Considering moving to New Orleans Area, but have concerns and questions! (Jefferson: for sale, rent)

[reinkingsrus]

My husband has a close friend whom he left AZ with in January, to look for work in VA. It didn't work out and after 8 weeks, he came home. My husband is a AZ native and would like to move. Well, his friend called the other night, he is moving to New Orleans to take a job with a resort there! He is going to be in the position to hire my husband if he would like! I told him we should think about this first long and hard! Neither of us have been to New Orleans, so we don't know what we could be getting ourselfs into, since we don't know what the area is like post Katrina! I have looked at homes and found that alot that are for sale are gutted on the inside! I don't mind a fixer upper but have concerns about the requirements of the elevation of the homes! I understand that since Katrina, requirements have changed and some homes have to be lifted to a higher elevation to avoid possible flooding in the event of high water in the future! I was also wondering, are there special home buyer plans or options for those that are looking at purchasing such homes, so the area can start to increase the population? Is there a large population of people whom never lived in New Orleans before, moving to the area? Is the population still very low, is there still a problem with the homeless and crime levels? I understand that every city has a homeless population, but was wondering if it is really bad or are they now getting help and don't need to live in abandon homes...etc! I was wondering what areas are re-developing and what areas are not going to be able to rebuild, because of being to close to the water. I don't know much about what it was like before Katrina, except that I can imagine what I have seen on T.V or on the internet, doesn't compare to being there and living it first hand. If you can give any advise on what areas to avoid, what area's will never be the same, rebuild ..etc, I would appreciate it! I figure that it couldn't hurt to move to a city, where you are trying to make it home and start a new life and so is everyone else around you.

We do have children a 9 year old and 19 month old, so education is important! We would like to be in an area that has some history to it, has some New Orleans or Louisiana southern charm to it! We like parks and recreation, sitting on the porch enjoying the afternoon w/ the kids and neighbors!

Thanks for your help!

[Vampgrrl]

I moved here 4 months ago and love it. That said.

1. You HAVE to visit first. People love it or hate it, no middle ground reeally.
2. The public school system here is a wreck in New Orleans (less so in St. Tammany or Jefferson Parish). Lusher school is the only public school I know of personally that is a pretty good public school (I may not know what I am talking about since I dont have kids)
3. I live in a non flooded neighborhood, near Tulane Univ. and close to the river.

Given your children (and it kills to say this) I would not live in New Orleans itself, maybe Metarie at the closest or St. tammany...either you can drive into NOLA at your leisure. That also said, please come down....

[reinkingsrus]

When you mean non-flooded, do you mean it was not damanged by Katrina? Would you say that the areas north of the river were not flooded as much as to the south? Are there area's still flooded? Maybe a stupid question, but you don't here much anymore of damage and problems there, here in Arizona!

Originally Posted by Vampgrrl

I moved here 4 months ago and love it. That said.

1. You HAVE to visit first. People love it or hate it, no middle ground reeally.
2. The public school system here is a wreck in New Orleans (less so in St. Tammany or Jefferson Parish). Lusher school is the only public school I know of personally that is a pretty good public school (I may not know what I am talking about since I dont have kids)
3. I live in a non flooded neighborhood, near Tulane Univ. and close to the river.

Given your children (and it kills to say this) I would not live in New Orleans itself, maybe Metarie at the closest or St. tammany...either you can drive into NOLA at your leisure. That also said, please come down....

[reinkingsrus]

Oh another questions!

What are wards? Are they like districts? Do you know a website other than here to find out info on New Orleans and Katrina? Most of the info I found was pre 2005, nothing after looks like its been recorded!

Originally Posted by reinkingsrus

When you mean non-flooded, do you mean it was not damanged by Katrina? Would you say that the areas north of the river were not flooded as much as to the south? Are there area's still flooded? Maybe a stupid question, but you don't here much anymore of damage and problems there, here in Arizona!

[Vampgrrl]

Wards are voting distrcits..that said do not move into any neighborhood that id's itself as a Ward.
Better neighborhoods id themselves by their historic names, Uptown, Garden District, Lower Garden District, Marigny, Bywater, Mid-City, Bayou St. John

And there is no north and south here really. People refer to lake side, river side, up and down river. The highest ground in New Orleans that did not flood is along the river. Lowest ground (generally speaking) is New Orleans East and Gentilly I believe.

[Vampgrrl]

Oh and non flooded as in did not flood from the levee breeches from Katrina.

there was wind damage all over.

No still flooded areas. Water is pumped out of the city by several large pumping stations.

The area known as the Sliver by the River is in the best shape of the city generally speaking. (aka along the river)

[Tauna Morgan]

My daughter and myself want to move to New Orleans. We are having a hard time finding info on work and housing can someone please help us. [mod] email link [/mod] Also she has 2 children we want to know about schooling.

[MetroBTR]

With kids, If you are not considering private schools, and you cannot get them into Lusher or Ben Franklin, the city of New Orleans is not an option. Jefferson Parish public schools are okay, but nothing to brag about. The best schools systems in the area are in St. Tammany Parish and St. Charles Parish. Belle Chasse is okay also.

Assuming you can afford private, or magnet/charter school education is attainable, the areas that are safest from flooding are the subdivisions along the Lakefront. The ones that are between Robert E. Lee Boulevard and the Lake. Once you go south of Robert E. Lee, the elevation goes way down very quickly. The areas closer to the river are also on higher ground. There are a few other small ridges that provide high ground.

A good website to look for housing is prudentialgardner.com. There, you can view both homes for sale and for rent.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

There are service jobs available, like waitress or bar person, and fast-food joints are usually hiring. Don't know about prefessional jobs, there wasn't much pre-Katrina as the city's main employment is in tourism. A lot of doctors relocated and didn't return. A lot of stores still closed, so retail isn't a good bet, at least as far as I know.

[Tchoup504]

As someone noted earlier, you will either love or hate it here in New Orleans. There is a lot of culture here: Great food, tons of festivals and events, lots of local rituals, and very friendly people. However, there is also a lot of crime and the schools in Orleans Parish are not what they need to be (There are a few selective admission public schools in Orleans Parish that may be worth a shot, but may also be very difficult to get into - Ex: Lusher, Audubon Elementary). If you can afford to pay for private school in New Orleans, then that's what I would recommend. There are plenty of private school options here.

Places that have historical charm tend to lack quality schools (minus the few schools mentioned above - Check out New Orleans Parents’ Guide to Public Schools and download NOLA Parent's Guide to Public Schools). I would not recommend living outside of Orleans Parish if you are looking for historical charm, but in general, I would not recommend sending your children to public school in Orleans Parish. If you want both charm and a good education for your kids, then you need to pay for private school in Orleans Parish.

Properties along the river are at higher elevations - so property along the river is more desirable and generally comes with a higher price tag - but also have less risk of flood.

There are things to do in New Orleans with children - great zoo, aquarium, insectarium, children's museum, Audubon and City Park, etc. At same time, safety for is a concern within Orleans Parish, which has to be a major concern as a parent. You can input any address in NOLA on City of New Orleans - Localized Recovery Information Portal (http://cno-gisweb02.cityofno.com/crimemaps/Default.aspx - broken link) and see a list of crimes that have occurred around that address.

A great website for local news and info on New Orleans is NOLA.com.

You will either love the people, charm, and laid back lifestyle of New Orleans, or you will think it's charm is not worth the poor schools, crime, and New Orleans mentality of "that's just the way things are" ---If you move here, you will understand what that means

I love New Orleans, do not want to live anywhere else, but wanted to give you a realistic picture of what you would be facing here by moving.