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Old 09-25-2007, 02:49 PM
 
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We're being relocated from Arlington, TX to Columbus, Mississippi. Anybody have any information on Columbus? What is there to do there? What about the schools? Social life?
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Old 09-25-2007, 10:54 PM
 
Location: Mountain West
557 posts, read 1,665,711 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelknows View Post
We're being relocated from Arlington, TX to Columbus, Mississippi. Anybody have any information on Columbus? What is there to do there? What about the schools? Social life?
I don't really know where to begin, and don't have time right now to give in-depth answers to your questions, but here is a short & to the point version.

Schools -- city schools are terrible, at least right now. There is a new supt. who is getting people on board with his idea for magnet schools, but even if it takes off, it will be 5 years before any improvements are noted. Two of the three county school districts (New Hope and Caledonia) are better, but most likely not up to the standards you have seen in the DFW area. There are some private and parochial schools, but I don't think they are any better academically than the county schools.

Social life -- it took me over 5 years of living here to "break in" to the point of being sort of accepted by my neighbors and others. If you are a church goer, that will definitely make it easier to make friends, but Columbus is sort of a "closed society", i.e., if you didn't grow up here, you will never be totally accepted. There are some opportunities to volunteer for civic groups that can help you become better acquainted with the locals.

What's there to do -- I don't generally touch those questions because it really depends on the individual. Some people are bored no matter where they live. Others (like myself) are fairly easily entertained and can always find something to do. The nearest city of any size is Birmingham, 2 hours away. If you are looking for cultural events, that is your best bet.

Columbus, along with the rest of NE Mississippi, is growing rapidly, and is being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century (they love their traditions here). Because so many new industries are coming here, outsiders are moving in, and there are many changes for the better taking place. It is not a bad place to live, just very, very different from where you are right now.
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Old 09-26-2007, 12:35 AM
 
Location: Groveland, FL
1,299 posts, read 2,567,156 times
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I don't know what race you are, but I'm white. I lived there for 8 months from April to December, 2000. A little background...I have lived in several states-grew up in California, moved to Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Mississippi, then back to Texas. We are not done yet, as we are planning a move to Florida in the near future. I have nothing against black people, but I have never lived anywhere (until Columbus) where I was a minority, and it was a very strange feeling. Also, many of the black people are prejudiced. I would walk into a place such as McDonald's, and all of these black people would turn to look at me like they were thinking, "What are you doing in here?" Also, I have never lived anywhere so dirty. You walk into the grocery store and it doesn't look like they mop much and you see roaches. You're afraid to eat at restaurants because of the dirt. Then you have to get used to the food (which I didn't). In Texas, if you want bbq, you eat brisket (I know, I live in Houston right now). They don't like brisket there. Everything is pork. I asked the guy who ran the popular bbq joint in town why he didn't sell brisket, and he said he couldn't give it away. Forget about good Mexican food, that will be another thing of the past in Mississippi. The popular Mexican joint (if I remember right, it had a covered wagon on the roof) in town used taco shells busted in half as their chips, and one of those plastic squirt bottles that you might put ketchup in as their salsa. Nasty brown stuff squirted out of it, and you were supposed to squirt it on your "chips". We walked out of there. There were two places in town that I actually liked eating at. One was called "Front Door", and I can't remember the name of the other, but they had these great salads that had smoked chicken on them. A new place opened up right before we moved away, and so we only got to try it once, but I predicted it would be the best restaurant in town. Oh, here's something else...something that I found funny, yet pathetic. I was listening to the radio one day while living there, and the DJ was proudly trumpeting how Mississippi had just moved up to 49th in education, causing Alabama to slip to 50th in the country. I was thinking if you are that low in the first place, don't bring it to everybody's attention! It is pretty, I'll give it that. Lots of magnolia trees and those old southern mansions.
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Old 09-26-2007, 06:26 PM
 
Location: Mountain West
557 posts, read 1,665,711 times
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Originally Posted by poodlestix View Post
I lived there for 8 months from April to December, 2000. ...... I have nothing against black people, but I have never lived anywhere (until Columbus) where I was a minority, and it was a very strange feeling. Also, many of the black people are prejudiced. I would walk into a place such as McDonald's, and all of these black people would turn to look at me like they were thinking, "What are you doing in here?"
I've lived in the Columbus area a lot longer than you did, and I have NEVER experienced what you described. Just like many other cities, Columbus does have its share of race baiters who try to stir up bad feelings, but for the most part, blacks and whites get along pretty well. I have always found that if you treat the people who cross your path each day with courtesy and a smile, you will generally get the same in return.

I will agree with you about the Mexican Kitchen restaurant; the worst Mexican I've ever had (but the locals all LOVE it).
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Old 09-27-2007, 12:08 AM
 
Location: Groveland, FL
1,299 posts, read 2,567,156 times
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Where are you originally from, and how did you end up in Columbus? (just curious) After eating Mexican food in Texas, no other place has Mexican food that comes close to measuring up. It is hard to believe that they like Mexican Kitchen, but maybe they've never had good Mexican and don't know the difference. What is the name of the restaurant that I'm trying to think of that has the smoked chicken salads? I also remembered another decent restaurant, more upscale, but I can't remember the name of it either. I think it may have been a man's name.
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Old 09-27-2007, 01:09 PM
 
Location: Mountain West
557 posts, read 1,665,711 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poodlestix View Post
Where are you originally from, and how did you end up in Columbus? (just curious) After eating Mexican food in Texas, no other place has Mexican food that comes close to measuring up. It is hard to believe that they like Mexican Kitchen, but maybe they've never had good Mexican and don't know the difference. What is the name of the restaurant that I'm trying to think of that has the smoked chicken salads? I also remembered another decent restaurant, more upscale, but I can't remember the name of it either. I think it may have been a man's name.
Originally from the midwest, but I've lived in San Antonio and no place has Mexican food like there. There are a couple of mexican restaurants that have come in to town since you were here, and they are really pretty decent (they are run by Mexicans, whereas the Mexican Kitchen is not).

As far as the smoked chicken, you are probably thinking of Harvey's. It's a local restaurant, although they also have locations in Starkville and Tupelo. They have a real chef, and it is some of the best food around.

If you were to come back today, you would probably find some things have changed for the better since the year 2000 (others have not). Several new industries have come or are coming to town, and they will collectively employ over 2000 people. That is bringing in lots of newcomers, who can only help to improve our conditions even more
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Old 09-27-2007, 09:48 PM
 
Location: Groveland, FL
1,299 posts, read 2,567,156 times
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Yeah, I believe Harvey's is the one I was trying to think of that was more upscale, but there was a place (I'm thinking it was on the same street with Front Door) that was more of a fast-food type atmosphere that had the smoked chicken salads.
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Old 09-30-2007, 03:35 PM
 
9 posts, read 56,368 times
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Everything that has been said is true. I hope you don't have to live here long. As far as schools, stay away from the city schools. Go to either New Hope or Caledonia. Right now Caledonia is the place to be, but it's a good distance out of town and there's no easy way to get there. Plus, it has the same reputation as Columbus about outsiders. New Hope may be the same but we have fit in easier there. The people in general are friendly but no matter how long you live here, you'll always be an outsider. Best thing to do is to find friends that haven't grown up here either. That way when your with them they won't spend the entire time talking about what happened in high school 20 years ago!!
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Old 09-30-2007, 05:13 PM
 
4 posts, read 18,497 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poodlestix View Post
Yeah, I believe Harvey's is the one I was trying to think of that was more upscale, but there was a place (I'm thinking it was on the same street with Front Door) that was more of a fast-food type atmosphere that had the smoked chicken salads.
Maybe you're thinking of Little Dooey? It's a great local BBQ joint and I believe they have smoked salads.
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Old 10-03-2007, 10:17 PM
 
4 posts, read 23,763 times
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Default Bristling at my town being trashed

I moved to Columbus in 1967, the summer before I started 1st grade. I grew up in the city schools, and I still support them. The county schools are JOKE as far as academics go - AP classes in the high schools in the county are laughable, and a waste of time. I have NEVER experienced true race-related hate in school, OR in a business establishment. There is a thriving religious community that will WELCOME you as a fellow citizen. The intelligent and reasonable people all get along just fine, thank you very much.

Now - are there idiots? Yes. Is there racially-motivated strife, stirred up by BOTH races? Yes. Are there dirty stores? Absolutely. I imagine that I could find that in ANYONE'S beloved town.

I'm relieved that the folks above that were so miserable here are gone now, and that level-headed and reasonable people will take their place.
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