As some of you may know, I decided to go back to school last year and I’m currently a full-time student, pursuing my MBA at Tulane. With that said, I’ve had the opportunity to make lots of new friends that are new to the city. I love watching people get to know New Orleans. Even though it’s def not its normal self right now, the city is still full of surprises. I always enjoy watching people discover those surprises.
This post covers all most of the sh$t that no one tells you before you move to New Orleans and is dedicated to my classmates!
It rains literally every day during the summer
It’s no coincidence that Tulane gave us umbrellas at orientation. They knew what we were in for! Maybe it doesn’t rain every day, but at some point almost every day, there is some sort of rain even if it’s a light shower. With that said, during the summertime, you should always be prepared with an umbrella.
Most hurricanes don’t actually happen
Like most things in 2020, the hurricane season was no joke. It seems like there was a hurricane warning every week. I had to laugh (sorry guys) as everyone was freaking out each time we received an email about a hurricane. Most of the time (definitely not every time), the hurricanes we are warned about won’t happen so locals don’t usually evacuate or even pay much attention unless it seems really serious. We do stock up on wine and have hurricane parties.
Your electricity will go our for no good reason
Let’s just say, the city of New Orleans’ infrastructure is not the best and the people at Entergy are not well-liked. Everyone is constantly cursing our local power provider, Entergy, for power outages that happen for seemingly no reason or that result from literally a couple of rain drops.
Do not leave valuable things in your car
We have all had to learn this the hard way. Unfortunately, car break-ins are very common here and most parking is street parking. Most people take everything valuable out of their cars to deter break ins from happening. I’ve even heard of people purposefully leaving their cars unlocked to avoid getting their windows shattered.
Yes you can drink in the streets, yes anything
It’s always hard for people to fully grasp this one at first. Of course, it feels strange walking around with a beer or mixed drink for the first time, but it catches on quickly 😉 I always feel out of place when I go to a city and am told I can’t leave with a drink.
Your car will never be the same again
It’s well-known that the streets here are terrible. I’m not really sure why they can’t fix the pot holes, but they can’t or if they do, more just show up and we live with it. It’s part of the charm I guess? Or we can call it a trade off – you get to drink wherever you like, but your car will suffer from our horrible streets.
Mardi Gras is an entire season
Everyone is always so confused about this one at first too. Of course, there is Mardi Gras day and we do celebrate then, but the celebrations start well over a month before with parades, costume parties and lots of king cake! Although Mardi Gras is going to look super different this year due to the pandemic, there are still lots of ways to celebrate.
There’s way more to do and see than Bourbon Street
For whatever reason, Bourbon Street, remains one of the first things that people think of when they come to New Orleans, but there is so much more to the city! The French Quarter is beautiful, but honestly, I feel like Bourbon Street can be skipped altogether. I love showing off all of the other beautiful neighborhoods and fun things to do.
You will become a Saints fan
No matter what team you cheered for before, Saints fandom is contagious and you won’t be able to help yourself from joining in on Saints Sundays! Why should you? You can root for both teams!
We celebrate a lot
New Orleanians will find any reason to celebrate. From Mardi Gras to St. Patricks Day to festival and crawfish boil season, there’s always a reason to celebrate here.
And eat a lot
This may be the one you knew before coming here, but there is no shortage of good food and restaurants here! You will try things you won’t anywhere else in the world like boiled crawfish, po-boys and sno-balls.