South of N. Claiborne St. As you near the Bywater section of New Orleans, it will seem as if you are driving through the poorest part of the Arkansas Delta. But, once arrived, you will be in the vortex of the most cutting edge neighborhood in the city, filled with lovely run-down houses, great old abandoned warehouses, and slumming artists paving the way for the inevitable real estate windfall. Think Chicago's Wicker Park circa 1977 or Brooklyn's Williamsburg circa 1983.
Rents are cheap here and artsy young people are moving in.
Artists around America strive hard to find authentic funkiness. In New Orleans in general, Bywater in particular, funkiness is omnipresent. You don't have to try. You're swimming in it. The crowds gathered at Cafe Brasil, Rubyfruit Jungle, and Checkpoint Charlies, indicate this is largely the case.