NOT worry free BUT you CAN concentrate on more important matters if you need to. Your weapon still needs to be maintained but it is not nearly as pressingif you have a weapon made of high grade steel that have rust resistant finishes, high grade aluminum and good plastics, such as the AR.
For NOLA I cannot think of a better SHTF weapon in terms of materials and manufacture than a rack grade AR my by a good manufacturer.
For me, NOLA, would NOT be the place to start saying to yourself, "Gee, I wish I had bought a Colt."
Now I am NOT saying this to bash Bushie or Armalite....but I brought that up because I nearly got into a gunfight a few years ago and I was carrying a Browning HP at the time.
Now, you may say, "Well, you DID have a Browning Hp...and it DID have night sights!!! Why are you bitching???"
I would say to you, "Yes, this is true....but all I could think of was, DAMMIT, I WISH I HAD MY 1911!!!"
The point is, I had a very decent weapon on me. It was most certainly better than NO weapon. However, it was a very serious situation with a very BIG, DRUNK and VIOLENT person. The .45 would have, at the minimum, would have made me feel a hell of a lot safer. I swore I would always have the right gun for the right job ever since.
For a shit filled swamp like NOLA...I can't think of a better gun than a PROPERLY made AR15. However, I custom Scout Squad M1A with a custom chrome lined barrel with a fully parked and moly coated finishand matching mags would be my second choice. Another great gun for this shithole would be the late production Robinson M96. It's mostly black stainless steel ( a proprietary surface conversion that is nearly impossible to ruin ) and plastic and the bore is chrome lined.