How to Contact Your About.com Guide to New Orleans, LA
Yes, I'm a real person. I love New Orleans, and I make this site for people who love it too, or who are learning to. I'm always adding new information to this site about all the things to do in town, jobs, transportation, real estate, sports, civic issues, and more. If you have something you think I should add or write about, let me know! You can contact me at neworleans.guide@about.com.
Julia Houston
Julia Houston
F.A.Q.
- Q. How can I find out about parade routes and times?
- A. There's a great site out there for all that, Mardi Gras.com. For St. Patrick's Day Parades, try NOLA.
- Q. What's the legal drinking age in New Orleans?
- A. Despite what college students want to believe, it's 21. So is the legal gambling age.
- Q. Is it really true you can't bury people in New Orleans?
- A. Well, you can, but you have to drill holes in the coffin, and the water makes a lot of noise...what? Too much information? Suffice to say that the water table in New Orleans is too close to the surface for traditional burying. Consequently, the cemeteries use crypts.
- Q. Are all people in New Orleans Cajuns?
- A. No. Not even close.
- Q. Do the women in New Orleans really get naked in the streets at Mardi Gras?
- A. No. It's illegal to expose one's self. Nudity does happen, but that's the tourists, for the most part, who don't have to wake up the next morning and face their neighbors. Personally, I've seen more guys doing what they shouldn't for beads than gals.
- Q. Is New Orleans really below sea-level?
- A. Yes, about half of it is below sea-level, some at sea-level, and some only a foot or two above. The highest point in the city is a hill in Couturie Forest in City Park, which is 27.5 feet above sea level.
- Q. Hey, I found this really cheap basement apartment. Should I rent it?
- A. First, there are no basements in New Orleans, so what you're really talking about is a ground-level apartment. The reason some New Orleans houses have so much clearance under their main floor in the first place is to protect the house against flooding. The added-on apartment in that area is basically situated in the "flood zone." So, no, you should not rent that apartment.