We are seriously considering moving to New Orleans.

Who can tell us about their experiences living there?
BTW, we are musicians too.

Food is awesome. It's hot nearly all the time. Hopefully you'll get someone that knows more than I do.

family. We spent two weeks there on some kind of business trip of my father's in August. All I can say is that it was unbearable hot and humid even in the middle of the night. Other than that I found it to be a fine old historical city and one of the few in America that have a distinct character and flavor all the way from their cuisine(excellent) and music to their architecture.

If you don't mind tropical heat, go for it. I am more of a lover of colder northern climes myself. I am most comfortable when the temperature is sixty degrees not ninety, with a humidity to match.

and plenty who have in the past. Some have loved, some hated it, some wouldn't live anywhere else. It's only about 80 or 90 miles from here, so I can drive over there when I want. If you live in the French Quarter, you might have parking issues. Some people get those little stickers to put on their cars so they won't get tickets, which are given out liberally down there, but tourists still park all over the place. A lot of people who live in the Quarter don't even own cars. You could also live in the Warehouse District or the lower Garden District(I think it's kind of trendy there, and the rents are kind of high). There's also some decent places to live in the Marigny.

because i lived in the french quarter for a little over three years.

it was incredible. but it was expensive. similar to the prices here in manhattan, although the apartments in the quarter were a little larger than those here in manhattan.

as long as you can handle excellent food, fantastic music (the street musicians alone are incredible, not even taking into account those professional musicians playing in the bars), drinking and partying, you would love it.

the garden district would also be a nice section to live in.

otherwise, new orleans can be a daunting city. lots of poverty. and it IS extremely hot a good portion of the year.

it is a very diverse city, with everything that comes with that.

if i were ever rich enough to have homes in several places, i would definitely have one in the french quarter.

of course, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY.

if you are from Wisconsin you may be surprised by the high crime,
dirty streets and creepy crawlies. Great place to visit but I could never live there. My advice, visit for at least two weeks before even thinking about moving there.

......Metairie...Hammond...Covington....Donaldsonville....Chalmette ect...the outskirts of the Big Easy would be ya'lls best bet I'd say...."LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!" :hi:

Yeah, it's hot, and may be destroyed by a Hurricane one day, and there's a lot of crime, BUT...it's where the WASP culture ain't. I was a kid there, and I thank my Dad for attending Tulane so I could attend several Mardi Gras, learn great music, fish on the bayous, regard strippers as real people, and REALLY UNDERSTAND Tennessee Williams.

I also suggest you read the magnificent book, A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole.

We are sick of the extreme winters now.
We are also interested in Memphis.

Unless you like heat and humidity, you might be happier in a temperate place with few extremes. Northern California, or the coastal Pacific Northwest come to mind. Seattle is a great town, as is Portland if you are city minded. The grass is green all year, little snow or ice. And yet you still have four seasons. Just milder. If you want snow, you can drive an hour to a 12,000 foot peak. If you want beaches, the winter temp is rarely below 50 degrees on the coast.

Something to think about. The pioneers did migrate west.

we have relatives in Bellingham, WA. that lived in Seattle for many years, it rains there a lot, right?

We also ruled out Arizona and Utah.

...and I felt there was an antagonism below the surface between whites and blacks (I'm white)--made me feel uneasy.

But hey, for a drunken, sinful weekend, nothing beats it!!!!!!!!

We have a car and would like a garage.

there. It comes from the Mississippi and is recycled through the human body about 180 times before it gets to Norleens.

We only use tap water for coffee here, otherwise it's bottled.

New Orleans experiences mild winters and hot, humid summers. Temperatures in January average 13 deg C (55 deg F), and in July they average 28 deg C (82 deg F). Annual rainfall is 57 in.

Annual rainfall for Bellingham is 39 inches. Average summer high is 75 degrees, average winter low 33.

Incidentally, the national average for annual rain is 37 inches.

like we've had for over a week.