Considering winter home in mississippi... (Natchez, Ocean Springs: middle-class, rentals, insurance)

[KingsX]

I'm looking at some homes in the Oxford area for a winter home. I'm from Canada, and my question is, what is the weather really like in the November to April range? Is it humid? Does it rain a lot? Is it generally nice? Any help would greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[aiangel_writer]

I live about an hour from Oxford. The winters have changed in our area over the last few years. Mild wet winters are to be expected with brief snatches of cold. We seem to get our coldest period right after the new year thru the first of February. Late February is usually wet and cold, but not what you are used to. By March, we are warming up quite a bit and have more sun.

Let me give you an example of how the cold affects me. I do not buy heavy coats anymore, have not in over 5 years. My children all wear light jackets to school, with only a few days of wearing anything heavier.

We do not see much snow, not like when I was a child. We do seem to still get the occassional ice storm, but nothing major in the past few years.

HOpe that helps.

[KingsX]

Thanks thats really helpful. So it sounds like your winters are similar to our april or october here. Which isn't so bad, but not exactly fun in the sun weather. I go to LA for business every January and so far its been really nice. Its been around the 22 degrees c, (about 72-ish?) and really nice. But LA isn't right for me. I come from a small town, I like the small town and state feel and in my research for a winter home, Mississippi just seems to make sense. I've looked at Arizona too though. And I can't see anything wrong with Alabama, or other southern states either. Florida is home to a lot of Canadians (snow birds we call them). But house prices are so high in Florida, Phoenix and LA. I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, so those locations are probably out for what I want.

But if Mississippi's winters are kind of wet and chilly, I don't know if its worth it either? I live directly north of North Dakota, in Manitoba and our summers are superb. Right now it is 77 degrees, it didn't get higher than 82 today and tonight it'll be around 59. Clear and sunny. But our winters can be nasty. For about three months straight, it'll never get above freezing. And we have snow out the wazoo. Personally I like winter in general. I like to ski and skate etc. And I just couldn't have Christmas without snow! But after new years, I've had enough of the cold. By mid april it generally gets to about 70 degrees. So between april and october, it's good here.

Anyway, I'm rambling, thanks again for the help.

[aiangel_writer]

It's 9:53 PM here and the temp is still 80 degrees. For what it's worth, our ground has not frozen in a few years. I don't know what is going on with our weather, but we are actually warmer during the winter months than we have ever been. Maybe I should say that chilly and cold to me might not be bad to you, LOL. Usually the temps average in the 30 to 38 degree range with days going below and days going higher.

You might want to google weather for North Mississippi, it might give you an idea of how our winters can be. Remember, the further South you go, the warmer it gets, it is only 5 hours to the coast from here.

[SashaBlue]

You may want to try Oklahoma. The housing prices in Tulsa and Broken Arrow are very affordable. The winters are cold, but not too cold. There is light snow from November - January, but not everyday, and maybe only 1 snowstorm per year, usually in February. March and April are very pleasant. The air is dry with a small amount of humidity. In other words, Tulsa is not too dry nor too wet. I know you are looking for a small town and Tulsa is large, but look on the outskirts of Tulsa such as Glenpool, Jenks, Bixby, Bartelsville, and by all means check out Guthrie. It sounds like Oklahoma may just be what you are looking for.

[Tama]

Why are you choosing north Mississippi? How about central or south? Is it hurricanes? Some south Mississippi areas are fairly unlikely to get a hard hit like Katrina again anytime soon. Don't take my word though. Do some checking around. Also, the panhandle of Florida and coastal Alabama are beautiful. If you go inland a bit the hurricane is less likely to cause severe damage and in winter you don't have to worry at all.

[tennreb]

While I love Oxford and think it is an amazing place to live, I wouldn't want to live there only in the winter. The bad months are January to early March, with temperatures ranging from highs of 20s to highs in the 70s (often a few days a part). There are a lot of chilly, rainy days but there are a lot of warm, sunny days. Fall is great and spring is nice too. The summer is very hot, but I love hot weather. For a winter-only home, I would look on the Mississippi coast. It is very affordable and has many nice areas (and getting nicer). Ocean Springs is a great town right on the water, and I hear it is recovering very well from the hurricane. That would be my first choice for an affordable, winter-only home. Another good place is Daphne, Alabama. The Natchez area is very historic and beautiful, but it is extremely affordable. Even middle-class people can afford a nice antebellum home there. It isn't quite as warm as the coast, but it is warmer than Oxford. It also doesn't have quite the eclectic college-town atmosphere of Oxford, but it still has some good restaurants and such. Other good towns include those on the northshore of New Orleans (across Lake Pontchartrain from the city), including Covington and Mandeville. They are rapidly growing since the storm since they received little damage and getting very suburban, though. They have minor hurricane susceptibility.

[KingsX]

Thanks so much for the info. Essentially my idea is to avoid hurricanes. Maybe its not so bad. If they constantly occured, no one would live there right? So how bad can it be? I think that Katrina had a profound effect on the perception of the gulf coast. Especially in Canada, where we really don't get hurricanes except in our east coast and they are usually quite smaller by the time they reach Canada. Just like the perception of our winters being worse than they really are. The coast isn't necessarily out of the question by any means.

From what I've read, it seems that the Oxford area isn't exactly what I'm after. Maybe it is, I should visit and have a better idea. I always just assumed that the coast would be too expensive. But maybe not, judging from what you've all written. I'm not against neighbouring states either as I'm sure they have their similarities. I guess Mississippi is sort of almost straight down from here, so as the crow flies its pretty quick to drive down. Relatively speaking. I could see southern Alabama, or Georgia maybe. But Georgia gets a little off the path for me. What about Texas? Maybe Florida's pan handle as suggested? I thought about Oklahoma, but from what I can tell it'd be very similar to my home Province. Maybe a little nicer, but probably not nice enough to worth while. But I don't know, I'm only going on what I've read.

The coast sounds great but how concerned should I be of hurricanes? And what are housing prices like along the coast in general? Again, I'm rambling. Thanks again.

[Tama]

We have a home in Gulf Shores, AL and there are many snowbirds who come down for the winter. Rentals are abundant and you could rent for one winter and then check out the whole area on the coast and ask questions at your leisure. A town you also might check on is Fairhope, Al.

[tennreb]

Originally Posted by KingsX

Thanks so much for the info. Essentially my idea is to avoid hurricanes. Maybe its not so bad. If they constantly occured, no one would live there right? So how bad can it be? I think that Katrina had a profound effect on the perception of the gulf coast. Especially in Canada, where we really don't get hurricanes except in our east coast and they are usually quite smaller by the time they reach Canada. Just like the perception of our winters being worse than they really are. The coast isn't necessarily out of the question by any means.

From what I've read, it seems that the Oxford area isn't exactly what I'm after. Maybe it is, I should visit and have a better idea. I always just assumed that the coast would be too expensive. But maybe not, judging from what you've all written. I'm not against neighbouring states either as I'm sure they have their similarities. I guess Mississippi is sort of almost straight down from here, so as the crow flies its pretty quick to drive down. Relatively speaking. I could see southern Alabama, or Georgia maybe. But Georgia gets a little off the path for me. What about Texas? Maybe Florida's pan handle as suggested? I thought about Oklahoma, but from what I can tell it'd be very similar to my home Province. Maybe a little nicer, but probably not nice enough to worth while. But I don't know, I'm only going on what I've read.

The coast sounds great but how concerned should I be of hurricanes? And what are housing prices like along the coast in general? Again, I'm rambling. Thanks again.

The Mississippi coast is cheap, even cheaper than Oxford, but it is getting more expensive. You will have higher insurance premiums due to hurricanes. Florida's panhandle is very expensive unless you lived quite a bit inland, but I don't know of any good inland towns with an Oxford feel. There are a lot of good small towns in Texas in the Austin and San Antonio areas, but close to Austin it gets expensive. That area is rapidly growing as well and the rural atmosphere is becoming more suburban.