New Orleans Misconceptions Locals Are Tired of Explaining

The most common New Orleans misconceptions go something like this: everybody lives on Bourbon Street, everybody is Cajun, everybody practices voodoo, and the whole city is about to wash into the Gulf. A couple of those are half right. Most of them aren't.

We've been answering these questions from behind the counter on Magazine Street and Chartres Street for twenty years, and honestly, we don't mind. People ask because they're curious, and curiosity is how a lot of our favorite customers ended up living here. But some questions come up so often that we figured we'd write the answers down. Next time somebody's cousin from Ohio asks, we can just send a link.

"So Do You Live on Bourbon Street?"

No. Very few people do.

Bourbon is a strip of bars inside the French Quarter, and the French Quarter is one neighborhood out of dozens. According to the Preservation Resource Center, the entire Quarter has a few thousand residents, and most of them would rather you didn't ask which block.

The rest of us are spread out across Gentilly, Lakeview, the Seventh Ward, Algiers, Broadmoor, Mid-City and plenty of places that never show up in a travel magazine. We go to work. We drop kids at school and complain about the drainage. When visitors ask where the "real" New Orleans is, the honest answer is somebody's kitchen on a Wednesday night, which is hard to put on a postcard.

"Is New Orleans Cajun Country?"

Not really, and this is the one that trips up almost everybody.

Cajuns descend from the Acadians, French-speaking exiles from what's now Nova Scotia who settled in South Louisiana in the 1700s. The region they settled took the name Acadiana, and the Historic New Orleans Collection describes it as 22 parishes, mostly west of here around Lafayette. THNOC also points out that plenty of tourists show up in New Orleans expecting a Cajun capital.

New Orleans is a Creole city. That word has shifted over the centuries. Early on, according to THNOC, it simply meant someone born in the colony, regardless of ancestry, and the two cultures are more tangled together than most people assume. Gumbo belongs to everybody. But a New Orleanian calling themselves Cajun is a bit like a Brooklynite calling themselves upstate. You can do it. People will look at you.

If you'd rather not pick a side, we make a Creole Cajun sticker for exactly that.

"Aren't You Scared of Hurricanes?"

Yes. Thanks for asking.

Hurricane season runs from June through November, and locals take it seriously. Most of us have a plan and a relative two parishes over with a spare couch. What we don't do is spend six months a year panicking, because you can't live that way. You watch the tropics, you listen to the people who know what they're talking about, and you make the call when it's time. Our hurricane prep guide covers how we do it, and the city's NOLA Ready site is the official word.

The follow-up is almost always: "Why would anyone live below sea level?" Fair question, but the premise is only half true. Tulane researchers have estimated that about half of the city sits above sea level, largely the older neighborhoods along the river where the city started. The low-lying parts came later.

Why do we stay? Because it's home. That's not a scientific answer, but you asked.

"Does Everybody Practice Voodoo?"

No, but some people do, seriously, and it deserves better than the version most visitors know.

Most of what outsiders believe about voodoo comes from movies and souvenir shelves. The real history is more interesting. Marie Laveau, the city's most famous Voudou priestess, was a free woman of color born in New Orleans who stayed a practicing Catholic her whole life and attended Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, according to 64 Parishes. The same entry notes that her sinister reputation mostly grew in the 20th century, helped along by sensational books, and that the legends of her great wealth don't hold up.

So treat it the way you'd treat anybody's faith. If you visit her tomb, go with a licensed guide, since St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 requires one (more on that here), and don't mark anything. Our That Voodoo You Do shirt borrows the old symbols for people who love the mystery without making a joke of it.

"Do the Accent!"

There isn't one. That's the whole problem.

People arrive expecting a slow Southern drawl, then meet someone from Chalmette and get confused. New Orleans has several ways of talking, depending on the neighborhood and the family. The one most outsiders have heard of is Yat, named for the greeting "where y'at." We've already vented about Hollywood's attempts at it, so we'll keep this short. If an actor in a New Orleans movie sounds like he's about to sell you a riverboat, that isn't us.

What we'll accept instead of an impression: a decent attempt at the street names. Our If You Can Read This You're A Local shirt is the final exam. And if somebody says "where y'at" to you, the answer is not your hotel. We put the greeting on a patch so you can study.

Keep Asking Anyway

We'd rather answer the same question for the hundredth time than have you go home believing the brochure. Come find us on Magazine Street or Chartres Street and ask whatever you want. If you're trying to blend in, read how to not look like a tourist in New Orleans first. It'll save us both some time.

New Orleans Misconceptions: FAQ

Is New Orleans a Cajun city?

Not historically. Cajun culture is rooted in Acadiana, a 22-parish region of South Louisiana mostly west of New Orleans around Lafayette. New Orleans is usually described as a Creole city, though the two cultures overlap more than people think.

Is all of New Orleans below sea level?

No. Tulane researchers have estimated that roughly half of the city is above sea level, mostly the older neighborhoods along the Mississippi River. The lower areas were developed later.

Is voodoo still practiced in New Orleans?

Yes, by a small number of practitioners, and it's a real religious tradition rather than a tourist attraction. Its most famous figure, Marie Laveau, was also a lifelong Catholic.