I’m trying to figure out which areas are good to live in and what typical rents look like by area, and I just keep getting the same basic comments from everyone- New Orleans is both expensive and dangerous and we should live on base there. The only problem is I hate living on base and would love more info that an alarmist “stay away!”. We are coming regardless, we have no choice, so there have to be some neighborhoods that are better/worse, some that are more/less expensive, etc.
Live in Mandeville or Madisonville. It’s a hellacious commute but they are the only nice areas that are still affordable. We just sold our 2700 sq ft house in the Fontainebleu subdivision in Mandeville just off the Causeway for $375,000. My husband did not feel comfortable w/ our family living on the other side of the lake.
Yes, there are pockets that are nice… but they are very very expensive and still not all that safe. NOLA is almost always in the top 5 most murders.
I don’t know if you have any children left at home. But the schools are really really bad. So you’ll have to pay private school tuition as well. Mandeville is the only decent public high school. It’s the best non private, non magnet in the state. But my 19 yr old was lamenting just this weekend that his high school did a terrible job preparing him for college. He did a good job preparing on his own… but he does feel behind his peers. Of the private schools on the northshore, St Pauls is probably the best. They are a 6-12 boys catholic school. Southshore best HS is definitely Ben Franklin.
We absolutely hated our time in LA, so I’m sorry if I’m all doom and gloom. We’re a pretty liberal family & we did not AT ALL fit in. I really truly hope you have a better experience than we did.
No kids to worry about schooling, and we homeschooled anyway. Commute has to be a top priority. Hubby had a hellacious commute in the Bay Area and it almost destroyed our marriage and his health. We are just looking for a small rental, house or apt doesn’t matter to me. We lived in less than desirable neighborhoods in philly, in the Bay Area, and in Texas. We lived in the most amazing place ever in LA but settled for about 600sq ft for the four of us to accomplish that. My husband will be working in Algiers, so commute to there is paramount- though I’ve heard that’s not a good place (it is where the base housing would be anyway- well, Federal City).
For the record, I completely 100% don’t want to move there at all and wouldn’t if I had a choice. Every time I try to explain that to someone in real life they think I’m being melodramatic- but I’ve been moving around the country for 17 years now and this is the first place I can’t find anything to look forward to. We are a really liberal (and atheist) family as well and I’m not looking forward to 3 years there.
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The food is great!
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And good music scene!
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DH was at Algiers as well. It’s a minimum 50 min to the Northshore of Mandeville. But if you don’t need to worry about schools, you might get lucky. The Garden District is lovely and highly patrolled by NOPD (the Mannings and the Breeses live here.) Also Audubon area near Tulane. Area by the custom suit makers Luca Falcone… just a few blocks east of the Garden District on Magazine St. Much smaller homes and walk-ups. Very cool area, still fairly touristy w/o being Bourbon St. You just have to be aware of yourself, especially at night. We only ever went down there during the day for fittings and such for DH’s suits.
We did four years & hated every minute of it. I don’ think you’re being melodramatic at all!! We too have lived all over and this was the first time I actually cried when DH said we had no choice. We actually considered geo-baching!!
The boys and I are also atheists, DH is non practicing Protestant. That really wasn’t THAT much of a problem for us. It was the terrible racism and homophobia that was much harder to deal with. Maybe it’s better on the southshore, I don’t know.
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Yeah, except everything is fried! I mean, sure I can throw down on a poboy and some gumbo w/ the best of them… but there’s a reason I weight 40lbs more now than I did when we moved to LA! LOL
Not sure how dangerous it is but NOLA is one of the most racist cities I’ve ever visited. Three days was enough for me. Sorry it’s your next posting. Good friends who lived there echo what has been posted about the terrible schools. Loads of fun people watching in the Quarter and the best (only) fried alligator I’ve ever had though.
Ugh. I can’t abide racists at all, and my daughter is currently dating a girl and my brother is married to a man, so the homophobia won’t work for me either… at all. I also dislike jazz, hate seafood, and have celiac- so most of the food is out regardless. I also hate crowds and touristy things. Me thinks I’m screwed. It’s only three years is my new mantra.
Maybe this would be a location that it would make sense to live on base?
@momofasenior That advice is not what I am looking for here- that’s the standard party line already. Based on my research so far base housing is a rip-off in terms of what you get for the money (tiny, crap houses and a false sense of security), and I hate living in a gated community (plus I don’t really fit into the military community at ALL). There are over a million people that live in New Orleans- there MUST be all kinds of diversity of neighborhoods in terms of looks, costs, and safety. They’re not all living in slums or dodging bullets daily.
I’m sorry, but there is quite a bit of misinformation in this thread. @milgymfam feel free to DM me if you would like to discuss.
Agree with @pishicaca - there are lots of great things about NOLA. The food is FABULOUS and NOT “all fried”. Look at Metairie or Slidell.
Well, maybe our experiences were different but I know what I lived thru. If your experience was different, I’m truly glad for you b/c we were miserable and no one deserves that.
Actually, Metairie isn’t a bad suggestion. Slidell has a few areas but you’re still talking about an hour commute just to get over the bridge.
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What length of commute is bearable for your husband? I had thought of Slidell as well but it is at least one hour.
Metairie will be about 30ish minutes.
@doschicos he really wants it to be minimal. An hour would be an absolute no and even a half hour will require a fight from me. He had a 4-5 hour round trip commute in the Bay Area followed by a 5 min commute here in VA (he never has to sit in the awful NoVa traffic- that’s all me), so he’s completely spoiled now.
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Yeah, that’s going to be tough!!! Even base housing at Belle Chasse is going to be 25-30 min