What do you think of TUPELO, MS? (Starkville, Corinth: school districts, community college)

[mauldinja]

What is the mention of a mosquito problem? Where/what part of Tupelo are they a problem?

[mauldinja]

I am planning to move to Golden, MS in November 09 and hope to move to Tupelo when I finish school, Physical Therapy Aide, hope to land a job at NMMC. My family has lived in Golden, MS all my life but I was raised in IL and have lived in WI for the past 22 years. I can't take one more cold winter here, I'm done! I have been trying to sell my house in WI the past two years with no luck. I have decided I'm leaving in November if it sells or not, I just HATE the cold and snow!!! I am concerned that the lifestyle change will be so drastic that I will not be happy? I feel as long as I don't have to deal with the cold & snow everything else will work out. I plan to rent an apartment for the first year or so until I get to know Tupelo, I think it will be easier to meet more people living in an apartment building. I researched one by the mall (something Crossing) think it has a pool (yes). I am also a certified Aqua fitness instructor & BodyStep instructor and have degree in Fitness & Nutrition any recommendations for fitness centers in Tupelo? I also have degree in interior decorating/sales/marketing. I also have several years office experience in a variety of office environments. I was thinking of checking out Manpower Temp Serv. to maybe get an office job if I cannot get into NMMC right away or can't obtain a fitness instructor position. I also have experience working in a banquet hall as a server. I have heard of some mosquito issue in Tupelo, I would like to avoid that area, where is it? Thanks for your help! Looking forward to comin' to ol' MS. JAM

[Scotslass]

My fiancé is moving back to the Tupelo area next year. I must admit I only went to the mall at barnes crossing so it wasn't really "Tupelo" though from Reading everyones replies it sounds lovely. Is there a nice community feel and alot happening downtown? Bars/cafes etc? A good coffee shop is a must for me. For us coffee addicts LOL.

Also I'm guessing there aren't as many what I'd call "decent" pubs there? It's not a must but rather a bonus.

My fiancés aunt told me that Tupelo and the surrounding area is the best place to live in the state. Not sure if that is true or not?

[brickpatio]

Tupelo is both pleasant and prosperous. There aren't really any bad sections of town. There are some nice and some extremely nice residential areas on the south, west, and north sides of town. The shopping areas, movie theatres etc are fresh and new. The downtown is somewhat non-descript but they are building new buildings downtown to increase the sense of community. There aren't many historic residential streets. It's 45 minutes from Oxford and Ole Miss and an hour from Starkville and Mississippi State. The weather is mostly nice, with a sprinkling of snow perhaps once a year. Scenic Pickwick Lake is about an hour up the Natchez Trace and Memphis is an hour and a half away. Some of the public schools around Tupelo and adjacent counties are well regarded. The medical center and business community are very highly regarded. Toyota just built one of the largest industrial projects in America just outside Tupelo. The surrounding countryside is not bad, basically a mixture of pastures and wooded areas. Overall, while Tupelo is in no way picturesque, it's very liveable.

[jaxnbulldog]

I lived in Tupelo in the early 80's for about one year, before being transferred away. I would go back in a minute. It is THE best place in Mississippi to live and I've been to most places in Mississippi. Although to be fair, I've never really been to the South Memphis area much. It is as someone said in an earlier post, a nice small-big city. There is plenty to do but without the Megatropolous size of the truly large cities like Memphis, Birmingham, Atlanta, etc. I think of it as small town living without the small town drawbacks like nothing to do and/or everybody knowing everybody else's business (though I guess there's some of that everywhere).

I was raised in and now again live in Jackson, MS and will for the forseeable (sp?) future for family reasons, but Tupelo (and many of the surrounding communities) is a great place to live and raise a family.

[Scotslass]

Thanks for that.

Sounds like a nice place from what i'm reading.

[CaliforniaPlaya]

Sounds like a nice place, but does it have more of a city or country feel to it, or both? I am considering eventually moving that way to work at the Toyota plant if/when it opens. I was born and raised in San Francisco and I don't like that overcrowded city feeling. I now live a bit south of there at the edge of Silicon Valley in a city that I consider small...only 200,00 people. From what I've seen here and other places, Tupelo seems more like small town or almost country living. I think I might have a hard time getting used to that. Are there other areas close by that have more of a city feel?

If I do decide to do this, I would of course visit for a few days and see what the area has to offer. And if I make the move, I would rent a place for a while until I get used to the area. What areas are close to the Toyota plant that would be desirable to rent in for a while that are close to 'stuff' - shopping, movies, other things to do?

Thanks!!!

[brickpatio]

Tupelo feels kind of like a suburb, population roughly 40,000, that happens to have a couple of older neighborhoods and a small main street downtown and a lot of newer areas.

At the intersection of Highways 78 and 45 is a mall, Lowes, Wal-Mart, movie theatres, etc, like anywhere else basically but it's all pretty new and nice-looking. The residential areas really are pretty nice, a lot of trees and some huge houses in some areas etc, along Lakeshire Drive (basically a country club area, not a lot of rentals around there).

Your more interesting diversions for restaurants and bars, sports, etc would be college towns within an hour's drive (Oxford and Starkville). This fall Mississippi State in Starkville has 5 top-15 football teams on their home schedule. State is usually pretty good in basketball and baseball, largest college baseball stadium, I think, in the country. Ole Miss football is known for "the Grove" (pre-game and post-game parties) and 'the Square" downtown but this year actually is supposed to be good, ranked #8. Oxford is routinely listed as one of the 10 best places to live in America. Pickwick Lake to the north is great for sailing and fishing.

Overall, it's definitely not California. It's mainly a small city in a mostly rural area. But crime and traffic are pretty much zero, pretty good area for jobs, low cost of living, and yes there are some things to do. Come to think of it, Oxford is probably, I'm guessing, maybe 45 minutes from Toyota. If you don't mind driving, that's something to seriously consider also.

[CaliforniaPlaya]

Thank you brickpatio, thats a great description. And the zero traffic part made me lol - I can't imagine that. Its almost 3am, I just got home from work, and theres traffic here even at that early/late hour.

[aiangel_writer]

Wow, just about any area surrounding the Toyota plant will seem very rural to you. Memphis is a bit over an hours drive from Toyota.

Toyota is located halfway between Tupelo and New Albany at a small place called Blue Springs. Oxford is West of Tupelo by about an hour and to the East is the Tenn Tom waterway if you like water sports.

Lee County is a wet county, but Union and Pontotoc Counties, which border the Toyota Plant are dry counties. There are bars in Tupelo but at the moment they do not serve on Sunday.

Tupelo has really made strides to encourage growth from younger people and has worked in it's downtown revitalization in trying to make it more appealing by building places where younger people would love to call home.

Tupelo, MS - Elvis' birthplace features hotels, restaurants, shopping, parks & more family attractions and Community Development Foundation - Tupelo, Mississippi & Lee County Mississippi are two helpful resources for gaining insight into Tupelo and surrounding areas.