What's So Bad About Mississippi? (Jackson, Gulfport: neighborhood, movies, school)

[jhadorn]

Originally Posted by bigman123

Do you, or anyone else for that matter, have any facts to back up your comment about the Delta? While I concur that the Delta is likely last in most categories. I have a hard time beleiving other part of the state, with a few exceptions, are that much far ahead of the Delta.

Comparing Miss to GA or AL minus their big cities is, IMO, no compliment to MS. Those big cities are evidence that large amounts of people and businesses desire to live do business in that state. Pointing out that Miss lack this is not a complimentary assesment of Miss, IMO.

Totally agree with you saying the coast doesn't feel southern at all and is more like Florida.

Bigman123, I have some knowledge of the Mississippi Delta and how it compares to the rest of Mississippi.

The Delta, historically, has depended on agriculture. Cotton was king, but sugar cane, rice, and tobacco were also grown. After the Civil War, and by the end of the 1800's, two thirds of the independent farmers in the delta were black. In the early 1900's cotton prices were so low for an extended amount of time that many cotton growers went deep into debt and had to sell their land. In the 1930's another blow was dealt to the people of the delta when mechanization of agriculture forced thousands of farm laborers out of work.

Much of the land owned and crops grown in the delta now are corporate. There are still family owned farms in the delta, but alot of the delta land is owned by large corporations.

Look at education rankings for the delta, and you will see the difference from the rest of Mississippi. Look at industry, which the delta sorely lacks, and compare it to the rest of Mississippi. Compare key cities in the delta to key cities in the rest of Mississippi and you will see the difference.

Key cities in the delta:

Greenville - Median household income of $25,928 and 29.6% below poverty line

Greenwood - Median household income of $21,867 and 33.9% below poverty line

Vicksburg - Median household income of $28,466 and 23% below poverty line

Clarksdale - Median household income of $20,188 and 39.2% below poverty line

Cleveland - Median household income of $29,466 and 25.5% below poverty line

Tunica - Median household income of $26,607 and 25.5% below poverty line

Key cities in the rest of Mississippi:

Tupelo - Median household income of $38,401 and 22% below poverty line

Biloxi - Median household income of $34,106 and 21.8% below poverty line

Meridian - Median household income of $25,085 and 28.6% below poverty line

Jackson - Median household income of $30,414 and 23.5% below poverty line

Madison - Median household income of $71,266 and 2.5% below poverty line

Gulfport - Median household income of $32,779 and 17.1% below poverty line

Hattiesburg - Median household income of $24,409 and 28.3% below poverty line

Oxford - Median household income of $38,872 and 32.3% below poverty line

Southaven - Median household income of $46,691 and 6.7% below poverty line

Olive Branch - Median household income of $55,187 and 5.2% below poverty line

Starkville - Median household income of $22,590 and 31.1% below poverty line

Natchez - Median household income of $25,117 and 25.1% below poverty line

I didn't cherry pick these towns. You will notice I included the worst of the rest of Mississippi including Meridian, Jackson, Natchez, etc.

Numbers don't tell the whole story though. Oxford, Starkville, and Hattiesburg all have high poverty rates and lower household income due to college students, but they are far better off than anywhere in the delta.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by bigman123

Do you, or anyone else for that matter, have any facts to back up your comment about the Delta? While I concur that the Delta is likely last in most categories. I have a hard time beleiving other part of the state, with a few exceptions, are that much far ahead of the Delta.

Comparing Miss to GA or AL minus their big cities is, IMO, no compliment to MS. Those big cities are evidence that large amounts of people and businesses desire to live do business in that state. Pointing out that Miss lack this is not a complimentary assesment of Miss, IMO.

Totally agree with you saying the coast doesn't feel southern at all and is more like Florida.

Over 40% of the people living in the Delta are below the poverty line. I haven't done the exact math, but I would be willing to bet if you could remove all the Delta counties from Mississippi, that the state would jump at least 10 rankings in most national ranking systems, no longer would Mississippi be last. Small town Mississippi is no different than small town Alabama which is no different than small town Georgia.

While I do agree with you that the large cities in Alabama and Georgia are what separates them the most from Mississippi, and its lack of a large city. Jackson is pretty rundown and ghetto, you won't find much inside the city, what is available in the way of shopping has fled to the suburbs. Montgomery feels similar to Jackson.

Having only driven through the Delta, I don't have the most experience with the area, but I have actually been there and seen it with my own eyes, which is more than most people can say. I've been all over this state, I've been to

-Jackson (all of its surrounding suburbs, Flowood, Ridgeland, Madison, Brandon, etc)
-Meridian
-Starkville
-Oxford (quintessential college town btw)
-Hattiesburg
-Gulfport
-Biloxi
-Vicksburg

None of those areas or cities are even close to being on par with most of the small towns in the Delta. While I hear Cleveland Mississippi, where Delta State University is located at, is actually a fair Delta town, not too different from the rest of Mississippi, I have heard abominable things about Greenville. The rest of the small towns in the Delta are at least 10 years behind the rest of Mississippi. They have dead zones for cellphones in the middle of town there. Towns that have been experiencing population loss for 50 years, towns that have poverty and slums worse than anything you'll find in Detroit. It's a national embarrassment.

[Dave Egerton]

So come September I'll be spending a month in Mississippi - my first, and possibly only, trip to the USA at the age of 58. So why Mississippi, all the way from an old mill town in the north of England? Perhaps because it's an enigma. When I go into the travel section of any bookstore in England I can find reams of info on New York, I can even find info on Mongolia & Siberia but never anything on Southern USA, other than maybe an occasional city guide to New Orleans. It's like I know the likes of New York and Chicago - why would I travel to places I already know and understand. And now I'm reading this forum I'm still none the wiser - so many conflicting views, here and in the media. When I get off that overnight train from Chicago at Yazoo City who will I meet, how will they be, will the cultural divide be that big or will there be common ground - I just don't know, and there's the adventure.

[Southern man]

I suspect the good folks from Mississippi will love your accent and they will be friendly .

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by Dave Egerton

So come September I'll be spending a month in Mississippi - my first, and possibly only, trip to the USA at the age of 58. So why Mississippi, all the way from an old mill town in the north of England? Perhaps because it's an enigma. When I go into the travel section of any bookstore in England I can find reams of info on New York, I can even find info on Mongolia & Siberia but never anything on Southern USA, other than maybe an occasional city guide to New Orleans. It's like I know the likes of New York and Chicago - why would I travel to places I already know and understand. And now I'm reading this forum I'm still none the wiser - so many conflicting views, here and in the media. When I get off that overnight train from Chicago at Yazoo City who will I meet, how will they be, will the cultural divide be that big or will there be common ground - I just don't know, and there's the adventure.

You're going to Yazoo City?

Go to Jackson, Meridian, Hattiesburg, or Biloxi. The train runs through all those cities and they are all lightyears better than Yazoo City.

[brickpatio]

I'm not sure if you are serious but if so, the only reason to pick Yazoo City is because it's as opposite of England as you can get. Lots of shacks and very run down. That said, the people have loads of personality - think Haley Barbour if you happen to know American politics. The adventure would be finding some dive bars and cafes in town somewhere (not on the highway), which might look a little scary but probably are not, in a town that small.
- The real personality of Mississippi is found in historic towns like Vicksburg and Natchez on the river, artsy Ocean Springs and Bay St Louis on the Coast, vibrant college towns Oxford, Hattiesburg, and Starkville, Delta towns such as Greenwood and Cleveland, Jackson neighborhoods such as Fondren, and quiet towns with elegant historic residential neighborhoods such as Brookhaven, McComb, Laurel, Columbus, and Corinth.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by brickpatio

I'm not sure if you are serious but if so, the only reason to pick Yazoo City is because it's as opposite of England as you can get. Lots of shacks and very run down. That said, the people have loads of personality - think Haley Barbour if you happen to know American politics. The adventure would be finding some dive bars and cafes in town somewhere (not on the highway), which might look a little scary but probably are not, in a town that small.
- The real personality of Mississippi is found in historic towns like Vicksburg and Natchez on the river, artsy Ocean Springs and Bay St Louis on the Coast, vibrant college towns Oxford, Hattiesburg, and Starkville, Delta towns such as Greenwood and Cleveland, Jackson neighborhoods such as Fondren, and quiet towns with elegant historic residential neighborhoods such as Brookhaven, McComb, Laurel, Columbus, and Corinth.

I agree with the above ^

Columbus Mississippi is another historic town. During the Civil War the Union Army did not burn it as they did many other southern cities, they used Columbus as a hospital base. Columbus has more Antebellum homes than any other city in Mississippi after Natchez.

Tupelo is the birthplace of Evlis Pressely. Another fine city to visit. As I mentioned above, Meridian, Hattiesburg, Biloxi, Jackson, and many other cities have a rail line going through them. I would strongly advise against going to Yazoo city, it does not represent Mississippi well.

[Dave Egerton]

Yazoo City came into my conciousness through the classic Holly Hunter film 'Miss Firecracker'. For me travel is all about the people rather than tourist sites - I'm a working actor and aspiring playwright (nothing finished or published yet) so I'm kinda hoping for some ideas and inspiration to come out of this trip and I'm thinking spending a decent amount of time in a small town rather than a larger more touristy place would be better for that. Funny thing about the accent - when I went on a one day accent course for what they call standard American, I kept falling into Southern States and the voice coach said that with my natural accent then I would, because we actually talk in a similar way. I know that's right because on a couple of previous occasions when phoning the USA we've not been able to understand each other at all, but yesterday phoning Yazoo City Visitor Center we understood each other perfectly.

[ColdAilment]

Going to Yazoo City Mississippi is like going to Gary Indiana and trying to get a good feel for the state.

[Desert kid]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Going to Yazoo City Mississippi is like going to Gary Indiana and trying to get a good feel for the state.

Yeah, he should try to go for Vicksburg/Natchez, I would recommend it.

Then try Laurel, Jackson, Columbus and Corinth. If he wants that Old South-feel.