Help Me Please- (Jackson, Ridgeland, Madison: for sale, apartment complex, leases)

[rwiddi]

I am in need of huge help-

My husband and I just found out we are relocating down there and we do not know anything about Mississippi. My husband will be working at University of Mississippi Medical Center. We would love to buy a house and our budget is around $200,000. We have a 18month old daughter and want a REALLY SAFE area. I dont even know where to start looking. I will list some of the things we require/want and please give me any feedback you can.

Requirements/Wants

1. Saftey- my husband will be working long hours during the day and night. I really do not want to worry that my house is going to get broken into or that I am going to get robbed in my yard etc.
2. Convenience- to the hospital. We do not have to live right by it, but it has to be with in 15-20 minutes give or take.
3. Family friendly neighborhood- I am a stay at home mom and would love to be able to make friends. I would love an area with young famlies, parks, festivals and fun thing like that.
4. In town- I also want convenience for myself when it comes to stores, shopping, parks.

Are there any pedestrian friendly neighborhoods? One's that you can walk to stores, diners, movies?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

RWIDDI

[george.co.msgirl]

rwiddi,

My husband worked at UMMC for the past 7 years. It was a 15-20 minute commute to the hospital. We live in Madison and love it. We live in a subdivison close to the interstate. Summertree, Bocage, Tremont, Locust Hill, and Cypress Lake are all subdivisions closest to the interstate in Madison. We are relocating soon and Madison has been hard to replace in our new home search. The city has many young families with kids, great schools, and lots of friendly people. We've had several physicians live in our small neighborhood during their training and after.
Good luck with your new home search in the Jackson area.

[Tama]

RWRIDDI Where are you now??

[rwiddi]

I am in Virginia.

[Tama]

Virginia is absolutely one of my favorite places. I think you will find the type location you are looking for near Jackson;however, Mississippi will be different in so many ways. First, there are no mountains. Having come from a mountainous area I surely did miss that. The greenery isn't as green. It has more of a yellow cast and the heavy humidity will alternate with dry spells. You will now be in the semi-tropics or at least in Jackson a stone's throw. If you are near the D.C. area, you may find Jackson a bit slow, but if you get involved in the arts community and the schools and the other community activities and if you enjoy outdoor pursuits, I think you will find yourself busy and happy. If you come from a more rural area, you may find the pace active. The airport can provide a short hop to Atlanta and then to just about anywhere. You can get to the Florida panhandle in half a day and there you will find the most beautiful beaches anywhere including Bermuda. The casinos provide some fun and good food and Gatlinburg, Tn. and Branson, Mo. are a reasonable drive for an entertaining break. I mention this because I know that in your area there is so much within an hour's drive while here there isn't much between places. Good luck!!

[rwiddi]

Thanks Everone for your advice.
From all the forums that I am reading sounds like Madison is the place we want to be. george.co.msgirl mentioned some subdivisions are those the only areas that we should look? Also, I don't think we will be able to find a house before it is time to move down there so does anyone know a apartment complex that will do short term leases in a good area? Thanks is advance.

RWIDDI

[Bdeauxja]

Hi Rwiddi - We too live in VA and may relocate to Jackson. We just got back from a visit and even though the mountains here are beautiful, the people we met were wonderful, very friendly and fun. I have lived in quite a few places in the US and have learned that no matter how pretty a place is, it's the people that make it home. Re being a stay at home mom, the RE agent told me from her experience she thought MS probably had more stay at home moms than anywhere in the US. I liked it and am very hopeful.

[rwiddi]

Thanks BDEAUXJA-
I am very excited to hear that. It is great news. So did you buy a house? And what areas did you like? It always good to hear an outsiders viewpoint.

Thanks.

[george.co.msgirl]

rwiddi,

I think you'll be pleased with your choice. Madison, however does not have apartment complexes in the city. I think this is what keeps crime down because you don't have as much transient population. Ridgeland has several apartments close to Madison. There are a few other subdivisions close to the interstate in Madison other than what I mentioned. Fontainelle and the Reserve and Ashton Park but they are way out of the $200,000 range. The others are close and with interests rates going down you may be able to go in the $250,000 range. Which most of the houses in the other subdivisions could be in that range. Moderator cut: no realty company advertising in state forums other than realtor.com You can zone in to the area in Madison that has 463/Main Street and see the houses listed on it that are for sale. You can also check out the neighborhoods. Good Luck and let me know if you have more questions about Madison.

[Bdeauxja]

Hi Rwiddi - No, we haven't bought yet. But I felt there were so many choices. We saw the Madison/Ridgeland/NE Jackson/Fondren/Belhaven areas. They all have their pros and cons. Online, you'll read advice avoiding Fondren/Belhaven because of crime. But I spoke w/people who actually live there and they wouldn't live anywhere else. They have strong n'hood associations apparently. Others who lived in Madison loved it too. The schools that I saw have "specialties" meaning one may be more invested in high-tech, another in the arts etc. NE Jackson had large homes,large lots, nice trees, but in some parts near the river, the houses lie in a flood zone. The food that we ate was outstanding! The pace of life seemed nice and slow. The only thing I would have liked to see was more "walkability" in communities - viable market centers that were accessible on foot from ne'hoods. Fondren had a little of that and it seemed to promise more. I am no expert, was only there for a few days, but these are my impressions. Hope it helps!