Relocating to Madison/Jackson from Miami/ft lauderdale (Pearl, McComb: sales, to rent)

[Not Made for the South]

Here's another example of fine shopping in Madison...



look upon my works, ye mighty on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[grindin]

Originally Posted by jacksonian

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.

I understand that you don't like Madison, and while I'm not a fan of the place, at the end of the day, people have the right to live where they want to live, whether you or I like it or not. Madison is looked at as "clean" and "safe," whereas Jackson, not so much. As long as that perception is there, Madison is going to look appealing to people. And you know what? Fine by me.

[thewendylady]

My husband and I are northern (OH & MA respectively) and moved to Canton 3 years ago. We have been more than embraced by the population in general, people here help each other and socialize on a regular basis. The major draw Canton had over Madison, for us, was the historic district and the potential found here for improvement and investment in a growing future. We see positive change on a constant basis, although we are realistic that we have still a ways to go in some areas. We are eventually planning to send our children to private school, when the time comes, but feel that living in a "real town" is worth the effort. We would love to see more motivated, enthusiastic people move to Canton, I can think of at least 8 or so couples of this description who have moved here in just the last few years as Madison and other towns escalate in price.

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by brickpatio

Where else in America can you find a faux Greek Revival Exxon and Baroque Italian CVS Pharmacy? Who else has a Federalist red brick overpass and Rococo Wal-Mart. Say what you will...It's charming. Alas, admittedly, I love it.

Thank you, Brickpatio! You get it. You summed it up perfectly. "Where else in America?" Exactly. This is Madison County, Mississsippi, not Boulder or Big Sur or Miami Beach. Madison is about what WE like, and what WE always dreamed of having. For us, it's like getting into a new car finer than we ever thought we could afford and saying "Good Lord! This is ME! This is who I am, now! I can't believe this is me driving this fine car!" And that's the feeling we get every time we drive around our town, and see what's new and fancy. We love our little corner of Heaven, and I love YOU for understanding what it means to us.

Thanks again!

I will deal with the rest of you folks in a later post...

[poptones]

Hey I'm all about having what I want - that's the american way.

So yeah - if some folks WANT to live in a town where the mayor's council gets to tell them what their house will look like, how many cars they can have sitting in the driveway, when they can enjoy their stereo or outdoor patio, that's their choice.* Course that's not "having what we want" it's "having what THEY want" but some people just don't have that many dreams of their own - they don't seem to find life worth living unless they're chasing someone else's dream.



*Years ago this sort of lifestyle choice usually accompanied open toed sandals in January, long hair and a propensity for burning rope (or rope-like material). Does this make Madison, MS the world's most elite commune?

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by poptones

Hey I'm all about having what I want - that's the american way.

So yeah - if some folks WANT to live in a town where the mayor's council gets to tell them what their house will look like, how many cars they can have sitting in the driveway, when they can enjoy their stereo or outdoor patio, that's their choice.* Course that's not "having what we want" it's "having what THEY want" but some people just don't have that many dreams of their own - they don't seem to find life worth living unless they're chasing someone else's dream.



*Years ago this sort of lifestyle choice usually accompanied open toed sandals in January, long hair and a propensity for burning rope (or rope-like material). Does this make Madison, MS the world's most elite commune?

Poptones, dear, I support your right to utilize fibrous plant materials in any way you see fit....as long as you stay out of Madison, and off the roads, while doing so...and for several days after doing so.

As to loud music and Junk cars in driveways....well.... I've lived in several communities where those things were illegal. But Madison is the only place where the police will actually respond to noise complaints. We left those other communities because of the noise, more than because of the other crimes. The City Council was elected by The People of Madison, and they do EXACTLY what WE want them to do. Virtually all of us moved here because the Mayor runs a tight ship.

Most of us have watched our home towns die, our Jackson neighborhoods die, and finally, the whole of Jackson die, because nobody had the chutzpah to stand up to those who ruin communities. So we take down license plate numbers and call them in, when we see aggressive driving, and we call the police when some piece of garbage who never should have been born drives through town with his car 'thumpin'. And we call the police when our neighbors' sound systems are audible within our own homes. And we are not sorry when aggressive/loud drivers are pulled over and searched. And we are not sorry when people who cannot conduct themselves appropriately get fed up and move back to Jackson.

So no, we are not living 'someone else's dream'. Most of us dreamed of someday being able to sleep all night without white noise to drown out the boom-cars, loud mufflers, and barking dogs. We dreamed of being able to sleep without waking to check the security system displays, every time we head a bump in the night. We dreamed of being able to do yard work or wash our own cars, without having to watch for roaming predators. But most of us never expected to find a community where those simple dreams would actually come true.

The pretty houses and pretty stores are just lagniappe.

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by Not Made for the South

Here's another example of fine shopping in Madison...



look upon my works, ye mighty on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Sorry for not responding to your post earlier, 'Not Made for the South'. I had to call around for the scoop on that strip center, and even motored over and checked it out. It's a little row of stores next to the Wal Mart. The same cluster of stores tend to follow WalMart wherever it locates...like Ramoras on a Shark, I guess. The stone under the big crown mold over the columns is real slate. The columns are not plastic. They are 'Cast Stone' The arches are 'Cast Stone', too. Those pretty lanterns are almost three feet tall, and look to be hand-blown glass.

The little strip center is pretty, and offers that long shady gallery for the poor people who shop there. That's right. This is for poor people. And I'm sure it offers a much nicer experience for a carload of rural poor than similar strip developments in Hazlehurst, Brookhaven, or McComb. It looked that way to me. People seemed really happy and excited to be shopping someplace nice...someplace where there was merchandise within their reach. They didn't have to be outside looking in. They were part of the 'scene'. Empowered. Something wrong with that?

Are pretty buildings and nice landscaping supposed to be only for the rich?

[poptones]

"Roaming predators?" LOL you people watch WAAAY too much TV news. Check your facts, folks: more than 90% of molestations occur in the home and/or by someone the victim knows. You can't run away from human nature: wherever you go, there you are.

I have a 2005 Magnum with a very nice stereo and I love techno music. Haven't burned the herb in ages but I do love music and techno just aint techno unless it's playing at 11. I guess that makes me "a piece of garbage who should never have been born" as well...

See, the buildings in Madison aren't the reason the town sucks. A town is a reflection of the people; many of y'all really need to check a mirror.

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by jacksonian

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.



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

Brickpatio is right about Rosemary Beach.

I know a Madison couple who have a house there. It cost over two million dollars. It's one of the smaller houses.

The couple are millionaires many times over. I doubt anyone who owns a home there is significantly less well off than this couple. Few, if any, of the homeowners derive their livelihood from the community, or earn their livings while in residence. It's a place where people bring their wealth with them.

I would imagine the buildings cost 300 to 700 dollars per square foot. And the outside improvements are proportionately expensive. It's easy to build 'instant old' houses, when you can afford elite architects, and the exorbitant costs of traditional construction. I learned that the hard way, when we built our house.

Rosemary Beach is a development, really...not a real community. The cheap stores, where the maids shop for Comet and Clorox, and the big groceries, where Rosemary Beach residents shop for most of their food purchases, are within driving distance...but not within the development. There's certainly noplace to live like you have in Madison, affordable for construction workers, maids, gardeners...even police or teachers. RB's a tiny, tight, concentration of nothing but rich people. Hard to compare it to a working community like Madison.

And if you want to find that sort of enclave in Madison, Brickpatio is right. Just go to Lost Rabbit. Same high-quality, repressed, overly correct architecture, in a flawlessly-managed setting, with a spectacular water view.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by GrandviewGloria

Brickpatio is right about Rosemary Beach.

I know a Madison couple who have a house there. It cost over two million dollars. It's one of the smaller houses.

The couple are millionaires many times over. I doubt anyone who owns a home there is significantly less well off than this couple. Few, if any, of the homeowners derive their livelihood from the community, or earn their livings while in residence. It's a place where people bring their wealth with them.

I would imagine the buildings cost 300 to 700 dollars per square foot. And the outside improvements are proportionately expensive. It's easy to build 'instant old' houses, when you can afford elite architects, and the exorbitant costs of traditional construction. I learned that the hard way, when we built our house.

Rosemary Beach is a development, really...not a real community. The cheap stores, where the maids shop for Comet and Clorox, and the big groceries, where Rosemary Beach residents shop for most of their food purchases, are within driving distance...but not within the development. There's certainly noplace to live like you have in Madison, affordable for construction workers, maids, gardeners...even police or teachers. RB's a tiny, tight, concentration of nothing but rich people. Hard to compare it to a working community like Madison.

And if you want to find that sort of enclave in Madison, Brickpatio is right. Just go to Lost Rabbit. Same high-quality, repressed, overly correct architecture, in a flawlessly-managed setting, with a spectacular water view.

Brickpatio asked if there were any new developments that didn't look new, so that is why Rosemary Beach was mentioned. Simple question, simple answer.