Want to Hear Stories from Transplants About How You Like Living in N.O. (New Orleans: sales, rent)

[topaz88]

Anyone here from a totally different part of the country - LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston? How do you like living in N.O.? What are the biggest surprises or unexpected things about living there?

[Dakota1776]

I've lived in a variety of places, my most recent move was from NYC to New Orleans about a year ago. I love it down here, totally reasonable cost of living, very walkable/bikeable but enough parking to make having a car practical for groceries/getting away. Great food (love crab and crawfish boils!). Most importantly the people are great. Very friendly, open, it was a bit of a shock coming from Manhattan.

Having said all that the city definitely has issues. Public schools can be problematic (I don't have kids so I'm not really the person to ask). Crime is a problem. Drunk driving is a problem. Poverty is a problem. There isn't a huge young professional crowd like you get in DC/NYC. Many people are from here or the surrounding areas and already have social circles defined from their middle school days. Insurance rates are high.

Come for an extended visit and see if the pros outweigh the cons for you, they do for me.

[dal2aus]

I'm not from a totally different part of the country. I'm from Austin, which even though it's just a one state over, is many more miles away, culturally speaking. I am enjoying New Orleans quite a bit. In fact, I like it much more than I would have expected after only being here for 6 months.

The food is phenomenal and there is always something to do or someplace to explore.

The cons are the insurance rates and the lack of mid-priced single-family housing in lower-crime communities.

The one thing that has surprised me is how family-friendly (& pet-friendly) New Orleans is. Many people talk about how family-oriented Jefferson Parish & the North Shore are, but New Orleans proper is actually a great place for kids, too. Between the Audubon institutions, festivals, massive parks, and playgrounds everywhere, I don't understand how kids could get bored here. I don't have children yet, but it's in the plans, and I see so many opportunities to raise active and culturally-aware kids. The great thing, is that most of the fun is free or low-cost. The same can be said for pet recreation. I didn't expect there to be so many dog parks or open spaces for dogs to run.

[hershey87]

I'm from NH- an hour from Boston. Moved to Nola last Fall, came back home, and am now returning next month (for good!)

I was VERY surprised by how friendly people are. New Englanders are notoriously aloof, particularly to strangers. On the day I moved in, neighbors came out of their houses to help me carry in my furniture. One woman gave me her number, told me to call her anytime. It was incredible. People actually say hi to you on the street... if you did that in New England, you'd look crazy.

I found it curious how every person seems to be a runner and a dog owner. My friends and I joked that it seems like a rite of passage to run on the neutral ground on St. Charles.

I love how accessible everything is. It's a city with a small town feel, and it's very walkable. Manchester, NH is not a walkable city at all; you have to have a car or you're screwed. NH's public transportation is a joke, too. The Garden District in particular is so unique, where you have a neighborhood surrounded by Magazine & St. Charles, so you're always in walking distance of cafes, restaurants, etc. Again, unheard of in NH.

Oh, and just having so much to do is amazing! I can't tell you how boring NH is compared to Nola. Nola has a seemingly endless supply of bars, clubs, festivals, galleries, social events, parades, museums, parks, anything you'd ever want. In NH, if you want to have fun, you can go to a handful of clubs, the movies, or you can go skiing. And this is after driving 30+ minutes to get anywhere!

The climate was a serious shock, as I was not used to the severe heat and humidity of summer. I also had to get used to the streets flooding at the drop of a hat.

I don't like how one minute you can be on a perfectly safe block, and the next minute it's downright sketchy. Manchester, NH is like this, too, just not to the same degree. I guess it becomes less of a concern as you get to know the city more. The presence of police officers is different... like having them stationed at Wal Mart and Staples. Going into Rite Aid and needing a sales associate to get me razor blades was a new experience. Security is more lax in NH.

Crime sucks. But I felt largely unaffected by it, except I was only a few blocks away when a young boy got shot. One of my friends heard it. Awful. I was normally with people when I was out, or I was in safe areas, and felt perfectly fine.

I am not used to the low speed limits... the South in general has lower speed limits than up north, it seems. Less guard rails on the highways, too, which freaks me out. Nola drivers are better. The highways seem perpetually crowded, but you get that anywhere.

I don't know if I'll ever get used to the threat of hurricanes. The one upside of living in a place like NH is that you really don't have to worry about extreme weather other than snow, which is not a huge threat anyway except when you're driving. Oh, and the lack of snow down south, and the lack of cold is very strange to me, too.

Paying a sales tax is weird, but I'd have to deal with that no matter where I moved. The low cost of living is also very pleasing. I hear Nola people sometimes complain about the rise of rent and utilities, but for me, it'll always be significantly cheaper than living in New England, so it's all good.

I feel that Nola's aesthetic beauty is vastly underrated by most. Places like City Park are extraordinarily beautiful. Live oaks and palm trees were new to me. It's like being dropped off in a foreign world.

Oh god, the roads in Nola are the worst I've ever seen. I don't like that. I feel like I am off roading when I drive around sometimes. I fear for my car. All the one way streets took some getting used to. I had to learn how to parallel park before I moved down.

When I first arrived, I was SO FREAKED OUT by people driving over the streetcar tracks when they turned left, and just sitting on them while they waited for traffic to go by. I later learned about how cars have the right of way now, and I got used to turning left, too, but yeah, it's still odd! Also scary when the tracks run on a road so you look in your rear view mirror and see a streetcar right there. I don't, for example, understand what you do when you're turning left and you end up stopped on the tracks while the light for the street you're about to pass onto is red... do you have to stop, too, even though you're on neutral ground? Also, why do so many people like to sit on the tracks and make the streetcar driver stop and get all fussy? Haha.

Nola's diversity was quite different for me. There's barely any diversity in NH. It's like 90 something percent white people, I'm not kidding.

I really enjoy and appreciate the laid back, hedonistic feel of Nola. It is so refreshing and it's so different than what I am used to back home, where people seem much more reserved and serious.

All in all, I am incredibly taken with Nola!

[Pook77]

Coming from NYC to here, the lack of public transportation got me. The summers did too - I was heat-sick all of my first summer. You get used to it, though (but you still don't like it!). While I live in the suburbs of NOLA, which are mostly white-Republican, it was a culture shock to be working in a mostly black-Democrat society. Not bad, just different from my Midwestern upbringing.

[rcp11889]

Originally Posted by hershey87

When I first arrived, I was SO FREAKED OUT by people driving over the streetcar tracks when they turned left, and just sitting on them while they waited for traffic to go by. I later learned about how cars have the right of way now, and I got used to turning left, too, but yeah, it's still odd! Also scary when the tracks run on a road so you look in your rear view mirror and see a streetcar right there. I don't, for example, understand what you do when you're turning left and you end up stopped on the tracks while the light for the street you're about to pass onto is red... do you have to stop, too, even though you're on neutral ground? Also, why do so many people like to sit on the tracks and make the streetcar driver stop and get all fussy? Haha.

Generally, you stop at the light if the neutral ground is big enough for you to stop. If it's too small you can turn.

[hershey87]

Thanks! I've always wondered.

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by hershey87

Thanks! I've always wondered.

Every intersection that has streetcar tracks running through it at a traffic light is a No Left Turn intersection. Streetcars also have the right away when they are in the neutral ground. Most locals know how to make quick U-turns through traffic and streetcars and will wait in the left lane before turning if the streetcar is too clse. Those who just sit are usually unfamiliar (or a local who just doesn't care) with the area and some occasionally get hit by the street car from time to time.

As far as regular intersections with no tracks, like someone else said, if Left Turns are allowed you turn into the neutral ground, stop, and wait for the cross light to change. If there's a sign that says Left Turn Permitted On Green or if the neutral ground is shorter than a car's lenght wide, then you can keep going. If there are stop lines in the neutral ground then you are supposed to stop.

[hershey87]

Ahh, okay. I think one time I had to go to the post office, so I turned left on St. Charles to go onto Louisiana Ave, then ended up stopped on the neutral ground with a red light right in front of me for the people behind me. It was so awkward. I'll know better next time!

Thanks for the info.

[thepointykitty]

Originally Posted by rcp11889

Generally, you stop at the light if the neutral ground is big enough for you to stop. If it's too small you can turn.

Thanks! I've always kind of wondered, too, because I've seen people do both. I do LOVE the neutral ground b/c I hate making "normal" left turns across several lanes. It's nice to have a middle point to "rest" in, and only deal with traffic coming from one direction at a time.

I was also freaked out about driving on the streetcar tracks, but it only took a week or so to get over that.

My husband and I have been here for just over a year, and we love it more every day! People are generally very friendly, the architecture is gorgeous and inspiring, the food is great and we love being able to walk and bike so much.