Moving to NO to work at SPAWAR (New Orleans, Metairie: to rent, crime)

[rrudolph770]

Good Evening,

I am moving to NO after a job offer from DOD. We are an AA family with 4 kids 9,4,2, and NB. I would like to know an area to rent a house that is free of crime and has great schools. Thank you in advance for your help.

[rrudolph770]

Forgot to mention I will be moving from Atlanta

[moiraesfate]

Finding both for a reasonable price seems to be a challenge. I live in and I've been looking and comparing for months. Rents are very high, so much so that it's often cheaper to have a mortgage. There are areas to definitely avoid. St Claude is a bad area, so is Desire, and the 9th ward. Best places are generally considered Metairie, Kenner, River Ridge, and that general area, but there are even spots there that aren't good either.

Honestly, if you're looking at crime, I suggest you google "crime in" and add the area code. And any place that you're looking at, google "crime in" and then the exact address. I'm finding it incredibly difficult to find everything that I'd like in one location. Less crime generally means that it's farther away from New Orleans (though not always) and so less expensive. If you want less crime in New Orleans, it's going to be expensive (like Garden District expensive. It isn't cheap to live in the GD). The Warehouse District is good, but expensive, and in the downtown area so you have to deal with nightmare traffic (especially during the parades).

Great schools, I don't know much about. I don't have kids. There are Ivy League schools if you're looking at College. For the others, I suggest using google, or maybe others can answer the questions better.

[Neworleansisprettygood]

I really think some areas of Gentilly would work for you- it's close to SPAWAR, and can be a very family-friendly area... the problem would be the Orleans Parish schools. Though much improved, they're still not comparable to say, suburban Atlanta, but if your kids can get into a magnet ("citywide access") school then they can get a top-notch education. PM me if you need more details.

[rburnett]

1.) Are you interested in living in the city or the suburbs?
2.). What is your budget?
3.). There are no Ivy League schools here. Tulane is a private university in the Uptown area, but its not Ivy League.
4.). Metairie and Kenner both have very sketchy areas.

[rrudolph770]

I am interested in living in the suburbs..I would like to rent a house with some yard space until I make a decision to buy.

[rburnett]

Lakeview, West End, Lakeshore and parts of Gentilly are nice suburban type areas within the city limits and will be a 5-10min drive to SPAWAR. They are 90% single family homes with large yards. You don't need to be 30 miles outside of New Orleans to have a yard.

As far as schools, there are some good public schools in New Orleans, but it can be difficult to get in due to lotteries and testing for advanced kids. For private schools, you're looking at ~$400/month for each kid. They do give discounts for multiple children, but I'm not sure how much.

If you are looking for good public schools with guaranteed admissions, then you'll have to look in Covington/Mandeville or other areas further outside of New Orleans.

I've circled some neighborhoods that you should look into if you want to stay close to work.

[rrudolph770]

Thank you rburnett and everyone else who responded. I will probably be back with more questions after I do more research so dont get mad at me ..lol!

[leroy217]

I'm not sure where SPAWAR is? Maybe I can help you out with commute if I knew where that was. There are many good areas around, but commute and cost of living are key also.

[Morpheus79]

Free of crime and great schools? Don't move here. Orleans Parish schools are a mess of favoritism and politics since Katrina. You have to be connected to get your kid in a good school. The only exception, as far as I know, is that your kids are guaranteed a spot at Hynes if your zip code is 70124. You might like St. Bernard Parish. It's a bit of a commute, but the schools are good by Louisiana's standards, and the crime is really low. The dynamics have changed down there since Katrina. It's not as inclusive, and the people are generally very friendly as long as you don't act pompous.