, it keeps trying
to align with yours.

Memphis is OK but the racial balance and attitude is a bit out of whack.
You'd do OK with a 750/mo rent here in Midtown, but since I can tell you do not want to burb it
your choices would be midtown and downtown on the river. You'd have ONE friend here if you
came, but would find many more very quickly. A lot of people like Memphis for it's true
vibe, just a lot of people to know and hang around. Raleigh is better for me because I am more
comfortable with a higher percentage of whites in the mix. Here it is heavily weighted to the
black side. Being from NO, I have no problem with RELATIONS per se, but i feel a little outnumbered
here and politically speaking, it can get testy. Interested to hear how your decisions develop.

Melissa78703 · 07-22-2010, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradfromNO

You'd do OK with a 750/mo rent here in Midtown, but since I can tell you do not want to burb it
your choices would be midtown and downtown on the river. You'd have ONE friend here if you
came, but would find many more very quickly. A lot of people like Memphis for it's true
vibe, just a lot of people to know and hang around. Raleigh is better for me because I am more
comfortable with a higher percentage of whites in the mix. Here it is heavily weighted to the
black side. Being from NO, I have no problem with RELATIONS per se, but i feel a little outnumbered
here and politically speaking, it can get testy. Interested to hear how your decisions develop.

Well, whites in Austin are a racial minority AND I come from Clarksville, so I'm accustomed to extreme racial imbalance. The politics can get dodgy in the blue spot in the red sea, as you mentioned; thankfully, we have the rest of Texas to balance out the screamingly irrational liberals. It's not like Austin will ever tow the knee-jerk liberal line, a la Seattle or Portland.

Raleigh has gotten a lot of kudos from friends who live there; they tell me that it has a vibe similar to that in Austin--but much smaller and less expensive. Brookings also gives Raleigh props as far as economic stability (Memphis and Nashville, too). NO came to mind because it was my first out-of-state experience, and many of the neighborhoods feel like mine, old and homey. Of course, in the summer it's like walking around in a damp incendiary device, but I can deal. I'm not sure how cold Raleigh and TN get in the winter--I loathe cold. Austin has that wonderful SoCal weather nine months of the year. Anything below 60 degrees F. is a NO.

But, it's great to know that there are other places where my dollar will go a lot farther. I anticipate that a lot of people will get priced out of Austin as more and more people relocate here.

Dport7674 · 07-23-2010, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melissa78703

Well, whites in Austin are a racial minority

say what?

aab7855 · 07-23-2010, 11:03 AM

If you dislike liberals that much don't move here. Or Memphis. Or Nashville.

Pook77 · 07-23-2010, 12:52 PM

New Orleans is the "blue spot in the red sea" of Louisiana. The entire city is incredibly liberal. The suburbs tend to swing right a bit more but they still can't be considered "red." If you can't stand liberals in Austin, then you're REALLY going to be frustrated with the liberals in New Orleans. Red or blue, Louisiana as a whole is widely known for very corrupt politics. New Orleans government is even worse with the mess the Nagin adminstration left behind, but I won't argue politics. My opinion: if an organized government is important to you, avoid anywhere in Louisiana. State government is bad, city governments are atrocious.