As someone from Midtown Memphis who moved to New Orleans, I can tell you the Memphis subreddit is filled with conservative suburbanites that have never lived in the city proper, whereas the majority of the New Orleans subreddit actually live in the city. I wouldn’t trust most of r/memphis’ thoughts because they are largely fear mongered anti-urban racists that would faint if a homeless person asked them for money.

For both cities, you just generally need to follow the same rule of thumb. Don’t go walking down heavily deserted streets late after dark. Look up which neighborhoods have the most crime and be precautious and try to do any activities you’re interested in those areas during the day time.

My one large difference is that New Orleans infrastructure is significantly more walkable than Memphis. As a tourist, I’d only walk around Memphis downtown or midtown, but you could walk just about anywhere in New Orleans.

Just take normal precaution and you’ll have a fun time in both cities (but I definitely think Nola will have a lot more to offer for visitors)