New Orleans is frequently called “the northernmost Caribbean city,” possibly because of the Creole influences in the city’s culture. “New Orleans’ unofficial status as the northernmost Caribbean city” was cited in a July 1988 article in The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA). “New Orleans is not a southern city.  It is the northern-most Caribbean city” was posted in the newsgroup alt.usage.english in 1996. A November 1997 article in the Boston (MA) Globe has been frequently credited for coining this nickname, but that is not correct.
 
Other New Orleans nicknames include “America’s Most Interesting City,” “Baghdad-on-the-Bayou,” “Big Crescent,” “Big Easy,” “Big Greasy,” “Big Sleazy,” “Birthplace of Jazz,” “Chocolate City,” “Chopper City,” “City of a Million Dreams,” “City of Yes,” “City That Care Forgot,” “City That Forgot to Care,” “Convention City,” “Crawfish Town,” “Creole City,” “Crescent City,” “Erb City,” “Gateway of the Mississippi Valley,” “Gumbo City,” “Hollywood South,” “Jump City,” “Mardi Gras City,” “Metropolis of the South,” “N’Awlins,” “Necropolis of the South,” “Nerlins,” “No Orleans” (after Hurricane Katrina), “NOLA,” “Northernmost Banana Republic,” “Old Swampy,” “Paris of America,” “Queen City,” “Saint City,” “Silicon Bayou,” “Silicon Swamp” and “Sweet Lady Gumbo.”
   
 
Wikipedia: New Orleans
New Orleans (/nuː ˈɔːrlɪnz/, /nuː ˈɔːrliənz/, /nuː ɔːrˈliːnz/, or /ˈnɔːrlənz/; French: La Nouvelle-Orléans [la nuvɛlɔʁleɑ̃] ( listen)) is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. The New Orleans metropolitan area (New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area) had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a larger trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502.
(...)
The Northernmost Caribbean City is a reference from The Boston Globe, as well as other travel guides due in part to the similarities of culture with the Caribbean islands.
   
1 June 1986, The Reggae & African Beat, review by Randall Grass, pg. 40:
I HEAR YOU KNOCKIN’
JEFF HANNUSCH AKA ALMOST SLIM
(Ville Platte, LA: Swallow, 1985)
Although not many Americans realize it. New Orleans is a Caribbean city, a terminus port lor Caribbean shipping, thanks to the Mississippi River which cleaves the few miles of delta lying between New Orleans and the rest to the sea.
 
22 July 1988, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Celebrating Afro-Caribbean rhythms” by Ben Sandmel, Lagniappe sec., pg. 7, col. 3:
In his native Trinidad, Nelson is a fixture at the annual Carnival celebrations; given New Orleans’ unofficial status as the northernmost Caribbean city, he should be well received here as well.
 
25 February 1993, Austin (TX) American-Statesman, “Having a Ball at Mardis Gras” by John T. Davis, pg. 11:
In the figurative blink of an eye, I found myself kidnapped by rhythm and blues gypsies, spirited east across the Sabine River last week and deposited in the center of a dark nightclub in the heart of the only Caribbean city in the United States. New Orleans, Carnival season.
 
13 November 1993, Indianapolis (IN) News, “Just Published,” pg. C-8, col. 2:
“New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence” photos by Richard Sexton, text by Randolph Delehanty, (Chronicle Books). All-color peek at the Crescent City, the Northernmost Caribbean city, the City that Care Forgot, the Venice of North America, a paean to the art of New Orleans living, inside and out. Let’s go!
 
19 January 1996, Philadelphia (PA) Tribune, “Miami’s live Latino music scene struggles” by Nicole Winfield (AP), pg. 11E, col. 2:
But venues offering quality live Latin tunes are in short supply in the place many consider the northernmost Caribbean city (Miami—ed.).
       
Google Groups: alt.usage.english
Y’all—Was: Diddly Squat
Geoff Butler
11/22/96
(...)
>Uh, Geoff, just one thing wrong with your posting: New Orleans is not a
>southern city.  It is the northern-most Caribbean city.  Thinking of
>it any other way will just confuse you.
   
30 November 1997, Boston (MA) Globe, “When the painter met the Creoles” by John R. Kemp, pg. G3, col. 1:
New Orleans is often called the northernmost Caribbean city.
 
1997, The Beat, “News & Reviews,” pg. 81, col. 1:
Moreover, due to the Crescent City’s position as the northernmost Caribbean city, the “Latin tinge,” as Jelly Roll Morton called it, was deeply ingrained in the early jazz that filtered down to the island of Jamaica.
 
Google Groups: rec.music.afro-latin
Espiritismo in the Puerto Rican community (part 1)
Nina
4/22/99
I have always considered it to be Afro-Latin. New Orleans and the French Quarter and very Spanish. That is something that is forgotten a lot. New Orleans is frequently referred to as the northermost Caribbean city because of its unique culture.
   
Google Groups: rec.music.afro-latin
Funeral Music - In Clave?
Nina
9/6/00
(...)
Well, New Orleans is the nothernmost Caribbean city. The standard rules dont apply.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The Other Caribbean City” [New Orleans: What Can’t Be Lost: 88 Stories And Traditions From The Sacred City] Lee Sophia Barclay, ed. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2010
Author: James, Marlon
Publisher: SelectedWorks 2010-01-01T08:00:00Z
Edition/Format:   Downloadable archival material
 
Twitter
Katie Wohl
‏@NOxxLA
new orleans nicknames: the big easy, the crescent city, The City that Care Forgot, The Northernmost Caribbean City, NOLA, hollywood south
8:54 PM - 4 Apr 2010
 
Twitter
CCAA
‏@CCAA_Updates
Did you know? • In a 1997 Boston Globe article, New Orleans was described as “The Northernmost Caribbean City” due… http://fb.me/E2dvUwoC
11:13 AM - 22 Jul 2011
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Your own personal New Orleans tour : seven things you must do to have a fabulous time in the Crescent City : a guide for vistors and locals alike
Author: Richard Bienvenu
Publisher: New Orleans, La. : Richard Bienvenu, Welcome One Associates LLC, ©2014.
Edition/Format:   Print book : English
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
“This New Orleans travel guide is short and concise, written by a native who knows where to go and what to see in planning for a perfect visit to this historic, fun-loving, northern Caribbean city”—Page 4 of cover.
 
Twitter
Christian Nwachukwu
‏@WatchNwachukwu
“New Orleans is the northernmost Caribbean city, the last Bohemia.” — @WendellPierce on @anotherround
12:25 PM - 7 May 2016
 
Twitter
ChristopherJoseph
‏@Chris_Joseph18
NOLA: The Northernmost Caribbean City
1:59 PM - 14 May 2016