re: How many of you have actually had something bad happen to you in nola?

I've lived in uptown since 2009 and have had my car broken into once. I don't ever drive downtown unless parking in a paid garage with security - trust me, it is worth every penny these days

Things have gotten much worse lately but if you avoid certain locations and scenarios (i.e. parking in an unmonitored surface lot during a Pels game), you're a lot less likely to run into trouble.