Oxford - Pros & Cons - Let Me Have It ! ! ! (Hattiesburg: real estate, to buy)

[hanna]

Oxford has a population of about 14,000. With the expected annexation, it should have a population of 20,000. There are between 14,000 and 15,000 students.

I work at the university, and, as far as I am concerned, the college students (current and former), developers, and town government (by letting the developers dictate growth) are the three things that have ruined this town.

Unlike other college towns there isn't a "university district" or anything like that. I grew up in a smallish college town and very rarely would you see college students living in houses in residential districts. Most students lived in neighborhoods surrounding the university. This is not the case in Oxford. You buy a house (one that you can afford since you work at the university) and you are surrounded my students. I went to college, I know what it's like to be a student in a small town. You feel the town owes you something because without it, the town wouldn't be what it is. There is some truth to that, but when the students are contributing to what makes the town such a difficult place to live, students (and their parents) need to take some responsibility.

With the students living all over town you cannot escape the college lifestyle: oversized trucks parked in yards, on curbs, in the middle of the street, and wherever else they want; parties; drunkeness; so on and so forth.

Unlike other college towns I have lived in, the students have a very large sense of entitlement. Probably because many of their parents buy them houses, BMWs, Porches, and whatever other luxury car is the It Car that year. This sense of entitlement contributes to the air that the students own and run the town. Alumni often have the same sense of entitlement.

Oxford is an incredibly difficult town to live in. There is some art and some music. But all of these things are difficult to enjoy when you are surrounded by drunk, yabbering students (when trying to enjoy music) or when you are trying to navigate the square around the students and alumni who feel the town must cater to their drunken whims. What happens is that the culture and art isn't worth the hassle.

I am sure there are students who do not have a sense of entitlement, unfortunately, they are overshadowed by those that do.

[Willy99]

Uh oh. Let's not get started with the "coast trash" stuff. I dealt with that enough up there. Ocean Springs, Bay St. Louis, downtown Biloxi/Gulfport have more charm and culture than Oxford could ever dream about, even after the destruction down here. Honky Tonks and casinos? I take it from your anti-Ole Miss post that you're an MSU alum so let's not get into a discussion dealing with the redneck persuasion. You obviously haven't visited Hattiesburg often or stayed for very long when you have. USM is a university based around liberal arts and the workforce that often goes thankless such as teachers and nurses. The strong commitment to the artistic student community is apparent all over town. Hanna hit the nail on the head about Oxford and the Ole Miss lifestyle. I like to call it the "Mississippi Mystique;" the southern gentlemen and ladies who strive to become doctors and lawyers or "marry up," still lost in the "tradition" of the old South all while getting "trashed" every night at one of the billions of nightclubs or drive thru beer barns. As Hanna stated, I know there are many great, intelligent students that attend, but the stereotype of the party school is unfortunately very true with Ole Miss and this spills out into the surrounding community.

[Angela986]

Don't really know to much about Oxford. I know that they have a huge festival in May that has about 40,000 people. Also, there's lots of things to do in North Mississippi, if you know where to look, and Oxford isn't to far off the beaten path. Olive Branch and South Haven aren't to far away, and Tupelo is relatively close as well.

[eddie gein]

Although Oxford may have problems it is still a really cool place to at least visit.

It reminds me of "Hill Valley" in all those Back to the Future flicks. Oxford just has a unique charactor to it that I've never found anywhere else. Perhaps it is because it is so small yet so dressed up.

I like Hattiesburg as well but it seems like a standard normal college town. There is nothing about Hattiesburg that seems terribly unique.

Of the college towns in Mississippi it is Starkeville that seems kind of crummy.
Not near as nice as the other two cities.

[thatgrl]

Traffic is bad! Food is Great, Housing is High, People are Nice. Ole Miss is Snobby...

[AppalachianAngler]

Originally Posted by Willy99

Uh oh. Let's not get started with the "coast trash" stuff. I dealt with that enough up there. Ocean Springs, Bay St. Louis, downtown Biloxi/Gulfport have more charm and culture than Oxford could ever dream about, even after the destruction down here. Honky Tonks and casinos? I take it from your anti-Ole Miss post that you're an MSU alum so let's not get into a discussion dealing with the redneck persuasion. You obviously haven't visited Hattiesburg often or stayed for very long when you have. USM is a university based around liberal arts and the workforce that often goes thankless such as teachers and nurses. The strong commitment to the artistic student community is apparent all over town. Hanna hit the nail on the head about Oxford and the Ole Miss lifestyle. I like to call it the "Mississippi Mystique;" the southern gentlemen and ladies who strive to become doctors and lawyers or "marry up," still lost in the "tradition" of the old South all while getting "trashed" every night at one of the billions of nightclubs or drive thru beer barns. As Hanna stated, I know there are many great, intelligent students that attend, but the stereotype of the party school is unfortunately very true with Ole Miss and this spills out into the surrounding community.

Again, I'm not denying some of these stereotypes are true (there is only one "club", Nighttown and the rest are restaurants/bars. There is only only one "beer barn," The Rebel Barn), but would you please point me to all this culture in Ocean Springs, Hattiesburg, etc.? Why in the world would one stereotype the coast as coast trash if it was "full of culture?" The stereotype is definitely not true for all just like not all Ole Miss students are stuck up; I know lots of people from the coast and they are some of the best people I've met, but they don't exactly consider it a cultural hotbed. By the way, I noticed there were much more clubs in Hattiesburg, and USM is definitely a party school as well.

For art & music, Oxford has Southside Gallery, Square Books, Off Square Books, the Powerhouse, Proud Larry's, Thacker Mtn Radio at Square Books, and not to mention all the great things on campus.

Again, I'm not here to talk bad about the coast, because I like it down there. But, to say it puts Oxford's culture to shame is completely wrong. Oxford has more and is a lot smaller than Hattiesburg.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by AppalachianAngler

Again, I'm not denying some of these stereotypes are true (there is only one "club", Nighttown and the rest are restaurants/bars. There is only only one "beer barn," The Rebel Barn), but would you please point me to all this culture in Ocean Springs, Hattiesburg, etc.? Why in the world would one stereotype the coast as coast trash if it was "full of culture?" The stereotype is definitely not true for all just like not all Ole Miss students are stuck up; I know lots of people from the coast and they are some of the best people I've met, but they don't exactly consider it a cultural hotbed. By the way, I noticed there were much more clubs in Hattiesburg, and USM is definitely a party school as well.

For art & music, Oxford has Southside Gallery, Square Books, Off Square Books, the Powerhouse, Proud Larry's, Thacker Mtn Radio at Square Books, and not to mention all the great things on campus.

Again, I'm not here to talk bad about the coast, because I like it down there. But, to say it puts Oxford's culture to shame is completely wrong. Oxford has more and is a lot smaller than Hattiesburg.

There's no question about it, Oxford has more high culture, more good restaurants, more art galleries, more museums per capita than anywhere else in Mississippi. The only reason it doesn't have more is because it's a small town. Otherwise, it's a beautiful oasis in an otherwise barren cultural wasteland.

[MStoNCTri]

I lived in Oxford from April 1998 to September 2006. Part of that time I was in grad school, part of that time I was caring for a gravely ill parent, and the rest of that time I was getting sicker with what turned out to be cancer.

I agree that if you have money and a high tolerance for spoiled supposedly adult children with free reign and their parents' credit cards, Oxford is a tolerable place to reside. If, however, you are living on a budget, do not drink alcohol, and need quality medical care on a consistent basis, you will likely do better elsewhere.

I understand the schools are good. Oxford City being preferable to Lafayette County, mind. Decent Churches and a goodly number of them. The nearest synagogue is Memphis I believe. Unsure of nearest mosque.

I also agree that the best time to be there is summer. Fewer students is blissful and the prices in the stores go down a wee bit. Kroger was my favorite grocery store. The employees and managers there are lovely people. I miss them mightily, which surprised me.

If you need a taxi service you are essentially out of luck unless you are willing to accept being ripped off right and left. Watch out for non-legit taxis. I've been told horror stories. The one legal one when I left is run by a self-proclaimed carpetbagger Yankee. She will charge you high fees, but she will not harm you and is said to carry a gun but I did not see this for myself. She belongs to the chamber of commerce and so complaints can be made if you are not pleased with her service. Also with the police chief.

I gather there is a brisk illegal drug trade, but I did not partake and so cannot verify this. Much marijuana, a fair amount of cocaine in powder and rock form. The meth production went down after they made cold meds go behind the counter at pharmacies.

The best produce seems to go to Memphis, but there is a farmer market on the north end of town.

It's a hard place to live if you don't have money. They are recruiting retirees with incomes of at least $50K a year to the area if that tells you anything.

The U. offers many good things if you can tolerate the students and the alums. The new men's basketball coach appears to be pretty good, and the women's basketball coach is darn good. The tennis is great. And the baseball pretty damn good too. I have no idea of the football, honestly, as I don't care for the sport.

If it's the U you're interested in? Well, many people end their careers there or use it as a jumping off point. The three top profs in my program left during my time there, all to much better things, two of them are here where I am at UNC and Duke, for example.

It, like everywhere I've lived, has good and bad points. I wouldn't want my kids growing up there, but lots of people think it's just great for that. And I wouldn't want to be an older person with a limited income there.

That's about it. I'll check to see if you have any questions after a few days.

Good luck!

[Tupelo Honey]

MStoNC; I just fled. Methinks it's a simple trade off, too many people in your business or too many people in your face...and bad medicine is everywhere...just like bad law, that's why it's the practice, honey. Good luck finding a decent doc, and honest lawyer, or a sober woman in NC.

[Auggiedoggie]

Oxford is a wonderful place to live, as long as you keep in mind a few things:

1. It is better suited for families with a larger than average income.
2. It is better suited for retirees with a larger than average income.
3. It is better suited for students with a larger than average income.
4. It is better suited for students who are originally from Mississippi.

I went to Ole Miss in my mid-20s in 1991 and graduated in 1997; I was sorry to leave good friends behind but glad to move away. Oxford looks like a very charming little Mississippi town, but that veneer can be a bit thin in places. A lot of preppy snobs with very expensive automobiles that get driven to class or a few blocks at a time, and many people are extremely concerned with appearances (materialism/consumerism are NOT dirty words here). Not a very diverse population either, as I was questioning my personal preferences (yeah, I'm gay, but don't throw me under the bus just for that), so my experience was that of a self-supporting journalism student with very little income and not into dating girls at that time. I did have some good times though, and will be life-long friends with many people I met and hung out with.