If moving to Jackson metro area, know this... (Madison, Flowood: cliquey, apartments)

[shelby78]

i move down here 3.5 years ago and have never experienced what you have-you need to try some churches and meet people. not everyone and every place is like madison. i live in a great neighborhood in the brandon area. -the only thing i don't like about it is that it is too close to jackson for my comfort. you can get this anytime you move to a new place. i grew up in north alabama and when i bought my first home in a different part of the city, i didn't know anyone or spoke to neighbors at least for a year.... visited a bunch of churches that weren't very friendly, ect...
down here there are alot of family stuff to do. there are a whole bunch of parks(or at least in the brandon/flowood area) to take kids, the ymca's have sports to sign up for, most churches have lots of kid programs(after trying 8 different churches-the church i go to is a major blessing!!)the libraries have preschool activities and story time for preschoolers.when i lived up in alabama, i used to have to travel 45 min to take my kids to a park to play....

as far as potholes.. are you talking about pearl and south jackson, maybe??? there is no potholes where i live....

[BigRob76]

I moved to Jackson in 1999 to get my life together, and I had a similar experience to Ellygirl. I think that if you are from a liberal background, and are open-minded, and progressive, or of certain minorities, you will not enjoy living in Jackson, but maybe in surrounding areas. After 8 yrs in Jackson I couldn't take the impoverished attitude, shallow mentallity, and leftover racial-hatred from the 60's and some degree the Civil War. Jackson is the heart of the "Old South" and can't let go of ignorant racial attitudes. Be prepared to arm yourself at the gunshow every few months, and stick to your own people.
Health and fitness are not really a concern there, maybe 4 gyms. I recently heard "Going-Green" on the news there, but it's not happening there anytime soon, and we've been doing it in the Northwest since the 80's. No Carpooling, Inter-racial dating is starting to go public, though people still stare very hard at inter-racial people/couples in the malls or airports.
I'm from Northern California by way of Idaho, and I didn't enjoy Mississippi socially, but not wanting to deal with being abused by the abrasive locals made me stick to my plans of working and getting my education.
It was not Fun by any means for me, or any of my friends who are schooling their or starting over in life, but we are able to go there and focus on getting ourselves together so we can go back to the families we love, and appreciate the places we came from.
Most important:
1) Mississippians hospitality only applies to visitors.
2) stick to words 2 syllables or less, your intelligence & vocabilary will have you alone & ostricized.
3) Don't get killed! Jackson is VERY dangerous, and systematic poverty has people DESPERATE TO LIVE!
4) Good-Ole Boy corrupt police and political scenario.
No locals will agree, because they have to deny these things daily, just to keep living there!

[auntbee]

Originally Posted by BigRob76

I moved to Jackson in 1999 to get my life together, and I had a similar experience to Ellygirl. I think that if you are from a liberal background, and are open-minded, and progressive, or of certain minorities, you will not enjoy living in Jackson, but maybe in surrounding areas. After 8 yrs in Jackson I couldn't take the impoverished attitude, shallow mentallity, and leftover racial-hatred from the 60's and some degree the Civil War. Jackson is the heart of the "Old South" and can't let go of ignorant racial attitudes. Be prepared to arm yourself at the gunshow every few months, and stick to your own people.
Health and fitness are not really a concern there, maybe 4 gyms. I recently heard "Going-Green" on the news there, but it's not happening there anytime soon, and we've been doing it in the Northwest since the 80's. No Carpooling, Inter-racial dating is starting to go public, though people still stare very hard at inter-racial people/couples in the malls or airports.
I'm from Northern California by way of Idaho, and I didn't enjoy Mississippi socially, but not wanting to deal with being abused by the abrasive locals made me stick to my plans of working and getting my education.
It was not Fun by any means for me, or any of my friends who are schooling their or starting over in life, but we are able to go there and focus on getting ourselves together so we can go back to the families we love, and appreciate the places we came from.
Most important:
1) Mississippians hospitality only applies to visitors.
2) stick to words 2 syllables or less, your intelligence & vocabilary will have you alone & ostricized.
3) Don't get killed! Jackson is VERY dangerous, and systematic poverty has people DESPERATE TO LIVE!
4) Good-Ole Boy corrupt police and political scenario.
No locals will agree, because they have to deny these things daily, just to keep living there!

I don't live there anymore, but I do disagree with you. There are plenty of intelligent people in the area and not all law enforcement is corrupt. Perhaps you should have spent some time in the suburbs while you were there. You might have liked it better. I liked your other post, but this one just enforces stereotypes.

[jacksonian]

Wow, I feel like I just walked into a republican/democrat episode...

This is my first time seeing this post, and I won't say much, only what I have to add from my personal experience.

I grew up in Mississippi, in mostly small towns. When I was 15, I moved to a larger town, and went from a class of 40 to a class of 350. It took a little while for me to find my place at the new school, but I managed just fine. I finished high school and went on to a Mississippi university. I studied there for 7 years and earned my degree in architecture. I now live in northeast Jackson (Fondren) and work at a successful firm in downtown Jackson.

I met a girl a few years ago who grew up in Ohio, and her family moved to Mississippi (Ridgeland) in 2003. They live in a nice neighborhood in a much better house than they had in Ohio, and they have made many friends over the past 6 years. In fact, two of their relatives have moved their families down to Mississippi from Ohio since.

That girl is now my fiancee, and we are getting married in 2 1/2 weeks. We bought a 1938 cottage house in Jackson that has been renovated, and we love it here. She earned her degree from a Mississippi university as well, and she now teaches at a private school and loves it there.

I guess what I am trying to say is that just because you are not from Mississippi does not mean you can not find happiness in Mississippi. Like the old saying goes, "Home is where you make it."

Leviticus 19:34
But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt...

[TexasBeerThinker]

I visited Madison a couple of years ago, and I can see how some people could feel unwanted if they just moved into town. Just find another town, there are plenty of them. I learned a long time ago that people either like you or they don't, and since I never ask for anybody's opinion on that matter, who cares. Gotta go, my beer is getting warm. Y'all be good, now.

[paula1295]

Originally Posted by darhe3425

Elly did invite all transplanters to unite, as thhis seems to be a problem for anyone who has moved to Mississippi, or moved away and returned "different." Mississippi has quite a few lovely things about it, but welcoming to those from somewhere else, after curiosity wears off, ain't one of them. Paula, you may have to look for some group that is full of transplants to Mississippi, you may find some people you have things in common with.

I did not return "different" - after the curiosity wears off, the welcome is over - I have never heard of such a callous, uncaring remark? I am packing up as I write this - let's see if Nashville is so closed minded - God I hope not.........

[jimdc58]

Originally Posted by Ellygirl67

My husband is a successful executive and we live in a very beautiful custom built home on the lake!

Maybe THERE'S your answer. Snobbery isn't appealing on anyone, be they life long residents OR transplants.

[oldenfatt]

Try embracing the community instead of expecting them to come in to embrace you. Don't make it so hard for people to find out what a great friend and neighbor you can be. If people perceive you as standoffish after the initial overtures, they're going to think you don't want to be part of their social structure and will quit trying. Get off the computer and go smile at somebody.

[poptones]

FWIW I have a pretty good iq and USED to experience what others have mentioned - but one day it just sort of clicked that it aint the intellect, it's the attitude. I went back and forth between here and michigan (my birthplace) the first 20 years of my life and I found the problem aint how smart you are, it's how smart you need to THINK you are. I use "big words" all the time and I prattle on about political things most of my friends dont sem to think about; I have a lot of experience in certain fields and weild it like a dagger, but I find it rare people take exception to me because of these things.

Now, they do often take exception to me because I don't suffer fools glady, I don't tolerate very well people not doing their jobs and I often use anger displacement as a means of getting what I expect. Plenty of folks do take exception to that... but so what? It's nothing personal with me and so long as you don't come across as an arrogant yankee snob folks will eventually see past it. I find southerners to be particularly accepting of "quirks" - the ones that are worth befriending, anyway.

Of course, I lived many places. I find that if you don't fit in, it's not because of "everyone else." I take pride in being an oddball, and I havent lived anywhere in my adult life I didnt find a way of fitting in without losing myself in the process. My last GF, however, has lived here like 15 years and still don't fit in. All she did was complain about how backward the place is, how she seems to hate most of the people, how these others places were so much "cooler" and yet she stays. Some folks just ain't happy unless they're miserable.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by poptones

My last GF, however, has lived here like 15 years and still don't fit in. All she did was complain about how backward the place is, how she seems to hate most of the people, how these others places were so much "cooler" and yet she stays. Some folks just ain't happy unless they're miserable.

Haha, so you chose Mississippi over your last GF?