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"Feeling safe" is a fool's errand, because there's no magic number of crimes below which suddenly people feel safe.
Maybe for you, but at my house, I never lock my vehicles and often go to bed forgetting to shut the garage or lock my doors. My neighbors have golf carts and $10,000 boats in driveways or side yards completely unsecured and unlocked. You make any of these mistakes in the best areas of Jackson and your property is gone and possibly life threatened.
You logic is a common one I hear from Jackson residents, but it don't fly with us from the burbs, we feel safe in Flowood, Brandon and Madison and not safe in Jackson, that's just the way it is. If Jackson city leaders have your same thought process... God help the city.
How will this send Jackson back into the trajectory of growth and recovery? You think everyone in the suburbs are just holding out to move back to Jackson because it's lacking in trails, islands, and marinas?
And like others have stated, we've been hearing about this project for 25+ years. I will believe it when the construction equipment starts work.
In short, Jackson needs the roads fixed, the water system fixed, general services made better, THINGS TO DO, PLACES TO SHOP... Not to mention THE CRIME RATE REDUCED. It appears now we just have a ton of people that believe that Jackson is only made to look bad on the news because they report every single crime that occurs in Jackson but cover up crime that happens in surrounding cities. This might be true, but that does not change the fact that Jackson is a crime-ridden city that does not seem to be getting any better.
Not to mention there is already a massive and beautiful lake that is located in the heart of better areas.....and they can't develop it worth a crud. They can't sell beautiful homes in a magnificent development. They can't keep the only water park in the area open. There are shamefully few boats ever on the Rez......and on and on and on.
No one here has any money. No one moves here and nothing ever happens here. All the talent flees this place. Building a new lake on the a bad side of a bad town wont change any of that.
With the One Lake project, my understanding is that the hold-up has been for political/ environmental reasons, and needless to say the political situation in D.C. is changing towards a pro-development outlook. That should mean the green light for One Lake.
I agree with everyone's despair over the roads and safety concerns. My thought is that by having a major new area of the city opened up on a new lake, right in the middle essentially of the Belhaven/ Eastover/ Downtown/ Lakeland and Flowood area, is ideal. In bringing in thousands of new upper income residents in to the heart of the city and heart of the metro area, then businesses and new development will follow. And from this the city will incur new tax revenues, which will create a virtuous cycle of having more and more revenues to attract more and more new developments within the city. For an example, check out Harbor Town on Mud Island in Memphis.
An economic boom on the national level combined with the new lake which will be unique to the nation in scope and centrality to the center of the city, will bring major changes.
And there Is money in Jackson. Statistically the median incomes are at or above the national average, particularly when factoring in cost of living. People may assume that Jackson metro's demographics mean lower incomes but that is not correct. Jackson area's black citizens are easily at or above the national average for African-Americans in income and Jackson metro's white citizens are right at the top of the nation in terms of average income levels, about the same as in places like Minneapolis and Seattle when factoring in cost of living (see census data on real median incomes, which factor in cost of living).
The key will be the moves by the federal government regarding tax rates on business owners and investors...and regulations on businesses...in terms of triggering an economic boom. And Mississippi's legislature can add to that with its own actions this spring. And voila...One Lake, a new downtowns Madison, Ridgeland, and Flowood, an expanding Fondren, and blossoming downtown Jackson..... and Jackson metro is racing into the future.
Maybe for you, but at my house, I never lock my vehicles and often go to bed forgetting to shut the garage or lock my doors. My neighbors have golf carts and $10,000 boats in driveways or side yards completely unsecured and unlocked. You make any of these mistakes in the best areas of Jackson and your property is gone and possibly life threatened.
You logic is a common one I hear from Jackson residents, but it don't fly with us from the burbs, we feel safe in Flowood, Brandon and Madison and not safe in Jackson, that's just the way it is. If Jackson city leaders have your same thought process... God help the city.
Thank you. I am so tired of hearing "But crime happens everywhere!" ... Well, that's true. Even in your neighborhood with $10K boats in driveways and such.
The fact of the matter is IT HAPPENS IN SOME PLACES FAR MORE THAN OTHERS. Case in point: Jackson. And no, it isn't just because "more people live there," because even the crime RATE is astronomical, which looks at crime based on 10K or 100K residents.
If someone gets gunned down in the street in Brandon, Clinton, Flowood, Pearl, Madison -- It's going to be a pretty big deal. In Jackson? Oh that's #50, or #65, or whatever it manages to get up to every year. That's just homicides, don't get me started on robberies, burglaries, break-ins, car thefts, etc.
There's many types of people that live around Jackson:
You have the ones that no matter what they will not enter the city for fear of their life.
You have those that enter out of necessity to go to state offices and such.
You have those like me that will visit attractions in Jackson but would never live in Jackson in its current state, I'll stick with my neighborhood that I'm not sure has ever had a crime committed (I'm sure it's coming, only a matter of time before somebody rolls in and breaks some windows out of some cars/houses and steals some stuff).
Then you have those that are die-hards. They're staying no matter what happens (Until a major incident occurs, like getting mowed down while taking out the trash or something of that sort)
Maybe for you, but at my house, I never lock my vehicles and often go to bed forgetting to shut the garage or lock my doors. My neighbors have golf carts and $10,000 boats in driveways or side yards completely unsecured and unlocked. You make any of these mistakes in the best areas of Jackson and your property is gone and possibly life threatened.
You logic is a common one I hear from Jackson residents, but it don't fly with us from the burbs, we feel safe in Flowood, Brandon and Madison and not safe in Jackson, that's just the way it is. If Jackson city leaders have your same thought process... God help the city.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dwashington
Thank you. I am so tired of hearing "But crime happens everywhere!" ... Well, that's true. Even in your neighborhood with $10K boats in driveways and such.
The fact of the matter is IT HAPPENS IN SOME PLACES FAR MORE THAN OTHERS. Case in point: Jackson. And no, it isn't just because "more people live there," because even the crime RATE is astronomical, which looks at crime based on 10K or 100K residents.
If someone gets gunned down in the street in Brandon, Clinton, Flowood, Pearl, Madison -- It's going to be a pretty big deal. In Jackson? Oh that's #50, or #65, or whatever it manages to get up to every year. That's just homicides, don't get me started on robberies, burglaries, break-ins, car thefts, etc.
There's many types of people that live around Jackson:
You have the ones that no matter what they will not enter the city for fear of their life.
You have those that enter out of necessity to go to state offices and such.
You have those like me that will visit attractions in Jackson but would never live in Jackson in its current state, I'll stick with my neighborhood that I'm not sure has ever had a crime committed (I'm sure it's coming, only a matter of time before somebody rolls in and breaks some windows out of some cars/houses and steals some stuff).
Then you have those that are die-hards. They're staying no matter what happens (Until a major incident occurs, like getting mowed down while taking out the trash or something of that sort)
No one is asking you to LIVE in the city of Jackson. I myself would never do that, I'm a suburbs (or even farther out) type of guy. We are talking about ATTRACTIONS downtown. Things to come and do, like Memphis and Birmingham. Nice parks, restaurants, etc. All will require heavy police protection obviously, but they can be done, I see it everywhere. There is no changing the demographic and crime in southern cities, I agree, that's a reality. But we can make the downtown core better, and turn it into an economic driver, EVEN if it's just the service industry. Do that, and SOME urbanites will live there, if they want. I'm talking about the people that enjoy living in Fondren and Belhaven and such, which will make it even better.
No one is asking you to LIVE in the city of Jackson. I myself would never do that, I'm a suburbs (or even farther out) type of guy. We are talking about ATTRACTIONS downtown. Things to come and do, like Memphis and Birmingham. Nice parks, restaurants, etc. All will require heavy police protection obviously, but they can be done, I see it everywhere. There is no changing the demographic and crime in southern cities, I agree, that's a reality. But we can make the downtown core better, and turn it into an economic driver, EVEN if it's just the service industry. Do that, and SOME urbanites will live there, if they want. I'm talking about the people that enjoy living in Fondren and Belhaven and such, which will make it even better.
The problem is you need leaders that are willing to attract those type of investments. Then the city must also agree to provide tax breaks/services/infrastructure for those businesses and attractions. Jackson does not have city leaders willing to do that nor do they have the revenue to do so.
I just did some quick number crunching. Here is the total households earning below $25K and above $25K for each metropolitan area. (Includes surrounding suburbs for each city)
They more than double us in the number of households earning more than $25K. They have a lot more people willing to spend money.
Thank you. I am so tired of hearing "But crime happens everywhere!" ... Well, that's true. Even in your neighborhood with $10K boats in driveways and such.
The fact of the matter is IT HAPPENS IN SOME PLACES FAR MORE THAN OTHERS. Case in point: Jackson. And no, it isn't just because "more people live there," because even the crime RATE is astronomical, which looks at crime based on 10K or 100K residents.
If someone gets gunned down in the street in Brandon, Clinton, Flowood, Pearl, Madison -- It's going to be a pretty big deal. In Jackson? Oh that's #50, or #65, or whatever it manages to get up to every year. That's just homicides, don't get me started on robberies, burglaries, break-ins, car thefts, etc.
There's many types of people that live around Jackson:
You have the ones that no matter what they will not enter the city for fear of their life.
You have those that enter out of necessity to go to state offices and such.
You have those like me that will visit attractions in Jackson but would never live in Jackson in its current state, I'll stick with my neighborhood that I'm not sure has ever had a crime committed (I'm sure it's coming, only a matter of time before somebody rolls in and breaks some windows out of some cars/houses and steals some stuff).
Then you have those that are die-hards. They're staying no matter what happens (Until a major incident occurs, like getting mowed down while taking out the trash or something of that sort)
Maybe I'm missing something, but is the crime rate in Jackson really THAT high?
I've looked through numerous crime rate statistics and "most dangerous cities" articles and haven't seen Jackson anywhere near the top... Cities such as Memphis, St. Louis, Baltimore, Little Rock, and many others have much higher crime rates than Jackson.
Maybe for you, but at my house, I never lock my vehicles and often go to bed forgetting to shut the garage or lock my doors. My neighbors have golf carts and $10,000 boats in driveways or side yards completely unsecured and unlocked. You make any of these mistakes in the best areas of Jackson and your property is gone and possibly life threatened.
I and my neighbors do the same thing, and last I looked we live IN Jackson. My doors are often unlocked, neighborhood kids running in and out, garage open with cars, bikes, and other items visible.
The demographics of my neighborhood would make us quite upscale even in Madison county, but you and your ilk don't believe I exist. The only Jackson you believe exists is the one you see on the news, which makes no sense because there's no violent crime downtown, or near the hospitals, or on county line road shopping, or any of the other places a Madison county residents might experience in Jackson.
There are neighborhoods in Jackson that I won't go to without a good reason. But these are not places that the average person would ever go into, and therefore don't need to fear.
The only Jackson you believe exists is the one you see on the news, which makes no sense because there's no violent crime downtown, or near the hospitals, or on county line road shopping, or any of the other places a Madison county residents might experience in Jackson.
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