First trip to the great state of LA next with my 3 daughters and the wife.

We plan to hit a WWII museum, plantation tour, hit up some national parks/reserves, among other things.

Trying to figure out which area of the city to stay in.  Are there any general areas to avoid?  Planning on getting a hotel or place through VRBO.

As an example, if someone was coming to Minneapolis/St Paul, MN ... I'd tell them to stay the fuck out of North Minneapolis (high crime).  If they were going to go downtown Minneapolis ... go during the day, but keep your situational awareness is what I'd tell them.

Take an Uber or Lyft to all of your destinations while you’re in the city, and avoid Bourbon Street at night. The “dangerous” parts of the city and surrounding areas are not places that tourists frequent.

The Uber/Lyft drivers will get you where you need to go in a hurry and you will enjoy your time down there much more not having to worry about parking or leaving a vehicle in a sketchy area.

+1

Most of NOLA is ok during the day. Avoid the French quarter at night

Thanks for the replies.  We ended up getting a condo type place just a little north-west of the french quarter.