What Is It Like In Durant, Ms? (Jackson, Grenada: rent, crime)

[KINGSAGO]

What Is Durant Like. Any Problems With White Living In A 90% Black Population?

[SassyGirl2]

I hate to sound negatively but I would not recommend Durant. We HAD relatives living in the area for a very long time. The crime is high and the relations strained between the races. Don't get me wrong. You will always find exceptions to the rule as there are both good and bad among both races. I am a native Mississippian and I could not with good conscious give an inkling of a positive report on this one.

[Don D.]

Originally Posted by SassyGirl2

I hate to sound negatively but I would not recommend Durant. We HAD relatives living in the area for a very long time. The crime is high and the relations strained between the races. Don't get me wrong. You will always find exceptions to the rule as there are both good and bad among both races. I am a native Mississippian and I could not with good conscious give an inkling of a positive report on this one.

Just stumbled upon this thread. Durant has been a dear place to me for decades. My parents were born there, went thru high school, dated and married there and one is buried there with a spot waiting for the other. My wife and I also have burial plots there in Mizpah Cemetery on the southern outskirts on Highway 51.

Durant used to be Mayberry, or at least that's how I perceived it. Today, however, it is not. It's sad to see so many of the old store fronts boarded up and so many of the once beautifully quaint houses fallen into disrepair.

Although I still have some relatives living in Durant and visit, I don't see how I could live there without being in some degree of constant, ah, concern for my personal safety and that of my family.

I'd be interested to know why someone is considering moving there and what sort of opportunity is beconing. It's not as if there are job opportunities, with rare exception, one being a Nissan supplier.

Don

[cmiss]

Well. It ain't Mayberry. Having said that, I don't know anyone who's been robbed. There aren't any jobs and the schools aren't that great. Population is around 3000. They suffer from lack of leadership. People who can do better, move out. That just leaves a growing population of people who can't do better. There is good hunting around the area. I wish some rich guy would just kind of buy the whole city (LOL). It has potential. I'm not sure some places have potential (Tchula). But, with some grooming and the right people... The place is sitting I-55, Hwy 17, and Hwy 51 (hmm, did I get that number right). The high school (Durant High) used to be pretty good. The city has another high school also (William Sullivan). William Sullivan is the county school. I don't think it has much to offer. There is a private school, but private school's in Mississippi aren't quite the same as private schools in some other places. People in other states pay an unseemly amount of money for a quality education where they have more control over their children's education. In Mississippi, you get a lot more control...but quality...well, not in Holmes County and I don't think they get much better in the Mississippi Delta. Maybe south Mississippi and north Mississippi have real private schools with really good quality.

The neighborhoods are in a state of decline. The place doesn't seem to have heard of zoning. You've got mobile homes in the middle of regular neighborhoods. Talk about being asleep at the switch. To work, you'd have to commute to someplace else like Kosciusko (17 miles), Canton (35 miles), or Jackson (54 miles). I'm getting old, I may have my miles incorrect. The main campus of Holmes Community College is in Goodman (10 miles). Grenada is about an hour away. Depending on who drives. Grenada also has a Holmes Community College campus.

A city is what you make of it. You can find opportunities or you can find problems. Some people aren't going to do much no matter where you put them.

[cmiss]

Houses are cheap, rent is cheap. Some neighborhoods are iffy. Some are nice.

[Alex C]

Durant is located in Holmes county which used to be one of the poorest counties in the US. Enough said.

[jxn3000]

i grew up in durant, ms, and lived there until i went off to college. i loved living there. back then (up until '87,) durant was a real close-knit community, with thriving businesses, beautiful older homes and the friendliest people you could ever hope to meet. i still visit there occassionally, and must admit the city has seen better days. i agree with the person who said there seems to be no zoning laws. the town that once was so beautiful is anything but now. there is a certain dispair about the place...it's really sad. having said that, i honestly believe there is potential for the place. maybe they just need more people like you willing to take a chance on living there.

[jxn3000]

i forgot to mention, that though the town is not what it used to be, this is mainly because of its extremely poor economic base. i have never, ever felt unsafe there. as for racial relations, blacks and whites get along better in durant than any other place i know. again, it goes back to that sense of community.

[cmiss]

Originally Posted by jxn3000

i forgot to mention, that though the town is not what it used to be, this is mainly because of its extremely poor economic base. i have never, ever felt unsafe there. as for racial relations, blacks and whites get along better in durant than any other place i know. again, it goes back to that sense of community.

Hmm, this seems true. It's an economically distressed area. I've never heard of serious crime concerns. Crime exists, of course. But, you can go to other small towns with a lot more issues.

[vannamax]

My 84 yr old mother told me that my grandmother, Lillie Branson (Scott) grew up in Durant, MS with her mother Arlena James, Weems (Scott). I'm looking for any relatives that may still be in the area or anyone that has info about them for our upcoming family reunion. I can be reached at mxn5557@aol.com - Thanks