NewinNOLA.com officially is one year old! My, time flies. I started this blog Jan. 4, 2013, (first post) as a way to share information my newly relocated friends and I learned during our transition to New Orleans.
image via flickr user Theresa Thompson and used in accordance with a Creative Commons license
This past year, we wrote 200+ posts on NewinNOLA.com, shared 2,300 photos on Instagram (@NewinNOLA) and tweeted (@NewinNOLA) more than 5,000 times. We’re also on Facebook and Storify.
Thank you for following us online and helping us find our way in this magnificent city. Your advice, encouragement, wisdom and suggestions have helped us tremendously.
I run the site for fun, and we have a core group of about six people in the New in NOLA crew who share what they learn. Most of us moved here for a job in the tech industry and the oil and gas industry. Some of us have been here almost two years, while others have been here for a few months.
Three of us grew up within an hour or two of the metro area, and it’s been completely different living in the city. For us, 2013 was an incredible year of exploring and soaking in everything. No surprise, we found ourselves eating our way through New Orleans.
The site has evolved during the past year as we have welcomed new friends, said farewell to friends who moved to other cities, changed jobs, got engaged and gained our “New Orleans 15 (or so).” We also learned to cook Southern classics thanks to Patsy R. Brumfield.
We saved these #BestofNOLA suggestions from NOLA residents in January 2013 and we’re revisiting them this year. We’ve hit up many of the suggestions – St. James Cheese Co., New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park, Parkway Bakery, Drago’s – but there are many more to check out.
New Orleans Museum of Art (photo by Carlie Kollath Wells/New in NOLA)
We’re also updating our bucket list.
We’re going to try to do better with posting in 2014. We do this for fun (read – we don’t sell ads & we don’t get paid for writing posts) so we’re looking at how to make the most of our time and be helpful for you. We do this when we’re not at our day jobs.
We’re open to suggestions. Please let us know what you want to know. And, if you have advice for new residents, we’re all ears.
Thanks again for a spectacular 2013! Let’s do it again this year.
Cheers!
Carlie & the New in NOLA crew
New in NOLA 
And tomorrow (Monday, Jan. 6) we are participating in an online chat at noon CST with NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune about moving to New Orleans. Specifically: Is Louisiana/New Orleans a good place for young people?
Should be interesting. Hope you’ll join us:
http://blog.nola.com/interact/2014/01/should_young_people_build_a_fu.html