I am a medical student and in 2 weeks I will be starting a 4 week clinical rotation in New Orleans at LSU. I’m primarily looking for advice about housing. Are there any particular neighborhoods I should avoid? Many of the postings on Craigslist seem aimed at the tourist market and are thus our of my price range. Any other good resources you know of for short term housing? And of course any insider insight about things that I simply must not miss while in New Orleans would be great as well.
Katrina knocked a lot of NOLA housing out of comission, and the real cheap housing is going to be in the scariest, most dangerous neighborhoods. Let’s see, you could try just renting a bedroom from somebody, and also Ancona’s Gymin Metairie used to rent out rooms for $80 a week ($160 deposit). You could call them and see if that deal’s still valid. You could probably bus from there to LSU. There’s a few sublets and temporary rooms on craigslist.com in the $150-300 range, which is probably the cheapest you’ll find for something that’s not a hovel or a relative’s couch.
As for things to do, my favorite French Quarter hotspots are of course Cafe du Monde (it’s a state crime to leave NOLA and not have eaten a beignet) and right down Decatur street from there is Coop’s Place, this little hole-in-the-wall looking restaurant that serves a mean rabbit jambalaya. Head over to Frenchmen St. and check out the Marigny district, which is where the locals head to party. You can take a streetcar to the Garden District and see all the grand old homes. If you’re an Anne Rice fan, be sure to check out Lafayette Cemetery #1 (also in the Garden District) where Lestat’s tomb is supposed to be (the Karstendiek tomb stands in for him). Wiki Travel’s New Orleans article goes into a lot more detail. There’s enough in NOLA to keep you busy for years.