I’m not certain where Mandeville is, but I visited Baton Rouge frequently when I was younger (ages 8-16ish). I loved it there.

The people are so nice there. I was a child when I was there so I wouldn’t know about jobs etc., plus that was 15+ yrs ago. I do have fond memories though of all of Louisiana. I might explore relocating there myself.

Good luck to you. :-)

I’m sure I’ve been to Madeville but I just cannot remember much about it. Its either you’re going to absolutely fall in love with Louisiana.. or you’re just going to be like.. eh well.
And 99% of the time people love it. :) I hope you have fun on your trip.

I know where Mandeville is. I lived in Houma, which is a few miles away from Mandeville. Mandeville is typical small town America. It is similar to Houma, however, Mandeville is smaller than Houma. I have never heard of any negative things about Mandeville. It is a safe and quiet place for you two. Good luck! Here is the official site for Mandeville: http://www.cityofmandeville.org/

Mandeville is a suburb town on the “North Shore” of Lake Ponchatrain near Hammond and Slidell. Until recently, lots of people lived there and commuted to New Orleans via the causeway, I’m not sure that’s the case now, probably so.

You’re not very far East from Baton Rouge (which is where I am at the moment on business) and although a lot of traffic, it’s a really vibrant, colorful city. There’s Cajun food, LSU football and basketball games, and all the creature comforts you’d expect from the state’s (now) largest city. It’s the state capital, and sits on the East side of the Mississippi River.

You’re also not far from the “Golden Coast” of Mississippi, although they’re going through a lot of rebuilding right now. You’ll be able to take day trips to places like Gulfport, Biloxi and even the panhandle of Florida.

Some things you’ll want to try and learn: Pick up on some French if you can, because many people here have a bit of the old Cajun in them… it’s not “you all”, it’s “ya’ll”... you should at least try crawfish, cracklin, boudin gumbo and Community and Mello Joy coffees.

That should get you started. If you have any specific questions, let us know.

Mandeville is about 40 minutes from New Orleans( where I live.) I have visited a few times. It seems pretty quiet out there. The whether is pretty good down here. Right now it is about as cold as it usually gets (50 F). Well maybe that’s an exaggeration. But is doesn’t really get cold here. But it is on the North Shore of Lake Ponchartrain and the whether reports are usually lower for that area. The good thing is that it is about the same distance between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, so you can get the “city life” feel relatively easy.

Since you ask for info about the entire state, let me direct your attention to the earlier of my 2 entries about North Louisiana for a general statement about the cultural diversity that the state embraces. I don’t recall ever having visited Mandeville, but as other writers have indicated, you’ll be close to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. I was a frequent visitor to New Orleans as a kid and have listed some of my favorite places here. As for the Cajun culture throughout the southern part of the state, there is much left to be said by 43places travelers. I tell one fleet story about a town named Cecilia on Bayou Teche, near Lafayette. As I stumble upon other folks’ entries in the future, I’ll refer you to them. I hope you have as easy a transition as possible next month and that you find yourself richer through many happy, exploratory adventures.

I live in Baton Rouge but will be commuting to Hammond for a job soon. The north shore is growing like crazy due to people relocating there. I don’t know a whole lot about Mandeville but I find Hammond to be a very nice personable city.

And you won’t be that far away from Baton Rouge or New Orleans which is a plus.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Now that I look at where you are from let me tell you about a girl I worked with who was from Michigan.

She called things by the “wrong” terms like “Pop” you can’t ask for a pop at mcdonalds because they won’t know what you want… it’s a coke. Even if you want a sprite, it’s still a coke.

Also she found the food in general to be spicy. People will put cajun seasoning in just about anything so even getting grean beans or something that sounds plain at a restaurant may be different than what you are used to.

She wasn’t very fond of seafood and I don’t know if you like it or not but we have plenty.
I mostly remember her problems adjusting were food/restaurant related.

She did LOVE king cakes though, come mardi gras.

Mandeville isn’t anything special. Its a nice place to live and its close enough that you can go to New Orleans, Slidell or Baton Rouge (farthest). The lake front is near by which is pretty and has a long park running along it. There are pretty houses and resturants along the park, looking out on the lake. There is a mall (possibly in near-by Covington) and lots of strip mall shopping. Its been built up in the past decade as more New Orleansians have migrated there.