Retiring in the Delta boondocks (Jackson, Greenville: low income, crime, home)

[Repubocrat]

I live in Iowa and I love MS. I have been there quite a few times and I really don't have any interest in places like Jackson or any of the bigger cities like Vicksburg but I have been thinking about retiring in the Delta

I love the little small towns with hardly any infrastructure, don't care if they are majority Black or White

Some of the towns I find really interesting: Louise, Tchula, Anguilla, Rolling Fork. I remember these towns being very poor but I love the towns that are run down and barely have any infrastructure.

Any other suggestions for towns similar to the ones I mentioned above?

I have a good career, money is not a problem but I picture myself in retirement living as simply as possible, probably a small home or rural property with a few acres near a small town, a F-350, and some place gun friendly where people are friendly, not too far from either Jackson or Memphis.

[Listener2307]

Sounds to me like you are about to find a home!

I don't live in any of those places. But I am like you in that I ain't skeert to live there. I traveled highway MS-1 a couple of years back, from the border at Arkansas down to Greenville.

There's a place called Moon Lake. It's not too far from US-49 and MS-1. We thought Moon Lake looked peaceful. It's a shallow lake, and looks like long ago it used to an oxbow connected to the river.
Friars Point is just South of moon lake. It doesn't have much of an infrastructure, like you noted, but there are people there, and some stores. Auto repair, I remember.

Industrial Park down at Rosedale looked nice. There are some facilities there that look new and efficient.

And on down at Beulah there are properties up next to the levy that are attractive. Some on the flatland just East of the levy, too. Check out the antique fire engine at the Beulah volunteer fire department!

On our trip we drove with the windows down. I don't know, I just feel more connected that way. People gave us that slow wave they use when they see a car they don't recognize. It's that open palm move with the hand held at just above waist level. It means, I'm OK; You OK?

You're off on a great adventure! Wish I could go.

[viverlibre]

Wow, you stumbled some of the worst small towns in the world, not just in Mississippi. Tchula may be the worst place on planet earth.

Instead of those towns, I would look at some of the outlying areas of Greenwood or Grenada. You can be can find plenty of rural areas within a 10-20 mike drive of either and secure acreage for $1000 to $1500 per acre. Plus you will have some semblance of law enforcement, dail 911 in Holmes County (Tchula) and no one comes. Corruption in MS runs deep, but corruption in small Delta towns runs even deeper, especially for those who don't understand how the game is played.

Although, just outside of the Delta, Carrollton is a great small town without the crime and despair of the places you listed.

If you make the move, go to Jackson, Memphis or Oxford for medical care. Especially never allow yourslef to be admitted to any Delta hospital, the common name for Greenwood Leflore Hospital is "Roach Motel" you check in, but you don't check out.

Oh yeah, MS is Silverado (Chevy) Country, go to YouTube and search Silverado vs Ford for a good laugh.

[Repubocrat]

Originally Posted by viverlibre

Wow, you stumbled some of the worst small towns in the world, not just in Mississippi. Tchula may be the worst place on planet earth.

Instead of those towns, I would look at some of the outlying areas of Greenwood or Grenada. You can be can find plenty of rural areas within a 10-20 mike drive of either and secure acreage for $1000 to $1500 per acre. Plus you will have some semblance of law enforcement, dail 911 in Holmes County (Tchula) and no one comes. Corruption in MS runs deep, but corruption in small Delta towns runs even deeper, especially for those who don't understand how the game is played.

Thanks for your insight. These towns stand out to me because they are probably some of the poorest towns I have been to in the USA. I have been to 43 states and the only part of the country where I have seen something similar was in Eastern Kentucky.

Rural poverty does not bother me, I love the little shacks, the very cool rundown places, it is hard to explain but I love the Delta

First time, I was in MS, I fell in love with this place. It is very eccentric, at the same time, it blows my mind that there are places in the USA where people live in such dire circumstances.

Also, can anybody explain what the deal with some of these small unincorporated communities?

I was reading something about this town in MS called Glen Allan, it is an unincorporated community in Washington County and the lady was saying that they could never make the community better because there is no mayor, that is such a bizarre concept, but anyways, I love the Delta.

[brickpatio]

You don't have to go far from Iowa to find populations similar to those in the Delta. On usa.com, it shows the median household incomes in Minneapolis and income levels particularly for African-American populations there are virtually the same as in Mississippi, and lower than Mississippi when you account for cost of living. The total low-income population of the Delta appears to be about the same as in Minneapolis.

Obviously there's a big difference, (i.e. the rest of Minneapolis...which is lovely!), but it's notable that the low-income households in median household income and total numbers are as large or larger in Minneapolis than in the Delta.

The Delta's population is also shrinking quickly, so there are fewer and fewer of those shacks...and more and more lush farmland and hardwood forest. At current rates, the Delta's total population by the 2030 census should be under 150,000 and 2050 census, i.e. in 45 years, about 90,000 people (across some 14 counties).

Assuming that about one-third of the Delta's population is low-income, roughly, that will be a total of fewer than 1,000 low income households per county. Meanwhile the upper income groups in the area by then will be similar to higher end suburbs around the country. So while the Delta within a generation or two may lose some of that character, it will even less populated, a lot less poor and a lot wealthier at the same time.

[viverlibre]

The people left in the delta (minus the few farmers and government employees - a tiny percentage of residents) mostly are the bottom of the barrel, they stayed while the smart, or at least the slightly motivated, ones left for greener pastures.

The current breed of folk who occupy the delta are happy with their monthly subsidies, shanties and carefree lives and have no interest in bettering themselves or making better lives for thier offspring and unfortantly they reproduce like crazy (that's part of the carefree lifestyle).

There are very few above minimum wage jobs in the delta and unfortantly there will never be good jobs in the delta.

[Phil75230]

I grew up in the Louisiana Delta, so a few words from a native of the area.

First, almost any place in the Delta is going to be at least a 70 mile trip from either Jackson or Memphis - most of the area is more than that from both cities. Being from Iowa (very comparable to Mississippi in both population density and total population) you may already be accustomed to driving over an hour to the nearest shopping mall.

Second, as others have said and I can attest, the area is infamous for its poverty - divided largely along racial lines (the White standard of living is comparable to that of Whites in other rural areas of the nation). It's almost impossible to get a job there unless you already know someone living there -- even minimum wage ones. So unless you plan to retire there OR have a very solid opportunity for the taking, I'd seriously consider some other region of the state.

Third, the racial divide here is <i>razor</i> sharp. Aside from standard small-town "hello, how's the kids", "how're you doing" and chit-chat in the checkout line at the grocery stores, there's not a whole lot of interaction between the races here. The cultural divide + ENORMOUS gaps in income, education, and occupation (see the 2nd point) make for a huge gulf and general lack of understanding of each other's communities.

Fourth (applies only if you have kids or plan to raise a family there). Unless you can be absolutely sure they WILL, in fact, be into hunting & fishing, auto mechanics, high school sports, etc. (and show me a parent who can actually predict such a thing), you may need to take them to Jackson or Memphis fairly often, especially if none of the mentioned hobbies interest them. Otherwise they're likely to spiritually stagnate. Making a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive to these cities once every 2 to 3 weeks so they can develop social contacts there WILL be a necessity if their deepest interest lie well away from the hunting-mechanics-sports stuff (especially if they have outright high IQ interests). On top of that, the reason why those three sets of hobbies/lifestyles are so popular in the Delta is frankly because there's not a whole hell of a lot to do there, especially for people under 30 years old.

Originally Posted by brickpatio

Assuming that about one-third of the Delta's population is low-income, roughly, that will be a total of fewer than 1,000 low income households per county. Meanwhile the upper income groups in the area by then will be similar to higher end suburbs around the country. So while the Delta within a generation or two may lose some of that character, it will even less populated, a lot less poor and a lot wealthier at the same time.

I'd say it's FAR more than 1/3. Furthermore, even assuming the less-populated-but-more-wealthy prediction comes to pass, that won't necessarily make it a more attractive place to live. It'll simply become a warm and wet Great Plains: a rather low-poverty farming area where the middle and upper class kids flee from to the big cities, a huge brain drain region with a high median age population. Indeed, for the middle class whites it's already been that way for decades, if not generations. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see how this turns out (though it's barely plausible I will live another 45 years).

[gvillesux]

If you move to a rural area outside a small town give up on internet except for cellular or satellite. There are not many options even in small town limits, outside of city limits there are basically none.

the delta has a way of life all its own, you won't understand it for a while so just prepare yourself.

[An Einnseanair]

Originally Posted by gvillesux

If you move to a rural area outside a small town give up on internet except for cellular or satellite. There are not many options even in small town limits, outside of city limits there are basically none.

This is what I was going to mention, so I second what gvillesux said. I'd love to retire back to my hometown, but my parents and brother struggle with connectivity. They currently pay for Verizon wireless, but had to install an external amplified antenna to get data service at home. Satellite data service is even worse. It will be hard for me to give up my 100MBPS fiber service in Chattanooga.

Originally Posted by viverlibre

Oh yeah, MS is Silverado (Chevy) Country, go to YouTube and search Silverado vs Ford for a good laugh.

Nope, my dad is a die-hard Dodge fan, and you'll find just as many Fords as Chevys.

[viverlibre]

Originally Posted by jwkilgore

This is what I was going to mention, so I second what gvillesux said. I'd love to retire back to my hometown, but my parents and brother struggle with connectivity. They currently pay for Verizon wireless, but had to install an external amplified antenna to get data service at home. Satellite data service is even worse. It will be hard for me to give up my 100MBPS fiber service in Chattanooga.

Nope, my dad is a die-hard Dodge fan, and you'll find just as many Fords as Chevys.

This was tounge in cheek. If you are not easily offended, go to YouTube and search Silverado verses Ford.