5 Fears About Moving to New Orleans

2. Starting Over in a New City

Although you may be comfortable where you are, starting over isn’t as bad as you think it will be. You have the desire to move to New Orleans because something is missing where you are and you hope to find it here. It probably is here, but you won’t know unless you take the risk. Risk taking sounds so…negative but every person who has created a great fortune for themselves has that one story where they took a risk and it paid off. You are about to create that story by moving to New Orleans.

When you start over in a new city you can create the life you really want and you can be the person you always dreamt of becoming. If you are tired of being anti-social, you can decide to socialize more here. If you always wanted to be a slut or a magician, New Orleans is the place to give it a whirl!

I have lived in cities across the country and now that I finally have the lifestyle I have always dreamt of, I consider those places to be practice for my real success. When I moved to New Orleans I had one suitcase, my stuffed frog Odell and $800 to my name. I took the bus for 24 hours from Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans, a city where I had no job, no friends or family and no support system. Not only am I still here, this is the happiest that I have ever been in my entire life. I created my life here from scratch, fumbling along the way but I kept insisting that I would not go anywhere. I am so glad I stayed.

My career is doing better than it ever has done. I feel connected to this city and I contribute to this city with all of my talents and skills. I feel useful here. I love the woman that I have become and you have the same opportunity to step outside of a lifestyle you have outgrown and create your ideal lifestyle too.

3. Hurricanes and The Weather

New Orleans is a sub tropical city. Average annual temperatures fluctuate between 91 degrees F in the summer and 42 degrees F in the winter. Annual rainfall totals typically exceed 59.8 inches. Located just off the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans is prone to hurricanes passing through; on average 11 hurricanes pass through the Gulf each year. Does this mean that every year you have to fear for your life? No.

During Hurricane Season, it’s best to prepare by buying supplies like non perishable food, flashlights, water and maybe a backup generator. I went through Hurricane Season in New Orleans for the first time last year. We had multiple storms and one knocked the power out for about 8 hours. What happens during a Hurricane? You sit inside and wait for it to pass. If you’re alone like I was you are bored out of your mind without the internet. If you have friends or family, you sit with them and play cards by candlelight or you drink until you fall asleep.

You cannot live in fear of natural disasters. Every city has its own threats and you cannot prevent them. The great thing about living in a place that has Hurricanes is, you always have time to prepare or leave. Compared to other natural disasters like wildfires or earthquakes, Hurricanes give you a heads up and you can decide how you want to navigate the storms. I am originally from Miami so Hurricanes were a natural part of my life and I have survived each one, thankfully.

Aside from hurricanes the weather in New Orleans is usually humid and muggy. It’s so hot and sticky outside during the summer which lasts a long time. During the winter months it can get really cold where we actually have to wear those bubble jackets that they have up north. The cold lasts just long enough to appreciate the change of seasons. It rains a lot in New Orleans and it floods sometimes too. Park your car on the neutral ground and hope for the best. Mother Nature is supporting your move and will give you every chance to work through anything she throws your way.

4. Finding a Job/Being able to Afford to Live in New Orleans

If you want to work, there is work for you here in New Orleans. Only those who do not want to work cannot find work. That’s all I have to say about that.

As far as being able to afford to live in New Orleans, well, that all depends on where you come from. If you are from a big city like Los Angeles or New York you will find that the rental prices here in New Orleans are super affordable. If you are from a small town you will think the rental prices are outrageous. Thankfully, if you want to find inspiration for your chances of making a life for yourself in this city, all you have to do is look around.

You can create your own success story if you decide that you can have one, make the effort to search for what you want and don’t give up.

– Te-Erika

There are millions of people in New Orleans doing exactly what you hope to do– LIVE HERE. If they can LIVE HERE so can you. When you come to New Orleans, look around you and count the people you see. Count them one by one. WE ALL LIVE HERE. If we can make it, so can you.

You may be challenged to create new streams of income or upgrade your career but whatever you choose to do, if you choose to do SOMETHING instead of hoping the income will come out of the sky, you can make it here just like everyone else has.

You can find affordable housing and job opportunities if you look around enough. Talk to people. Create internet posts asking for help. Drive around. Open your eyes. After moving to New Orleans I found some very inexpensive places to live and I have seen a few that were way out of my budget. But, I have always found places that I could be comfortable in while I enjoyed the city. You can create your own success story if you decide that you can have one, make the effort to search for what you want and don’t give up.

5. Being Lonely/Not Making Friends

Let’s be honest, making new friends as an adult is not an easy task. By the time we reach adulthood we have often been hurt by others and become jaded so we are wary and even fearful of making emotionally intimate connections. Thankfully, New Orleans is filled with bright and shiny people who are genuinely kind and inclusive. It is difficult to avoid being invited to socialize. Someone is going to ask you to meet up and hang out.

I haven’t made friends yet and I have a great life here. Even still, when I absolutely need someone to come through for me, I find someone. People here are people, with the same flaws and quirks as anywhere yet, when it comes to times of distress, we put those superficial allegiances aside and help each other. You will find everything you need and everyone you need will find you.

If you get here and you’re impatient and you want to put in even more effort at creating a social circle in New Orleans follow these tips.

Join the Moving to New Orleans Facebook Group – When you join the Moving to New Orleans Facebook group you will be invited to events and you can even create a post asking people to add you as a Facebook friend. The last person I met and enjoyed their company was a woman from the Moving to New Orleans Facebook Group. I created a post asking for a ride from the airport and she responded with an offer to help. We had a great drive together and met up the next day for tacos. We have been chatting ever since and I truly enjoy her energy.

Join a Social and Pleasure club – In New Orleans there are many social clubs or Krewes that meet to do community service or plan social events. These clubs become family for people who don’t have family here.

Create a band or group around your favorite interest – I once read a story about a woman who was looking for love yet tired of meeting men at bars because – all the men she met were drunks. She wanted to meet men who liked to have fun sober so she created a card club and invited everyone she knew to come to her home and play cards on Saturday nights. She even asked those who attended to invite everyone they knew. One day a handsome, good natured man walked in and he became her husband.

If you cannot find the type of social group, event or opportunity you would like, it is a great idea to create one so that your people can find you.

Offer to help your neighbors – I have met so many people by creating the Free Lawn Care for Single Women Program here in New Orleans. Not only does it bring me joy to help women in need, it allows people to get a chance to experience the goodness of the woman behind all my weirdness. I may not be able to work a room and party like a rockstar, but I feel like a rockstar when people smile and thank me for being there for them. This is how I connect with the city I love. As always trying to catch these NOLA VIBES.