Anyone Else Not Like New Orleans?

[EPCOTatNight]

My uncle traveled a lot. He had been to South America, Africa, Europe, etc. He's gone on safari, taken a boat on the Amazon, got pickpocketted in the Lima, Peru airport TWICE...

He HATED New Orleans. I don't really know why, except that I guess he felt it was one big party town, and he was not a party guy.

That is a media driven stereotype. All people see is the French Quarter and Mardi GRAS. The French Quarter is in New Orleans, not the other way around. I don't assume all of NYC is Times Square or Central Park.

 

[luvwinnie]

In college (around 1989) my friends and I went to NO for a journalism conference. One of our male friends was black. We were walking down a side street at night and my female friend had her arm linked with his...these drunk guys walked toward us, said things I won't repeat here, things we had never heard before (I mean we had never been victims of such racism nor had we seen it so blatantly) and then threw a full can of beer at us...almost hit my female friend. We took off running. Went to a police station. The cop could NOT have cared less.

I still return to New Orleans for work now and then and enjoy it. Love the food and the charm. I don't base my opinion of the entire city or its people on that one traumatic incident.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

That is a media driven stereotype. All people see is the French Quarter and Mardi GRAS. The French Quarter is in New Orleans, not the other way around. I don't assume all of NYC is Times Square or Central Park.

Well, there might be other reasons. I remember asking him once, but I don't remember his answer. I can't ask him anymore; he passed away in 2006.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

In college (around 1989) my friends and I went to NO for a journalism conference. One of our male friends was black. We were walking down a side street at night and my female friend had her arm linked with his...these drunk guys walked toward us, said things I won't repeat here, things we had never heard before (I mean we had never been victims of such racism nor had we seen it so blatantly) and then threw a full can of beer at us...almost hit my female friend. We took off running. Went to a police station. The cop could NOT have cared less.

I still return to New Orleans for work now and then and enjoy it. Love the food and the charm. I don't base my opinion of the entire city or its people on that one traumatic incident.

Sorry to hear that you had that experience. Ironically, i have NEVER had a racist thing happen to me here. I am a black man and find New Orleans to be the most racially tolerant place that I've been in the South. I cant say the same about most other areas of Louisiana though.

 

[Robbi]

In college (around 1989) my friends and I went to NO for a journalism conference. One of our male friends was black. We were walking down a side street at night and my female friend had her arm linked with his...these drunk guys walked toward us, said things I won't repeat here, things we had never heard before (I mean we had never been victims of such racism nor had we seen it so blatantly) and then threw a full can of beer at us...almost hit my female friend. We took off running. Went to a police station. The cop could NOT have cared less.

I still return to New Orleans for work now and then and enjoy it. Love the food and the charm. I don't base my opinion of the entire city or its people on that one traumatic incident.

These people may not have been from New Orleans. I've been to NOLA all of my life and have never seen racism. The first biracial couple I ever saw was in 1967 in DH Holmes on Canal Street. It was different to me simply because I had never seen a mixed couple before. I was 9. No one gave a fig.
We now live 60 miles from the city and I don't see racism as a problem in our town. When there are parties, adults and kids of all races attend.

Not saying there are no racist people either in my town or elsewhere in the state. Unfortunately there are racist people everywhere in this country and in the world.

 

[Bob NC]

I do not like New Orleans.

I'm not going to tell you why because someone will take it personally.

 

[North of Mouse]

Oh, I never meant bland, just not blisteringly hot. Now that I don't live in Louisiana any more, I find that in the rest of the country, if it is labeled "Cajun", it is guaranteed to make your nose run within the first minute -- they think that "Cajun" means so much cayenne that it has to hurt. That was never the norm in most foods when I was growing up. (We used cayenne, of course, but not so much that it made your nose run -- unless you had a cold and wanted it to, LOL.)

Of course, midwesterners who eat at my house often tell me that my cooking is spicy, but I don't see it that way because it is what we are used to. I don't even make gumbo for guests anymore unless I know that they are familiar with it, because they have a tendency to develop intestinal distress. (I was really embarassed by this when I first left Louisiana because I didn't know why it was happening. *I* was eating the same food and not getting sick, but my cooking was making people sick, as if I were not following proper hygiene standards. I finally got the answer: initial exposure to cayenne kills off certain intestinal flora; if you are not used to cayenne, the first time that you eat any quantity of it, it wll do this to you and cause diarrhea.)

PS: Just for fun, where's your traditional North/South line? We always put it at just a little north of Lecompte. Alexandria was definitely on the "Yankee" side of the line.

PPS: BTW, I never addressed the OP's original question. IME, NOLA is the kind of place that very few people can be neutral about: you either love it or hate it. Even among my siblings we divide right down the middle; two of us love the place, and two of us hate it. (Louisiana we all love, though we know she definitely has her glaring faults. Living elsewhere for a while now, I see them all too clearly, but I'll always miss the culture, and I go to great lengths to be sure that my kids know and cherish it, too.)

Gotcha about the food. We don't fix it *that* hot either. But, it is funny about people that do fix bland food. They either *love* what I prepare, or they obviously don't enjoy it. I usually try to tone it down when we do have guests. We can always add Tabasco or Tony's extra to ours in a pinch.

About that *north/south* LA invisible line - we draw it about where you do. LOL

Ohhhh, now I need my afternoon trip to Cafe Du Monde for some coffee and beignets and a long walk on the Riverwalk.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Years ago DH and I were moving across country and decided to take our time. We'd planned to spend a few days in New Orleans. We left after 2 hours.

 

[MrsPete]

Count me in the score of people who don't like New Orleans. We like good food and history, and we had high hopes, but we just didn't like the place. I wouldn't go back even if I won a free trip. I can't say that about any other city I've visited.

I do love basil though.

 

[PatriciaH]

I love New Orleans and can't wait to go back. It is the least racist city I have ever been to and I am from NYC. Loved the food, museums, French Quarter, Garden District and the people.

 

[TheAviator]

I love the street freaks, I remember one guy, big fat, huge gut. He had on this weird like black leotard kind of thing that was like an old wrestling type uniform that was like sleeveless straps ending in like a thong kind of thing. He was the exact opposite of attractive. Then the human statues that dress up like the green army men. There were several other human statue people. The strippers are my favorite

 

[North of Mouse]

Years ago DH and I were moving across country and decided to take our time. We'd planned to spend a few days in New Orleans. We left after 2 hours.

Count me in the score of people who don't like New Orleans. We like good food and history, and we had high hopes, but we just didn't like the place. I wouldn't go back even if I won a free trip. I can't say that about any other city I've visited.

I do love basil though.

That's perfectly alright. NOLA won't miss you and doesn't mind. There are lots of other folks that truly love it, and miss the great food and easy going, laid back people when they leave. It's truly a city with soul, and embraces those that love her. The others don't count.