I spent about 8 months in New Orleans back in 1996, running a project for what was then Bellsouth Mobility. Now, I'll qualify this with also stating that I have either worked in or traveled through 49 of the 50 states. Many places I've been in the US were, shall we say, on the seedy side of town, since cellular telephone sites are rarely placed on the good side of the tracks. I've also been to 16 countries with my work, and some were not so nice places like Nicaragua. Of all the places I've been I've never heard so much automatic gunfire and seen so many drug deals go down right out in the open, often within sight of Police, as I have seen and experienced in New Orleans. Never have I ever been to a place where the local population tried to separate you from your money, one way or the other.
New Orleans' image has forever been tarnished in my eyes. I wouldn't go back on a bet.
The only city I've been to that really reminds me of New Orleans is Port Au Prince, Haiti.