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Mandeville/Covington area- Can you tell me about it, please??
My husband and I are currently living in the Lakeview area and although we love it, I think we have realized that it is going to be far to expensive to stay in this area when we start looking to buy a house this spring/summer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that both property taxes and insurance in that area is pretty pricey. If we stayed in the area, I'm afraid we'd have to buy a smaller house than we'd like and that's just not something we're willing to do since we plan on trying for our second baby later this year. I want at least a 4 bed, 2 bath... I don't think I'll find that for the price I'm willing to pay. The Lakeview area is absolutely the only area in New Orleans I'm willing to live. We've looked in Metairie also.. but I'm noticing that the houses are a lot nicer and more affordable in Mandeville. The only problem is that I'm not from here ( I grew up in BR, and my husband is from California), so I have no idea about the Mandeville/Covington area. Both my husband and I work in the city... I'm uptown and he's kind of all over (he's an electrician and is currently working in the Quarter). Is Mandeville closer than Covington? Or are they both kind of the same distance??? I thought Mandeville was closer, but I could be totally wrong. When looking for houses in Mandeville, I have no idea about the area.... what areas are good? Bad? Which area have the closest interstate access? Same for Covington.... Any comments or advice that you have is appreciated! Thank you!!!
Re: Mandeville/Covington area- Can you tell me about it, please??
Ex-DH and I bought a home in Covington off of "Dogpound" road in 2006. It was 1500 square feet, 3 bed two bath, cute starter home with a fenced yard... We paid about 165k.
In my opinion, Mandeville is probabaly just as expensive as Lakeview, especially if you want to live in a nicer area. Mandeville IS closer than Covington; It's right after you get off of the Causeway. Covington is about 4 miles past the Causeway. St. Tammany parish, however, has the best schools in the state. Also, it's a great place to raise a family!... It's pretty boring though, not much nightlife if you're in your 20's and that's what you're looking to do!.
Property tax and insurance are pretty expensive; Also, you need to add in your extra costs of fuel and tolls to cross the Causeway, which is a total pain in the ass, especially if there is fog and you have to be shuttled over.
Stay north of Florida street, although some areas south are okay. You avoid all known flooding from Katrina north of Florida street.
Meadowbrook is very nice but you will be looking at listing that are in the $299 to $320K range as a minimum; you can probably bargain down. This was our first choice in neighborhoods balancing quality of life and our price range. Buying a smaller house in a neighborhood with larger homes is a good way to go for resale. The neighborhood states that it is gated but the guards are only there at night. The Pelican Club is just outside the neighborhood and is a great facility. I think you mentioned working at the hospital and you would be very close from here as you would turn left onto LA 22 and either take the frontage road up to the hospital or go up Causeway and exit Fairway Drive.
Greenleaves:
Nice neighborhood with no community pool. Houses tend to be older than Meadowbrook but you have a mixture of price ranges. Some sections are better than others due to construction quality and house sizes. Be careful here as homes tend to follow the per square foot of Meadowbrook and really shouldn't. It is just down the road from Meadowbrook.
Woodlands:
Very similar to Meadowbrook and pricing is similar too although there are homes built in the last few years which drives their prices up. Starting point on pricing is about the same as Meadowbrook. A little further out and residents will go to the new high school which is an unknown quantity right now. Quail Creek will send to the same high school too.
Beau Chene:
More expensive but you can find good deals. Homes are older but it is a golf course community with other amenities. Guarded gates 24/7; you will pay more for home-owner's association dues but it includes water/sewer/trash pickup in the fees. Resale has been traditionally good.
There are some neighborhoods off of Sharp road that are nice too. Pricing is a bit less but should be considered. I won't mention them all but go to latter-blum.com and do a search with a map view and it will show various neighborhoods from an aerial/map view. Sharp road is VERY convenient to commuting to the hospital as you can connect to the frontage road that will take you to the hospital.
Covington:
I can't say much here other than I would stay away from the LA 21 and IH-12 area as the shopping center and road widening is not complete there. Once complete, I am sure that traffic will flow more smoothly but the proof of this won't be seen until 2010 when the shopping center and road projects complete. There are some nice neighborhoods this way but traffic is an issue for me but maybe not for you? Also, the further north you go on Causeway, the more traffic as you have about 8 - 10 bigger stores north of IH-12 in Covington (Lowe's, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc.)
check out Northpark; which was our second choice in neighborhoods behind Meadowbrook.
Versailles was too close to IH-12 for us as was River Oaks (inside Ih-12).
Country Club Estates is older but a nice neighborhood. A mixed bag on the home styles as they were all custom built. I don't know if you will find much that doesn't need some sort of repairs but it is worth considering. This is the southern most Covington neighborhood I believe and is on the opposite side of Causeway from Lakeview Hospital.
Hope this helps!
I was going to reply as we just moved to Mandeville but that reply pretty much covered everything! lol
We live a mile or so away from Madisonville (have you looked there?) right by the Tchefuncte and we really like it. Mandeville is nice because it has two causeway approaches so you will be close to the bridge regardless of where you are.
Good luck with your move and your decision!
PS: Your baby is adorable!!
Ha, I don't have much to say b/c it's all been pretty much covered! Haha, but we are also hoping to buy in the next 6 months or so. We currently live in Covington and we love it! My husband works on Boston St, so we are hoping to find a house close to downtown Covington. Love the feel of downtown!! We also really love the people...everyone is so nice! But if you are worried about the commute, Mandeville will probably be more suited for you. I travel the Causeway to work (I work uptown), but I dont find that the extra 10 minutes to Covington really affects me when I'm already driving 50 minutes as it is!!
Good luck on your search and keep us posted!!
Thank you
Thanks- Good luck on your search also!