I’m really excited to interview Andrew Kerr of FIbyREI.com about New Orleans, Louisiana. Andrew’s tips for the best things to do in New Orleans Louisiana are awesome because he moved to New Orleans (or Nawlins’ as the locals call it) for work. He and his wife have really embraced the city and its culture, food, and music. They bought a 1920s corner store building and have been house hacking it on their path to financial independence.
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The Krewe of Endymion Parade during Mardi Gras
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is one of the best places in the U.S. for food, music, and fun. Most people know about Mardi Gras, but there is so much more to do in the city. There are over 18 million visitors each year to this 300-year old city. They enjoy the Blues on Bourbon Street, take Ghost and History Tours in the French Quarter, and sample some of the best cajun cuisines of their lives. These visitors contribute over $9 billion to the local economy during their stay.
When you visit, there are over 1,200 restaurants, 135 festivals, and 22,000 hotels for you to choose from. Andrew recommends that you avoid planning your visit in the summertime because of the heat and humidity. Outside of that, you’ll enjoy the beautiful spring and fall weather or a very mild winter.
We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out Visit New Orleans, the local convention and visitor’s bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests.
If you’d like to learn how to travel for free to cities like this one using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.
Andrew Kerr with his wife outside the The Columns Hotel
Getting around New Orleans
The local airport is the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), which is about 15 miles west of the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. In 2019, the airport added a new terminal and now offers flights to 55 nonstop destinations. It even offers international routes to Frankfurt and London.
Andrew says that, if you’re staying in the French Quarter, there’s no need to rent a car. The bus or streetcars make it easy to get around once you’re away from the airport. Uber and Lyft are excellent ways to get around. And I’ve personally found New Orleans very walkable.
He also recommends taking the St Charles streetcar line. A 24-hour pass is only $3.75 and provides a tour of the city. With the pass, you can hop on and off whenever you see something that you want to stop and do.
If you need to rent a car, click here for the best offers from Avis, Budget, or Hertz. Or you can rent a car from Turo, the car-sharing marketplace.
For people that only need a car for a couple of hours, you can rent by the hour with Zipcar. Join now to get $25 loaded into your account.
Andrew’s wife on an upstairs balcony at Tableau in the French Quarter
Places we talked about on the podcast
Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Andrew Kerr about New Orleans, Louisiana. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.
- Red dots = best places to eat in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Green dots = best things to do in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Yellow dots = best places to stay in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Who is Andrew Kerr?
Andrew Kerr moved to New Orleans as a result of his new job. On the side, Andrew invests in real estate and writes about the topics of house hacking, rental property investing, and more at FIbyREI.com. His website was created in 2018 and is an acronym for “financial independence by real estate investing.” When he and his wife moved to New Orleans, they purchased a 1920’s corner store building and renovated it into their home. They “house hack” the property to make extra money and accelerate the payoff of its mortgage.
He also launched a podcast in 2019 called “The House Hacking Podcast.” In this podcast, Andrew interviews people who have used the house hacking strategy to make money.
Andrew with his wife and dogs
Here are a few articles that he’s written:
- How Eliminating Your Big 5 Expenses Can Accelerate Your Path To FI
- What is House Hacking?
- How to tell if a property is a good deal for real estate investment?
You can connect with Andrew at his website and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And on his site, you can sign up to receive his free ebook “The 9 Biggest Mistakes Made In Real Estate Investing.”
Big thanks to today’s affiliate partner – CLEAR
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Because sections of New Orleans are below sea level, many graves are above ground.
Stay tuned for our next episode
Listen to the next episode when Jillian Johnsrud of JillianJohnsrud.com her favorite hikes in and around Glacier National Park, where to try huckleberry ice cream, and why you need to carry bear spray in Kalispell, Montana. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.
What’s your favorite part of New Orleans? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!
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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.
Related episodes
To learn more about Louisiana, please listen to our other podcast episodes for the state:
- French Quarter, Live Jazz & WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana with Angela & Mark
- Cajun Gumbo and Swamp Tours in Lafayette, Louisiana with Toby Dore
- Festival Acadiens, Tabasco Factory & Eating Boudin in Lafayette, Louisiana
- Creole Nature Trail, Smoked Boudin & Delta Downs in Lake Charles, Louisiana
