What's the safest area of New Orleans for a famly to move to?

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NOLA guy

Questions like yours almost always attract highly negative "answers" from people who do not live here and who have little or no idea what they are talking about. For example, Old Man (9th answer) says I am lying, that I must live in the Garden District (which he clearly knows nothing about), and that he is a "former resident". In reality, my information is correct, I live in Gentilly (a mixed neighborhood), and I would bet money Old Man was never a resident of New Orleans - maybe a suburb but not the City.

New Orleans is dangerous ONLY if you plan to buy or sell illegal drugs while you are here. Almost 98% of our murders happen within the crack cocaine community and almost all of the other 2% are "domestic" homicides. That doesn't make the crimes OK, but you really don't have to worry about it.

There is crime in every city in the world but New Orleans isn't even in the "top 25 most dangerous American cities": http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/30/real_estate/Most_dangerous_cities/index.htm

We were about # 40 before Katrina (NOLA was about the 40th USA metro area in population) and much of the criminal class was displaced to Atlanta & Houston by the storm..

To directly answer your question about the safest areas to live in New Orleans, they are Lakeview and Algiers. Lakeview is in the city-proper and Algiers is on the Westbank, directly across the Mississippi River from downtown. Just like with other cities, affluent suburbs tend to have less violent crime (not necessarily less property crime) but you have to decide how far you want to commute. Covington (mentioned in another answer) is 45 to 60 minutes drive (each way) from downtown.

There are intense labor shortages in the medical, legal, & retail fields, most trades, and in the service industry. However, you should line up a job BEFORE you move here.

Katrina flooded about 80% of New Orleans with salt water, and the water stayed for almost a month. Much of the city is still struggling to recover and all you have to do to see devastation is drive around. It will take years for NOLA to fully recover from Katrina.

However, the parts of the city that tourists usually visit were not flooded. It's not a coincidence - the French Quarter and other old parts of the city were built on relatively high ground and only suffered wind damage from Katrina. Almost all of the damage has been repaired and you have to look closely in the FQ and city center to see that Katrina happened at all. You should visit and see for yourself.

Note that the City of New Orleans is only part of the greater New Orleans area. The GNO area had a population of about 1,400,000 before Katrina and is estimated at about 1,200,000 now (July, 2007). The absent 200,000 are mostly from the City of New Orleans and the parishes of Plaquemines and Saint Bernard, which were the worst-flooded parts of the metro area. Jefferson Parish - just to the west of the City - suffered only minor flooding and has fully recovered.

You can drink the water, the electricity & phones work, and services like the post office, hospitals, schools, police/fire/EMS, and stores & shopping centers are operating.

Municipal services like street cleaning & trash collection collapsed after Katrina. Those services were fully restored in late 2006 and it is no longer an issue.

You should visit before you decide if you want to move here.

Good luck!

nikkiin00s

omg we have so much job opportunities down here if u can cant find a job within a month then u want be able to find a job anywhere

traveler

I would agree that Covington is a nice are to live if you want to commute. Although I would not agree that New Orleans is not safe. I think the Uptown/Garden District (probably best options for schooling within the city), French Quarter or Marigny are all very safe and great options to live. The job market does depend on the market you are looking in. Jobs in the medical field are definitely in high demand.

stinky

I think it is great that you are considering a move to NOLA. I moved down here for school, and my perspective of the city has completely changed. I live in Uptown (because that 's where the universities are) and I have never really felt my safety threatened. Don't listen to the people who try to tell you that it is the most dangerous city in the world. If you act stupid, any place is dangerous. NOLA is also very kid-friendly. I have limited experience with the entire city, but there is a zoo right by my house and an aquarium downtown. People are always out walking their dogs and window shopping in my neighborhood, and they always say hi when I pass. I love NOLA and I would recommend it for you or anyone else who is thinking about a move.

Joshua S

If you are going to be in the medical there are plenty of oppurtunities. The medical industry will see phenomenal growth in the next few years and right now there is a shortage of medical professionals, so there are incentives for you to go. http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl031307jbdoctors.c6dfcc3.html

The French Quarter, Garden Distict, and West Bank are all very safe areas, and provide a great quality of life, yes, even post katrina. It's the reason Iseatz, an internet company, is returning to the city from New York.

s and d e

new orleans is a great place to live for a family. the other answerer was right about lakeview and algiers. the garden district is pretty safe too (and beautiful). don't know if you'll be working in the private med field or a hospital but the garden district is close to Tulane, LSU and Charity Hospital. There are several nice areas that are "outside" the city--make sure you get a really good, REPUTABLE real estate agent. i don't know about the job market, but i would imagine the medical field is pretty open down there. try the www.nola.com website--lots of good info.

nicholasvillebear

I have looked at many of Barrys answers and he seems to know the city well I would listen to him. I thought I was the only person the had an interest in relocating to New Orleans post Katrina. I suppose not! Let's all re-New Orleans it is a great city even now. I really enjoyed my visit and felt totally safe!

Janice Dickinsons' Shrink

The job market depends on what type of work you are looking for. as for as safest areas, anything can happen anywhere. The best places to find houses, that are in decent areas of the city are on the Westbank of New Orleans, and it's surrounding cities.

*****

No such place as the safest place to live. Crime can rear it's ugly head anywhere and at anytime. Personally, I do NOT think there is much of a job market in New Orleans at the present time since Hurricane Katrina. There are areas still sparsely populated, and medical services are at a crisis stage.

Corey D.

Covington, seriously, New Orleans is not a safe place right now, the best thing to do is to move to one of the burbs and commute if you have a job there.

Fuzzy Squirrel

Job market ? I would be worried more about the next big storm.

old man

Barry is lying to you, New Orleans proper is NOT SAFE!! Covington is safer but expensive. Hammond is 35- 40 miles away and not as high as far as cost of living.
Barry must live in the Garden District or something, but to say its only unsafe if you want to sell drugs is bogus. A cop was murdered in a home invasion just last week. The criminals are so unafraid of the police or the judicial system that they will just kick in your door while you're home and either kill you or if you're lucky just rob you. The educational system is in the tank, schools are wrecks and unsafe. Why would you expose your kids to this is beyond me.
The Mayor commeting on the escalating murder rate said and I quote "At least it keeps the New Orleans brand out there!"

William K

I wouldn't want to relocate to New Orleans AT ALL, even pre-Katrina.

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