A few questions... (New Orleans, Scott, Walker: apartments, rentals, insurance)

[gypsystar]

Hey there! I currently live in L.A., but my out-of-work carpenter husband has heard that there are a lot of construction gigs in NO - is this true? He is in the carpenters union out here, and has mostly worked on large city projects, but he is open to building homes, too. I just wanted to get a local's perspective on this.

I'm a freelance writer, so I can work from anywhere. Does the city have a good literary scene? Good writing groups and workshops? Writing can be a lonely profession, so I know I'll need to reach out if we make the move.

We recently lived in FL and really liked it, but we do love the energy and excitement here in L.A. I've been to NO several times and get sad every time we have to leave. I do know that visiting a city and actually living there is very different...

Finally, how hard is it to find a nice apartment in a relatively safe area? We do have bad credit - would that be a problem? I know that rentals are probably at a premium since Katrina. What would be some good areas for us to consider?

Thanks in advance! New Orleans is an amazing place and I always miss it the minute we leave the city limits.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Sorry, I have no answers to any of your questions.

[Doogie]

gypsy - sorry but I don't really follow the construction or writing scenes. I know there certainly was a large number of constructin gigs right after Katrina but I think that has slowed down to much closer to normal lately. There's still probably tens of thousands of homes that need to be rebuilt but not everyone is doing them all at once. Couple that with the mini-explosion of construction companies right after Katrina and you would probably find things are a little tight now. Based on the fact that it appears the number of "day labor" people that stand outside Home Depot has increased lately I'm thinking its harder to find something. Don't despair though, I'm sure there's still lots of construction if you look hard enough / smart enough. I would continue to seek the opinion of a professional in the business though since I am not really familiar with it.

As for writing, there are many creative types (writers, artists, musicians, etc.) that call New Orleans home. Anne Rice is probably the most well known writer. The interesting thing about New Orleans is that if you want to be alone you can be while still right in the middle of everything but if you are lonely it's your own fault.

I really don't know much about the apartment scene either but there certainly are nice apartments available but be prepared to pay for them. Rental prices went way up after Katrina and haven't come back down to pre-K levels yet.

I would suggest searching Nola.com for articles, blogs or forum posts about these topics to try and find more info. They have articles from the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper that should give you more info.

Sorry I couldn't help more but I just don't know much more than this...

edit: oh... and as for bad credit, that's probably true of at least half of the people that rent in New Orleans so there's got to be some way around it...

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Isn't Anne Rice lving somewhere else now? Think I remembe an article......

[Tigger81]

I can't answer your questions about the job scene but I've spent the last two days looking at apartments in New Orleans.

It sounds like they charge a higher security deposit if your credit is bad. It doesn't seem like having bad credit alone would disqualify you from being approved for a lease. However, all of the places I went to had income requirements. You had to make anywhere from 2.5-3.5 times the rent each month (gross/pre-tax income) in order to be approved.

[gypsystar]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the advice and insight. Yeah, I looked at the back of a recent Anne Rice novel and it does appear that she lives near Palm Springs, CA now. I'll always associate her with New Orleans, though.

Thanks again.

[Prytania]

Anne Rice moved after Stan Rice died in New Orleans, and her son Chris moved to L.A.
I think it was a bit much for her to sit in that house on First street alone.

[Puddinhead]

Actually, now's probably not all that bad of a time for someone in the construction trade to come to New Orleans. A lot of the rebuilding that should have been taking place in the past couple of years seems to be either starting to happen or on the verge of beginning now that some of the red tape at all levels is finally getting worked through. For example, one of my neighbors who planned from the beginning to elevate their home as part of the renovation just finally in the past couple of weeks had the house actually raised because they finally got the money shaken loose from the insurance company, FEMA, SBA, etc. I do know that the school system is about to embark on the largest school building "binge" in the city's history.

As for your writing...New Orleans has always been a place where writers have come to "find their muse"...Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Walker Percy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, O. Henry-all lived in New Orleans at some point in their lives. The annual Tennessee Williams Festival was just held in the Quarter a couple of weekends ago. Try this site for a list of authors with a "New Orleans connection"...New Orleans Writers Housing Outreach Project: New Orleans Writers List

Try this link for a little more on the contemporary local writer's scene...Local Authors

[gypsystar]

Originally Posted by Puddinhead

Actually, now's probably not all that bad of a time for someone in the construction trade to come to New Orleans. A lot of the rebuilding that should have been taking place in the past couple of years seems to be either starting to happen or on the verge of beginning now that some of the red tape at all levels is finally getting worked through. For example, one of my neighbors who planned from the beginning to elevate their home as part of the renovation just finally in the past couple of weeks had the house actually raised because they finally got the money shaken loose from the insurance company, FEMA, SBA, etc. I do know that the school system is about to embark on the largest school building "binge" in the city's history.

As for your writing...New Orleans has always been a place where writers have come to "find their muse"...Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Walker Percy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, O. Henry-all lived in New Orleans at some point in their lives. The annual Tennessee Williams Festival was just held in the Quarter a couple of weekends ago. Try this site for a list of authors with a "New Orleans connection"...New Orleans Writers Housing Outreach Project: New Orleans Writers List

Try this link for a little more on the contemporary local writer's scene...Local Authors

Wonderful! Thank you so much for all of this! I'll take a look at the sites. I love L.A., but I've been back and forth here for several years and would like to try something new. My husband has contacted the New Orleans chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters to see what they say about jobs, wages, etc. He would just transfer from the L.A. union into that one.

Thanks again for your insight - I love to hear the locals' perspectives.