Young Attorney Moving to NOLA (New Orleans, Baton Rouge: real estate, apartment, rentals)

[lexcuriae]

My wife and I are considering moving to New Orleans from Boston. I've spent some time in the city and like it. The people, the food, and the music are fantastic. Admitedly, my view of New Orleans is tourist-centric. Based on my limited experience, therefore, I don't know what neighborhoods to look at. Let me tell you what we're looking for: a rental (apartment, house, half of a house) near or otherwise within 15 miles of the CBD, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an updated kitchen and updated bathrooms, in as safe a neighborhood as reasonably possible, with a price tag of approximately $1500.00. Ideally, we'd like 1000 square feet or more, and as much more as possible while not sacrificing nice fixtures/details for square footage generally. Kudos if other professionals live in the area, but this isn't absolutely necessary. Please let me know if my price estimate is too low for what I'm seeking. Also, please kindly suggest neighborhoods either in the city or right outside of it. Are there any real estate agents you would recommend who deal with rentals? Also, is the St. Andrews development area too good to be true from pictures/low price, or is this a once dangerous neighborhood that has definitively turned around?

Thanks for your time

[Neworleansisprettygood]

Pretty sure the St. Andrew's development is a hope VI (tear down projects, rebuild mixed-income housing) development.

Your best bet is probably the Lakefront in that price range. It's less pricey than Uptown but safer, although it is also farther from all the fun stuff in the city center, but you're still talking maybe a 15-20 minute drive.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Folks remember you cannot name realtors on the forum but you can send the OP a DM.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[Prytania]

Stay Uptown. The Lakefront feels more like Florida, not "old New Orleans" especially for a new resident.

[JohnRoxy]

Have you considered Metairie?

[caryberry]

Before you get serious about relocation to New Orleans, you may be wise to thoroughly explore the requirements to sit for the bar in Louisiana.

With several lawyers in my New Orleans side of the family - reciprocity from/to LA is quite complicated. The younger law graduates (2004 and 2008) have had difficulty finding legal work post-K and two of the more experienced ones struggled when their firms relocated to Baton Rouge.

Best of luck!

[lexcuriae]

Caryberry -

My firm has a small branch in New Orleans. I took the LA bar last year because I was interested in continuing to work for my firm, but in New Orleans.

[rburnett]

Please don't come all the way here from Boston and live in a bland suburb. The whole dynamic changes once you leave the city limits. If you want to experience New Orleans, you need to live ...that's right, in New Orleans! 15 miles from the CBD!? You can easily be < 3miles.

You can certainly get a decent place for $1500 in the city. The question is, what are you looking for? Do you need a large front lawn and a driveway? Do you want an warehouse style condo? Do you want a walkable area? Where do you like to hangout, Frenchmen St., Uptown, Carrollton, the Quarter? Do you want decent public transportation?

There are many neighborhoods with many different vibes.

[lexcuriae]

Agreed. I would much rather live in the city proper than in a suburb. I live in downtown Boston, enjoy city living and, if we move to New Orleans, would like to continue along in that manner. My wife and I love the access to great music on Frenchman Street and the energy of the French Quarter; that said, we've only visited the city as tourists and, not knowing any locals, spent our time in tourist-centric places.

A yard isn't important to me, but safe parking is. We have nice cars and, even now, we hate parking them on the street in Boston. I'll check out the Uptown/Carrolton area. I'll also check out the Warehouse District, but from what I've seen, it looks like I'll have to spend about $2000.00/month for a nice place there. Also, we're going to take time off work and spend a week looking for a place. I appreciate that different neighborhoods have different vibes.

[rburnett]

It sounds like the warehouse district would suit you nicely, but like you said a nice 2br is going to be more than $1500/month and then you'll have to pay parking on top of that which is at least $125/month per car.

Uptown and Carrollton have free parking, but an off street space is not always guaranteed.

Personally, I think the best area of Uptown is between St. Charles and Magazine, from Napolean up to Jefferson. It's a very walkable area right in the middle of everything. There's a lot of commerce on Prytania and Magazine in that area as well as Tchoupitoulas near Jefferson. You'll also have easy access to the streetcar and Magazine St. bus (both are pretty frequent) as well as all the Uptown Mardi Gras Parades. It's not quite as uppity (and expensive) as the area on the other side of Jefferson, but not as bohemian/hipster as places further downtown like the Irish Channel and LGD. Also, the undergrad population is not as thick as it is in Carrollton. On top of all that, it's only 2 miles from downtown.