Single mother moving to Jackson (Pearl, Ridgeland: apartment, rentals, crime)

[shana1234]

Hi! I'm moving from GA to the Jackson area on Dec 1st. I must say it scares me a bit to read some of the posts here- but I wanted the truth-- so...
I am open minded and this move is CRUCIAL to advancing my career, so I am determined to make the best of it- and I would NEVER judge a city based soley on statistics (I LOVE GA- but it never fares too well on the lists, either). Also, I like to think I'm not too hard to please..

I will only be here a year before returning to GA, so I need a rental house.. possibly an apartment- but not in a complex..
I can afford approximately $900-$1000 per month rent.
I have a 3 year old son and have live-in childcare (not rich-- it's part of my divorce settlement); however, for socialization with other children and intellectual stimulation, I prefer he also attend some sort of day school- NOT a daycare center.
I will be working in Jackson proper, so I need a reasonable commute (again, coming from Atlanta gridlock, I'm used to horrible traffic)
Looking for suggestions on an area that isn't an insulated, gated bubble... (something with a little personality) but I also don't want to put bars on my windows or get mugged on the way to the grocery... would enjoy a "neighborhood"...

[tmsmith06]

I am moving to the Jackson area in the next month myself. I have been asking some of the same questions that you are and I am not getting much of a reply. I have been told that Madison, Mississippi is a VERY expensive place to live. When comparing Madison to Brandon or Ridgeland, I find the later two much more affordable. I have 4 kids and the school system is of importance to me aswell. Madison schools are top notch, but I think Brandon and Ridgeland fall directly behind. I would like to have more information on this subject as well.
Hope your move goes well!!

[jacksonian]

If you're looking to rent in a neighborhood with character and charm, then I would look into the Fondren area of Jackson. I live here, and no, I do not have bars on my doors or windows, and neither does anyone else around me. There are always people out walking their dogs and pushing strollers around, and the mature trees have been showing off their colors of fall here lately, which makes for a beautiful time of year here. Fondren is more of a community than a neighborhood, and no there are no gates. Here's a site with some info: Fondren Renaissance Foundation

Some people think that all areas of Jackson are crime-ridden, but you seem like an open-minded type person who can see something for what it is and not just what you have heard about it, so I invite you to check the area out as there are a number of houses up for rent that I have seen recently. If you're interested, send me a pm and I can get you a list of numbers of some of the rentals around here. Good luck on the move and hope to see you in the neighborhood.

[auntbee]

Despite what Jacksonian says, I wouldn't recommend anywhere in Jackson for a young single woman. The Reservoir area might be good for you. Pine Lake School is a good one. It's at Pine Lake Baptist church, but is an excellent school. My grandkids all went to preschool there and they aren't Baptists.

[jacksonian]

Despite what auntbee says, Jackson is just like any other city of decent size. It has its good areas and bad areas, and Fondren, Belhaven, Eastover, and most of Northeast Jackson are considered good areas.

I can't speak for the rest of Jackson, but Fondren has stronger community ties than any of the neighborhoods in any of the suburb towns of Jackson. I know every person's name that lives on my street and their pets' names. I know even more peoples' names that don't live on my street. The cashiers at my grocery store, which is not Wal-Mart, know me by name. The owner of my favorite coffee shop, which is not Starbuck's, knows me by name and what I like to drink. I can walk to get coffee, to eat dinner/lunch, to the bank, and to church. And of all the times I have walked in my community, which is nearly everyday, not once have I been harrassed, attacked, assaulted, raped, mugged or anything of the like.

[ffdert07]

You know I have read a lot of these post and I worked for AMR Jackson for 3 + years and NO WHERE in Jackson is a good area. Why doesnt anyone suggest the Flowood area. It is one of the fast growing cities in the US. Just a thought

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by ffdert07

You know I have read a lot of these post and I worked for AMR Jackson for 3 + years and NO WHERE in Jackson is a good area. Why doesnt anyone suggest the Flowood area. It is one of the fast growing cities in the US. Just a thought

If fear is your first priority, then you can be scared anywhere... There are more gated neighborhoods in the suburbs than there are in Jackson. What does that say? To each his/her own I guess...

I'm sorry, but Flowood is definitely not one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. It is a retail strip, not a residential community. The daytime population may be close to 25,000, but the actual living population is less than 6,000. But if living behind a Wal-Mart is your thing, then

[auntbee]

Actually Flowood is a fast growing area and there are no houses behind WalMart. Drive down Old Fannin Rd or the Hugh Ward Parkway sometime and see all the new residential areas. I remember when the only thing is Flowood was a drive in theater.

[Claude Wilson]

Originally Posted by ffdert07

You know I have read a lot of these post and I worked for AMR Jackson for 3 + years and NO WHERE in Jackson is a good area. Why doesnt anyone suggest the Flowood area. It is one of the fast growing cities in the US. Just a thought

What a truly stupid and deceitful comment.

I am still in the process of moving to Raymond, MS from Southern California.

I have been STUDYING this area for more than 2 years in preparation
for moving.

Many of the people who claim areas like Jackson are just "no good"
are saying so because they're heavily Black Populated and simply
seeing too many blacks in an area constitutes "danger" for them.

A lot of you who keep harping on "crime" (PULLL-LEASE) in the
Jackson Metro area need to go visit some really major cities to see what
CRIME is.

There are definitely a few "ghetto" run-down areas in Jackson; there
is also crime-thugs-drugs in many of those areas.

But for the most part, Jackson is not the hell-hole that these people make it out to be.

In fact, this entire area is breathtakingly gorgeous; the overwhelming
majority of the people, black and white, are extremely nice and most
of them are God-fearing law-abiding christians. Even many of the
Blacks that "look" scary to Paraonid Whites are really just misunderstood
poor people who would not rob or hurt you.

The people here do have thick southern accents--but they are not
dumb or backwards.

This is a beautiful, beautiful state full of lush natural woodland, scenic
roads and endless ponds.

It's very calm and peaceful here.

Compared to Southern California--there is NO traffic here.

The schools are "quaint" and "simple", but they're no worse than the
schools in rich, wealthy Southern California.

Again...because the people down here have "thick accents", they
are STEREOTYPED as being "dumb; backwards" and many of the people
down here have a "paraonia" about their school systems not being good
enough.

They don't have HOLLYWOOD or MALIBU or "Valley Kids" or Interracial
Meccas down here---but this is the Bible Belt---so they OBSESS over
church and the quality of their schools (because outsiders make fun of their accents and call them 'dumb').

Teacher-student shootings and stabbings (which are like 70 a day in
Los Angeles county) occur in the Jackson/Rankin Metro area maybe
twice a year!

Believe me when I say that the kids in Southern California are spoiled,
reckless animals compared to the nice polite intelligent (though bored)
kids I see here in Mississippi.

The countryside villages of Byram, Terry, Florence, Pearl and Raymond
are far nicer (IMO) than the stuck-up pretentious McMansion
areas of Madison and Ridgeland, which are quite beautiful, too.

The city of Jackson itself is in serious need of development and
expansion, because it's like a heart without sufficient a blood flow.

A lot of the problem is that Whites down here are trying to annex
themselves from the Blacks and it keeps the capital city from being
able to unite and utilize all of its human resources.

The schools down here suffer the same "we're better than them" b.s.
divisions.

I have spent much time down here in every type of area and because
I am not the "scared" type of woman---nobody dared mess with me.

If you're going to have a "scared" mentality, then you're going to attract
something bad to yourself.

Let me tell you...this is EASY LIVING down here.

Everywhere I have gone, whether it be around Black Thugs or White Rednecks, the people have been extraordinarily friendly (and of course
curious).

I really hate how Mississippi people are so quick to put down their own
Mississippi kin and pit the towns against each other.

For those of us who come from someplace else---this whole metropolitan
area is 85% good.

They have GREAT Weather; gorgeously uplifting landscapes; very delicious
food; warm very kind people; a low cost of living

YES--it is slow and boring if you're used to a huge city with plenty of
SIN and nightlife,

but I'm loving the mellow natural pace here.

(then again, I'm a LONER type)

But this really is a place where you MAKE your reality what you want it to
be.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by auntbee

Actually Flowood is a fast growing area and there are no houses behind WalMart.

There are no houses behind WalMart yet. Flowood has nowhere else to grow other than behind the retail developments, the stores have already taken over all the land on Hwy 25/Lakeland Drive. It was a bad design from the beginning, and now they will try to glue on ornaments like a "town center", which is going behind the mall, to make it a "town." I'm not trying to downplay the citizens of Flowood by any means, I have a friend who lives there, but the town started out as a strip mall and it will be battling that fact for a long time. The planned town center is actually a good idea, but it's a shame that it took this long for something well designed and planned to be implemented, and it will not be able to reach its full potential because of the site location.