My family will be relocating to New Orleans towards the end of August. Our search for a house has begun - but we don't know exactly yet where we will be living. Uptown? Metairie? Lakeview?
We have a deposit for two spots at Gates of Prayer in Metairie (our kids are Jewish) and we've just received word that we also have the option of attending Kidopolis which is part of Tulane University. If you have any thoughts or opinions on either of these locations -- or know of any other great places that we may not be aware of... I'd love to hear more about our new city.
We're only going to be in NOLA for 12 months, so we don't need full a full pre-school yet. Our oldest will be three next month and our youngest just turned one.
Edited to Add: My husband will be working downtown and I work from home. JCC was my first choice, but we didn't make it off the wait list there. :( We just made it off the wait list at Kidopolis, but my biggest concern there is that there isn't a true outdoor space for the kids to play. We have more flexibility on where to live if we accept the positions at Kidopolis -- and my husband is going to fly out for a house hunting adventure in a few weeks BUT we have to let Kidopolis know before my husband gets there if we want the spots. I'm just nervous to take them and send the HUGE deposit without ever visiting the schools. Who knew moving to NOLA would be so tough!! :)
Thanks!!
I lived in metairie for a while and my son attended the little red school house but it was just a preschool 7 that was back in 1998. I really liked Metaire though- it was safe and lots of families and they have their own mardi gras parade that you CAN take you kids to! So much fun!
Kidopolis is one of the best nursery schools in town. There is always a long waiting list. I do not know about Gates of Prayer.
As far as where to live; I suppose it depends where you will be working. My advice visit the neighborhood you choose during the day and also at night. That way you can get a feel for the neighborhood.
New Orleans is a wonderful old city. I am proud to live here!
A.
If your work is in the city, live in Uptown. Uptown is beautiful, and has a reputation for being safe.
Audubon Park has a lovely playground, there are lots of restaurants within walking distance, and you can hop on the street car and take a ride downtown to explore. I don't know anything about the daycare you mentioned, but I have heard lots of good things about the JCC-The Jewish Community Center. Check it out and good luck! Oh, and check out The Monkey Room. Indoor playground you'll need for hot humid days!
PS I relocated here 6 months ago with my family and we love it.
Since your husband will be working downtown and you will only be staying here for a year, the Uptown area would be a great place to live. Lots of restaurants, close to the zoo and Louisiana Children's Museum.
My former neighbors take their daughter to Kidopolis and LOVE it. Albeit, he is a doctor at Tulane and she is a nurse at Tulane. But from what I heard, it is definitely the best in the area. We would have chosen to take our 19 month old there but it was too out of the way.
We ended up choosing KinderHaus Montessori. It's expensive but we liked all the teachers, the set up, and the teaching style.
We used to live in Lakeview and I loved it. Parts of Metairie are nice. Uptown has it's advantages but it can be frustrating. They love to give parking tickets, you deal with Mardi Gras traffic, craziness and fun, it's dicey-you go around the corner and it's not the street you want to be living on, etc. We lived uptown for 2 or 3 years and I did love it once I got used to it. It would be a great adventure especially if you are only going to live there a year! I used to love to hop on the trolley and go down to the quarter.The uptown Mardi Gras parades are fine for families as long as you stay uptown. Don't get anywhere near downtown/the quarter lol!
Make sure you eat at Juan's Flying Burrito!
