re: Tell me about Mandeville

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I've said this before on here and have gotten many objections. But, in my experience, the people are just very insulated. I have a lot of acquaintances who are all very nice people. But they stop at acquaintances. It's not easy to make actual friends. The friends I have made have all been transplants as well. My closest friend here has lived here for 10 years and I'm like her 3rd real friend in that time. Everyone from here seems to have their established circles and don't really let people in. They're also just a little less warm and are kind of standoffish. They're just different. In terms of how people are here versus home, I feel like I moved someplace far away with different customs, not an hour up the road in my home state. I'm a really outgoing person and have never in my life had trouble meeting people or making friends. It's the one thing that makes me miss home. People from here will tell you that's not the case, but they can't gauge it because they're from here. People not from here (particularly women) will almost always tell you the same thing.

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Thank you for responding. I have some friends that have described Mandeville in this way as well. I wonder if that is because of the fact that it is not a college town or because of the lack of diversity that has been mentioned. One of my wife's hang ups is that we know one couple that lives there and they are as you described, more acquaintances than actual friends. I've also been told that the 'keeping up with the Jones',' way of thinking is prevalent as well. Do you find this to be the case as well?

I would be interested to hear about how active the parents are with their children's PTA if anyone has insight into that.

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Will the job actually be able to n Mandeville? There are some near spots over there, but I'd think you have to get dead on to both be accepted and enjoy it.

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I'm not sure what you mean.

near=neat. Just meant pick the right area to live and I think that could make all the difference.

ETA: autocorrect is the work of the devil

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near=neat. Just meant pick the right area to live and I think that could make all the difference. ETA: autocorrect is the work of the devil

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Ha! It certainly is.

I attribute the standoffishness towards new comers to the influx from St. Bernard after the storm. Very different culturally, for the most part. Growing up on the Northshore there were always tons of transplants from out of town or out of state that fit in just fine. Post Katrina any transplant is assumed to be a chalmation, not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Best to live in Slidell and commute to Mandeville for work

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said no one ever.

Slidell is the devil's bunghole

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Also, don't let people freak you out about Cov schools.

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I've been told to avoid Covington high like the plague. We're not in the zone for Mandeville or the newer one of 1088, so it's likely going to be Hannan for high school.

Ugh, we hate PTA. Such a waste of time.

I think the friend issue you cite is due to many people already having their circle of friends from way back. They're friendly to new people in the bigger circle but not really looking for another close friend/couple.

And you can't really blame people for already having friends. I'm sure it's the same in many places. There's only so many times available these days for doing friend stuff anyway between work, kid stuff, family time, etc. On the plus side, people are pretty friendly and chatty (even if they're not interested in making long term friends) and that's pleasant enough, especially compared to some other areas.

If the wife is stay at home, there's a lot of good groups that seem to be pretty engaging.

Jones. Yeah, but IMO it's as much if not more from the transplants than the natives. They come here wanting some mecca and are pretty in your face about their "braggables" (neighborhood, house, etc).

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yep, Covington High is shite, at least it was in 02 when I was at Mandeville High.

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Well, it's a "B" compared to Mandeville and Fontainebleau's "A" ranking. Not really any grounds to say "shite" or "plague".

I think their demographics are a bit more challenged than the others, not just racially but also some more countrified types that probably don't have a lot of educational background/support, comparatively.

I can definitely see the women being bitchy

As far as being insulated, we all grew up knowing each other from a very young age, or are related to our friends that have lived there their entire lives too. My family has been there since the 40s, so naturally we know and are related to a lot of people. It was much smaller when I was younger, and like I said in my earlier post, more personal. With the exception of a couple of people, I've been best friends with the same guys for 20 years.

I don't have any problems making new friends if they're cool, but am I supposed to trust someone the same as my other buddies I've been knowing for so long? That's the difference in acquaintances and friends. How are you gonna stack up to someone I know every single little detail about?

As a girl, you've got to be VERY outgoing to make new friends there because everyone is so close (and the girls are stuck up and bitchy). Not that hard for guys though.