top 10 annoying stereotypes about New Orleans

[HCTiger9704]

top 10 annoying stereotypes about New Orleans

 

So does anybody else have an annoying stereotype about New Orleans?

[wrigley80]

Thanks for sharing....I'm coming to New Orleans in December for the first time and I'm super excited

[OCruisers]

We totally love "N'awlins" ! :D

 

LuLu

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[WLHyatt]

I agree with all of these.

I still consider it home, and given the right opportunity, I will move back there.

[Chmie]

People only come to New Orleans to party and pull out their tits in the street.

 

Damn. Guess I'll have to rethink cruising out of NO or else hope there are a lot of tourists in town next September:D

[misguidedangel]

I channeled my inner Japanese Tourist and went crazy with my camera when I was there three weeks ago in N'Awlins.....

 

I totally agree on your list....We never spent too much time on Bourbon....managed maybe an hour and then it was too much for us "old" folks, if you can 40something and 50something old........

 

There is too much to see and do in the French Quarter alone. I had five days and I needed more time, which is why I am going to go back again next September or earlier.....

 

I toured the Presbytere and the way the Mardi Gras celebrations were in the early years was a better way.....Mardi Gras now seems to be a R rated version of "Girls Gone Wild".....

 

I will have to go on a tour of the city, swamp, and plantation next time to see the rest of the city....

[skandls]

The last time we were in the city was for the Jazz Fest before Katrina. We are looking forward to getting back to New Orleans for some pre Mardi Gras parades. I am sure the residents are much more conservative than the tourist image. Las Vegas is much the same. I won't flash - why would anyone want to see boobs on a senior citizen?

[Reggiefan]

Good find. Incidentally, the most insightful work on the city that I know of is a collection of wonderful essays in a book titled New Orleans Unmasqued by Frederick Starr.

 

Stereotypes often contain grains of truth. The crime rates in the city are much too high, but afflict areas of New Orleans that tourists will never see. The French Quarter and the Warehouse District are safe. Use the common sense you would use visiting any major American city, and you should have no problems with being safe.

 

And a pet peeve of mine is the litter. Certainly better in recent years, but still much more than we should see.

 

But the bottom line is that New Orleans is incredibly complex and defies easy stereotypes--it is an odd blend of France, pre-Castro Cuba, New Jersey and the Mississippi delta. It may be the only major American city where Catholicism shaped the city's culture--Northern cities may have a high percentage of Catholics, but the dominant culture is Protestant and was established before Irish and Italian immigration.

 

New Orleans has Lee's Circle, has memorials to other Confederate notables, and remembers Union occupation during the Civil War. It also has an area called the Irish Channel, a large Sicilian-Italian population, and a prominent Jewish community. The city considers itself Southern, but the accent of many is closer to what you would find in New York than in Alabama.

 

The city is incredibly parochial and worldly. It may be the biggest small town in the nation. The question of where someone went to school (high school) is incessantly asked. Someone always knows the cousin of a friend or the father of a son's former classmate who can help in business. It honors money and material success less than perhaps any other place in the country. It has celebrations at the center of life--but because practice makes perfect, it knows how to party well. Notice that when the Saints won the Super Bowl, there was not a single story--not one--of a car being burned or people out of control. The NOPD has a bad reputation-- in many ways, deserved--but it is probably the finest police department in the US when it comes to crowd control because, with Mardi Gras, the Jazz Fest and the Super Bowl and other major sporting events, it has so much experience handling tens and even hundreds of thousands of people with relative ease.

 

If you come down, enjoy yourself. Have a cocktail at lunch not because you are trying to drink to excess, but because you are trying to slow down your pace. And yes, the food is really good. You can eat very well on little money in New Orleans. But you can eat incredibly well at a cost less than what you would pay in other cities. I don't understand the posts I see at times on this forum where people are reluctant to spend $45 per person to eat at Galatoire's and are talking about spending $30 per person to eat in a chain or tourist restaurant in the French Quarter.

 

And finally, Katrina did not destroy the city. New Orleans properly understood is a large metropolitan area made up of several parishes. Orleans Parish experienced a certain population loss. But the loss for the metro area was much less with considerable migration within the greater area to the parishes north of Lake Ponchartrain.

 

I hope these comments help.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Reggiefan

[jgmpuma]

Well said, Reggiefan.

 

My wife and I spend just about every Saturday in the French Quarter, and have done that for years. We meet tourists all the time who are surprised that locals are there too.

 

The FQ is a neighborhood, and has always been a neighborhood, and one that welcomes visitors and invites them to share the enjoyment that we experience each time we visit. Both of my wife's sisters and their families live there. We bring chairs from Tujague's out to the sidewalk and socialize among ourselves and with the Tujague's regulars. You won't see that on Bourbon Street.

 

I appreciate a good set as much as the next guy, but find the flashing on Bourbon Street offensive. No one would do that at home, and we wish you wouldn't do that here. There used to be good music clubs and restaurants on Bourbon but those are gone, with a few notable exceptions. The music is now on Frenchmen Street, and that's where the music lovers (like us) go. The street musicians on Royal Street are some of the best, and there are new ones all the time. There are plenty of good, inexpensive restaurants if you know where to look.

 

It isn't Disneyworld. There is a good bit of litter (better now than it used to be) and the aroma of stale beer and mule poop, but that's part of the atmosphere. You get used to it.

 

As Reggiefan points out, the crime problem is mostly in neighborhoods far away. That doesn't make the crime any less disturbing, but it rarely affects visitors. Pickpockets are mostly on Bourbon Street working the crowds watching the flashers. Smart phone grabbers have become a problem, but they are usually caught thanks to GPS. There are street hustlers (betcha I can tell you where you got them shoes) but thay are just an annoyance.

 

So enjoy your visit.

[World Gallery]

Great insights Reggiefan and jgmpuma. It's sometimes hard to put into words what it is like in New Orleans!

The accent is something I have been asked about when traveling to other states all my life. If not familiar with New Orleans, my accent was always thought to be New York or New Jersey. My family has had theories for years about why, but it is a complex.

Here is a great Youtube video that helps to explain it -

Also, if you want a lot of laughs, read The Yat Dictionary (no Stereotypes here but how people talk in NOLA).

PS I'm in my forties and it would be very unusual for the question, "Where did you go to highschool?" not to come up when meeting others from the area.

Edited October 5, 2013 by World Gallery

[Reggiefan]

A few more comments.

 

New Orleans is a big American city where lots of people work hard, where there are suburbs, and where there are chain restaurants (though relatively fewer than elsewhere). Contrary to the belief of some, it is located in the United States.

 

But it is also different from most other places in the country. And the difference goes to state of mind or cultural attitudes. I read years ago the quip that the difference between Atlanta and New Orleans is that in Atlanta people can't play softball in the park and drink beer and in New Orleans people think to play softball in the park you have beer.

 

If you visit, keep in mind that you are visiting an extremely parochial and proud culture--but one that is so proud that it truly welcomes travelers. Again, if you are a student of American culture, read the essays by Starr. You will be constantly called "dear" and "hon". You may learn that New Orleans is the nickname capital of the nation. And you will find a number of people who think that the rat race is something to be avoided because even if you win, you end up a rat.

 

So what does this mean in practical terms for those visiting? Again, if you are not returning to work, you have permission to have a long lunch, and to enjoy a cocktail with a lunch in one of the better restaurants like Mr. B's or a beer with your roast beef poorboy at a place like Parkway Tavern because a drink enhances the experience, not because you want to drink to excess.

 

Be prepared to spend a bit more on food because you can dine superbly at great restaurants if you are willing to pay just a tad more. How one after reaching a certain age can visit New Orleans from afar and not consider dining in a restaurant like Commander's Palace or Galatoire's amazes me.

 

And understand that you are visiting an old and complex city with a slightly different culture, with as an old city more than its share of urban problems, but with a culture that wants to share the pleasures of life with you.

Edited October 5, 2013 by Reggiefan

[zounds]

Thank you, folks, for your well-written insights. We'll be back in Dec. pre'cruise and I'm really looking forward to it. steve

[Chmie]

Thank you Reggiefan and jgmpuma. Your pride in NO is very much heartfelt and appreciated. My wife and I can't wait to sample some of the sights, sounds and smells of what sounds like a fantastic city. :cool:

[Sipsey]

I have a story to relate. Although I have never lived in New Orleans, I have been there so many times I have just about lost count. Generally we stay with friends, but last year we were there alone, staying in the FQ about a block from the Cafe du Monde. One evening I left the hotel, walked a couple blocks into the quarter, and turned left to walk to Canal one block before I would have gotten to Bourbon street. I was headed for Harrah's casino.

 

A couple of blocks up ahead I saw what appeared to be a lot of young flesh, standing in the middle of the street. When I got there, it was two young women, almost completely nude and tattooed and body painted, casually standing in front of a liquor store, in the street, chatting with whoever happened to be there. I think they might have had on g-strings, but with all the body art it was hard to tell for sure. I kept walking, the whole thing made me nervous as hell! When I got to Canal, there were some safety officers that ride bicycles and I told them what was going on. The officer answered, "Yeah, we are trying to find out if that is even legal. If it was Mardi Gras, we would just let it go". OMG! No one knows if it's okay and legal to walk around nude in the French Quarter!

 

Of course, I have no idea if these were pros, locals, or tourists looking to have a good time. But they were so at ease I got the impression they were locals. So, maybe as the article says, the locals don't show their tits. They don't bother, they just take it all off!

[Reggiefan]

It has been many years since I was in the French Quarter for Mardi Gras, but I have never seen the type of scene described by Sipsey. I am not questioning the story, but that experience is a highly unusual one. As jgmpuma discussed above, the French Quarter excluding Bourbon St. is a neighborhood. However, it is always fascinating to note that the streets Desire and Piety are a block from, and run parallel with, each other.

[World Gallery]

That really isn't the norm and nudity is illegal. What time was it and what street were you on?

Yes, the French Quarter can attract people that you described, especially at certain times of the year, in certain areas, and at certain times but I doubt the people you described would have bothered you in a "criminal way".

My husband and I just took a walking tour with Friends of the Cabildo. It was a refreshing reminder that the French Quarter is a still an eclectic neighborhood where people from all walks of life live for whatever reason (some to be close to their job, others for a 2nd home for the weekend or for entertaining, a trend I am seeing from locals living in the suburbs) filled with AMAZING history, food, architecture, and music (I highly recommend this tour). I tell visiting friends to focus on that aspect and that is what you will "see and remember". Locals avoid certain areas like the plaque!

I read this years ago because I was curious as to why I had a different understanding about the French Quarter and Mardi Gras than what was on the news/media:

Bourbon Street’s very appeal is for people to act obnoxious and shed all inhibition, making a fool of themselves like they never would at home. Then, in oblivious irony, they run back and tell people how crazy New Orleanians are, projecting their own bad behavior onto the residents who avoid Bourbon like a plague.[/i]

Edited October 10, 2013 by World Gallery

[Sipsey]

That really isn't the norm and nudity is illegal. What time was it and what street were you on?

 

I believe it was Royal Street between St. Louis and Canal. My hotel was on Decatur and I walked away from the river into the quarter before turning left on Royal towards Canal. It was late May, so it was warm and I would say approximately 7 o'clock in the evening. It definitely was not Mardi Gras. I have seen some antics of tourists lifting their shirts before, both during Mardi Gras and at other times, but nothing like that. I think the people in front of that store were kind of stymied, intimidated and befuddled. I know I was. But the weirdest part to me was that the people supposedly in authority had no idea what to do about it.

[tallyho8]

Its quite possible that they weren't nude at all. I have seen people wearing skin tight outfits and covered in body paint where it was almost impossible to distinguish if they were wearing clothes or not just as the poster said he thought they were wearing g-strings but couldn't tell.

[Reggiefan]

The first block of Royal off Canal is a tad on the tawdry side, but thereafter Royal is a nice street known for its antique stores and art galleries. Again, I can't comment on what occurs during Mardi Gras, but any nudity on Royal would be highly unusual.

 

As far as police reaction, NOPD does not focus on non-violent "lifestyle" criminal conduct involving alcohol or sex.

[Sipsey]

Its quite possible that they weren't nude at all. I have seen people wearing skin tight outfits and covered in body paint where it was almost impossible to distinguish if they were wearing clothes or not just as the poster said he thought they were wearing g-strings but couldn't tell.

 

If that's what it was, it had everybody fooled and was the best job of it I have ever seen. But I concede that there is a chance you are correct.

[dane225]

top 10 annoying stereotypes about New Orleans

 

Great article!! I am originally from Louisiana only have moved in past few years and absolutely love New Orleans. It's a place like no other. The city offers so much more than partying on Bourbon Street. I have been so many times over the years, but still find new and exciting things when visiting. I love bringing my two young daughters introducing them to my heritage.

[marshhawk]

Thank you all for your insight, I will be in NOLA in January, a group of 6 older people, I think that two of our group think that Bourbon street is the place to hang out, but I am thinking that if they are going for the music, they will rethink their original idea. If its the debauchery? well I don't know them. ;)

[HCTiger9704]

Things I Didn’t Know Until I Left New Orleans

 

I thought some of you would also like this article.

 

With Number 1 (Bars Close), some bars do close and others are open 24/7 in Southeast Louisiana.

 

Actually, I been in one bar in Avondale, LA that had three happy hours a day (happy hour is something like 9AM to 10AM, 5PM to 6PM and 1AM to 2AM). The reason I found out is that one of the major businesses in the community is open 24/7 so the bar decided to have happy hour after every shift. So no matter if you are working the first shift, the second shift or the third shift, you could always stop a happy hour drink.

Edited November 24, 2013 by HCTiger9704

[jgmpuma]

There were a couple of bars in the French Quarter that remained open through and after Katrina, serving those who would never leave under any circumstances.

 

No power, no lights, no ice, but plenty of customers. Food was cooked on BBQ grills, and mostly given away to the regulars and to the first responders.

 

We couldn't wait to get back.

[MermaidWatcher]

top 10 annoying stereotypes about New Orleans

 

So does anybody else have an annoying stereotype about New Orleans?

 

Everyone you encounter does not speak with the absolutely terrible, phony, TV Cajun accent, and call each other "Chere" .