Relocating to Horn Lake, MS (Southaven, Olive Branch: real estate, rental, sex offender)

[nightfall]

My husband and I are thinking of relocating to Horn Lake, MS from Chicago. His new job will be in Memphis. My question is.....is this a good area? I have not heard anything bad about this area; actually nothing at all. We definately don't want to live in Memphis, but we don't want to commute too far. Any suggestions? Thanks, in advance.

[jriecke]

When I moved here the advice I got was to go a bit east, (I think it's about 10 miles) to Olive Branch (which is where we've ended up and we like it a lot here so far). Even certain areas of Southhaven are good as well.

Apparently, there is some crime spill-over from southern areas of memphis.
There is some in the OB area as well but not much from what I've seen so far. Maybe a long timer will have more information, I've only been here about 2 months.

Anyway, it was suggested to me to avoid Horn Lake if possible, I could be wrong, I'm sure there are some okay areas if you know where to look.

My fiancee works in memphis and it's about 7 or 8 miles from our house here (Olive Branch) It does take about half an hour to get there though, the morning commutes are pretty bad because so many people are commuting in from outside the city. Coming from Chicago, it probably won't be an adjustment for you. We moved from upstate NY so it was quite a bit different for us.

Anyway, I don't know if you have kids, but the schools here are great and the community is growing rapidly.

So far, I think we made the right choice, going with Olive Branch.

Jamie

[nightfall]

Thanks for your reply.

Where there any reasons given to you about avoiding Horn Lake?

[Frank1938]

I live in Hernando which is about 10 miles south of H L so am not sure how valid my commets are but I drive through & shop there often.
There does seem to be a rise in crime there but also all over the county as more folks come in.
It has always been a Southaven wantabe (neighbor city), but just couldn't make the grade.
It does have a fine mayor that is trying clean up from the previous mayor.
They are in financial trouble & I heard a local business man speculater they may file bankruptcy.
Anywhere in H L, Southaven or Olive Branch that is near the state line is not the best place.
Houses are somewhat cheaper in H L. Be prepared to pay $150K to $200K most anywhere in the area. Horn Lake does have more rental properties than the other areas.

[jriecke]

Oh thanks Frank.......lol we just bought our house and our street is right off state line road ........LOL. We knew there were nicer areas further south but this is the most convenient area for us.

Mainly the Horn Lake things that I've heard is crime, mind you, I hear that but I don't hear specifics, just that it's there.......

Jamie

[Jennwenn]

I am planning on moving to Horn Lake next year. I have family there. I have actually done a lot of research on it and have come to the conclusion that you can't get advise from people who have never lived aywhere else. Compared to most other cities in the US Horn Lake has a low crime rate. Just last week I looked up the Sex Offender list for Horn Lake and not one offender is listed there. I know that when I go and visit, there is a lot of precaution that we take to stay safe here in California that many in Horn Lake never even concider. The realitor that we have been working with has told me that Horn Lake is concidered a little bit more expensive but if you are moving from a place like California, you can still sell your house and buy one outright in Horn Lake. It is a great lace to raise kids. People are very friendly not only in Horn Lake but in surrounding areas as well. I don't know about crime spilling over from Memphis, but even Memphis doesn't have crime like a lot of other places like LA, San Diego, ect. Anyway, I hope this helps.

[Starshine480]

Hey Jen...we have lived in Horn Lake since about 1983 and love it! Your husband will probably have to work in Memphis and I know that's a drag, but there doesn't seem to be very many job openings down this area...I've been looking for office work for quite some time after retiring at FedEx where I had to drive 60 miles every day.

There are good areas down here and bad too, just like anywhere else. To be honest with you, there are a lot of Memphians moving here to get away from the high crime rate in Memphis.....

[Starshine480]

Hummm, wonder why you were told to avoid Horn Lake? Horn Lake has been growing by leaps and bounds for years and this may be 1 reason? lol Seems like every time we get a growth spurt, Southaven wants to annex us. It is true a lot of Memphians are moving here to get away from the high crime rate in Memphis, but the schools and living conditions are great.

Do you know of any job openings in Olive Branch? I've been looking for awhile for something in either Horn Lake, Southaven, Olive Branch, or Hernando. There doesn't seem to be many unless you want to work in a warehouse or you're bi-lingual. The last job I worked I had to drive 60 miles a day and with the price of gas going up and the amount of ever increasing traffic on Goodman Road, I decided to retire never dreaming I would have such trouble finding work down here.

[hi4720]

Honestly, I am a local and wouldn't advise living in Horn Lake. If you have ANYTHING go wrong, you can count on the city official's mailboxes being full. The water department workers are about as rude as any 13 year old gang member in prison. The city keeps adding ordinances for the citizens but I can name 5 city spots right now that have grass at least 2 feet tall. Their water is super expensive and the bills are nuts. One month it is say $40 and then the next month it will be over $100. I actually called the water department-have tons of friends who call every month about bills they think are incorrect too-and the lady actually said "I notice you don't call when the bill is low." Well, duh? Desoto County ranks like this now-in the real estate business-Hernando, Olive Branch, Nesbit, Southaven, Horn Lake, Walls. Hope this helps. I promise you the only folks who live in Horn Lake usually do so because they have always lived there or can't afford somewhere els.