Young Professional Possibly Relocating to Covington (New Orleans, Slidell: apartments, rent, condos)

[eddiebama]

Hello all.

I'm a single thirtysomething guy considering a job relocation to Stennis Space Center.

From reading the forums, it looks like the Covington and Mandeville areas are nice places to live. Ideally I would like a nice upscale apartment or townhouse/condo. Any suggestions on living arrangements?

Also, what is the social scene like in Covington/Mandeville, or are these communities primarily families, and I would have to head to New Orleans on the weekends to find an active night life?

Thanks in advance!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Not sure about nightlife, probably New Orleans or the Gulf Coast if you like casinos.

[Doogie]

Covington / Mandeville are definitely family-oriented. You may also want to add Slidel to the list to consider. Many Stennis workers live in Slidell.

Surely there are bars in those towns but for the real deal you will need to go to New Orleans.

[Puddinhead]

A single thirty-something guy looking for an upscale apartment or townhouse/condo, and who's interested in the social scene or nightlife should seriously consider living in the city itself and commuting to work, rather than living in a location that's heavily geared toward the 2.3-children-per-household white bread suburban family life and commuting to the nightlife. LOL Man, go for the Warehouse District or one of the new condos/apartments Downtown or in the CBD. Live it up.

Seriously...I have friends over on the North Shore and they live in beautiful neighborhoods...but it seems that it's all about the small children. Which is great if your main goal is keeping your small children safe and happy, etc. My wife and I raised (well, they're 18 and 15, so they're "partly" raised) two of the most well adjusted boys we could ask for (I think the boys themselves deserve most of the credit) right here in the Gentilly area of the city. Just as importantly, they aren't freaked out and paralyzed by cultural diversity like some can be if all they've experienced growing up is a homogenous environment where everyone else is just like them.

[eddiebama]

Puddinhead:

Thanks for the reply. I've heard from some folks at Stennis that the commute from New Orleans is not that bad on I-10, since you are going against traffic. Of course if there is a wreck on Lake Pontchartrain all bets are off.

I'll look for something 'cool' in CBD or downtown.

Thanks again,

Ed

[painter_jed]

My wife and I moved to Covington a few months ago, and we love it. It's not all SUVs and Soccer Moms (though there are a lot of both). It's a really easy commute to Stennis, less crowded than Slidell (and more upscale), and there are lots of affordable places to live (we rent a big house on 1/4 acre for 1400/mo). There are also lots of restaurants, bars and good-looking women up here. But, unlike the Quarter, we don't have drunk teenagers barfing in our yards or peeing in the gutters.
We looked in the city - high rents, crime, blue tarped roofs, ****ty streets (lots of potholes), nowhere to park - and we figured, why live here and put up with this when we can drive for 30-40 min and be in the city? I really like the North Shore - give it a closer look...

[Puddinhead]

And the North Shore is so.......well, "homogenous", too.

LOL

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

If you do choose the North Shore, stay north of I-12 as it floods south of there. A lot of damage during Katrina, both flooding in Slidell and wind damage in other places. Of course, if you're renting, all you have to do is pack up all your precious stuff and hit the road to higher ground.

[Chheang]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

If you do choose the North Shore, stay north of I-12 as it floods south of there. A lot of damage during Katrina, both flooding in Slidell and wind damage in other places. Of course, if you're renting, all you have to do is pack up all your precious stuff and hit the road to higher ground.

I've been looking on flood maps and most of mandeville is classified as area C. I checked north of I-12 and it's the same, Area-C. Are there areas out of the flood zones in Covington or Mandeville?

[painter_jed]

we had to look at that, too. you want flood zone c, but it's still not a guarantee; sometimes the rain alone is enough to flood our backyard (and we're in zone c).