After three years of almost full-time travel, I was ready for a break. Between spending half of the year traveling for work, and the other half for pleasure, I started salivating over the thought of a clean couch to lay on, my own personal fridge to fill with vegetables and a place to call my own, even if it was only for six months.
So instead of hopping from place to place, my boyfriend and I decided to get an apartment somewhere for the tour-guiding ‘off-season’. We still wanted to be close enough to friends and family, so we agreed on somewhere within the U.S. After that, the mutual agreement of New Orleans was easy.
We both pass through a lot of cities for work. A LOT. Basically, every third night is spent in a new location. And for us, the one place we felt like we were dying to explore more was New Orleans. It also felt foreign enough to make us feel like we were traveling, even though we’d be staying in our home countries for once. From the history to the food, and even the local dialects and culture, it’s about as different from California as you can get. We also both love food (and I ghosts stories) so that part was a no-brainer.
We moved into a furnished one bedroom in the Bywater neighborhood in November. Since then, I’ve taken a break from blogging while enjoying the simplicity of living in one place. I tried the best I could to get into a routine, got certified as a tour guide in New Orleans, ended up designing 3 walking tours for a new tour company in town and tried a handful of other odd-jobs. We had friends visit almost monthly and full took advantage of what this city has to offer. It’s been a trip, one I’m sure I’ll look back on with heavy nostalgia.
Reflecting on the last 5-6 months, here’s more on what it’s been like living in the Big Easy.
Getting to know the local lingo
Although we had taken our possessions out of boxes, were paying rent and had established our presence in what would be ‘our neighborhood bar’, we still had more work to do if we were going to blend in with the locals. In a town with so many tourists, we wanted to be able to say ‘no, we live here.’
But to do this we had to know the local lingo.
Unlike most all other cities in the U.S., New Orleans was a French, and later Spanish, colony before becoming part of the United States. That, along with the West African and Caribbean influences and the modern day African-American culture, means there were a lot of languages and accents running around creating the dialect of today. And New Orleanians sure have a distinct and complicated one. In fact, people are still confused on how to even say the name of the city.
To clarify: “New Or-LEENS” is mostly only used by tourists or in songs or poems. “Nawlins’” is an exaggerated pronunciation, typically only used seriously by those with an especially thick Southern accent. “New OAR-lynz” is the correct local pronunciation for the city. If you’re coming to visit, practice it and try and make it habit before you get here!
Of course, this is just the beginning. Try to read any street name or landmark in the city and you can be sure the local/”correct” pronunciation is far from your first try.
Here are just a few examples:
Burgundy: pronounced Bur-GUN-dy
Chartes: pronounced Char-ters
Tchoupitoulas: pronounced CHOP-ah-too-lus
Marigny: pronounced MARE-uh-knee
The vocabulary itself can be even more difficult. We quickly learned that when someone asks, “Where ya’t?” it shouldn’t be responded to with a “Oh, we just moved in to the Bywater, actually!” but rather a short, “Great, thanks!”
Also, don’t expect to be given cardinal directions when asking for a location in this city. North, south, east and west are replaced with lakeside, riverside, downtown and uptown, all of which correspond to the river and lake. Neutral ground refers to the median in the road which many people illegally park on, and is a preferred place by many to watch parades. A “lagniappe” (a French word which here is pronounced lan-YAP) means ‘little something extra’ or a ‘freebie’. This is used commonly in restaurants and bars for when you receive something extra you didn’t purchase. Additionally, “WHO DAT!” can be used to celebrate just about anything.
Now that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As you can see, it can be confusing.
Adapting to the daily rhythms of life
When people ask why we’d ever leave California for Louisiana, the first things I mention include:
- In Louisiana I actually talk to my neighbors and
- I don’t spend the majority of my time in traffic.
For me that’s enough to trade the beaches for the bayou, at least for now.
In New Orleans, you make eye contact and say hi to others when you pass them on the street. Even to strangers. A shocking habit I know! If you’re driving in your car and you see a friend, stop and have a chat. Typically everyone behind just waits patiently. If you have a backyard but want to have a BBQ, it’s typically still going to be held on the sidewalk.
If you want to be part of the community, you involve everyone. That’s just the way it is.
A wedding second-line. Walking through the streets, brass band in tow from ceremony to reception.
Ever since the French established their culture here, New Orleans has been all about that laissez-faire way of living. And while it can make getting anything productive done (or finding a stable job/reliable co-workers) difficult, it makes for a very enjoyable lifestyle. Every day brings a reason to celebrate, and you don’t hear people saying, “I have to check my schedule” in order to meet up for a beer. New Orleanians love to celebrate and get together no matter the cause.
In ways, this city reminds me of my time in Madrid. While people work, they don’t work too hard. You work to live not live to work. And regardless of your social status, it’s a way of life to spend time with friends and family whenever you can. It’s typical to find all sorts of neighborhoods throwing BYOB gatherings in the street and having crawfish boils from their front yard. And even though we hadn’t found completely reliable work ourselves, we never had to say no to meeting up with friends just because of the cost. When the neighborhood bar sells draft beers and well-drinks for $3.50 a pop, you don’t have to break the bank to have a night out.
Of course, this is not so good on the liver or waistline. Still, no one should ever find themselves lonely in New Orleans. Your new best friend could just be right out your door.
Festivals, festivals, festivals.
Continuing on the topic of gatherings and parties, New Orleans has more than you can count. Springtime is when most of them kick in, but you can still guarantee that almost every single weekend from January 6th through the end of May will have something going on.
It all really begins with Mardi Gras, the very misunderstood festival that lasts for weeks on end. It all begins on Twelfth Night with different weekend parades, and culminates to an entire week of festivities and parties ending on Ash Wednesday. And the best of all, it’s all free! The entire thing is put on by individuals, so there are no corporate sponsors and no advertisements. Most everyone makes their own costumes from scratch and for the entirety of the season, you can be who you want and do what you want.
There really is a magic in Mardi Gras.
Besides Mardi Gras, you can count on there being a culinary festival for almost every type of food you can imagine. Even St. Patricks Day lasts for almost 2 weeks to celebrate the Irish who originally moved here to construct the canals. There are weekend crawfish boils, street fairs, the French Quarter Fest and of course, Jazz Fest. The list literally never ends.
We put up a calendar solely just to keep track of events!
All the food
When we arrived we made a list of all the restaurants and watering holes we wanted to hit up. Even after slowly tackling that list, it only grew exponentially. There is no lack of great places to eat and drink in the city, this is for sure. It would take a lifetime to feel like you’ve truly discovered them all.
Here, even mediocre restaurants beat out popular spots somewhere else.
I could go on and on about the food in New Orleans. And designing a food tour definitely helped expand my knowledge (and waistline) in the process. For this reason, I’ll reserve the rest of what I have to share for a post (or two) solely about the food of New Orleans.
Community, Culture & All the Small Things
Living in New Orleans has reignited my belief that for me, community & culture are vital for a happy living situation. And while we hope to move back here some day, if we don’t, I do fear this city has ruined me for all others that lack it! I’m not sure there is anywhere as unique and special in the United States when it comes to this sense of community and a truly one-of-a-kind culture.
There is one more unique aspect of life here that I’ll remember vividly and take with me on the road: the sounds. While it might be strange, these 6 months have been characterized by them.
The Disneyland-like songs playing from the calliope on the Steamboat Natchez in the distance. The honking of trains traveling to port. The trombone player warming up next door. The creaky yellow Xterra that would roam around the neighborhood, passing our house multiple times a day. (This one is still mystery). A second-line coming from blocks away. Even Mr. Okra before his death, driving his truck through the neighborhood selling fruits and veggies with his distinct song. The list goes on.
In the best way possible, this is anything but a quiet place. In a city known for its music, you can find songs in every day life.
It’s bittersweet, but thankfully we will be gone before the humidity and scorching temperatures hit this city. After 6 months here, I’m rested and ready to embark on my 4th season on the road as a tour leader.
I can only hope we will be back.
The post Six Months in the Big Easy: What it’s like to move to New Orleans appeared first on Curiosity Travels.
