Upscale but not snobby, impressive downtown, very safe, no college (Jackson: fit in, real estate)

[Aquatique]

Hello,
My husband and I will be spending this coming October - May exploring around FL, AL, and MS with the hope of finding a place where we want to live. Ocean Springs was recommended to me and it looks very nice. Please let me know if it's the best fit in MS for our criteria:

We're looking for a town with an established feel. A little bit upscale but not ritzy and snobby.

We like pedestrian friendly downtown areas with restaurants and shops. Can be slightly urban but not big-city. Ideal downtown would be charming, impressive, historic. Not tiny.

Very safe, low crime, not common to see homeless people.

Not a college town or an area dominated by college age people.

My main 'concern' about Ocean Springs is that I want to be near a good grocery store and I'm not sure what I'll think of the options in Ocean Springs.

We really like the idea of living somewhere that's kind of under-the-radar. That's part of what's steering us away from FL and more towards AL and MS. Not excited about having to pay income tax, but hoping maybe home prices and cost of living might make up for that?

So, is Ocean Springs the best fit in MS for our wishlist? Are there other towns we should check out? Thanks for any input you can offer.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

I knew this thread looked familiar. Then I see that I commented in your thread in the Alabama forum.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/alab...o-college.html

I went ahead and linked that thread, since the usual suspects will quickly show up here to tell you how terrible MS is, and how great AL is.

So anyway, back to your question, if you want an area that is growing and has a heartbeat, you can concentrate your efforts in a few places that would conceivably meet your criteria and have the 'best' grocery stores:

- Coast (from Bay St. Louis to Ocean Springs, including Gulfport/Biloxi/etc.);
- Madison or Brandon in Jackson Metro, maybe a few other places;
- Hernando area in Memphis Metro.

I left out small towns without a 'new' grocery store, and college towns. And while many of the small towns have cool downtowns, some can definitely be snobby. The Coast is going to be your best bet to get away from snobbiness. And not many people move to Jackson unless it's a specifically for a job. Mainly native Mississippians there, so again, snobbiness, which just tends to happen anywhere. Memphis Metro has more of a cross section of people from everywhere.

As far as grocery stores, Kroger has a hold on Mississippi. We just seem to not be able to get the Publix breakthrough, even though it is SORELY needed. The only Whole Foods (I think) is in Jackson. Now....Gulfport has a Rouse's, and I think they are pretty good, and so does Diamondhead. And of course fresh seafood markets are everywhere on the coast.

Remember, when looking at the Coast, the whole place connects. If you're looking at Ocean Springs, Biloxi and Gulfport are right next door, as is D'Iberville, etc. It's certainly a different feel than the rest of MS, it's got a lot of French influence and culture.

[JacksonPanther]

Hard pressed to find anything pedestrian friendly. There's just nowhere in MS with enough density to support that pedestrian lifestyle, except ocean springs because of the tourism.

[EscAlaMike]

Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis I think are your best MS options (as I said in the other thread )

[brickpatio2018]

I agree obviously with Ocean Springs and Bay St Louis (and Pass Christian) as coming the closest to your description.

You have ruled out Oxford because it's a college town, but that would have been the other contender.

The city of Madison is building a brand-new downtown, designed with historic architecture (see "Madison and Main" on google), that is targeted for completion in 2027. Adjacent developments are under construction now (Magnolia District and Village at Madison). Madison's plan includes a nice grocery store in the district itself. Madison had no violent crimes last year, so they meet that part of your criteria also.

I agree with Hernando being cute and authentic. Not quite upscale just yet but prosperous fast-growing and getting upscale.

Laurel is beautiful and is making lots of lists these days for nicest towns, especially with the HGTV Home Town tv show. It isn't big enough to be wealthy in the way you describe (with fancy grocery stores downtown etc), but I do think they benefit from proximity to Hattiesburg (30 minutes) for a regional population of around 200,000 people. I assume that's why downtown Laurel has been making such a comeback these days and increasingly charming, authentic, and vibrant.

After that, Natchez is gorgeous but too small and quiet for your criteria. Same for Brookhaven. Tupelo is nice, prosperous and clean but the downtown isn't quite a place to live just yet. New Albany is extremely quaint but too small for your criteria. And Hattiesburg is too big for your criteria I think.

[viverlibre]

There are some good suggestions here. BSL/OS would likely be my top two, but certainly check into the insurance cost and flood plain information. Another suggestion you may want to consider is the Township in Ridgeland. There's rumors of a new to the area national grocery store that will be in the Top Golf development that is going in across the interstate (near Ridgeland HS).

[JoeJunior]

In the southeast, just about all the best smaller cities to live in will be college towns. I'm talking Athens, GA, Oxford, MS, Auburn, AL and the list goes on and on.

One of the premier cities right now is Cookeville, Tennessee. But it has Tennessee Tech University.

The one superior town to live in without any university is Franklin, Tennessee--20 miles south of downtown Nashville. It's where so many music and movie stars live--think Justin Timberlake and Nicole Kidman, Kid Rock and dozens more. But it's an expensive town with median home prices this year averaging $1 million. But what charity music performances the city has. Our daughter was born with us living in a rural part of Williamson County.

Our granddaughter lives in Ocean Springs. Her homeowners' insurance premiums are almost as much as her house payment. It can be the same anytime you're close to the Gulf of Mexico.

[Aquatique]

I so appreciate all of this excellent info. Thank you!

That Madison / Ridgeland area is very intriguing to me. When I look at real estate I notice I like a lot of the homes up that way, and that's rare for me. Usually I have to sort through many listings before I see one I like, but in Madison I seem to like the majority of what's on the market!

For several of the locations we're considering, I do worry about the property insurance expense. It's a bad situation throughout Florida, I'm guessing it'll be an issue in Fairhope/Daphne AL, and I've read several warnings here in the MS forum about the coastal region, particularly south of I-10. Nevertheless, we do intend to explore the Mississippi coast from Ocean Springs to Bay St Louis and if we fall in love with a town we'll have to figure out how to make it work.

We've only visited MS once, back in 2017 we stayed in a really cool old house in Natchez and had the most wonderful time. Looking forward to exploring more of the state. I think we'll do the coast first, then stop in Brookhaven on the way up to Madison/Ridgeland. I don't think anyone has mentioned Meridian in this thread but that's another town that caught my eye. Any thoughts about Meridian for my criteria?

Thank you!

[EscAlaMike]

Originally Posted by Aquatique

I don't think anyone has mentioned Meridian in this thread but that's another town that caught my eye. Any thoughts about Meridian for my criteria?

Thank you!

There's a reason Meridian hasn't been mentioned. It's not what you're looking for.

[viverlibre]

Another place to check out is Waterpointe in Flowood: https://waterpointelife.com/information/

It is currently under development, but may fit many of your needs. I think it is going to be great. There are tons of medical providers within a couple of miles and the St. Dominic Hospital is only about 6 miles down Lakeland (Baptist Hospital is not much further).