Moving to New Orleans!
 

A couple weeks ago I screened for a pretty major career milestone... in aviation, about the same time you make LCDR, you have a board for Aviation Department Head. I passed, so it's time to move.

In any case, I knew when I moved to Pt Mugu from San Diego last October that it would be temporary'ish, so this is not unexpected.

I'll probably leave my current job here in Mugu in September, then roll back to Virginia Beach for a couple months to get re-qualified in the Hawkeye... even though I've technically been in a flying job, I actually haven't flown in about 3 years. Time to find out how much I've forgotten. In any case, that should take about 2 months, so when combined with leave and travel, we should be all settled in NO early December.

Our Reserve Hawkeye squadron is in New Orleans and that's where I'm headed... going to be a Department Head and fuck up the Caribbean drug trade.

I've heard that New Orleans is mostly a crime-ridden shit-hole, so we're targeting gated communities and golf-courses for a place to live... on-base housing is an option as well, waiting for info on that.

I'm doing homework on airboats... fucking expensive to do one right.
http://neworleans.craigslist.org/boa/2420979390.html

Yup. Its a shit hole. Good luck

If it's any consolation - it is a shithole, but it's an awesome time during Halloween and JazzFest. Already got my tickets/hotel booked for Halloween this year.

Can I crash at your place when we run NOLAMP over the New Year?

Learn from my mistakes and NEVER use the ATMs in Hustler clubs.

Just stay away from my daughters.

Oh shit. There goes the neighborhood. Lol.

I grew up in N.O. You will think its a shit hole for the first 6 months. Then you will start to "get it" and all will be well. Tourists never understand the place. There is no other city in the country like it. Being in the military is a real advantage there as you will have a steady, well paying job. Both those things are rare in N.O. Houses/rent is VERY cheap compared to the rest of the country as a result. Both the navy bases are the wrong/redneck side of the river. NAS Belle Chase is really out in the middle of white trash land, NSA new orleans is right on the river across from the french quarter (there is a ferry and bridge nearby). Most of the housing is at NSA if memory serves (my father was in the Navy when we moved there).

You wont be able to afford to live in the quarter and its a royal pain in the ass anyway, people are in the streets drinking well past midnight every day of the year. The neighborhoods near the quarter (treme, bywater, ect) have all become very trendy since the storm and the HBO show and all now cost the earth to live in. and there are no driveways as it is all 120+ years old.

Mid city is full of hippys. I used to live here and loved it. Your may or may not.

Lakeview was all wealthy Jews and new money (nobody get upset, I am not antisemitic, it just happens that it was full of jewish people). All went underwater during the storm. Big houses, low rent, but most of it is a ghost town now.

Forget New Orleans east, ALL of it is the ghetto. same thing goes fo what it left of the 9th ward.

Uptown/Garden district is what you think of when you see New Orleans in movies. Big plantation style houses, street cars, small trendy bars and coffee shops full of hipsters. VERY touch and go finding a house here. The neighborhood can change dramatically in a half a block. Houses on St. Charles Ave (the oldest streetcar line in the country) are all well past 3-4 mil these days. In places 2 blocks into the neighborhood and you can buy a place for 60k (and it looks like it).

The big suburb is Metairie. It is a typical big american suburb. Strip malls, fast food, big lawns, ect. If thats your sort of thing.....

You will either love or hate New Orleans. Nobody is in the middle. Everyone is drunk all the time. Nobody does there job very well. The govt is so corrupt they just stopped giving a shit about it. the murder rate is often the highest in the developed world (though it is all confined to a few areas, and you will never need to go there). Its so hot in august you cant get to your car before you are soaked in sweat. The roads are the worst you have ever seen (its built on swampland so it is all moving under there). But on the other hand, there is always a party happening somewhere, people will literally break into dance in the grocery store (and not a slight sway from foot to foot, but full on ass bouncing). It never gets too cold. you will have a great tan year round. The food is nothing short of life changing. It is the birthplace of Jazz and the talent in that regard is amazing even at neighborhood bars. And because nothing works and everyone is corrupt, they all just sort of say fuck it and have another drink. Once you get on their wavelength its a very nice way to live. When my father retired from the Navy he went back, and once I am done in the UK I will too.

Having only visited there a time or two, I can say that Blaize is 100% correct and is not just getting sentimental about his home-town. Personally I LOVED NOLA but can see how some wouldn't like it. I like living in and around craziness and just being able to sit back and enjoy the spectacle playing out in front of you.

The roads are total shit, and I'm on the fence over how nice it would be the actually LIVE there, but if you ever get bored, you're doing it wrong. My favorite city in the USA so far.

^Hmmm... that post is almost poetry, nicely done.

We're looking for a decent sized piece of property... 1/4acre, 5br, 2500+sqft, big garage... neighborhood of similar houses. Do not want a nice house that backs up to a 300 unit brick apartment complex.

There's a huge golf-course community up in English Turn that caught my eye... seen a few places in there for rent that would fit the bill. Belle Chasse looks fine and so does Metarie... but Metarie is 1/2hour drive and I don't see the properties we're interested in... VERY suburbia. There's also a big golf-course community in Timberlane across the canal that borders the west side of the base.

How is traffic?

I spent 5 weeks down in NOLA from Dec. '04 to June '05 and loved every minute of it. We stayed in Covington on the North shore of Ponchartrain and commuted to Bogalusa where the job was. There were many nice homes on big plots of land off of highway 21 which runs between them.

Dibs on the couch...
Like Hustler said, at least one good thing about living there.... you should fit right in :)

Ready for the NY? We'll see...

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5002/...bd72f245_z.jpg

^HOLY SHIT! I'm looking at places less than 20minutes from there. I've never been closer than about 2 hours to a real road course. If I don't have something to drive by then, I may rent camping space in the backyard after the beds and couch fill up. My fee is rides!

I fucking love that town but it's the only major city I go to in the nation where I carry cash in my boot. You're exactly right, there is nothing else like that place though. Great food, strange people, great food, great food.

I go down there quarterly so SamNavy and I need to share a beer at The Napoleon House.

NASA will race there on New Year's Eve.

I got a ticket there in Feb for some BS and remembered Hustler once mentioned that the Gov there was like a 3rd world country. I called up Hustler and he said, "what ever you do just pay the ticket and don't go to court". His example story was epic...you should pm him about that lol.

I like the city, but always felt that I could get robbed at any second. I would def CCW. Food was good.

Edit: In for spooning with Trey at Sams after track day.

N'Owlans, eh?

I've been down there a few times. Built the Entercom radio stations downtown on Poydras, so most of my experience is in that area. Good food (great shrimp po'boys, especially at a place called Mother's), and it wasn't as much of a shithole as I'd been led to believe. Compared to Lagos, Nigeria, for example, it's downright homey.

Outside of the downtown area, specifically those neighborhoods which one must drive through to get to and from the airport, was quite interesting. This was a couple of years ago, but still well after Katrina, and my first impression mirrored that of Jeremy Clarkson- "You mean they still haven't cleaned this shit up yet?" Of course, I came to learn that, for the most part, those areas looked pretty much the same before the hurricane, except the debris wasn't as well organized back then.

IF it gets finished by then (I hope I hope I hope)
Sam - I'll be sure to bring a pass seat... finally, Hustler and I can play with each other :) (you gonna run DE4 since TT is a joke, Hus?)