Best place to live if attending SELU in Hammond? (Mandeville: apartments, city hall)

[STLNolaWoj]

Hello. Can anyone please recommend the best place to live if attending Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond? I currently live in Chicago so I'm not too familiar with the area. Also I'm 26 years old so I wasnt planning on living on campus. Looking for 1 bdrm apartment-doesnt have to be spectacular but like everyone else I would like it to be safe, and manageable for a college student's budget (maybe like 800/mo max if that). Obviously I dont want to be too far from the school so I was looking into Hammond, Covington, Mandeville, Denham Springs, etc. Hammond would be the most ideal being so close but I've heard some bad things about it recently. Any suggestions on these as far as crime, affordability, and availability (important because I might not get a chance to scope out many places until right before school starts since i'm like 1000 miles away) and any other advice in general would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

[Scooter LA]

It really depends if you want to be within walking distance of the school or not. It may be difficult to get a 1 br though. Most are 2 or 3 brs. Smith Properties owns the almost all of the appartments near the school and there's a bunch of them. I think their number is 985-542-4760. The good thing about it is he has enough that he tends to seperate the teenagers from the older kids.

If you want to live downtown, approx. 15 blocks from there are some apartments there. Smith owns some and a couple of local architects also own some. Their number is 985-345-5210. I don't know if he has any available, but John Wong, 985-345-6789 also owns several buildings in downtown.

There are also tons of apartments that are spread around the city. Many are duplexes. A nice 1br is usually around $500 to $600 and a 2 br is $700 and up. Good luck and welcome to Hammond.

[Scooter LA]

Sorry, forgot to reply to you comment about crime. I've lived here all my life and was surprised to see the statistics. I had a house broken into in 1985 by a couple of young kids that shook the change out of a piggy bank. My entire family lives here and their experience is pretty much the same as mine. We like everyother community have our share of trouble makers, but if you don't involve yourself with drugs you are probably going to be fine. The Covington/Mandeville area is more upscale, but it is also much more expensive and about 30 minutes away.

No one can guarantee that you won't have problems moving anywhere in the country, but I can tell you I have 2 children and have no problem with them being in Hammond and hope they stay here. I really is a small town friendly place to live. I can also put you in touch with someone that recently moved here from Chicago if you send me your contact info.

[Indygirl1]

Independence is a small town north of Hammond. Population of 1800. It is only 8 miles from SELU. There are a number of nicer apts in town. Call City Hall maybe and get names of landlords. They should have a list.

[la24]

Live downtown! There are starting to renovate some older buildings into studios and one bedrooms.

Hammond is relatively cheap. Price shouldn't be an issue (coming from a fellow student who has lived in other cities around here).

You will most likely find Louisiana in general cheaper. Plus, Hammond is a small town, I wouldn't worry too much about crime.