Help! We may relocate to Jackson, MS area. (Clinton, Pearl: homes, neighborhoods)

[EvelynTN]

Many thanks for the additional info about Jackson. We plan a visit there in a few weeks to see the city first hand.

Do any of you know which elementary schools, public or private, urban or suburban, that are racially balanced? I realize we likely won't stumble upon a pocket of Asian kids, but an even balance of Caucasian / AA would be attractive to us.

Many thanks-

[ncreager]

My husband has a conditional offer of employment with the federal prison in Yazoo City? I have friends who live in the area and have clued me in on the towns, schools and churches. Is it possible to find a good public school in the Yazoo City area? Gas is going to $4-$5/gal soon and I don't want to create "another" commute for him if we move!

[annon]

my child is asian and we are considering Madison, Ridgeland, Belhaven, Forndoren (can't afford Eastover), Clinton...

[TennesseeBoy]

I don't know anything about the racial diversity in the schools in the different areas. I will say though, in the last week we have seen a lot of asians in the stores and shopping areas we've been at in Madison, Flowood and Ridgland. My wife being asian (and my grandfather), it really stands out to us when we see anyone with an asian look. All of you will be fine here.

[Anne5]

Speaking of Multi-cultural - - A photo of the multi-cultural Mississippi Youth Symphony Orchestra. Children whose ancestors came from Africa, Asia, Europe and India, all work and play together in perfect harmony. This is only one of hundreds of musical ensembles in the Jackson area. This one meets at a historically black university, Mississippi's urban university, Jackson State University.

The Asian children do fit in quite well in this area. Clinton has very good schools, with even Latin among its foreign languages.

Arts, drama, and folk arts programs are also available.

[Sierratipper]

Sorry it took me so long to respond to your question - I haven't been checking the posts lately! The schools here in Brandon/Ridgeland are supposed to be very good. We personally don't have any children, but we have lots of friends with children in the public schools who don't feel the need to send them to private schools because the education is supposed to be good for this general area.

My husband and I have also lived in many bigger cities (in OH, AL, FL) and we have really enjoyed our experience here in MS (especially living on the Reservoir if you like water). Of course we would be happy anywhere though. We will be moving to TN at the end of next month and are very sad to be moving off of the Reservoir because it is so pretty. We are also sad to leave our beautiful home here, but we are also excited about our new adventures!

Good luck and feel free to ask any additional questions! I will be happy to help if I can.

[mswebb06]

My wife and I moved back to Jackson about two years ago, After we both graduated from Ole Miss I was not excited about moving back to Jackson since I grew up here.

Since I was offered a financial planner position in Jackson as opposed to Oxford, Tupelo, or Memphis we moved down here and rented a while out at the reservoir. Since I do believe we will be here at least five years my wife and I purchased our first home in Madison,MS. I am not going to say how much we purchased our first home for, but you can find a 150K home in Madison just like you can find one in Brandon, Pearl, Flowood, etc...

If a move to Jackson is a must I would chose Madison over any city hands down even our neighbors in the county by the name of Ridgeland, Flora.. I did not even mention Canton, outside of its proximity to Lake Caroline, Canton should be avoided at all cost. If you would like to live out in the semi-country you might wanna give a look to Gluckstadt, however getting on the Interstate from Gluckstadt at certain times can be challenging.

So, while we would prefer to live in the little town of Oxford that is covered in southern charm we will settle for Madison for now.

[SouthernNomad]

My husband and I lived in Madison for a couple of years and actually really liked it. I'm not the dress-up sort either, but there are several completely normal middle-class neighborhoods there. The town itself is growing, so there are more than just the over-priced gift shops now. The schools are good, and all the neighborhoods I'm familiar with there are extremely family friendly.

[Senor Boogie Woogie]

Howdy!

I am from Memphis, but lived in Jackson, Mississippi for several years from about 1997 to 2000.

First, look at a map of Jackson, Mississippi. Notice I-55 going through the middle of the city (this is the same highway you will come from Chicago. (I will note that you should buy your gas in West Memphis Ark and not in Memphis because of the price) Anything that is east of I-55 is a "good area" to move in.

The bad areas of Jackson are west and south of downtown. I will say that unless you are looking for trouble, Jackson is a pretty safe place to be. Jackson is a poor city, the capital of the poorest state in the nation. There are still shotgun shacks here (really.) Most of the people here do not make a lot of money, due to the lack of good jobs, and reliance on the service industries. Compared to Chicago, one might find Jackson to be a hum-drum type of place. Not very exciting, quite boring actually.

The Jackson area consists of three counties, Hinds, Madison and Rankin. Rankin to the east of Hinds is probably much more rural than the other two, and it will probably be a much longer commute to the downtown, via Lakeland, which is a congested avenue with numerous traffic lights, however this is the main artery from Rankin Co. and Pearl into Jackson. Then there is Madison County. I lived in Ridgeland for a bit. Ridgeland is OK, with probably more cops per square mile than Jackson. There is good shopping on County Line Rd including a shopping mall and other things, but County Line Rd is also a congested mess at rush hour. There is another shopping mall on the westside of the city, but in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood.

Clinton is a decent place, it's west of Jackson and the home of Mississippi College, a small old Christian school. They have a football team and a small stadium if you enjoy such things. I dunno about Raymond.

There are a million churches here. You could hit a church throwing a rock blindfolded. Even atheists go to church on Sundays there.

The Ross Barnett Resvoir (sp.) is good if you like boating, fishing or water skiiing. I don't know about camping there, but it may be possible. That area is actually quite pretty for a Sunday drive. I never much cared for anything having to do with boats or water, but it is huge and something that Jackson has for mostly public use.

Lastly, I am an American living in China married to a Chinese woman (but with no kids sadly). I remember living in Jackson off of State Street and Northside (don't move there!) that there was a Chinese carry out place manned by several "off the boat" Chinese nationals, who slaved in that place 7 days a week. They had these wonderful huge chicken wings and fried rice. Also, Mississippi has a lot of Chinese American people whose families came here in the 19th Century, folk with southern accents. So yes, there is an Asian community here if one seeks them out.

Mississippi is kind of backward ass, and I say this very lovingly, so be forwarned.

Senor

[sassyfrass]

grahamfam, I will say we moved to the Madison area from a big city and we absolutely hate it here. We will not stay here long. People in Madison can be VERY materialistic and superficial. Also its a small town so you run into people you know everywhere. I'm like you I'm not into my image and we've been here a year and I still have a hard time fitting in. ALSO Mississippi has close to the worst education in the US. I actually taught in the Madison County School District and was saddened by the lack of standards in the school and have heard the same thing about the schools in the district. If there is anyway you can stay where you are, I'm telling you that's what you should do. Trust me if you enjoy having things to do and love your church stay there. We have also been looking for a church for almost a year and unless you are Baptist you will have a very difficult time finding a church. I hope you read this before its too late.... Just trying to save someone before they make a mistake like we did.... We are praying God will move us real soon....