New Orleans vs. Savannah vs. Texas coast vs. Florida

[tigafan]

Hey it's me from the Savannah forums (ha, I still check on my homeland!) What is your home price range? That may be helpful. Savannah just seems a lot more pricey than New Orleans, cost-of-living and all. That said, you know I like Savannah fine, but I'd rather be back home

[MoreCowbell]

Home price is...as low as possible! We're really going to be scraping by the first few years, so that is a big consideration. We definitely will be renting at least the first 3 years, needing a 2-3 bedroom. We pay $600 right now but I realize that is middle-of-nowhere GA price.
Two things that have made Georgia look very good: the teacher pay and also the fact that in GA I have the HOPE scholarship. We already have major student loans from my husband, so the free college would be amazing.
Its like a big horrible math problem trying to figure out what makes the most sense, is most economical, etc!

[tigafan]

Savannah is really expensive real-estate-wise and rent-wise. My sister lives in Houston in a fantastic neighborhood and she paid WELL below what we paid for our second house and hers was a lot newer and nicer and had a pool (I would never want to live in Houston, though). Maybe someone on this forum can give you a ball-park range for typical rents and starter home prices. Starter homes in Savannah are at least $150K, rent is probably $800-850 but don't quote me on that rent price

[MetroBTR]

For New Orleans, it really depends on how far out you want to go. Homes in most of the decent neighborhoods in the city and East Jefferson can go for a pretty penny. Same goes for Mandeville.

Better deals can be found in LaPlace, Destrehan, Belle Chasse, etc. They can also be found in Slidell, but in fewer numbers.

[EricStacey]

The husband and I are considering moving out of the upper midwest and taking two great jobs in New Orleans. So many people on these fora just recommend renting due to homeowners' insurance costs, hurricane risks, etc., but we're just not the renting type. We love doing home stuff, we are proud homeowners, we have two dogs -- renting is just hard.

Online it seems like there are some lovely, all brick, new-construction homes in Mandeville, Slidell, Abita Springs, etc., that we would just love (we're the suburban types) -- but are we just incredibly stupid to even consider moving to New Orleans and buying a home? Are any of these suburbs safe from the next hurricane? It seems from our Internet research that Slidell was hit really hard, so basically is the rule don't buy there? Is anywhere recommended?

~We want to leave the upper midwest so badly and return to that part of the country (from Galveston & Houston originally), but we don't want to be stupid, either. On the other hand, one more winter of frozen weather and even more frozen/personality-less people and we might just lose it.

Thanks in advance.

[MetroBTR]

The general rule in Mandeville is stay north of Florida Street and don't buy on bayous and streams. Most of Covington is safe from flooding. Slidell is not so easy. There are parts that flooded with Katrina and parts that didn't. Usually the farther from the lake the better. The good thing about the north shore is that you aren't going to be below sea level anywhere, so any water that comes into your house is not going to be there very long. Whereas in lakeview, those houses sat in water for like a month.

[cassarina]

Consider Sarasota. I do not know how far the cruise terminal is though. Alabama Beaches and Pensacola Florida are the closest nice beaches from New Orleans. Mississippi beaches suck.
You could live in Metarie. Alice Birney,Marie Riviere and Metairie Grammar are good elementary schools.
Your husband could work in Orleans Parish,but the family could live in Jefferson Parish. There are several colleges in New Orleans all within 30 minutes of any place in the city. UNO is pretty cheap as it is a state university. If you really love New Orleans I would move here. You can always leave. Our schools need outsiders with different life experiences.