New Orleans: The Most “Honest” City in America

Honest you say? As a former FBI Agent, I know from experience that New Orleans has earned its reputation as being ranked among the most corrupt cities in America. Department of Justice data places New Orleans near the top nationally as a city with a long record of political favoritism, misuse of federal funds, police corruption, among other public scandals. That reputation only tells you what outsiders see, but it hides the part that matters most. The real truth is that New Orleans is perhaps the most honest city in America because it is a transparent and proud city. It shows you everything at once, the good and the bad, without trying to hide or dress anything up. You see that same honesty in the people who choose to build their lives here. Musicians and chefs come to New Orleans because they can live and work without pretense, and the city reflects that same spirit. New Orleans doesn’t pretend or polish. It shows up exactly as it is, layered, complex, and honest in ways you can only understand once you’re here.

There are so many ways to describe New Orleans to someone who has never been here, but no description can come close to seeing it for yourself. New Orleans is one of those places that belongs on everyone’s bucket list, yet it is not for everyone. This was my sixth visit to this great city. Two high school band field trips to march in a Mardi Gras parade. A college visit during Mardi Gras that was so foggy I’m not entirely sure I was even in New Orleans. A trip in my late twenties as a bachelor. Another trip in my thirties as a parent seeing the city through a family lens, and again last week as a retiree. I’ve been to more than 40 countries and hundreds of cities around the world and no other place has given me a different experience every single time. What I have learned from visiting New Orleans so many times is that your experience can be shaped by where you are in your life, and by whatever the city decides to show you during that visit. That is the charm and the impressive thing about this great city.

My most recent three‑day visit to New Orleans was as honest as any city can get. The busy tourist streets doubled as human toilets and reeked like an open landfill, with the stench only shifting when a heavy wave of pot smoke rolled through — which was more often than not. My partner and I stepped over and around homeless people often showing no signs of life, other than the aforementioned toileting activities nearby. Other memorable highlights during our three day visit was a tour of the city’s Museum of Death, a voodoo priestess house, and the Storyville Museum, which proudly displays the city’s history of prostitution. Thankfully, we were between Mardi Gras and the music festivals, so the streets weren’t packed with tens of thousands of drunk people or piles of vomit that I remember from previous visits.

Amazingly, none of those things bothered us much and we still managed to see most of the city in just three days. We walked miles through the French Quarter, the Garden District, and along Canal Street. We rode the St. Charles streetcar for what felt like half the city, took the ferry across the river to Algiers, and cruised up the Mississippi on a paddle boat to inspect the levees — where you can still see how Katrina reshaped the city twenty years later. We wandered Jackson Square, crossed through Congo Square, and probably pushed farther into Ward 7 than we should have. We soaked up live music on every corner, ate even better food, drank our way down Frenchmen Street, and even caught up with an old high‑school friend playing in the diviest dive bar imaginable — a place so authentic the whole moment was absolutely perfect. Culture overload — exactly as it should be.

** If you want to experience one of the most soulful and authentic local musicians in New Orleans, be sure to check out Jamie Bernstein’s performance schedule here:

New Orleans’ influence goes far beyond its food and music. Controlling the mouth of the Mississippi River made New Orleans the gateway to westward expansion after the annexation of the Louisiana Purchase. Andrew Jackson’s defense of the city cemented American control of the North American Continent and helped establish the U.S. as a rising global power. New Orleans isn’t just important to American history — it is American history. But the city is more than its past. It is a city with many layers, like a perfect cup of gumbo, with depth you can’t trace to any single ingredient. The food, the music, the history, the people — they fold into each other until the flavor lingers long after you’ve gone. It’s also not surprising that New Orleans is considered the birthday of jazz music. Much like jazz music, New Orleans never plays the same way twice. Every visit hits a different note, reveals a different rhythm, shows you a different side of the same song. The city carries you somewhere you didn’t expect.  However, what stays with you long after you leave New Orleans isn’t the music or the food — it’s the people, the friendliest you’ll meet anywhere. I lost count of how many strangers said hello, struck up conversations, or asked where we were from. Uber drivers, restaurant staff, strangers and local residents on the street — they all made you feel like family.

The most impressive thing about New Orleans is that it doesn’t simplify itself for anyone. It doesn’t smooth out the rough edges or hide the contradictions. It’s joy and heaviness, beauty and decay, celebration and fatigue — all happening at once. That mix is exactly what gives the place its strength and makes New Orleans honest in a way most cities aren’t. It shows you its beauty and its flaws in the same breath, and somehow both are equally memorable and enjoyable. The city has layers, but so do its people. It took me six visits over forty years to finally understand New Orleans, and this time the city didn’t just feel familiar — it finally made sense. All of it: the vomit, the excrement, the beauty, the music, the friendliness. Somehow, it all just works. If someone asked whether they should visit New Orleans, I’d warn them to go at their own peril — and then insist they absolutely should.