What's New Orleans Like? (best cities, apartment complexes, lease)

[CollegeGuy55]

So I'm considering moving to New Orleans to attend UNO. I'm looking into housing and thinking about getting something in the Gentilly neighborhoods. What's it like to live in that area? I'm looking to get 1 bedroom apartment and can pay around $800 /month, can I find anything nice for that price? Is Gentilly and especially the zone towards the lake a safe area?

From pictures it seems like New Orleans is not such a flat/open type of city where you can see far away .. more closed with a lot of trees and buildings with smaller windows.. is that how it really is?

Are there any specific apartment complexes that are very nice or is it better to rent from a private owner? I'd like to find something that's not a 12-month lease, but maybe just 6 month or less, can you find that in Gentilly New Orleans?

What's the culture like in New Orleans?
Is it similar to any other cities in the US?
Is New Orleans considered more conservative or progressive when it comes to politics??

[rburnett]

Yes, New Orleans is basically flat. There are no vistas and views unless you're on top of one of the levees. There is a dense live oak canopy along major streets, but I'm not sure what you mean by smaller windows. Most windows on the older houses are massive. Maybe you're looking at the postwar ranch houses in Gentilly, but that's not all there is.

What's the culture like? How much time do you have? It's not like any other US city.

I would say that New Orleans is pretty liberal, but not progressive like Portland or Western Europe. Outside of the city is very conservative.

See://www.city-data.com/forum/new-o...lace-move.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/new-o...e-student.html

[aab7855]

I hope you have/plan on buying a car. To me the area around UNO is a real drag. You might find a safe area but you're going to have to get in the car to do fun stuff.

[skullman1]

you might try living in Mid-City. it is closeish to UNO if you have a car (10 min drive). The areas around UNO aren't all that bad, in my opinion.

[CollegeGuy55]

Can some one tell me the names of some apartment complexes worth checking out? Im looking for a clean 1-bedroom with a decent view (big windows if possible!) maybe in a zone where other young people live. Mid-town sounds good from what I'm reading

[leroy217]

Try columbia parc apartments. About 10 mins from UNO, in a safe quiet area that was re-done after Katrina. Also, about a 10 to 15 min drive from downtown.

[Hawaii4evr]

New Orleans is flat, topography-wise, and swampy, but pretty nonetheless. It is a liberal city, but again, not anything like SanFran. New Orleans is a very unique city, but definitely has lots of culture. I'm going to be attending Loyola New Orleans this fall! So excited! Best of luck to you!

[OldGregg]

New Orleans is a unique city. It's somewhat shaped like a bowl, has all kinds of neighborhoods that are all different from each other and there are what you could call micro-hoods that have a grocery store, restaurants, drug stores etc all within a 10 block or so area.

It is the most unique city in the United States and quite possibly the best city in North America and certainly one of the best cities in the world. The greatest city in US/NA is probably still Manhattan/New York, followed closely by Chicago, at least in terms of what a city is. New Orleans is small - TINY - which is a big part of what makes it so awesome.