Jackson area info wanted. (Ridgeland, Brandon: sales, real estate, apartments)

[ottomobeale]

Welp the interview went well and there seems to be a possiblity of moving to the Jackson area. Looking at previous threads Flowood, Madison and Ridgeland seem to be the prime candidates. They seem to be where the professionals live.

The wife and I are in our 40s. We have 2 school age kids. Private school is out of the question for 2 kids so we need decent public schools. Nightlife has zero appeal.

1) Any other areas I should think of? The area I will cover is Jackson and north. Grenada was mentioned but looks to be really small.
2) I really need more bedrooms as the job would require a home office. Jackson area seems heavily tilted toward 3 bedrooms which is a problem. Which of these 3 gives the best value?
3) Looking for a generic protestant church with a good contemporary service.
4) I am northern and have zero southern accent. Will this be a problem?
5) Where are the big box/ mall retail areas in N/NE Jackson areas. Bonus points for my wifes addiction: Bed Bath and Beyond.
6) Where are the truly dangerous areas of the city? Im not talking about blue collar working class guys who are not refined. Im talking about places they will kill you.
7) Parks/ playgrounds/ trails/ picnic areas. Where are the biggest/best free ones?

[covedweller]

I live in Madison, but my opinion on each of these questions:

1) Any other areas I should think of? The area I will cover is Jackson and north. Grenada was mentioned but looks to be really small.

Since public education is important, you will probably be limited to the suburbs of Jackson. Any of the smaller surrounding areas, and you would really want to look into private schools. Gluckstadt is an unincorporated area just north of Madison you might want to look into. Some houses have Madison addresses, and some Canton. Be sure to check which school zone you would fall into. Madison County is good, but Canton is bad.


2) I really need more bedrooms as the job would require a home office. Jackson area seems heavily tilted toward 3 bedrooms which is a problem. Which of these 3 gives the best value?

Madison is generally the most expensive, but due to square footage requirements will have a higher percentage of larger homes (newer construction).

3) Looking for a generic protestant church with a good contemporary service.

Can't help there (I'm a Baptist), but I believe there are a number of non-denominational churches around with contemporary services. They may not necessarily be rooted enough to have actual facilities (they may meet in school gyms and such). You might have some luck googling and just trying them out when you get here.

4) I am northern and have zero southern accent. Will this be a problem?
I would say no, but I guess it could depend on what line of work you are in and who you will be calling on every day.


5) Where are the big box/ mall retail areas in N/NE Jackson areas. Bonus points for my wifes addiction: Bed Bath and Beyond.

Flowood (Dogwood Mall, open), Ridgeland has Northpark Mall (enclosed) and the higher end Renaissance Mall (open). Northpark is older and has seen better days, so I tend to avoid it if possible. Madison is just now getting into this type of shopping area. A Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, and Stein Mart opened last fall next to the movie theatre. There was talk of Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Old Navy and all those types of stores moving in also before the economy went south. Some of those will probably kick off as things pick up.

6) Where are the truly dangerous areas of the city? Im not talking about blue collar working class guys who are not refined. Im talking about places they will kill you.

Generally speaking, west of I-55 in Jackson. Southeast Jackson isnt all that hot either, so I stick to northeast Jackson if I venture into the city.

7) Parks/ playgrounds/ trails/ picnic areas. Where are the biggest/best free ones?

Ridgeland has bike/running trails and some pretty good parks, including the reservoir area, but either of the 3 you listed will give you good access. Madison and Ridgeland more or less merge, and Flowood is only a few minutes away.

[brickpatio]

For schools, you should consider Madison Central and Germantown high schools (and the middle and elementary schools that feed into them) in Madison County and Northwest Rankin and Brandon high schools in Rankin County.

The Bed Bath and Beyond is on Lakeland Drive in Flowood, also known as the Reservoir area. The area is loaded with brand-new big box retailers and overall looks nice.

Madison is the other hot area for brand-new big box retailers. The new Best Buy looks like something out of Florence, Italy. Neighboring Ridgeland along I-55 has the most upscale new shopping, two areas called the Renaissance and the Township. Ridgeland is a mixture of expensive homes on the reservoir, apartments, duplexes, older ranch houses, new subdivisions, and gated communities with million dollar homes. The part west of I-55 and the part by the yacht club on the reservoir are very upscale.

The area in Rankin County along the reservoir known as the Northshore (along Northshore parkway and literally north of Pelahatchie Bay) is very pretty with lots of trees, access to the reservoir and bike trails. The Flowood/Reservoir area is full of very affordable but nice subdivisions by the dozens.

Madison is very nice and while very upscale does have normal-priced homes also. Brandon (to the east along I-20) is very nice and feels like an actual town rather than only a suburb. This area is very safe, affordable and growing but not that commercialized yet other than a Home Depot, Kroger, etc. From Brandon to all the shopping in Flowood (Bed Bath and Beyond) is about 10 minutes away.

As the last post said, the dangerous areas are southwest Jackson, west Jackson, and northwest Jackson. Northeast Jackson and Downtown are mostly safe. Madison and Rankin Counties are both very safe. The somewhat working class but nice and safe and pretty area would be Florence along Hwy 49 south in Rankin County.

For parks, there are parks along the reservoir on both the Madison County side and the Rankin County side. The city of Brandon has some nice parks also. And of course there are a number of big areas with soccer and baseball fields for youth sports etc.

[brickpatio]

For churches, that's a tough one to try to direct someone on, since people's tastes are so different. That said, a very large church called Pinelake comes to mind as contemporary and modern. I believe it's technically Baptist but on their website they just refer to it as "Pinelake", I think they are trying to capture that contemporary generic protestant church feel. I sort of imagine it as something along the lines of Joel Osteen. It's located in Flowood on Lakeland Drive (down the road from Bed Bath and Beyond) and I believe they are adding a branch in Madison.

[ottomobeale]

Thank you to all for the answers above. Welp looks like they are flying me down for a final interview. If they are spending that they are probably serious.

Registering a car looks to be expensive.

Is this every year or a 1 time smack down for new residents? Looks like I will have to come up with proof I paid sales tax.

Roughly ,what is the real world fee on a 2006 Sonata NADA clean trade in says value $9200 and a 2003 Taurus NADA says clean trade in is $3000.

What are the local sources for house rentals. Craigslist, realtor.com etc seem to mostly strike out in this case. I probably need to rent a house as I need a 4th bedroom as an office.

[covedweller]

On the church question, I've heard some pretty good things about this one, although I've never been to any services:

Lifebridge Church - Madison, MS

Car tags, you probably will take a hit the first time you register them, I think. I don't know the regs. on that, but you may get hit for some MS sales tax. Here is an estimator you can play around with:

Estimate Car Tag

You can search for rentals here. Not sure how much they have listed. One other option might be to check some of the local real estate booklets around town when you get here for the interview. Also, depending on the size/resources of your company, the HR department might be able to help.

HomeSearch.JacksonRealtor.com

[gr8 r8z]

All the replies so far seem to be pretty helpful. You can't go wrong with Madison. I PM'd you my info, send me a message and I might be able to help you with a rental (didn't see that when I sent you my first message).
What price range per month are you looking for?

[auntbee]

They are building a huge new nondenominational church on Lakeland Dr. in Flowood. Winners Circle Park in Flowood is also nice and they are about to do a lot of work on it including walking trails.