Relocating to NO
 

I just received noticed I will be relocated to New Orleans from my life-long residence in Fort Worth.

Any comments on neighborhoods to research, avoid, etc?

I have visited the city several times but just for eating/drinking the fabulous fare the city offers.

I am a quite apprehensive about the move so any opinions are much appreciated.

There are many great areas around the city & outlying areas. Where will you be working? How long of a commute would be ok? What are your family needs- schools, shopping,etc. ? Give us a bit more to work with & we can help.

I think our newly married Dan lives in NO. TTT so he'll hopefully see this post.

Thanks, GoTravel! I do live in the Lower Garden District (just off of Magazine) and work in the CBD (downtown).

New Orleans is different than most cities in that neighborhoods tend to have good and bad parts rather than the entire area being "good" or "bad." New Orleans is very multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-income, etc., which is one of the charms of the city.

Benj is absolutely right that we need to know more specifics of your move and how much you want to spend. Without that info, my general suggestion is to focus on housing in a few neighborhoods: Lakeview, Mid-City, Uptown, the (lower) Garden District, the Faubourg Marigny, French Quarter and maybe Algiers Point. I think NO and FW are probably similar in cost with NO being a bit more.

We're not "suburban people" but I have co-workers who enjoy Jefferson and St. Tammany (north of the lake) parishes.

Where will you work? Commuting is obviously a big issue. The commute from St. Tammany to the city can be particularly grueling so keep that in mind.

If you have kids, forget Orleans Parish unless you want to spend the money on private schools. Jefferson schools are better but St. Tammany, and St. Charles are better. Not sure about St. Bernard Parish.

Dan, I know this isn't what the op is asking but I seem to remember a documentary a couple of years ago about the horribly corrupt police in NO. Is this still the case? I also recall a new police chief that is or was trying to clean up the force.

I think it depends on whom you ask. The general consensus is that NOPD has been cleaned up "for the most part" and the public has confidence in them again. Problem is staffing as the force is short several hundred officers!

Violent crime seems to be prevalent in the poorer neighborhoods which have drug problems. I'd definitely check the NOPD website for crime info before I secured a house!

My friend lives across lake ponchartrain in Covington and loves it.

Thanks for the response...guess it might help to know a bit more info. I will be working at the airport and do not have children or spouse, just a dog. I absolutely love the garden district but think it might be a bit expensive. Lakeview also looked a little out of my price range.

I love the old neighborhoods around the city and definitely want to purchase home with trees in the neighborhood. Love hard wood floors, claw foot tubs, etc.

I was looking at real estate and found a city near the garden district but now can't remember the name. Looking for a home in the price range of $150-175. What are the chances of finding something decent.

Yes, the real estate in NO does compare to that of FW. The company I work for will provide realtor for buying/selling.

I just know that when I've visited NO in the past (it's been about 8 yrs) I was sick of it after about 3 days...but one can only take so much of Bourbon St.

Thank you Dan and GoTravel, keep coming with the info. I know this is probably not the proper website to discuss all these items, but I greatly appreciate your input.

Yes, I would get sick of Bourbon Street after 3 days as well. But even then, the upper blocks of Bourbon are residential and totally different! That's typical of N.O. If you don't like the area, walk a few blocks and you'll be in a different one!

Assuming you want to live in the city, try Mid City first. Easy freeway access to get to the airport and less costly housing. Great area!

You might want to live with easy access to Airline Hwy since I-10 is often jammed with traffic going to the airport.
Old Metarie is nice and maybe you can find something small or a guest house to rent. Sorry I don't know how to go about finding that info though.

I lived in Kenner as a kid (which is where the airport is located) and went to school in Metarie. They were nice areas back then (seem okay when I've been to visit) and are convenient to downtown. Bourbon St at night can be a bit much for some, but I love wandering around the French Quarter during the day. Fabulous food, art, and great people watching. If you haven't experienced Mardi Gras before you're in for a surprise - it lasts more than a day in NO. I think you'll find you like New Orleans quite a bit. There really is a lot of culture and history. It is so unique and offers things that no other city can. Too many people associate New Orleans w/wild partying, but there is so much more. Lots of great festivals in the area too (strawberry, seafood, crawfish, jazzfest). Good luck!!

I live in Metairie, and love it. Your price range is a bit low to live anywhere in Uptown or Garden District (that would be safe!). The older parts of Metairie are also pricier. Lakeview is also out of your range. So...your choices are farther out in the burbs (St. Charles Parish), which has some great areas, but newer rather than older. You might want to consider the area around Bayou St. John & City Park (a previous poster mentioned Mid-City...same basic area). Within that area, there are several neighborhoods that are coming back, so there are some great buys in older homes. Feel free to email me ([email protected]) if you want more info. And welcome to our great city!!

Also, if you live in mid-city or toward the lake, a good traffic work-around is to go through Bucktown and out Esplanade
to Williams, then down Williams to the airport. I like mid-city myself, a lot cheaper than the Garden District, and the houses are a bit newer, and thus not so prone to major structural problems.

The thing to remember about NOLA is that there is effectively ONE interstate, not several. Traffic bottlenecks badly several times per day on I-10 most days, and can grind to a complete halt for hours if there is a serious wreck. Airline is the most common alternate route, but it is fairly popular anyway, so when it gets I-10 overflow it turns into a parking lot pretty quickly. You are best off not relying on either one of them for a daily commute route.

Thank you all so much for responding. I will be flying to NO Nov. 9 and will commute back to Ft.Worth on the weekends until Jan. I look forward to touring the city and the residential areas everyone suggested. I am most looking forward to experiencing the history/culture/etc. of the city. I've done the entire Bourbon partying scene and can't wait to see all the other "scenes" the city has to offer.

I know I will have many, many more q's as my relocation date nears and after I visit the city in November. Anne, thank you for your e-mail address, I promise not to bombard with q's daily....and again thanks to all. I'll keep checking this post for continuous information.

I was told today i would be relocated to NO beginning November 29. Thanks to everyone's opinions, I will first be looking in the Midcity area. However, I am being told I should rent and not purchase. (that's the kind of company I work for).....i may only be in NO for 3-5 years. However, I have dog that will need a yard, I do not wish to live in an apt and would love to have fireplace and trees in neighborhood.

I have noone to help look for residency and know not a sole who lives in the area.

All info is truly valuable....thank you again.

colleen

colleen, I was actually going to suggest a 6-12 month rental first anyway. When moving some place new it's always so hard to decide which area is best. How big is your dog?

You will have little trouble finding a place with a fenced yard and trees. Fireplace isn't as necessary (doesn't get very cold usually) but you may want it just for looks. Most old houses to have them but they may not work.

Some realty sites: tommycrane.com, latter-blum.com, fqr.com and noro.com come to mind. I rented my condo through Leslie at Tommy Crane Inc. and was very pleased.

After speaking with several people from work who have been through the relocation process, renting/leasing for a year sounds like the best option.

Birdie, my dog, is a 50 lb. lab mix. As long as she goes for walks daily, preferably in a park, she's just fine and doesn't stay outside anyway.

I just found out this morning I will fly to NO next Thursday to meet new boss and see work area.

Sounds traffic is as bad as the metroplex. Fortunately, the company I work for is not and "8 - 5" business, more like 4 a.m. and then late evenings.

Looking forward to visiting the city and thanks mcclaurie and dan for the info.

Only like a fireplace for the sereneness of one, but a chiminea in the LR will prob work just as well. So, it doesn't get too cold down there NO, i take it?! I've read that in the spring the smell of flowers in bloom is absolutely incredible.

The more I read, the less apprehensive I am about moving to the city. Looking forward to my visit next week. Not sure where I'll be staying, corporate room somewhere close to airport is my guess.

I will have more questions when I return....thanks again.

I think you'll find traffic is nowhere near as bad as D/FW. We have one major highway (I-10) that routinely backs up and locals avoid it as much as possible. (Unfortunately, it's also the fastest way to get to MSY.) Most of the streets in New Orleans proper seem to flow very well, if not very fast!

From my time in New Orleans, I think you'll have a fairly easy commute to the airport from New Orleans in the morning and an easy commute home (compared to DFW). If you had to go in the opposite direction that wouldn't be the case.