Moving to Mississippi from the UK

[Tama]

CEETEE's excellent post should help out a lot. Let me also say welcome and add a few thoughts. It will depend on where in the U.K. you are coming from as far as some adjustments are concerned. For example, if you are near London then you may miss the easy access to the theatre or the other cultural activities. You will miss the easy transportation available in the U.K with trains and busses connecting everywhere. In Mississippi you will find little convenient public ground transport. You will miss the large variety of ethnic restaurants and, perhaps, need to seek out intellectual stimulation. You could join a book club, the public library, or a garden club. I don't know Lee County but if a class in painting or a language appeals to you, get involved. You will make friends and have an outlet. Physical fitness centers and exercise classes are also a way to get amongst the locals and do yourself some good as well.

If you haven't made such a major move before remember you will have to go through culture shock. Google about it and be prepared. Don't make comparisons but rather look for novel things about your new locale. And don't expect it to be all smooth going. You will miss home and feel some alienation in your new locale. It will all adjust in the end if you just let yourself go through the ups and downs and realize that everybody goes through this with culture shock.

This web site will give you some other possibilities.
Mississippi Believe It! - Facts about Mississippi Business, Medicine, Entertainers, Writers, Musicians, Athletes, Arts, Healthcare, Generosity and People.

[Ceetee]

"you may miss the easy access to the theatre or the other cultural activities. You will miss the easy transportation available in the U.K with trains and busses connecting everywhere. In Mississippi you will find little convenient public ground transport. You will miss the large variety of ethnic restaurants and, perhaps, need to seek out intellectual stimulation." awwwwwwww now I'm homesick lol.

[theamericanguy]

Wow, that is going to be SOOOO different than what you are used to. You will definitely stick out and probably have trouble handling things for a while, just like I would be coming from the Northern United States to Mississippi. Good luck if you haven't moved yet.

[Mississippienne]

Originally Posted by Ceetee

awwwwwwww now I'm homesick lol.

Look at it as an adventure. One thing I've noticed from British expats especially, is that they come to the US with the idea that the US is just like the UK, only with funny accents. Then they get angry and frustrated when it's not! You wouldn't move to Spain or Russia thinking that it's going to be the same as home, and you shouldn't go to the US with that idea, either.

Mississippi has a very different culture than what you've seen from movies and television set in the US. It's got a slower-paced lifestyle and some rich history of it's own. If you get interested in colonial or Civil War history, you'll find MS has some treasures to explore. We have more antebellum (pre-Civil War) homes and Civil War battlefields than I can count. MS is the birthplace of blues and rock music. Elvis was born right there in Tupelo in Lee co. where you'll be. Take a trip to the Delta and listen to some authentic blues music (there's a festival for B.B. King every year in his hometown of Indianola) and then head on down Hwy 61 to see Windsor Ruins (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluebird218/3065789378/ - broken link) at Port Gibson and the unbelievable beauty of the plantation homes in Natchez. A few hours south you'll find Gulfport-Biloxi's casinos and beaches, and from there New Orleans is only an hour's drive away.

[bigace]

You will be less than an hour from Oxford which host plenty of cultural and arts events at the University of Mississippi. Not near as many as you are probably used to but its good to keep your eye on because there are some great events from time to time.

[homesheba]

welcome!!!
and also you will find that it really is alot friendlier down here
than in many places in the usa-
so that is another good thing about us .
that will take some getting used to also..