New to New Orleans, Megan and Andy

I made a couple of new friends this summer when two young professionals from California found me from a Craiglist ad and inquired about purchasing a home in downtown New Orleans. Well, Megan and Andy didn’t end up buying a home from me, but we did end up friends. I was telling Andy about my new blogging interest and he came up with the idea of posting a newcomer’s perspective to the New Orleans scene. I thought that might prove interesting to someone else who was thinking about moving to the Crescent City, so I asked him to write a piece for me. Here’s what Andy had to say:

Hello readers of Charlie’s blog! I’m a new resident of New Orleans. My wife and I just moved here in July after having spent the entirety of our lives in Northern California. My wife, Megan, was accepted into Tulane University Medical School (Go Megs!) and so we set off for the biggest adventure of our lives. Honestly, I was extremely proud of and happy for Megan, but I was none too excited about leaving Cali and coming to Louisiana, a state that would probably have been my 50th choice amongst the 50 states to move to. Luckily, I have discovered that New Orleans is not much like the rest of Louisiana.

I was, of course, worried about the state of things here in the city. Having heard nothing but horror stories (from people who, like me, lived 2600 miles away and really didn’t know) I was expecting to find a dilapidated, third-world city upon my arrival here, but was plenty surprised to find a proud, vibrant city that was already well on its way to getting back on its feet. Sure, there is, and always will be, work to do, but the city is alive and well and has an energy and life to it that makes it a truly fun place to live. I was worried also about the heat and the crime, but have found out that just like any other big city - as long as you have common sense and awareness that you have little to worry about. The heat, however, takes some getting used to. I’m not going to be forgiving about the heat. :)

Now is a great time to be in New Orleans. The city is coming back to life after Katrina, and there is a wealth of opportunities to get involved and make a difference and be a part of the city. As a public schoolteacher, I have never been confronted with a system that more needs dedicated and caring individuals to take part in rebuilding a formerly (Katrina or no) crumbling system. The public school systems here need and are appreciative of those who want to work to make a difference. Megan, in addition to her studies, volunteers at Ochsner Hospital and a Tulane sponsored recovery house for women.

I’ve gotten more into food since I’ve been here. What they say about the food and restaurants of this city is true – among the best in the world. In addition to Cajun and Creole specialties they have excellent ethnic restaurants of every type. I thought I might be out of luck for Japanese, and my favorite, Mexican, but they have one of the best little Sushi restaurants (Kyoto) and a great south of the border (Superior Grill) place right here in uptown. And those are just my choices from the ones I have been to! It will take me a long time before I get to sample even half of what they have to offer even just in my neck of the woods.

Anyway, I’m supposed to keep this somewhat short so I’ll wrap up. We ended up renting half of a double shotgun home in Uptown instead of buying a house, but Charlie took care of us as if we were buying. He’s a hell of a nice guy and he showed us the entire city and chauffeured us around for a week in June when we came here to scope things out. If you are looking for a home in New Orleans, I highly recommend contacting him. Megan and I are hoping to be able to buy our own little place here in maybe a year or so. The Uptown area has great neighborhoods, beautiful homes and greenery and will be the place we will buy in. -AH

Brad Pitt Builds Green Houses

We’ve all heard about New Orleans’ many famous denizens. Archie Manning’s and Anne Rice’s homes are staples of any New Orleans Garden District tour worth its red beans and rice. But newer to the New Orleanian fold are the most famous Hollywood stars that operate under a single unifying moniker. I am, of course, referring to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The two megastars purchased a high end property in the French Quarter to make their primary residence, and more important than the added tourist dollars that their collective star power will bring to our city (reports of Angelina sightings in French Quarter restaurants and playgrounds are a current mainstay of tabloids) is the pledge that the couple are making to rebuild the city.

Pitt, who is interested in architecture and has studied under Frank Gehry, has pledged 5 million of his own dollars to begin a homebuilding initiative, dubbed Make It Right (MIR), which will focus on building new homes for families who lost theirs in Hurricane Katrina. The homes will be built to LEED standards, which further demonstrates Pitt’s dedication to environmental causes. The homes built so far have an interesting visual style. While some designs allude to the New Orleans “shotgun” style of home design and have drawn praise for this, some others are more unusual and have drawn criticism for being similar in appearance to double-wide trailers. Ugh. I think, however, we should all remember that Brad has excellent aesthetic tastes (look at his wife) and that he should be lauded, rather than criticized for his humanitarian efforts.

I have included some photos of MIR’s housing designs at the top of this post. What do you think of them?

In the Military and Buying a Home in New Orleans?

New Orleans Military Relocation:

As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I know that frequent transfers are a fact of life in today's military. I've been there and I've done that. No matter how many times you have done it, however, it is never easy to move your family to another city.

So when it is time to make your move, consider the many benefits of working with a military veteran who is an expert and who know answers to your questions about neighborhoods, schools, home prices, shopping, organized sports, restaurants and shopping in the area around your new base.

In the New Orleans Metro Area, there are several military installations to include, NSA Algiers, NAS JRB Belle Chasse, Headquarters Marine Forces Reserve, USCG New Orleans, and the Louisiana National Guard.

Should you come to the New Orleans area on House Hunting Permissive TAD, I recommend that you make contact with the Combined Bachelor Quarters at NSA Algiers, to set up affordable, military accomodations for your stay. The Combined Bachelor Quarters can be reached 24 hours a day/7 days a week at the following phone numbers:

Front Desk (504) 678-3419 or 3549 (DSN 678)
Reservations Desk (504) 678-3840 or (DSN 678)
Fax (504) 678-9745 or (DSN 678)

Transient Guests
Anyone traveling on Funded TAD/TDY orders should make their reservations through the SATO reservations desk toll free at (800) 576-9327. Anyone traveling on any other type of orders should contact the CBH reservations desk at (504) 678-3840. Military (active or retired) members who are space available or leisure travelers can make reservations in advance if rooms are available.

For more information, check out these websites!

Naval Support Activity: https://www.smartwebmove.navsup.navy.mil/swm/index.jsp
Belle Chasse JRB/NAS: https://www.cnic.navy.mil/JRBOrleans/index.htm
LA National Guard: http://www.la.ngb.army.mil/jfhq_la.htm
Marine Forces Reserve: http://www.marforres.usmc.mil/