Why is Mississippi on the bottom of every quality of life study (how much, where to live)

[The_Fairfaxian]

IMO, This is what the state gets for being among the forefront of racial bigotry. And to put in a perspective that they like to use, God punished their sins of racism and discrimination with crime, low education, poverty, and a low standard of living (although this punishment isn't aimed to most of the blacks of that state).

[RomaLady]

I truly have to wonder if any of you who have so much negative to say about my state, have actually BEEN here. Chances are, the answer is either 'no', or not in a very long time.

Do not be so harsh on a people who try to bring our state out of what you consider as a detriment to the nation. Your assumptions are very generalized in thinking we are all the same.

There are those, like in your own state, who care and are changing things for the better. Just as we share the same amount of people who exist only to live on the hard work of others.

I think the comment I had to chuckle at the most was the one which said, 'they either live in a mansion or a shack'. How completely moronic. My husband and I live in an historical home in east MS which we have renovated. It is neither the mansion nor shack you speak of, but very comfortable.

Or perhaps it should be the comment which said we are being "punished" for racial bigotry. Dear Sir/Madame, do read your history books before watching B-rated movies. I believe you would come away with more knowledge than can be found in your grocery store tabloids you obviously frequent.

Your words are offensive, hurtful, and unfair to those of us who live here. However, if you do at some point decide to come and visit our beautiful state, we would welcome you with the southern hospitality we are known for.

We may not serve you caviar or champagne, but I can guarantee, you'll be 'full as a tick and happy as a pig in mud' by the time you leave.

God bless you all.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by The_Fairfaxian

IMO, This is what the state gets for being among the forefront of racial bigotry. And to put in a perspective that they like to use, God punished their sins of racism and discrimination with crime, low education, poverty, and a low standard of living (although this punishment isn't aimed to most of the blacks of that state).

Same with Arkansas although we aren't quite as bad off as Mississippi statistically.

I have a question about Mississippi. Is Mississippi's crime, poverty, and poor education concentrated in the MS River Delta area or is it pretty bad statewide?

[recycled]

Originally Posted by RomaLady

I truly have to wonder if any of you who have so much negative to say about my state, have actually BEEN here. Chances are, the answer is either 'no', or not in a very long time.
Your words are offensive, hurtful, and unfair to those of us who live here. However, if you do at some point decide to come and visit our beautiful state, we would welcome you with the southern hospitality we are known for.
e may not serve you caviar or champagne, but I can guarantee, you'll be 'full as a tick and happy as a pig in mud' by the time you leave.
God bless you all.

God Bless you too, RomaLady. I live in southern Cal now, but I lived next door in Alabama in the 1990s and have visited many places in MS. First, for those people living near the MS gulf that are still recovering from Katrina, I admire them for being able to get on with their lives and all the work it has taken to get their towns back on track. Many got a raw deal from their insurance cos, although the MS state gov't did quite a bit to get some help to a lot of people, much better than what happened in Louisiana. I spent some time near Pass Christian and remember it as a great town.

I've been to other towns in MS too, Natchez, Vicksburg, Oxford, Hattiesburg. I've ridden a bicycle the entire length of the Natchez Trace Parkway in spring, a great and beautiful experience. I passed through countless small towns along the way, and got to see a lot of the state at about 12 miles an hour. I can assure you that it's a much different experience than cruising across on I-20 at 70 mph. Most folks I met along the way were genuine good people. Some were quite remarkable. I won't gloss over and say that MS does not have some hefty problems - I know statistics can look sobering, but honestly I have been to all 50 states and 40 plus other countries. I can make a long list of other places that on paper look like they might be much better off than MS, but those statistics don't account for a lot of the other important things to many people that are a bit more difficult to quantify. Just my 2 cents.

[appalachiangirl]

I was wondering if one reason would be the lack of major cities in Mississippi(Except for Jackson). West Virginia is also a poor state and the largest city (Huntington ) has less than 100,000 people. Alabama and Georgia have the advantages of larger cities(Birmingham,Montgomery and of course,Atlanta) .North Carolina,which seems fairly prosperous,has many large cities--Charlotte,Greensboro,Raleigh.

[SaintLaurent]

Because Mississippi is backwards and worthless. Who the hell would want to live in that hell hole?

[carolinablue]

Originally Posted by SaintLaurent

Because Mississippi is backwards and worthless. Who the hell would want to live in that hell hole?

Plenty of people do live there and choose to live there. Its very ignorant of you to classify an entire state as backwards and worthless and im surprised that the moderators allow this kind of trash in these forums.

[internat]

It is nice if the people of Mississippi are generous. That is what I would expect from rural folks. People who have little can be very kind. It does not change the real problems such as high obesity rate and low level of education.

People in Mississippi can enjoy a high standard of living if costs also lower than other states. One must factor in affordability. It would be interesting to look into that.

Originally Posted by RomaLady

We may not serve you caviar or champagne, but I can guarantee, you'll be 'full as a tick and happy as a pig in mud' by the time you leave.

[internat]

People are less inclined to move down there from the northeast while the same cannot be said of Charlotte and Raleigh. Right? I believe appalachiangirl made a good point with Mississippi not having any major cities.

Originally Posted by carolinablue

Plenty of people do live there and choose to live there. Its very ignorant of you to classify an entire state as backwards and worthless and im surprised that the moderators allow this kind of trash in these forums.

[carolinablue]

Originally Posted by internat

People are less inclined to move down there from the northeast while the same cannot be said of Charlotte and Raleigh. Right?

Okay...
Are you actually trying to say that because less people move there, that makes the state trash! Give me a break.
And who the hell makes the Northeast the decider of who is and who isnt trash?