Living in New Orleans, Louisiana:
Tips for Moving and Visiting

If you’re moving to New Orleans, you’ll find frustration and joie de vivre in equal measure. We are truly dangerous drivers so maybe count to five after the light turns green – that’s an actual thing here. Money pinned to a shirt means that it’s their birthday. King cake has a season, doberge cake is year round.

If you’re moving to New Orleans, you’ll need to know that “Be nice, or leave” is more than a motto. Be ready to speak, and be spoken to, by folks in public. Buses are cheap, clean, friendly, and numerous, or bicycling, walking are good options. Outside of wealthy neighborhoods, the neighborhoods are mixed. The streets are in poor shape, but the city is a great place to live. It’s often HOT and it rains a LOT. Want to know your neighbors, and if you drive, prepare to watch for really impressive potholes. Corner stores are a thing. Grocery shopping is per area, the grocery stores are geared towards the neighborhoods they serve. Learn to cook at home, eat out once a week. There’s lots of medical available, as there are many teaching hospitals. Veterinary care is high. There are distinctive neighborhoods, known locally by their names. Prepare to walk, and if you are using walking aids, prepare to be accepted and assisted by neighbors, bus drivers, etc, as accessibility can be challenging but people do help if you ask, and they know to offer before doing. I love it here. I’m old, nonmelanated, and non wealthy. The younger folks work several jobs sometimes.

I think the first hurdle one must face when moving to New Orleans is the persistent heat and humidity that lingers for more than half of the year. Many people are taken aback by the oppressive temperatures when they visit the city in summer and spring, so those who are intolerant to this sort of tropical heat should consider visiting in more temperate times of the year. Fortunately, every season has a variety of events and activities for visitors: festivals, shopping, live music, an active nightlife, and a myriad of restaurants to choose from will satisfy even the most high maintenance tourists.

New Orleans may attract tourists from all over the globe during the Mardi Gras season, but the city can be a very different place during the rest of the year. It’s a melting pot for different people, cultures, and traditions, which can complicate the political scene and occasionally increase tension between city officials, local law enforcement, and the general population. That being said, if you can ignore the downsides, it will likely be one of the most fascinating and intriguing places you will ever live.

New Orleans is one of the most fun tourist cities in the United States. The city is known for it great Creole food, festivals, and parades causing millions of tourist a year to visit particularly during Mardi Gras season.

Many people see New Orleans as a dream city, and it is. But living here and visiting are two different things. While we have world-class restaurants, festivals attended by folks from around the world, and beautiful parks and museums, we also have high rates of poverty, subpar infrastructure and entrenched government dysfunction.