Living in New Orleans

Moving to New Orleans means moving to a city unlike anywhere else in the US, and its singular character is a big part of the appeal for newcomers. Some come for the jazz and the food; others come for work in healthcare, the port, energy, or hospitality. Either way, few American cities have as strong a sense of their own identity.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures that followed flooded much of New Orleans. Twenty years on, the recovery is still readily apparent across the city. Much of it has been rebuilt, but the population is still well below its pre-Katrina peak. For newcomers though, the culture is as much of a draw as ever.

New Orleans’s older neighbourhoods are walkable, and the pace is gentler than in the coastal job hubs. Music and going out for food are ordinary parts of the week here, and rent is cheaper than in most big US cities, although you’ll pay steep home and flood insurance to go with it.

Working in New Orleans

The economy is broader than the city’s size suggests, and anyone working in New Orleans has more sectors to choose from than the tourism clichés let on. Healthcare is the biggest employer, and the two giants are Ochsner Health and LCMC Health. There are also employers clustered around the Mississippi River port, energy and petrochemicals, higher education, and tourism; close to 19 million visitors come to the city each year.

Finding a Job in New Orleans

Lifestyle in New Orleans

Music and food are at the heart of the lifestyle in New Orleans, more so than in almost any other US city, and something’s on for much of the year. This is the birthplace of jazz, and live music is part of a normal weeknight here. You’ll hear it in the clubs on Frenchmen Street and from the brass bands that still play in the streets.

Mardi Gras is the best-known celebration, but it’s far from the only one. Jazz Fest, the Essence Festival, French Quarter Fest, and countless neighbourhood second lines take place throughout the rest of the year. The food is reason enough on its own. Gumbo, po’boys, crawfish boils, and beignets at the century-old Café du Monde are what residents eat week in, week out.

Shopping, Nightlife, and Entertainment in New Orleans

Finding accommodation in New Orleans

On rent, at least, finding accommodation in New Orleans is easier on the wallet than it is in most large US cities. Roughly half of all households rent, so there’s plenty of choice for renters. Buyers face a tougher sum because New Orleans has some of the highest home and flood insurance costs in the country, and much of the city is at or below sea level. Whatever you’re budgeting, factor insurance in before you commit.

The city is known for its historic housing. Shotgun houses, Creole cottages, grand Victorian homes, and newer downtown apartments are all part of the mix. The grander historic places are concentrated in Uptown and the Garden District, while most of the new-build is downtown and in the Warehouse District. 

Renting Accommodation in New Orleans
Best Places to Live in New Orleans

Cost of living in New Orleans

Compared with the coastal metros, the cost of living in New Orleans is close to the national average. It’s below cities like New York or San Francisco, but above much of the rest of Louisiana. Rent, groceries, utilities, and transport are all reasonable, and you can eat and go out well on a modest budget, since so much of the city’s music and festival life is free.

Insurance is the catch. Home and flood premiums here are among the highest in the country, and car cover is dear too, so build these into your budget before you assume New Orleans will be cheap.

Cost of Living in New Orleans

Living in New Orleans with children

Families raising kids get easy access to the outdoors, which is one of the quiet perks of living in New Orleans with children. City Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country, has playgrounds, lagoons, a sculpture garden, and the storybook-themed Storyland, and the Lafitte Greenway is a car-free route through Mid-City for walking and cycling. Families spend weekends in the French Quarter or along the Mississippi, and a stop for beignets at Café du Monde on Decatur Street is almost obligatory.

Healthcare is one of the city’s strengths, as New Orleans has grown into a regional medical centre. Big systems like Ochsner and LCMC Health run hospitals across the city, including University Medical Center and Children’s Hospital New Orleans, so families are well served for specialist and paediatric care. As everywhere in the US though, you’ll want solid health insurance in place.

Healthcare and Medical Insurance in New Orleans

Finding a school in New Orleans

For new arrivals with kids, the business of finding a school in New Orleans is unlike almost anywhere else in the country. After Hurricane Katrina, the district turned its schools over to charter operators, and today nearly every public school is a charter run by an independent group.

There are no neighbourhood catchment zones. Instead, families apply through one citywide system, the NOLA Public Schools Common Application Process (NCAP, formerly OneApp). You rank the schools you want, and a matching algorithm assigns each child a place. It pays to start early and list several preferences, since the popular schools fill up fast.

Some operators are much stronger than others, so a school’s results and reputation are worth checking. The district as a whole has been improving, and it earned a ‘B’ performance score for the first time since its schools reunified under one board. Private and parochial schools are an option too, and there are a few selective and language-immersion schools within the public system.

Education and Schools in New Orleans

Getting around in New Orleans

You don’t need a car for getting around New Orleans, especially in the older core, and walking and cycling are easy on the flat terrain.

You can pay for public transport with the Le Pass app or a Jazzy Pass. The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) runs the buses, the historic streetcars, and the Mississippi ferries, and the St Charles Avenue line is the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world.

Bus reliability is patchy on the outer routes, so plenty of residents still keep a car, but the traffic is light by big-city standards and neighbourhood parking is manageable. Amtrak trains run out of the Union Passenger Terminal too.

Public Transport, Driver’s Licences and Driving in New Orleans

Climate and weather in New Orleans

The climate and weather in New Orleans come down to two things: heat and water. Summers are hot and humid, and winters are short and mild. July and August are the hardest months and relentlessly humid.

The bigger consideration is hurricane season, which officially runs from June to November. The greatest risk is from August to October. Direct hits aren’t yearly events, but heavy rain and flooding are a regular fact of life in a city that’s largely at or below sea level, so check your flood risk before you settle on a neighbourhood.

Climate Charts for New Orleans

None of this makes New Orleans the easiest place to live. The summers are punishing, and hurricane season is a genuine risk. Insurance is pricier here than almost anywhere else in the country. But new arrivals come anyway, and most who stay decide the culture is worth every bit of it. Moving to New Orleans is a trade-off, but it’s one a lot of newcomers are glad they made.

The weather in New Orleans is typical of a humid subtropical climate. Winters are short and generally mild, and summers are hot and humid. New Orleans weather can change rapidly. Rainfall is likely at any time of year, so you should keep an umbrella handy.

Summers in New Orleans, especially July and August, are hot and steamy, with average daytime highs of around 90°F (32°C). At night, the mercury drops slightly to around 74°F (23°C), but the humidity can be brutal, so new arrivals quickly come to depend on reliable air conditioning during these months. Tropical storms can cause havoc in the city. Mosquitoes and other insects thrive in the damp, so you should keep repellent handy.

Winter is from December to February. Although this season is mostly mild, conditions can be unpredictable. One minute, it can be overcast and fairly chilly, and the next, there will be bright sunshine. Temperatures range from average lows of 44°F (7°C) to average highs of 64°F (18°C). In winter, the rain can occasionally turn to sleet.

Spring and autumn are the mildest, most comfortable seasons in New Orleans. Daytime temperatures are warm and pleasant, and the humidity is far lower than in summer. Both seasons are generally drier and sunnier too, so newcomers often find them to be the best time to get out and explore the city on foot.

New residents should be aware of the main weather hazard in New Orleans: hurricane season, which lasts from June to November. The risk is highest in late summer and early autumn, when storms are most likely to form in the Gulf.

Few US cities have a sense of place to rival New Orleans, where cooks and musicians still draw on centuries of French, Spanish, African, and Caribbean influence. Every city has its trade-offs though, and this one’s no exception. Weigh up the pros and cons of moving to New Orleans with care, and you can reach a thoroughly informed decision before you take the plunge.

Accommodation in New Orleans

+ PRO: Housing is affordable

Housing is one of the biggest draws of moving to New Orleans. Home prices are well below those in most big US metros, so buying here costs far less than it would in a coastal city of the same size. Around half of residents rent rather than buy, and rents are reasonable compared to cities like New York or San Francisco.

Property taxes are low too, and under the state’s homestead exemption, you pay nothing on the first slice of your home’s value, so your annual tax bill will likely end up well under the national average.

- CON: The hidden costs of insurance and flooding

The savings you’ll get on the list price of the house are somewhat offset by the cost of protecting that home. Due to the state’s exposure to storms and hurricanes, Louisiana has some of the highest home and car insurance premiums in the country. Much of the city is at or below sea level, so flood cover is typically considered essential here.

Accommodation in New Orleans
Areas and Suburbs in New Orleans

Cost of living in New Orleans

+ PRO: Your money goes further

Day to day, New Orleans works out cheaper than most big American cities. Groceries and getting around are close to the national average, utilities are cheaper, and you can eat and drink well without spending a fortune. You’ll be able to stretch your money further here than in pricier metros like Atlanta, Nashville, Philadelphia, or Baltimore, and a lot of the city’s best entertainment, from street music to festivals, costs little or nothing.

- CON: Deep pockets of poverty and inequality

New Orleans has deep, long-standing inequality, and the city has one of the widest gaps between the richest and poorest neighbourhoods in the country.

Cost of Living in New Orleans

Working in New Orleans

+ PRO: A stable economy with room to grow

The New Orleans economy has proved quite resilient. Healthcare is now the single biggest employer, and thousands more work in trade and logistics at the port, which is one of the busiest in the country.

A growing cluster of software and digital media firms has brought new, better-paid jobs, while energy employers pay some of the highest wages in the region. Louisiana has worked hard to sweeten the deal for domains like film and technology with tax incentives, so the city’s a real draw if you’re looking for a lower-cost base to launch a business.

- CON: Wages are behind, and recovery has been slow

For all that, the recovery since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 has been uneven. Tens of thousands of residents have left over the past two decades, and the population is still smaller than it was before the storm. Unemployment is usually a little above the national average, and wages are on the low side, in part because so many jobs are in tourism and hospitality rather than higher-paying fields.

Working in New Orleans

Lifestyle in New Orleans

+ PRO: A food scene like nowhere else

Newcomers rarely cease raving about the food in New Orleans. Creole and Cajun cooking is at the heart and soul of it. You’ll be able work your way happily through gumbo and jambalaya, crawfish by the pound come spring, overstuffed po’boys, and beignets buried under icing sugar at the famous Café du Monde. Locals take the whole business of eating seriously, and it won’t be long before you see why.

- CON: Everything works on island time

A slower pace of life is one of the things residents love about New Orleans, and it can do wonders for your stress levels. Come from a fast-paced city, though, and you might be in for an adjustment. Everything here takes a little longer, whether that’s unhurried service at a restaurant or a streetcar that’s running behind.

+ PRO: Festivals all around the year

If you love a party, few US cities can match the New Orleans calendar. There’s a marquee event in almost every season, from Mardi Gras in late winter to French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest in spring, plus the Essence Festival, which fills the Superdome each summer for one of the country’s biggest celebrations of Black culture. Beyond the big names, there’s live music somewhere most weekends, from brass bands on street corners to the Sunday second-line parades that pass through the neighbourhoods.

Lifestyle in New Orleans

Weather in New Orleans

- CON: You’ll be sharing the city with the bugs

Insects love the warm, wet subtropical climate, and in New Orleans, you’ll get to know a fair few of them. Buck moth caterpillars drop out of the live oaks each spring and pack a nasty sting, brown recluse spiders and fire ants turn up indoors and out, and every May New Orleanians brace for the Formosan termite swarm, when clouds of the wood-eating insects pour out after dark. Mosquitoes are a fact of life right through the long, humid summer.

+ PRO: Mild winters and a long, warm season

Winter is the reward for putting up with all that. It’s short and gentle, so you’ll barely see a hard freeze, and snow is such a rarity that the whole city stops to admire when a few flakes fall. The summer humidity eases right off, and you can sit out in courtyards and on café terraces for much of the year. Gardeners get an unusually long growing season, and the mild off-season is exactly why New Orleanians can keep the festival calendar going from autumn right through to spring.

- CON: Rain, flooding, and hurricane season

Rain is a year-round companion in New Orleans. Much of the city is a bowl between the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain, so the water has nowhere to drain to, and the lowest-lying neighbourhoods are prone to flooding. Hurricane season lasts from June to November.

Weather in New Orleans

Education in New Orleans

+ PRO: Plenty of school choice

Families moving to New Orleans quickly discover how much choice they have over schooling. The public system is built around open enrolment, so where you live doesn’t tie you to a single school. There are sought-after magnet schools, a wide spread of public charters, respected private options, and even some well-regarded universities like Tulane and Loyola for older students.

- CON: You have to work the system

Because almost every public school in New Orleans is a charter, you’ll need to research your options and apply through the city’s common application rather than simply enrolling at your neighbourhood school. Some of these schools are ranked among the state’s best, and they fill up fast. Others struggle to provide a quality education. If you miss the main application window, your top choices will evaporate quickly.

Education and Schools in New Orleans

Safety in New Orleans

- CON: Crime that clusters by neighbourhood

Safety in New Orleans varies a lot from one block to the next. Violent crime is concentrated in a handful of lower-income neighbourhoods, while the areas where most newcomers and families settle are far calmer. The more everyday worry is petty theft, and car break-ins in particular, so locals learn early to never leave anything on show in a parked vehicle.

+ PRO: Crime is falling

The bigger picture is a lot more encouraging. Violent crime in New Orleans has dropped sharply over the past few years, and the city is no longer anywhere near the top of the national crime tables. Learn your neighbourhood and take the usual big-city precautions, and you’re unlikely to run into trouble.

For newcomers, working in New Orleans means entering a diverse economy with a broad range of job opportunities. The city is home to one of the country’s busiest ports and has long been central to American trade and exports. Fortune 500 employers such as the energy company Entergy are based here, too.

Beyond trade and exports, tourism is the city’s other big money-spinner. Many millions of visitors come each year, and they pay a large share of the city’s sales taxes.

Job market in New Orleans

The job market in New Orleans is fairly healthy and quite varied for a city of its size. Most of the new jobs are in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, trade, and the tech sector; wages in energy are still the best in the region, even though it is no longer where most of the hiring happens. Businesses are drawn here by low operating costs and by some of the most generous tax incentives in the country, especially for the entertainment and technology industries.

New Orleans has been a major port of entry for centuries, thanks to its position at the mouth of the Mississippi, and it is still a serious force in American trade. If your background is in trade or logistics, the port and its supply chains are a natural place to start looking.

Healthcare is the biggest employer in the metro area. Hospital systems such as Ochsner Health and LCMC Health employ tens of thousands between them and have added staff almost every year for a decade. Advanced manufacturing is another mainstay. At the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, workers build spacecraft and defence hardware, and aerospace suppliers have set up nearby. Construction, energy, higher education, and government are all sizeable employers as well.

Tourism and hospitality are among the largest employers of all. Close to one in seven of the metro’s workers have jobs in the sector, and demand is fairly steady, since visitors and conventions arrive all around the year.

Finding a job in New Orleans

These days, finding a job in New Orleans tends to start online. You will find most openings on the big job portals and professional networks such as LinkedIn, and a browse through them is a quick way to get a feel for who is hiring and for what. It pays to research the employers you like the look of, then keep an eye on their careers pages, where new roles often appear before they make it onto the big portals.

Networking matters just as much, online and in person. A contact inside a company is often the surest way to get a foot in the door, whether they put in a word with the hiring manager or simply make sure your CV lands on the right desk.

Visas for the USA
Work Permits for the USA

Useful links

• Indeed Jobs New Orleans
• LinkedIn
• Glassdoor New Orleans Jobs

Work culture in New Orleans

Compared with the big coastal hubs, the work culture in New Orleans is fairly relaxed, and the lifestyle here is a genuine draw. The cost of living is easier on the wallet than in New York or San Francisco, and most employers make a real effort to protect their staff’s work-life balance.

Larger corporations back this up with solid benefits packages. Health insurance, retirement plans, paid leave, and support for training and career progression are all common at that level.

Small firms are a big part of the picture too. The state, through Louisiana Economic Development, and regional bodies such as GNO, Inc., put real money and support behind new businesses, and founders have built a lively start-up scene on the back of it. Louisiana’s tax credits for tech firms are among the most aggressive in the country, which is another reason founders base themselves here. Employees at these smaller companies often get perks that corporates are slower to offer, such as flextime and the option to work remotely.

Business Culture in the USA

Buying or renting accommodation in New Orleans is an expensive prospect. Home insurance premiums are high thanks to the city's exposure to hurricanes and flooding, and many would-be buyers are put off by the added cost. Short-term letting to holidaymakers is now tightly restricted across most residential areas as well, so there's less reason than there once was to buy purely as an investment.

The majority of new arrivals to the city opt to rent property rather than buy, at least initially. Only once they've found their feet, become familiar with the various neighbourhoods and are ready to lay down roots in New Orleans do residents really start to explore the option of purchasing a home in the city.

Neighbourhoods in New Orleans

New Orleans has a wide variety of areas and suburbs for new arrivals to choose from. From the bustling French Quarter to the leafy Garden District, there's something for everyone.

When looking for a new place to call home, families will most likely want to opt for a neighbourhood close to the school they intend to send their children to. Almost all public schools in New Orleans are charter schools.

Places are assigned through a citywide lottery, the NOLA-PS Common Application Process (NCAP), rather than by zoning, so where you live won't tie you to a particular school. Still, living in the same area as your child's school makes it easier to integrate with the local community and find friends in the neighbourhood. Some of the best areas for families in New Orleans include Lakeview, Audubon, Gentilly, and Algiers Point.

Young professionals and students tend to prefer a livelier area within easy reach of restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and live-music venues. Bywater and Marigny fit the bill and have an artsy, bohemian feel. Uptown is also well worth considering.

To learn more, read our page on the Best (and Worst) Neighbourhoods in New Orleans.

Types of accommodation in New Orleans

Anyone considering a move to New Orleans will be sure to find a wide variety of property options in the city. The architectural styles here are beautiful and unique, and the properties are full of character. Here are a few of the most common types of property found in New Orleans.

Apartments and condos

Apartments and condos are self-contained units within a larger building or complex, and you'll find them scattered across various parts of New Orleans. They tend to be fairly modern and come with all the essential facilities. Living in an apartment or condo is a great option for new arrivals, as there is a sense of communal living. Residents share amenities such as swimming pools, gyms, communal gardens, and laundry facilities.

Townhouses

Townhouses are two- to four-storey buildings that usually have arched openings and iron balconies. They're built of brick or stucco and have steep side-gabled roofs. In New Orleans, townhouses are either built in the standard American style or the Creole style, which can be found mainly in the French Quarter.

Creole cottages

These humble single-storey, ground-level properties have steeply pitched roofs and stucco or wood exteriors. They're most closely associated with the French Quarter and the older Creole neighbourhoods nearby, such as the Marigny and Tremé. These properties are perfect for young couples looking to get their foot on the property ladder, as well as small families.

Shotgun houses

Shotgun-style houses are the type most commonly seen all over New Orleans. They're usually one-storey properties, though many have a second floor at the rear (a style known locally as a camelback). Shotgun houses are long, narrow structures raised on brick piers. Each has a distinctive front porch, and its roof is supported by Victorian-era columns.

Finding accommodation in New Orleans

Generally, the best place to begin the search for a new home in New Orleans will be online. Consulting reputable property portals is a great way for prospective residents to get a feel for the different types of property available in each neighbourhood and how much to budget.

Real estate agents with local knowledge are another valuable source, and they can help new arrivals get to know different parts of the city.

When looking for a home, weigh up how close it is to work, local amenities, shops, and major routes. Your lifestyle will come into it, too. Those moving to New Orleans with children should also consider the proximity to good public schools and space requirements when searching for a home.

Some new arrivals are lucky enough to have a relocation company working on their behalf. The company will assess your preferences and draw up a shortlist of properties for you to view.

Useful links

• Zillow
• Trulia
• Apartments.com

Renting accommodation in New Orleans

Making an application

Once potential tenants have found a property to their liking, they'll need to express their interest either to the agent or the landlord directly. Subsequently, credit and reference checks will be carried out. Once these have come back clear, the tenant and landlord can go ahead and sign the lease.

For those moving to New Orleans from outside the USA, having a US bank account and a Social Security number (or ITIN) in place before applying will make the process smoother.

Leases

Generally, rental contracts run for a year and can be renewed at the end of the initial term. Some landlords will agree to a shorter lease, which can suit those who need a short-term rental while they find their feet in the city.

Deposits and fees

To secure a rental contract, you'll need to put down a security deposit, and it usually comes to about a month's rent. The deposit is fully refundable at the end of the lease, provided you leave the property in an acceptable condition.

Under Louisiana law, the landlord must return it within one month of the lease ending and provide an itemised statement of any deductions. Since the landlord deducts the cost of any damage from the deposit, both you and the landlord should carry out a detailed inventory at the start and end of the tenancy.

Terminating the lease

A fixed-term lease in New Orleans ends automatically on its final date, and you don't need to give notice to move out when the term is up. If you stay on afterwards and the landlord continues to accept rent, the arrangement usually becomes month-to-month. To end a month-to-month tenancy, give at least 10 days’ written notice before the end of the monthly period.

Leaving a fixed-term lease early is harder. You may stay liable for the rent until the term ends or the landlord re-lets the property, so check whether your lease includes an early-termination clause. Always put your notice in writing and keep a copy.

Utilities in New Orleans

Before signing any contracts, renters should meticulously study the terms of their lease agreements to determine which utilities (if any) are included in the rental cost. Standard utilities like water, gas, and electricity are sometimes included, especially in short-term leases. The tenant usually arranges and pays for extras such as internet and cable television.

Before moving in, find out if water, gas and electricity have been turned off and whether you need to open a new account with utilities providers or if an existing account can be transferred to you.

Electricity and gas

Entergy is the main supplier of electricity and gas in New Orleans. Be aware that utility bills can be high, especially during summer, when air conditioning units are essential in the hot, humid weather.

An automatic billing system is available for Entergy customers, and signing up allows a direct debit to your bank account for your utility usage. Some locals advise against this, as the amount varies monthly and a high bill can be a shock.

Instead, they advise keeping a close eye on your usage and paying it manually every month. That way, if the bill is unusually high, you can make enquiries before the money is taken out of your bank account.

Water and sewerage

The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) manages water and sewerage. Its website has sections on billing and payments, as well as answers to common questions, and you can raise any issues through the contact form.

Bins and recycling

The New Orleans Department of Sanitation oversees household waste, and homes with four units or fewer get weekly kerbside collection through private contractors assigned by area. Recycling works on an opt-in basis: call 311 to request a free blue recycling cart, then set it out weekly on the same day as your rubbish. Paper, cardboard, metal cans, and plastics marked 1 or 2 can all go in the kerbside cart. Your monthly sanitation fee is billed through the Sewerage and Water Board.

Useful links

• Entergy New Orleans
• Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans
• City of New Orleans Trash and Recycling

The best places to live in New Orleans

There are neighbourhoods in New Orleans to suit almost anyone. Artists and creatives gravitate to bohemian Bywater, and couples and active retirees favour the oak-lined Garden District.

House-hunting here takes some thought, and it can feel daunting trying to find the perfect place. Weigh up your budget, nearby amenities, proximity to work and schools, and the kind of lifestyle you want before you settle on an area.

Here are our picks for some of the best areas and suburbs in New Orleans.

City living in New Orleans

Marigny/Bywater

Marigny and Bywater are adjacent neighbourhoods known for their art scene. You’ll find local galleries, low-key live music venues, craft markets, and street murals throughout. Eating out is a highlight too, and you can find anything from trendy eateries to humble soul food spots, so foodies can take their pick.

Distinctive Creole cottages, a style of home strongly associated with New Orleans, can be seen along many of the streets. Both areas have gentrified over the past two decades. There’s still a young, creative crowd that calls them home, but both neighbourhoods have changed a good deal as rents have risen and short-term rentals have spread.

Uptown/Garden District

The Garden District is leafy and elegant. The streets are shaded by old magnolia trees, and there’s an aroma of jasmine that hangs in the air. Between the grand 19th-century mansions and the quiet, walkable blocks, it’s one of the most sought-after places to live in New Orleans.

Uptown has sophisticated bars, smart restaurants, trendy coffee shops, and independent boutiques, so residents rarely need to go far. The community is diverse, from recent grads to retirees, and it has an overall liberal, welcoming feel. It’s a good place to start your time in New Orleans.

Gentilly/New Orleans East

Gentilly and New Orleans East are less well-known parts of the city, and they’re often overlooked by newcomers. They are particularly popular with families as well as young couples looking to get a foot on the property ladder. The area used to be known for its ubiquitous shotgun homes, but many modern houses have gone up since Hurricane Katrina destroyed a lot of the existing structures in 2005.

The communities here are ethnically diverse and well established. New Orleans East has long been home to large African American and Vietnamese populations, and you’ll find a real depth of culture in everything from the festivals to the food.

Finding Accommodation in New Orleans
Lifestyle in New Orleans
Getting Around in New Orleans

Family-friendly areas in New Orleans

Algiers Point

In Algiers Point, new arrivals can slow down and take things at an easier pace. Algiers Point is across the Mississippi River on the West Bank, and it feels a world away from the tourist-heavy centre.

You can take the Canal Street ferry across to downtown in a few minutes, so it’s easy to settle into a quiet, historic pocket and still reach the French Quarter when you want to. It used to have a flourishing jazz scene, but the pace is slower than in the centre. Confetti Park is a popular gathering spot for locals, and you can find Victorian and Creole houses all along the streets.

Audubon

Audubon is one of the most popular residential neighbourhoods in New Orleans, named after the large park at its heart. It’s also known as the ‘University District’, since Tulane and Loyola Universities are right here, and there’s a large student population here and nearby. Families are drawn to the area for Audubon Park, the zoo, well-regarded schools, and easy access to both universities.

Homes here tend to be large and full of character, although Audubon is one of the pricier parts of the city. That said, new arrivals still value the strong community feeling.

Lakeview

Lakeview is a large, family-friendly neighbourhood near Lake Pontchartrain, and one of the more popular places in the city to raise a family. It has a quieter, more suburban feel than much of New Orleans. Wide streets and newer homes are the norm, many of which were rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. There’s a strong community feel.

City Park is right next to Lakeview, so residents have the Besthoff Sculpture Garden on their doorstep. Families also have Storyland, a storybook playground, and the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park close by. For shopping, restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, Harrison Avenue is the heart of the neighbourhood.

Cost of Living in New Orleans
Schools in New Orleans

New arrivals will find that healthcare in New Orleans has a strong regional reputation, and the metro area is one of the American South’s main medical hubs. Local universities and research institutions have built up a sizeable biotech sector alongside it.

The city has several well-regarded hospitals and clinics, and standards of care are high. As anywhere in the USA, though, treatment is expensive, so it is best to take out a solid health insurance plan. If you are relocating to New Orleans for work, you should try to negotiate a healthcare allowance into your employment package where possible.

Below, you’ll find a list of some of the best-regarded hospitals in New Orleans.

Hospitals in New Orleans

Ochsner Medical Center

Website: www.ochsner.org
Address: 1514 Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, LA 70121

University Medical Center New Orleans

Website: www.umcno.org
Address: 2000 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70112

Touro Infirmary

Website: www.lcmchealth.org
Address: 1401 Foucher Street, New Orleans, LA 70115

Education and schools in New Orleans are a top priority for many parents moving to the city. There is plenty of choice, but settling on the right school can be tricky. As is the case throughout the US, the schooling system in New Orleans is divided into three levels:

• Elementary school (Kindergarten to Grade 5)
• Middle school (Grades 6 to 8)
• High school (Grades 9 to 12)

NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS), which answers to the Orleans Parish School Board, is the local district. It authorises and oversees the city’s charter schools rather than running most of them itself.

Factors to consider when deciding on a school in New Orleans include the type of school, the standard of teaching, the cost, extracurricular activities, and proximity to the family home and the parents’ place of work.

Public schools in New Orleans

Public schools in New Orleans are unlike those in any other city in the country. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, the state took over most schools and rebuilt the system around charters. It became the first US city with an almost entirely charter public school system.

The city has almost no attendance zones, so your choice of address doesn’t tie you to a school. EnrollNOLA runs one citywide application called the NOLA-PS Common Application Process (formerly OneApp). You rank up to 12 schools in order of preference, and the district then matches each child to a single place. A few selective-admission schools also require entrance tests or additional paperwork.

Charter schools

Charter schools are a subset of public schools overseen by external boards. Although they do have more freedom in terms of teaching methodology and admissions, these schools remain accountable to NOLA Public Schools.

These institutions have charters that detail the school’s operations, programme, goals, and assessment methods. Charter schools use this independence to adjust their teaching methods and largely set their own objectives.

Selective-admission and specialised schools

A small group of charter schools in New Orleans set their own entrance criteria and admit academically strong students. Benjamin Franklin High School, the top-ranked public school in the state, is the best known of these, and several others kept the selective intake they had as magnet schools before Hurricane Katrina.

Other schools build their whole programme around one field. The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), for instance, gives high-schoolers pre-professional training in the arts, and various charters concentrate on STEM, the classics, the performing arts, or language immersion.

Useful links

• NOLA Public Schools
• EnrollNOLA: New Orleans Public School Enrolment

Private schools in New Orleans

Private schools in New Orleans are another route for families, and the city has dozens of them. Most are affiliated with a religion, and the great majority are Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Private schools generally have a higher standard of teaching and more modern facilities than the average public school. They also run more honour programmes, both for academically gifted students and for those who show an aptitude for sport, music, visual art, or drama.

Naturally, the downside of private education is the price tag. Extra tuition fees, uniforms, books, stationery, extracurricular expenses and field trips can all add up.

Useful links

• Archdiocese of New Orleans: School Finder

International schools in New Orleans

For foreign residents, international schools in New Orleans can keep children on a familiar curriculum, or in their home language, through the upheaval of a move.

New Orleans has an unusually strong set of options here, and most of them are free public charters rather than costly private schools. The city has deep French roots, and several schools teach through language immersion: the International School of Louisiana teaches in French and Spanish, and Audubon Charter runs an accredited French programme. At the Lycée Français, children follow both the Louisiana and the French national curriculum and can graduate with an American diploma alongside the French Baccalauréat.

For the International Baccalaureate, public charters such as the International High School of New Orleans and Morris Jeff Community School run the programme, so families can pursue an IB education without private-school fees.

Useful links

• International Baccalaureate: Find an IB World School
• Louisiana Parents for French Immersion: School List

Special educational needs in New Orleans

Children with special educational needs in New Orleans are well supported. Louisiana provides special education services to eligible students up to the age of 21 at no cost to families. The support structures in place are extensive and multifaceted, and the schools cater to a wide range of disabilities, from autism and ADHD to physical mobility challenges.

Students with special needs are accommodated in public schools as far as possible, but there are specialised facilities if a child’s learning challenges are too severe for mainstream schools.

Useful links

• NOLA Public Schools – Special Education
• Louisiana Department of Education: Students with Disabilities
• Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans

Tutors in New Orleans

New arrivals will find no shortage of tutors in New Orleans. Whether you want to prepare your child for exams, keep up fluency in your family’s home language, coach them through the ACT or SAT, or simply help them settle into the local curriculum, you’ll be able to find someone who fits the bill.

Schools can often provide a list of recommended local tutors, and there are several established tutoring companies in New Orleans.

Useful links

• Learning Smiles Tutoring
• NOLA Master Tutoring Service

The lifestyle in New Orleans is one of the city’s biggest draws for new residents. New Orleans has long been called the Paris of the South, and you won’t be short of variety when it comes to entertainment.

As the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans is known the world over for its nightlife, and you’ll be spoilt for choice in the evenings. Foodies will be well looked after too. You’ll find everything from Southern soul food and Creole cooking to international fusion.

New arrivals will find plenty to do with their downtime, and New Orleans is a colourful, lively place to call home.

Shopping in New Orleans

You’ll find everything from grand old department stores to quirky boutiques when you go shopping in New Orleans. Magazine Street is the big one, and it’s lined with shops, galleries, cafés, and antique dealers for roughly six miles (10km) between the Central Business District and Audubon Park.

Royal Street in the French Quarter is the place for antiques and art galleries, while Freret Street and Oak Street are younger and more independent in feel. The French Market has been a fixture beside the river for more than two centuries, and you’ll come across weekend arts markets around Frenchmen Street and the Bywater.

If you’re after big-name brands or outlet shopping, Canal Place downtown and the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk are both on the water.

Arts and culture in New Orleans

Arts and culture in New Orleans are a serious business. The city has a long history in music, theatre, film, and the visual arts. The first documented opera performance in the US took place here in 1796, and a century later, in 1896, Vitascope Hall opened on Canal Street as the country’s first commercial movie theatre. New Orleans is, of course, the home of jazz.

New Orleans has a great many museums and art galleries. The best known are the National WWII Museum and the New Orleans Museum of Art, but there are quirkier spots too, such as Mardi Gras World, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, the Historic Voodoo Museum, and the Sazerac House.

Eating out in New Orleans

There’s a real pleasure to eating out in New Orleans, and the city has a well-deserved reputation as one of the USA’s food capitals. Creole cooking here draws on French, Spanish, West African, and Caribbean cuisine, so there’s a lot of history in a bowl of gumbo or a plate of red beans and rice. You can work your way through mouth-watering jambalaya, an overstuffed shrimp po’boy, a bowl of crawfish étouffée, and a sugar-dusted beignet. The next day, dig into the food of the city’s Vietnamese, Honduran, Italian, and Middle Eastern communities.

You don’t need to spend a fortune eating out here, either. There’s fine dining for when you want to push the boat out, but New Orleans is really about comforting soul food, and you’ll find it dished up at humble eateries and markets all over the city.

Nightlife in New Orleans

The nightlife in New Orleans is at its liveliest after dark in the city where Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, Dr John, and Trombone Shorty got their starts. There are live jazz clubs and quirky cabaret shows all over town, and you’ll find entertainment on just about every corner.

There are nightlife spots scattered across the city, so there’s plenty to see. Walk from Frenchmen Street to the French Quarter, and you’ll pass block upon block of lively little cafés, bars, music clubs, and restaurants. In the French Quarter, the world-famous Bourbon Street is the obvious draw. Further downriver, Bywater has plenty of excellent local music too.

Sport and outdoor activities in New Orleans

Sport and outdoor activities in New Orleans are easy to come by, whether you’d rather watch or take part. NFL supporters can cheer on the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome, while basketball fans can catch the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center downtown. The Superdome is also home to the annual Sugar Bowl, and it’s been the venue for several Super Bowls. There’s top-level sport on for much of the year.

If you like spending time outdoors, you’ll find plenty to do, although the hot, humid summers are best enjoyed in the mornings and evenings. City Park is even bigger than New York’s Central Park, and it’s a fine place to spend a lazy day in the sun. Audubon Park uptown is another. When you fancy time on the water, the Mississippi River is the place for boat rides and fishing trips.

See and do in New Orleans

French Quarter

A walk through the French Quarter is high on most newcomers’ lists, and its quaint Creole townhouses date back centuries. The Vieux Carré is full of top-notch restaurants, lively bars, antique shops, clothing boutiques, and mysterious voodoo dens.

Mardi Gras World

Mardi Gras World is the creation of Blaine Kern, the man they called Mr Mardi Gras. He started building floats in 1947, and his company, Kern Studios, still makes many of the parade floats today. On a tour, you can walk through the history and craft behind Mardi Gras and get a good feel for one of New Orleans’s signature festivals.

Steamboat Natchez

New Orleans was once at the centre of the Mississippi River’s shipping trade, and the Steamboat Natchez is the last true steam-powered sternwheeler still working the river here. Aboard this historic vessel, you can picture the city in its steamboat heyday, and the dinner jazz cruise is a memorable evening out.

New Orleans Jazz Museum

It’s only right that the home of jazz should have a jazz museum. The New Orleans Jazz Museum is in the Old US Mint, and it’s a good place to get to grips with the music New Orleans is famous for. There are concerts throughout the year, and programmes for children too.

Meeting people and making friends in New Orleans

There are plenty of ways to go about meeting people and making friends in New Orleans, as long as you’re willing to put yourself out there. Shared interests are usually the easiest route in. The city is mad about sport, music, food, and the outdoors, so join a recreational sports league, sign up with a cycling or running club, take a cooking class, or become a regular at a neighbourhood music venue.

Volunteering is another good way to meet like-minded neighbours, and plenty of community and cultural groups need helpers, especially around Carnival season. New arrivals who want to build a professional network will find business breakfasts and industry mixers across the city, which are a comfortable way to meet colleagues outside the office.

Useful links

• Meetup: Groups and events in New Orleans
• CLUBWAKA New Orleans: Adult kickball and social leagues
• NOLA Social Ride: Community cycling club
• New Orleans Chamber of Commerce: Business networking events

Getting around in New Orleans is easy enough in the historic core, where a short walk, a streetcar, a bus, or the ferry will usually get you where you’re going. Head out into the suburbs, and it’s a different story, so a lot of residents there keep a car for the commute to work and school.

Public transport in New Orleans

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA, usually shortened to RTA) runs the public transport in New Orleans. There’s a single app for paying your fare across the different modes of transport. The LePass app lets you buy and store a mobile pass for any RTA service, and it allows you to just tap and ride. You can also plan a journey, check schedules, track when the next streetcar, bus, or ferry is due, and reload your fare straight from your phone.

If you’re a frequent rider, it's cheaper to get a Jazzy Pass. It’s good for unlimited trips across the RTA network, and comes in one-day, three-day, weekly, and monthly versions, so you can match it to how long you’re in town or how often you commute.

Streetcars

New Orleans is famous for its streetcars, and the RTA runs four main lines through the central neighbourhoods. The St. Charles Avenue line, the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, runs around the clock.

The NORTA website and app are worth a look for checking whether a line runs overnight or stops around midnight. Most streetcars come every 15 to 30 minutes, although you’ll wait longer late at night.

Buses

There are about 30 RTA bus routes across New Orleans. The busiest lines come every 15 to 30 minutes, while quieter routes can be an hour apart. The bus service really thins out at night, so check the last departure if you’re heading home after an evening out.

Ferries

There are two ferry routes across the Mississippi River. The one most newcomers use links the foot of Canal Street with Algiers Point, a historic neighbourhood on the west bank, and boats leave every half-hour, seven days a week. There’s also a smaller route between Lower Algiers and Chalmette further downriver, although it’s been a less reliable service over the years, so check that it’s running before you build a trip around it.

Useful links

• NORTA
• LePass
• Jazzy Pass

Taxis in New Orleans

Taxis are easy to find in New Orleans, if not always easy to flag down on the street. Most taxi companies have mobile apps these days, which makes it easier to book a ride in advance.

United Cabs is the best-known operator and has the biggest fleet, and it covers the whole metro area, including runs to and from Louis Armstrong International Airport. It can still pay to ask which firms serve your particular neighbourhood, since a local one sometimes comes out cheaper. Uber and Lyft are both well established here too.

Pedicabs

Pedicabs are the rickshaw-style bikes for hire around the French Quarter, downtown, the Warehouse District, and the Marigny, and they’re great for short hops. They’re more of a novelty than a legitimate everyday commuting option, but going for a slow loop of the Quarter is a fun way for newcomers to get their bearings. The drivers will happily point out the history and the best places to eat as they pedal.

Useful links

• United Cabs
• Uber
• Lyft

Driving in New Orleans

Plenty of newcomers find that driving in New Orleans takes some getting used to. Much of the city was laid out long before the advent of the automobile, so a lot of the streets are narrow and knotted with one-way systems. Parking’s tight and pricey in the centre, and you’ll want to have perfected your parallel parking before you consider taking on a French Quarter kerb.

The road surface is another gripe. Potholes are a local institution, and the drainage is poor enough that heavy rain can flood the low-lying streets within minutes.

For all that, a car makes life far simpler out in the suburbs, especially for parents doing the school run. It also gives newcomers the freedom to get out and see the wider region, from the bayous to the Gulf beaches, at their own pace.

Obtaining a local driver’s licence

Once you’ve established residency in New Orleans, you’ll need a Louisiana driver’s licence to drive legally, and the state gives new residents 30 days to switch over. This is handled by the Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV).

Anyone with a foreign licence should expect to sit the written and road tests, much like a first-time applicant. A handful of countries have reciprocity agreements, and their nationals can skip the tests and just take the vision check. The same goes for anyone transferring a valid licence from another US state, who’ll usually need nothing more than the eye test.

Useful links

• Louisiana OMV

Cycling in New Orleans

In a flat city with a mild climate, cycling in New Orleans makes a lot of sense. There are bike lanes on many of the main streets and fitted racks on the buses, and you can wheel a bike straight onto the ferries. There’s more bike parking around the centre these days, too. Local drivers aren’t always used to sharing the road, though, so a helmet and a bit of route planning go a long way.

The city’s bike-share scheme is called Blue Bikes, and the fleet is now all pedal-assist e-bikes, so headwinds and the few gentle rises are less of a slog. Sign up through the app or the website, find a bike on the map, then scan the QR code on the handlebars to unlock it. You can pay as you go by the minute or take out a monthly membership if you ride a lot. When you’re done, lock the bike at a Blue Bikes station, or you can lock it up at any public rack within the service area for a small extra fee.

Useful links

• Blue Bikes
• Bike Easy

Walking in New Orleans

By day and in the early evening, walking in New Orleans is one of the real pleasures of the place. Some parts of the city are far better for it than others. The oldest neighbourhoods are the ones to cover on foot: the French Quarter, the Central Business District, the Marigny, and the Garden District are all flat and compact enough to see in an afternoon.

Out in the suburbs, there’s less within walking distance, and the pavements can be patchy, so a car makes more sense for daily errands.