New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

New Orleans is a city like no other and New Orleanians celebrate like no other. 

Mardi Gras season alone adds hundreds of millions of dollars to the city’s coffers with its massive street parties. The Big Easy is the birthplace of jazz and a foodies’ go-to destination for all dishes Creole and Cajun. A place of legend as much as history.

Louisiana’s largest city is also its economic engine. It has one of the world’s busiest ports, is a center for oil production and a noted university town.

NOLA is a distinctive mix of European, Caribbean and African influences. This multicultural heritage manifests not only in its cuisine and its festivals but also in its architecture. Walk the historic districts for a showcase of eras and ornamentations: Greek revival mansions, Italianate estates, center hall Colonials, Creole cottages, narrow shotgun homes, and now, only relatively recently, high rise structures.

In addition to historic districts, New Orleans has more than 20 designated Cultural Districts. One is an area once filled with abandoned 19^th century warehouses that have been restored and reborn over the last three decades into a thriving arts district. The Warehouse District, as its known, is home to the Contemporary Arts Center, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and a cluster of art galleries.

As major cities go, New Orleans real estate offers solid value. Neighborhoods like the French Quarter, the Garden District and Uptown fetch some of the highest prices.

The French Quarter is the city’s cultural hub, a vibrant walkable area and one of the country’s oldest districts. Homes are notable for their large courtyards and balconies of intricate ironworks. An easy streetcar-ride away is the aptly-named Garden District of fountains, parks and showy gardens of hibiscus, crepe myrtle and bougainvillea. The adjacent section of Uptown, home to Tulane and Loyola universities, was an area developed from former plantations. Now grand 19^th century homes line its streets and cul-de-sacs.