Vicksburg (Jackson, Gulfport, Hattiesburg: apartment complex, crime, houses)

[gionje]

Hi! I was wondering if anyone could give me any information on the Vicksburg area. I'm looking onto a job there, moving from CT. Any pros and con's from your perspectives? Traffic, crime, rents, recreation, etc...? Any comments whatsoever is appreciated!


Thank you!

[giggles4u]

Vicksburg has really changed over the last few years for the better. Law enforcement take the job seriously. They still have problems but they don't run and hide from them. There is that wonderful hometown feel to Vicksburg. They have lots of family events in the downtown area. No matter what city you live in there is a crime problem. I robably would not live in Vicksburg, but one of the fast growing neighborhoods outside of Vicksburg.

[WhatwasIthinking]

Im From up North, Moved here for a job. Was a big choice for me. And, I cant wait to leave now.

Im originaly from the Coast, so im used to the southern way of life. But.... Vicksburg.. Dear God was I dissapointed when I finnaly got here after an 18 hour ride in a U-haul.. Looked to be Nothing but Car Dealerships and Vacated Stores lining the roads.

I thought to mysef. " Ill give it chance" so the following weekend I took a ride to see the historical "scenic" routes and was let down even more. the Scenic route was casino signs and more abandoned houses, destroyed buildings and Horrible Roads.

I asked around at work. Q."Where is the Theatre" A. "Somone got stabbed, they closed it" Q. "where can i go for a nice dinner" A. " Take a 45min drive to Clinton / Jackson. Q. " Is the Mall pretty good?" A. " Take a 45min ride to Jackson"

And the ppl here. If you meet 10 people in 1 day. theres a 80% chance they are all related in some fashion or another. And if you dont Hunt, Fish, or get turned on by NASCAR your not going to find many friends.

If your a Social person of sorts, who enjoys going out, Bars, dining, Shops, Clubs, or anything that doesnt involve Killing a wild animal, This just isnt a place you will want to be. And dont beleive somone when they say the Casinos are nice. Been in nicer joints along the interstate in Louisiana.

I thank who ever is listening that my Neighbors in my Apartment complex are good ppl, otherwise Id have to Jump off the damn bridge for alittle Excitment.

There are some good points to Vicksburg though. Like..If you have a heart condition, you dont have to worry about getting over excited.
Flame on.

[darylwi]

I lived in Vicksburg for 17 years. It has it's good qualities, although I'm glad to be out.
It is true, there is very little to do in Vicksburg if you like to stay active and/or like to hang out inthe social scene. Vicksburg really has no social scene unless you're one of the big families that you'll always hear people talk about because everyone talks about everyone else's business.
Jackson is 45 minutes east, and although I'm not a big fan of Jackson itself, the metro area does give you a lot more variety.
Vicksburg has never really had a big crime rate, although drugs have typically been a problem in some of the grungy areas within town that you'd probably stay away anyway. I agree, I probably wouldn't live in the city again.
The major subdivisions outside of the city are to the east and northeast like the Culkin area, Oakridge Road, Freetown, Warrior's Trail, Halls Ferry & Fisher Ferry, towards Bovina even, but if you go too far, you'll get outside of the modern areas and a little more backwoods really quick. I do know people that commute to Jackson from V'burg, and others who commute to V'burg from Clinton which is just west of Jackson. If you're concerned about proximity to things, you might even want to consider there. If you're young and really social, you won't be in Vicksburg much anyway.
Rent should be comparable to a lot of other areas in the south, maybe a little cheaper depending on where you stay. I know people who stayed at Beechwood Park right across from the Corps of Engineers and it wasn't bad, and relatively cheap.
Traffic is still pretty non-existant in Vicksburg, compared to Jackson and Baton Rouge especially. But some areas like Hwy 61 have gotten busier than I remember as a kid. But I think a lot of that has to do with growth, and the city trying to push itself even farther into the county. Vicksburg has a low population count compared with similar style cities in Louisiana, (I think still around 25K), but the city is pretty spread out because of the topography. It is really hilly.

Vicksburg is scenic. It fits great for tourism who dig civil war history. There are some great historical homes and a military park that's great to walk through in the evenings.
But I lived there for years through high school and was bored out of my ass. Everything modern that opens in Vicksburg seems to close within a few years, like when Red Lobster finally came and then they closed. I don't know why Vicksburg isn't a good market unless it has to do with their taxes. There really aren't many good restaurants in Vicksburg (my opinion obviously). I still have family there and if I'm there, we always go to Jackson.
The casinos could be a lot better, although I really did like Ameristar and the Isle of Capri there. I know they are building 2 more soon. Not sure what kind they will be though.
If you have any other questions, or what an opinion on something more specific, let me know. I'll try to help out.

[Mississippienne]

One of my best friends lives in Vicksburg, and I visit her regularly. Every time I go I'm charmed by Vicksburg, but it is very small and insular. Probably an awesome place to raise a family.

If you're interested in dance, check out Chiquila Pearson's African dance classes at Jackson Street Community Center in Vicksburg! Chiquila used study ballet with me in college, and she's an AMAZING dancer and teacher!

[Huckleberry3911948]

when i was a kid 45 years ago was great. slow decline. beautiful view horridly depressed area. katrina only pushed it along the path. crazy, a view like that in san francisco would cost you the world.
other than rainbow casino no much goin on.

[bai]

ah. not to sound to negative, but if i were you i would run away as fast as i possibly could. i HATE it here! whatwasithinking has the right idea, i'm so sick of seeing pictures of dead deer on the back of t shirts (vegetarian, and i've never met another in my entire life) and stupid phrases like giterdone. i don't really know about the nascar thing though. i don't know any fans. but there's NOTHING here. i do all my shopping in jackson, haven't been to a movie in months. it's just.. pathetic.

[Celebrations]

I'm surprised at some of the negative comments. I live in V'burg, and have enjoyed being here since my retirement (from Jackson) eleven years ago. However, I am contemplating another move - to Hattiesburg or Petal. I am originally from Gulfport, and do not want to return there, but would like being close enough to visit.

V'burg is a very historic city, and yes the tourists flock in by the thousands each year to go through the Vicksburg National Military Park - and BTW, it's well worth one's time...if you're into Civil War history. The lovely antebellum homes are another wonder, and much of V'burg's streets are made of brick.

True - the mall is not what it once was, but has three anchor stores - Belks, JCPenny, and Dillards. The other stores are junk places, and most have closed. The theatre was a joke, and just as well it closed a few years ago. I go to Clinton, about 30 miles to the east to se a movie.

Downtown V'burg has undergone a great renovation in recent years, and there are several nice restaurants, as well as charming specialty shops and tea rooms in the area.

An error someone above made from 12/12/07 - there are four casinos, and have been for many years. Harrah's and Isle of Capri have changed ownership and names - Rainbow and Ameristar remain the same. All have very good buffets, and some have very nice supperclubs.

The people of V'burg are basically friendly, but yes there are a few families who like to run the show - as in most small cities and towns - particularly our mayor, a Napoleon/Caesar-type in all ways.

The rolling hills and curves, and the extraordinarily beautiful views of the MS River are something to see! Some of the antebellum homes have been made into B&Bs; some are simply open for tours, and some have beautiful gourmet restaurants.

I like V'burg, but it's time to move closer to 'home'. I have not encountered the 'bubba population', so I would assume it can be very easily avoided!

Y'all come for a visit. You might just like it.

[marmac]

A city the size of Vicksburg doesn't even have a movie theatre?

[darylwi]

Originally Posted by Celebrations

I'm surprised at some of the negative comments.

An error someone above made from 12/12/07 - there are four casinos, and have been for many years. Harrah's and Isle of Capri have changed ownership and names - Rainbow and Ameristar remain the same. All have very good buffets, and some have very nice supperclubs.

What the hell is a supper club? As many times as I was up there, I never heard of one.
And I guess I need to be more specific since I did not mention all 4 casinos by name (and I still won't), but Vicksburg is currently working on clearing land for 2 additional casinos.
So the question becomes, why does a city the size of Vicksburg and lacking in so many other areas need 6 casinos?
I was up there over the holidays and was not impressed with the lack of progress that I saw. The mall was pitiful, the outlet mall was half empty on Christmas Eve, people (even in Vicksburg) joke about Killer Region Medical Center. There are no great off-the-road restaurants to go to, no sports bars or nightclubs, other than the usual fly-by-night local joints where you better not go in unless you know someone or are tagging along with someone from there.
I'm not trying to rag on Vicksburg, but I lived there for some 18 years and I think it's a damn shame that a city that was once the largest in Mississippi before reconstruction can't get it's head out of its behind and start doing some real work to attract more residents and not just tourists who like civil war history. Or is Vicksburg content at being a suburb of Jackson from now on? I think it's just a matter of time before the Corps wakes up and pulls out of town altogether.
The population has been stagnant there for many years now, even with the big annexation that happened when, late 80's or early 90's or so.
Population (year 2000): 26,407. Estimated population in July 2006: 25,740 (-2.5% change).
And I've heard that crime has become more of a problem in the city. The crime index for Vicksburg is way above the national average (280). The crime index for Vicksburg (741 for 2005) is more comparable to Baton Rouge, LA (769) and Baton Rouge has over half a million people.

Just about everything you mentioned in your above post is great for a tourist to come and visit and experience, but if you live there, are you going to go to the military park every day to do anything besides walk for excersize? Are you going to spend the night in a B&B or eat at Cedar Grove every night? Do you get off of work every day and go sit by the river overlook and watch the sun set? It might be nice to see, but the same few things get old really really quick to most people who have never experience other places. But who cares, Jackson is just 40 minutes away.

I wouldn't move back to Vicksburg if my life depended on it.