Best town in Mississippi? (Jackson, Greenville: 2009, neighborhoods, wedding)

[meskito]

Oxford wins my vote

[DANNY'SNANA]

Thank you for responding.
Do you know anything about Grenada?
D

[12buttons]

Originally Posted by djerome

I am a student of Ole Miss, and I have to admit every time I go back home to my Memphian suburb, I miss Oxford. There are around 45,000 people in my hometown. There are plenty of places to eat, plenty of shopping, (They are currently building a second Target on the Main strip that runs through my town). I live 15 minutes from Downtown Memphis, and this winter break I was bored out of my mind. I couldn't find much to do that was fulfilling. I missed the 18$ catfish at the downtown grill, I missed the Deuce at Ajax. I missed the smell of Jack Daniels, Bourbon, and Barbecue in the grove. I missed Oxford. I missed the natural beauty of the campus, with it's massive oak trees, and rolling hills. It's home. And it's springtime in Oxford, and it's probably the most beautiful place I've ever been. I love Oxford, and I'm not a frat-star. I was an emo kid in high school. Anybody could fall in love with this place, anybody who knows what beauty is about.

why didn't you just stay in Oxford then? Did you have to move back in with parents? seems to be a trend ...maybe you can work there? did you graduate? good luck...I still find the real estate shocking.

[boopop]

Originally Posted by downtowndoll

And here's my two cents. Stay in the coastal areas.

We lived in Brandon, MS and then moved to Jackson, MS's Reservoir area. It's nice but I don't like Jackson. The shopping is surprisingly good for the size town. Stuff is so run down in the downtown area; it's just awful.

Oxford is lovely, but I wouldn't want to live there because of all the socioeconomic snobbery that goes on there. Believe me, I can hang with the best of those types, but it really gets on your nerves after a while. I want to be friends with who I want to be friends with! Too small, but I like the downtown area. We lived in Clarksdale, MS. I remember having a maid and just that Delta bleakness. I wouldn't want to live up in that part of Mississippi.

Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis, MS are the best on the Coast. And if you are set on Mississipp- go there. Avoid Biloxi and especially Gulfport. Pascagoula is horrible- my dad has his office there. We lived above it for about a year. Terrible place. My hubby is from the Bay; I'm from Ocean Springs. We had great public schools(better ones in O.S.) and many wonderful days were spent sailing from the OS Yacht Club. There is an Air Force base nearby in Biloxi and so we would get a neat mix of friends from other places. The only draw back is shopping is terrible!!!! And the cities are all spread out over the Coast. It was hard to find a job close to where you lived. It's a neat artist community too. House prices have been overpriced due to the hurricane.

I live in Mobile, AL on the coast and I can tell you that I wouldn't live in any part of Mississippi. My husband was offered a great job in McComb, we looked around- no way!!!
Have you looked at Alabama at all? Yes, I'm a Mississippian but I really like Alabama better. Check out areas like Fairhope, AL or Spanish Fort, Alabama. They've got great schools and wonderful living over there. I live in Midtown, the historic part of beautiful Mobile, and we are committed to being over here but it's really nice across the bay.

If you are really smart you would not take the offer on the Alabama schools, it truly will leave you child lacking. I do not know what the hype about Oceans Springs schools are because pretty much all the school systems are good on the Coast. Harrison Central High or the County schools maybe. Gulfport has good schools most of all the schools are Blue Ribbon and level five. Biloxi has good school and not to mention Biloxi gets plenty money from it's Casinoes and the parent do not have to pay for extra-curricular activities, because the city pays for it. It also pays for band instruments. Only problem is there is not enough family attractions on the Coast

[DonnaSue41]

Madison is probably the best place to raise a family in Mississippi.

[Shug58]

But the people are unfriendly......I know I live here and want to leave.

[satman1983]

First off let me say stay AWAY from the delta, metro Jackson, and some of the extremely overpriced coastal towns. The Madison area is growing enormously but with that growth comes several problems as you could imagine. The utilities such as telephone and cable are having a hard time keeping up with growth so dont expect fast service on either. Grenada has had a history of political and police corruption and the officials at Grenada Lake are beginning to move away from recreation and concentrating on using the lake merely as a watershed. It is quite uncommon for the water level to be high enough to swim at the public beaches. I think probably the best places to live here would be the Northeastern part of the state. Oxford as several others have mentioned but it is pricey. Tupelo is another alternative and not quite as expensive. I would seriously consider one of the smaller towns outside one of these cities. They are far enough away from town to keep prices low but close enough to enjoy all the benefits of a larger town.

[justGina]

Rankin County, specifically Pearl. I grew up there. Everybody's friendly, it's big enough that you don't have to go to Jackson very often, and housing is reasonable. Also, not much of a commute if you work in Jackson. And the town is pretty clean and not much crime.

[jamie p]

I grew up in Oxford, but as stated previously, finding affordable housing is hard. A few towns close by with good schools (level 5 accredited) that come to mind are New Albany and Pontotoc. Both towns have retained their small downtown charm and are close to Oxford and Tupelo. I have transplanted to Southaven because of my job, but if I could move closer into NE Mississippi, one of those two towns would be my choice.
I almost forgot, as far as state parks, Wall Doxey State Park, between Holly Springs and Oxford is the most gorgeous in the fall. There are also parks along the Natchez Trace Parkway, Jeff Busby, near Starkville and Rocky Springs, close to Jackson and Vicksburg. I've never been to Tishomingo State Park, but the Natchez Trace runs through it and is located in the far NE part of the state.
Here is the link for our state parks: Campgrounds and Camping Reservations - ReserveAmerica

[cmiss]

Oxford, Tupelo, Horn Lake, Madison