Babies in the Quarter
It is official we are moving into the French Quarter! I am very excited about this though most of my friends and family (who do not live here and even some that do) think I am crazy.
“You are going to raise your baby in the French Quarter?”
Yes, at least for now and he is going to be weird and smart and artsy and tough and have a weird aversion to the Saints and I love it. Is it going to be harder? I guess is some ways it will be harder than, let’s say, suburbia but I do not want a simple cinderblock house set exactly 17 feet off the road and 12 feet away from the next house that looks exactly the same as mine but lime green. It just is not appealing to me.
I have been doing some research on children in the French Quarter and it turns out there aren’t any, no children I mean. I found this site showing Pre-Katrina numbers and .9% is not very high for children under 5 years old. These numbers from post-Katrina for Orleans parish do not give me much hope in that department either so it looks like for play dates I will be doing some driving but everything else is just around the block.
People seem to be fixated on the noise level of the Quarter. I can walk down my street and hear nothing but the leaves rustling in the wind. Now I know that during season, the noise level will not be this quiet even on my street but for now, it is wonderful. Plus, you are not supposed to take all the background noise out of a baby’s world even for sleep, if you do he will freak out when a storm comes or a truck backfires. Babies learn to sleep through noise just as adults do; they become used to their environment.
I am looking forward to putting, Chance (the baby) in a sling and walking to the coffee shop and hanging out in a relaxing atmosphere. Or walking to the post office, grocery store, or maybe for a little shopping all without having to get in my car and make a huge deal out of the whole thing and if baby gets cranky then we are only a few blocks from the house instead of miles and 20 - 30 car rides away.
I guess I have rambled in this post but the bottom line is the French Quarter has a lot of offer. It may not be the picture on TV of young couple welcoming their first child but I think it could be and maybe even should be.
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I really don’t see the problem. I mean, once you’ve decided that you even want to raise a child in New Orleans, what the hell’s the difference if you live in the Quarter or not?
Of course, I don’t have any kids so my opinions are based on absolutely not a damn thing.
My Mom has wished that her parents had stayed in the quarter after she was born. But it was the Tango District (1939) back then and much more scandalous then now.
Good luck…as long as the child gets lots of love and attention, it doesn’t matter where you raise him, he’ll be ahead of the game. Being a kid in the French Quarter sounds like a blast to me.
Rayna - Washington Square Park has a baby swing that my 6-month baby girl just loves. Also, don’t be afraid to cross Elysian Fields. I know of 5 or 6 babies in the area and there is an effort to start a Bywater/Marigny kids club.
Thomas - Marigny is where I am moving from and Crossing Elysian Fields is not a problem at all. I would love to be a part of any kids club in the area. If you hear any more info about that I would greatly appreciate it if you would pass it on
I raised my ;ittle girl in the Quarter and the Trume till she was almost two .. you will not have to worry you babay will be the bell of the ball.. there arn’t enoght children for the comunity to love so they all get extra.. the only reason I did not stay is that as a single mom I could not foot the bill there any more.. I am envious enjoy!!