Moving to New Orleans in January -- ADVICE?

Avian&Nick

Hey ladies I'm new to the board! I just wanted to introduce myself and say "Happy Holidays" to everyone.

Also, I was hoping that some of you could give my DH and I some advice about the areas in New Orleans. We are moving there in January. We've only been to New Orleans about 10 times, and we aren't sure of what neighborhoods are good for us. Currently, we live in a somewhat "trendy" (i.e. lots of theaters, cafes, coffee shops, lots of CVS stores and parks) side of Tampa, Florida. Sooo... we are somewhat looking for an area like that in New Orleans too. Our realtor suggested the Warehouse District, but we have 2 cats and need a little more private outdoor space for them. ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS for areas that are metro, young-professional areas??

Thanks!! I really look forward to the next GTG in the new year!!

sparkman-to-be

My husband and I are moving there on Friday and after a lot of research, help from knotties/nesties and preparation, we settled on a house in Uptown a block off of St. Charles. After all of our visits, we felt that the area best fit us and our wants/needs. We loved the Uptown/Garden District area and just fell in love with our place. We have a kitty too and that made it a little more difficult for us to find a place..we're renting to feel it out first and a lot of Landlords don't want animals in their homes. There are a lot of bars/cafes/restaurants in the area and we look forward to living in such a trendy area, after living in a suburban nightmare for a little over 2 years. IDK that we would've chosen Uptown if we had children but since that wasn't a factor, we gladly settled where we have.

LTF525

Warehouse district is a good one, and depending on the builing some places have a decent amount of outdoor areas. I would also look up town near Magazine street. This is a fun/trendy street iwth lots of bars and resturants. Also uptown off St. Charles. I would maybe consider renting over buying because each area of new orleans is very different and you should really get a feel for the areas before you buy. A good source for rentals in craigslist because New Orleans doesn't have many large apartment complexes (like tampa does), so most people rent from local landlords.

NOLA-Mary

We live uptown in the Audubon/University neighborhood and we have 2 dogs and a cat who likes to go outside. We really like our location because we walk to Audubon Park and it's a quick drive to Magazine Street + downtown. It's a little more "neighborhoody" but there are lots of young couples and young families (myself included). The area is mostly middle class to upper middle class professionals and students. Good Luck!!!!

LSU628

I also lived near Audubon park and loved the area! Most of the families on my street owned their homes and had been there for a while so there was a great sense of community.  GL!

twh2006

My husband and I will tell you quick that if we didn't have the kids we'd be living in the warehouse district. I LOVE IT.  And it's a quick drive to the parks and stuff, however like pp mentioned uptown is wonderful especially for families.

Avian&Nick

Ooh, I feel so much better now. Thank you so much, you girls totally rock! Uptown is another area that our realtor had mentioned too. It's nice to get "real" opinions from people not trying to sell you a house!! 

We are coming to check out our options next week and we're so excited! I just noticed on the Weather Channel how chilly it can be in New Orleans ... I can't wait to actually wear a coat again!! I never get to use mine here in Tampa!!

Thanks again!!