MudBugger

IT has been nine years since I've been down to the Big Easy and I am considering going down for the French Quarter Festival in April. When I was last there in '94 New Orleans recorded a record number of murders and, if I recall, I had heard that 8000 - 10000 people lived in the French Quarter as permanent residents. I just read the other day that only 3000 people now call it home and the remainder are vacation rentals and part time residents.

Has the Quarter chnaged for the worse in the past few years? Is it becoming Disneyfied with mom and pop stores being pushed out by chains? I know Bourbon street was t-shirt store hell in '94 but what about the rest of the place? How safe is it today? Does the city itself still retain that atmosphere it is so famous for (I am serious BTW)?
N.O. haters need not respond please as many see it as poor (it is), rundown and dirty. This question is for those who either live there and know what I'm getting at and those who love the city for the same reasons I used to: the music, food and ambience.
Regards,

MudBugger

Leanne

I would have to say that NO is about the same as in 94. They have really recently been trying to clean up the french Quarter. You might try www.nola.com. They have a message board that locals can give more details of what is happening there.

YatSpouse

As my mother-in-law is there, we go several times a year. The French Quarter Festival is one of my favorite times to go, as not that many tourists seem to be aware of it as with the Jazz Fest or Mardi Gras and the weather is starting to be nice. Last year we were able to dine outdoors, it was so pleasant during April
IMO not that much has changed there over the years. My husband grew up there and says the same thing. Bourbon is still Bourbon with its souvenier shops, jazz, blues and "dancers". Other than Margaritaville, it doesn't seem to me that there are so many chains taking over the Quarter. Chartres and Royal are still beautiful with nice antique shops. Acme Oyster and the Gumbo Shop still serve reasonably priced wonderful seafood.
The Quarter is pretty safe (they really like to protect their meal tickets, you know). Other areas such as the CBD are a bit more inconsistant, but the streetcar is still a nice way to get around safely. As far as the murder rate, isn't it higher everywhere since 1994?

Kim

The murder rate is now about half of what it was in 1994, and it's concentrated in several bad areas near housing projects. Very rarely does a murder happen near the French Quarter and when it does, it's big news.

New Orleans hasn't had 8-10,000 residents in the Quarter for 30 years. The population is declining due to more couples with no kids living there as well as the previously mentioned part time residents.

Planet Hollywood and Fashion Cafe are gone, which is good. Homelessness and begging in general is also down. In my opinion, the Quarter is far better now!

James

As long as tourists buy t-shirts and other assorted crap, the t-shirt shops will stay. Same as in New York, Key West, SF or any other city!!