Help! We may relocate to Jackson, MS area. (Tupelo, Clinton: middle-class, employment)

[grahamfam]

Actually, I had just told my husband that you just don't know who you are talking to on here. So thank you for the reassurance. It's just difficult when I have never been there. We were planning on a short trip next week, but it's not going to work out with schedules. Anyway, I appreciate all your input!

[jxn3000]

oh, im happy...and i stay here for the financial opportunities that i have. you asked for info, and i simply gave you my opinion.

[grahamfam]

And I do appreciate your opinion, just thought your statements were said a bit harshly. We actually are leaning towards staying. The only reason we would move there would be financial. And it just doesn't make sense to leave all we have here for a job, when my husband should be able to find one here ~ just not as well-paying.

[TennesseeBoy]

grahamfam,
If it helps and you're still considering the move, I'll give you another experience.

My wife and I are a multicultural family. I'm white on the outside, but I'm a full blown mutt if you look at my family tree. My wife is half asian / half south american. We were both in the military for a long time and got very used to the diverse cultures we experienced in that work force. We've lived all over the country and been in a couple of civilian careers in the past few years. My father has lived here since I was a kid. I grew up in TN, but spent a lot of time here back then. We took an opportunity to move here, with a little hesitation. A lot of that had to do with concern for closed minds. My brother and sister grew up here and I know a lot of people here. I just like a bit more culture.

We had an opportunity to move to just about anywhere in the country with work next month. We got the chance at the same time to stay here and that's what we decided to do. Mostly, because we love our house and don't feel like moving again for a while. We've been surprised at how much more diversity has grown here recently. There are quite a few asians (compared to a decade ago), some hispanics, and a whole lot of locals. The University of MS's medical school seems to bring a diverse student population here. There are other universities downtown that bring some different kids too. This place really is opening up and the people are friendly for the most part (just a little southern if you're not used to it). There are even some good food choices in town now. There are a couple of mediterranean restaurants. There's several places to get sushi and I am surprised how many people here indulge in it. We love sushi and didn't think we would find any here at all. It just shows that the area isn't too reserved.

The locals here can seem closed, but it's more that people are proud of being from here. I see it in my brother and he's military too and has lived all over. It's just the way some are. Same thing you run into in the Northeast, but with a different accent and different attire. Not bad, not good. Just different. Outlying county areas definitely hold a different culture, but I'm from Tennessee and I can say 'redneck' without it being offensive. Most of our friends in the military are of varied backgrounds, but we like it here just fine too. There are a lot of snotty little rich kids here too; same as anywhere. The funny thing is, you run into less of them in Madison. We go to church up there and it seems that the wealthy people don't show it as much, while the almost wealthy want to act like they've got more than they actually do. Therefore, those are the ones who have attitudes, fake tans, 2 sets of expensive clothes they wear to the gas station, etc. Again, same as any other town. There's more of them in Brandon/Flowood than Madison. We like all these areas regardless.

Reservoir area of Brandon is great. Ridgeland and Madison are really nice. We drive to Madison to go to the nice movie theater and to eat on occasion. We like it there, but chose to buy our house where we were familiar initially. Downtown Jackson is the pits, but that's getting to be just about any big city. There are a few big city centers we still like around the nation, but this isn't one of them. We never have a need to go downtown though, so it doesn't even matter. Cost of living here is cheap!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck on your decision. Some of our favorite residences we've had are in places we thought we would hate (WY, TX, MS, NC, etc...).

[grahamfam]

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to give me your experience. That is the feeling I get with a lot of people, that the differences are not necessarily good/bad, just different. And after we have been faced with this decision, I started noticing a little more that there are a quite a few downfalls here too. We have lived in three states, and there are always going to be mean people and people who are close-minded to change. I guess it is how we react to it. Thanks again for your input! By the way, what church do you go to? We were looking at Pinelake online after a recommendation.

[TennesseeBoy]

We go to a Catholic church, but my family here attends Pinelake. We've been with them during several holidays and it's a really nice church. If you're that denomination, it's a big congregation where you can meet a lot of people. Everyone seems nice and the pastor (minister, terminology?) is a young witty guy, who keeps it fun. They have a nice school there too. My family likes it. We like it too, but like I said we just attend a different denominational church.

[EvelynTN]

I've been following this thread closely. We are in the early stages of considering moving to Jackson, and we have children of Asian decent. My husband and I are Caucasian. I have always lived in the South, but not necessarily the 'Deep South'. TennesseeBoy, I'm so glad to hear there is an Asian population in Jackson. We would seek a Catholic church and likely a parochial elementary school. I read that St. Therese just lost their Vietnamese priest. Is this the parish with the highest concentration of Asians? We are most drawn to the Belhaven neighborhood, as it sound the most similar to where we live now (urban neighborhood / close to universities). Thanks for you insights!

[george.co.msgirl]

grahamfam,

Just thought you might want to know that Pinelake is a phenomenal church located in the Brandon area. You would probably want to live in that area because it is a bit of a drive from Clinton or Madison. Some churches here in Madison that are great are Broadmoor Baptist, First Baptist Madison, Ridgecrest (Baptist). I am baptist but my husband is catholic. St. Francis of Assissi is a great church. We on occasion go there when the in-laws are here and I have friends that attend there. We go to Broadmoor. It seems like most of the families with young people go there. First Baptist of Madison has a Chinese church service. I haven't been but I assume it is in Chinese. They have a large group of Chinese that attend FBC. I was fortunate enough to witness an adult Chinese man be baptized while he was here visiting from China. Hopefully, that one man will make a difference in China.
Evelyn I don't know very much about St. Therese but the only catholic school that is big enough to be well known is St. Richards (elementary). St. Joe is it's 7-12th grade option. St Joe is located here in Madison right off the interstate pretty much. It is a pretty campus and I hear good things about it. But, Madison Middle and Rosa Scott give it extreme competition.
I didn't know that Belhaven had a lot of Asians. Belhaven is nice to me but it is still Jackson. They are working on crime but they have a long way to go.

[TennesseeBoy]

That must be why my wife and I didn't know where Belhaven was. If it has crime, we try to avoid it. We've had things stolen in other places and we're REALLY opposed to putting ourselves in any bad situation on purpose. I don't know anything about Belhaven, so I won't assume anything. I do know we like Brandon, Brandon Reservoir area, Ridgeland, and Madison. Everyone...Don't get Ridgeland mixed up with Richland. Different places.

We attend St Francis also. EvelynTN, sorry I don't know anything about St Therese. We haven't tried that one. Do you live in TN (TN at the end of your name)? If so and you want to share the town, I may be able to tell you what area here is similar if you're from a place I'm familiar with.

Like I said, my wife is as American as it gets (military, athletic, etc...), but she looks asian and hispanic (since she's both). She's been here to visit a lot over the years, but moving here was a different story. There was some concern. Now that we're here, there's none. This is not our favorite place or our retirement spot. However, we are enjoying ourselves at this point in our lives here and plan on staying for a while. We have everything we need here.

[auntbee]

St Therese is in south Jackson (not a very safe place these days).