re: How much would I need to make per year to live comfortably in New Orleans?

The Northshore is the way to go, because you won't need private schools if you pick one of the several great school districts. People talk trash about Slidell, but you can live a very good upper-middle class lifestyle for the $100-125K range with 3 kids. You can get a nice 4 bedroom house in a gated community for $300-325K. Northshore High had more National Merit finalists than Brother Martin and Holy Cross in recent years - top 5 in the state and on par with anything other that Jesuit and Ben Franklin. Enough good restaurants in the area to keep you happy, nice theater, shopping, etc. - and you're about 35-40 minutes from the French Quarter.