Disclosure: Leasily, a New Orleans start-up reinventing rental property listings with professional photography and effortless landlord features, sponsored this post.
Just over a year ago, my husband and I moved back to New Orleans, our native city, along with our two little ones. Despite both of us being born and raised in the Crescent City, as well as being local property owners, we were amazed and proud of how the city has flourished and become even more vibrant since our departure. If you are considering a move to New Orleans … what are you waiting for?!
5. New Orleans Neighborhoods are Hot
A surge in property value and an overwhelming enthusiasm for residents to live within the city limits is an understatement. New projects, the expansion and updates to the public transportation systems, including the new streetcar line to City Park and trackers on the bus routes, have encouraged growth. Every neighborhood seems to include home renovations, new businesses and updates to parks and museums. If you drive through neighborhoods, you’ll notice lots of new construction and revitalization projects. Brand new businesses are popping up left and right, and even if you’re a food critic, it’s almost impossible to keep up with the restaurant scene here. You’ll find new businesses, restaurants and retail shops in virtually every neighborhood across the city, which adds to the sense of community and excitement.
4. New Orleans is Great for Entrepreneurs and Businesses!
If you have an idea, New Orleans is the place to execute it! New Orleans has truly gained the respect of the rest of the country, including designations such as the “Brainpower City,” per Forbes’ recent article tying New Orleans for first place for gaining college graduates. The Crescent City has also become a frontier hub for entrepreneurs and businesses. And, BioDistrict New Orleans will also be providing thousands of new jobs as each phase completes, creating an even bigger demand on our city’s rental market and encouraging more individuals, most with families, to move to New Orleans. It is truly an exciting time here, and the future appears promising to move to New Orleans, including increasing property values and competitive rental rates.
3. You Can Easily “Test” Neighborhoods in New Orleans Through Renting
Despite moving back to a city in which we knew the ins and outs, we rented this past year to learn about all of the changes that occurred during our adventure away. Choosing to rent in New Orleans helped us decide which part of the city we eventually wanted to settle in based on work, school and community. I believe it is safe to say that the past year has been a great learning experience. We learned how to get around via foot and public 
transportation, attended new festivals and learned the updated personalities of each neighborhood. New Orleans is not the same place it was fifteen, ten nor even five years ago. Even though I own a condo in the Warehouse District, we decided to set temporary roots in the Uptown area. Because we searched for a new residence from a thousand miles away, we were limited with options. The internet was our best resource to find a new home that met our family’s needs in an area we desired. Descriptions and pictures were our only source of information and because of these limited and sometimes poorly depicted options, we made a decision we regretted for an array of reasons. Our temporary home did not meet our demands and we truly wish we had additional resources (such as Leasily) to get a better glimpse of properties available during our search for a new home, especially with our kids in tow. All of that said, renting is a viable option in New Orleans, allowing your family to test various neighborhoods without the long-term commitment of a home purchase. There are rentals available in every neighborhood, most of which are a year in length, giving your family the chance to evaluate the area before settling down permanently.
2. New Orleans Culture is Alive and Well
The culture in New Orleans is truly unlike any other part of the country. You will be hard pressed to find a city with residents more enthusiastic about their hometown pride than New Orleans. We cheer for the Saints on Sunday, we eat red beans on Monday, we drown our sorrows in crawfish and snowballs during the spring and summer … if you need insight about New Orleans culture, just read “Why I Hate New Orleans: A Transplant Essay,” as he sums it up best. Before moving to New Orleans, brush up on your lingo and learn a few things you should know about the city. We look forward to seeing you, “darlin’!”
1. Leasily Makes It Easier to Find Your Family’s New Home
I recently became acquainted with Leasily, an excellent new service striving to simplify the headache of finding a rental home. As my husband and I sought a home when we decided to move to New Orleans, I truly wish I had access to a 
website like Leasily that accurately photographed spaces and enlightened future renters of the ins and outs of each property featured. Leasily provides gorgeous professional photography for every listing, ensuring you’ll know each property inside and out from the comfort of your own computer, tablet, or phone (unlike our experience renting from afar). As a current renter and landlord providing a home for non-natives, I was thoroughly impressed with the layout of their website, making it comfortable for those not within driving distance to get an accurate glimpse of the property and answer most of their questions. Leasily is effortless for landlords, providing professional photography and listing generation across major sites like Craigslist and Zillow. These services, in addition to the others detailed at their website, are free for landlords while the start-up team looks to spread their name. In addition, landlords will receive a $20 Amazon gift card as a thank you for signing up as part of a limited promotion. Landlords can sign up today and receive the promotion months ahead of a potential vacancy, with the option to keep the listing private until the availability date is finalized. Considering our recent experience as New Orleans renters and landlords, I plan to consider using their service in the near future.
Learn more about Leasily via these avenues: Leasily website :: Leasily landlords :: Twitter :: Instagram
Moving to New Orleans? Then you should read…
- 10 Things You Should Know Before You Move to New Orleans
- So You’re Moving to New Orleans? How to Maximize a Year in New Orleans with Kids
- Eight Years Later: The Eight Lessons I Learned from Hurricane Katrina
- Is Jazz Fest Fun for the Whole Family?
- 10 Reasons I’m Grateful to Be a New Orleans Mom
- Tips for Visiting New Orleans with Kids
I needed this article! We are contemplating a move to Nola this summer, so this was definitely helpful!