Relocating to Madison/Jackson from Miami/ft lauderdale (Clinton, Brandon: crimes, houses)

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by brickpatio

Mock if you must. But the French Chateau Kroger at Highland Colony is to die for. And that designer Wendy's! Seriously though, yes, it is charming because of the sheer chutzpah to apply classical architectural features to gas stations, strip malls, and big box stores. I for one admire the effort and am thankful for every last shrub, flower, tree, and fountain put in to try and make things nice.

It's sad when a town has to depend on bricks, styrofoam, and plastic for it's identity and sense of worth.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA

It's sad when a town has to depend on bricks, styrofoam, and plastic for it's identity and sense of worth.

The only people who think Madison is the best thing since sliced bread are the people who live in Madison (all 17,681 of them) and NO ONE ELSE.

[brickpatio]

Yes, those people and Family Circle magazine which listed Madison in the the 10 best places for families to live in the U.S. Why is that? Could it be relatively affordable homes relative to incomes, police protection, schools, churches, parks, zoning to protect homeowners, minimum standards for signs and landscaping, warm weather, nice and convenient shopping, relative lack of traffic, location by the reservoir, and plans to create a legitimate town center? Would it be nice to have the architecture of Belhaven, diversity of Fondren, and settled look of Eastover? Sure. But show me a brand-new community that looks like it's been there since the 1920s. I haven't seen one. And be assured that Ridgeland, Flowood, and Brandon have been watching and taking notes on how to do it right. They're going to be nicer as a resultof Madison's efforts even if they put their own spin on things. Just my two cents.

[WestbankNOLA]

Take a trip to suburban New Orleans. The few new developments don't look like they've been here for 20 years but they tend to blend in with or extend from what is already there. No facades, columns and hardly any rediculous ordinances.

If a place is really nice it will show, no need for boucoup establishments covered in tacky architecture.

[poptones]

Madison IN NO WAY looks "like it's been there since the twenties."

What it looks like is LegoLand: lots of things that sorta look differnt but all look alike because they're all made out of the same batches of garish snap-together pieces.

Come up to starkville and take a look around the Cotton District. Dan Camp took a lot of heat when he started but now is mayor for a very good reason. The Cotton District is also new - and very tiny and somewhat claustrophobic - but is also beautiful and organic in a way Madison will never be until all those plastic buildings start falling apart and finally get rebuilt by someone who loves them for the ruins they may become rather than the trashy symbols of kitsch they are now.

Family Circle magazine? Seriously? All I can think is if I found myself having to live there the first thing I would have to do is track down the now (almost) homeless Al Goldstein in hopes of purchasing the sculpture from his old home in Florida...

Broward/Palm Beach Photo Gallery

Family Circle is the bible for type A SUV driving stage moms who think the Constitution is just an excuse for pornographers and other less desirable liberal types to have their way with their virgin ears and eyes, so it's no surprise that rag would find a kinship in Madison.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by brickpatio

Yes, those people and Family Circle magazine which listed Madison in the the 10 best places for families to live in the U.S. Why is that? Could it be relatively affordable homes relative to incomes, police protection, schools, churches, parks, zoning to protect homeowners, minimum standards for signs and landscaping, warm weather, nice and convenient shopping, relative lack of traffic, location by the reservoir, and plans to create a legitimate town center?

Clinton also made the cut, so whoop-de-freaking doo. All you have to do to make that list is have a high concentration of churches (which is a given in Mississippi) and be close enough to a city where all the jobs are and cultural events occur, which in this case is Jackson. And, you don't establish a town and THEN decide to "create a town center." Right now, Madison's "town center" is Exit 108 on I-55. I would love to hear you debate that.

Originally Posted by brickpatio

Would it be nice to have the architecture of Belhaven, diversity of Fondren, and settled look of Eastover? Sure. But show me a brand-new community that looks like it's been there since the 1920s. I haven't seen one.

Rosemary Beach, Florida is only 14 years old (much younger than Madison) and looks like it has been there for almost a century.

[brickpatio]

Beautiful picture. I suspect that's the type of look that Lost Rabbit is going for. But we are talking about an actual, new city here, complete with real businesses and real jobs. I can't see Kroger, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Home Depot, etc. locating in a place that beautiful due to cost of rent. And smaller businesses like you see on say, Lakeland, would laugh at the idea of paying rent to cover the beautiful construction in this picture. My point is that yes, places like Rosemary are gorgeous and are the ideal. But in the real world where businesses need low rent and families want more space at a lower price, traffic-free residential streets, crime-free neighborhoods with gates, and the like...the home and retail developers who put their own money on the line to build these developments must consider what people will buy. Madison I think has taken a reasonable strategy in recognizing that it's a real city serving its residents, not a resort like Rosemary Beach. Perhaps Madison could do without the fake columns and arches. The Home Depot in Madison is tasteful brick without the ornamentation. Fine. But overall they are serving their residents well. Next time you're in Atlanta check out Serenbe, another development designed to look like a rural village from 100 years ago which is filled with green space, places for artists, unique shops, etc. That's great, but it's extremely expensive and many of the small, charming homes are actually being used as weekend homes, as it turns out. The shops aren nice but very exclusive. It's lovely, but let's face it; double-income families with 2.2 children, a dog and a cat, who send their children to public schools, etc...those 'wholesome strivers' described so eloquently a few posts earlier....they can't choose places like Serenbe and Rosemary Beach. They pursue their own interests (safety, schools, churches, affordability, and perhaps a bit of charm), and Madison provides just that. Hats off to Madison for being real.

[poptones]

ROTFL. You must be the mayor.

Madison is about as "real" as an LA cocktail party.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by poptones

ROTFL. You must be the mayor.

Madison is about as "real" as an LA cocktail party.

As real as their fiberglass columns are...

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by brickpatio

Beautiful picture. I suspect that's the type of look that Lost Rabbit is going for. But we are talking about an actual, new city here, complete with real businesses and real jobs. I can't see Kroger, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Home Depot, etc. locating in a place that beautiful due to cost of rent. And smaller businesses like you see on say, Lakeland, would laugh at the idea of paying rent to cover the beautiful construction in this picture. My point is that yes, places like Rosemary are gorgeous and are the ideal. But in the real world where businesses need low rent and families want more space at a lower price, traffic-free residential streets, crime-free neighborhoods with gates, and the like...the home and retail developers who put their own money on the line to build these developments must consider what people will buy. Madison I think has taken a reasonable strategy in recognizing that it's a real city serving its residents, not a resort like Rosemary Beach. Perhaps Madison could do without the fake columns and arches. The Home Depot in Madison is tasteful brick without the ornamentation. Fine. But overall they are serving their residents well. Next time you're in Atlanta check out Serenbe, another development designed to look like a rural village from 100 years ago which is filled with green space, places for artists, unique shops, etc. That's great, but it's extremely expensive and many of the small, charming homes are actually being used as weekend homes, as it turns out. The shops aren nice but very exclusive. It's lovely, but let's face it; double-income families with 2.2 children, a dog and a cat, who send their children to public schools, etc...those 'wholesome strivers' described so eloquently a few posts earlier....they can't choose places like Serenbe and Rosemary Beach. They pursue their own interests (safety, schools, churches, affordability, and perhaps a bit of charm), and Madison provides just that. Hats off to Madison for being real.

Listen... I'm not even saying that I agree with everything that new urbanism represents (Rosemary Beach, Seaside, etc), but they do a good job of showcasing character, material compilations, and architecturally correct facades with correct proportions - which you and I must agree that Madison does not. Look at the old Winn Dixie on Hwy 51 that was converted into a gym - the fake pilasters on the facade are so far from being proportionate that it looks like a joke. I seriously thought it was a BIG mistake the first time I saw it, yet once the remodel was finished, there they still stood (actually it's just EFS, so it's attached to the substrate rather than really standing).

Look, I know you love your town and will defend it to the end, but Madison is not what most of you make it out to be - from some of the descriptions I have seen on here and heard in person from Madisonians (or is it Madisonites ) you would swear the streets were paved with gold and the buildings were made from candy, red brick colored candy of course . I've even seen someone on this very forum try to tell outsiders that Lake Caroline was closer to downtown Jackson than the Reservoir...

But, I guess we will agree to disagree on whether Madison is a good place to live. There are some who call it home, and most of them seem to be happy there, which honestly worries me a bit about our current society. There are several people I work with that looked at Madison when they moved here, and they chose to live in Jackson, Flowood, or Brandon. In fact, I don't think anyone I work with lives in Madison, but that's beside the point.

Many outsiders think that Mississippi is behind the times, and I think they are right for the most part. There are some here that "get it", but there are plenty that do not.