Possibly moving to Jackson, MS...and know nothing about the area...help!! (Ridgeland: to rent, law school)

[jacksonian]

I agree that it sounds like you're looking for something like Fondren. I have a great house there and it's definitely safe and affordable, and close to everything since it's centrally located. There is something going on in downtown Fondren almost every week, with art shows, music, run/walks, etc. I highly suggest you check it out.

[jaxnbulldog]

The Belhaven area is very close to UMC. I live there. There are two colleges located there, Belhaven College and Milsaps College, so there are plenty of small appartments/duplexes in the area. Also many houses are under renovation in the area. Fondren is also close by. Both have a bit of Artsy-Fartsy appeal to them. Depending on how close you want to live to MCSoL or UMC, there are plenty of appartment complexes that are relatively safe. Jackson as a whole has a crime problem, but some areas are OK and some are to be avoided at all costs.

Pearl and Brandon are nearby to the East. Flowood is a pretty safe area, but traffic is a b*tch at rush hours for any outlying community. Richland/Florence to the South are tollerable. Clinton to the west is actually a nice area. Ridgeland to the north is very livable. All of these areas butt up to the Jackson city limits.

[bornjacksonian]

Belhaven sits in between both MC Law (downtown) and UMC schools and is a wonderful area. Please check out some of the nice historic homes in the area and some homes in this neighborhood were once homes to famous writers and other notable jacksonians.

[family601]

THANKYOU ALL for your prompt replies & detailed area geography in terms of where to look. Just one more thing to clarify:
Does traffic is really horrendous during rush hour? I mean like metro area of NY/Chicago kinda? bumper to bumper/parking lot style?? I asked just so we can include flowood/brandon/ridgeland in our prospective area of rental if traffic is not so bad during normal rush hour

TY

[jacksonian]

Its best if you can either leave work before 5 or stay off the main arteries. The worst is Lakeland Drive, which is Flowood and Brandon. The traffic is not near as bad as rush hour in Atlanta, I know that for sure. If you live in the burbs, expect 45 minutes to an hour, maybe more.

[Mississippienne]

I'm about your age (24-year-old female) and if I was going to live anywhere in JXN, it'd be in Fondren. That area has several hospitals, a bunch of cool restaurants, Fondren Theatre Workshop, a yoga studio, hair and nail and tanning salons, Rainbow Natural Food Co-op, antique shops, art and photography studios, and one of my faves, the Fondren Beverage Emporium. There's also a trolley that covers most of the area.

I would highly recommend checking out the Jackson Free Press and seeing what sort of activities and events are going on.

[nancy thereader]

Nice post & full of good info. Thank you.

[JACKSON TAXI DRIVER]

A big southern welcome to anyone moving to Mississippi. I live in Clinton Ms. 1 block from Mississippi College, which is a Baptist sponsored college. Clinton is a nice and quiet smaller city on the western city limits of Jackson. I consider it a good family orientated city...safe and friendly...plenty of bike trails. As a cab driver, I see all of the area's that are mentioned on this forumn. I agree with all of the suggestions of places to live...Belhaven is a great place to live....it's an older part of town but has beautiful older houses...no cookie cutter subdivision here...all kinds of houses....and plenty of big trees to make it nice and shady in the summer months. I see lots of people walking in the area and enjoying the outdoors. About 10 miles north of downtown Jackson (which is undergoing a great renovation) is the Ridgeland area. Shopping malls, bike trails, and lots of nice apartment complex's . Just north of Ridgeland is Madison. It is rated one of the 10 most liveable cities in the U.S. Great shopping, bike trails..nice apt complex's...really beautiful (can be expensive tho). and east of Ridgeland is Flowood....To die for shopping mall....They are still building new stores of both sides of the highway there...and it has the Resivour...boating and fishing. If I were young and single...I'd live either Ridgeland or Flowood. I deliver a lot of young Yuppies (oops,,,showing my age...don"t know what they call them now) from a large nightclub in north jackson to Ridgeland/Flowood/Madison area's every weekend.....they say they love the area's....several cities around Jackson are dry counties...so no alcohol sold there. If anyone needs to check out the apartments for the greater Jackson area...here is the website for and apartment guide that I use to direct me to the different apartment complex's ...it shows the prices and locations...http://www.aptdir.com/ I would suggest that you also check with the local police departments , esp the crime prevention departments for advice about certain areas or apt complex's. For the cities surrounding Jackson...you can easily find a "cop on every corner"...(ok it seems like that when I am rushing to get to a call fast)...but Jackson police are busier....not to say Jackson is unsafe...you just have to learn what area's to stay out of. The people here are friendly...but like other parts of the country...we do have some "sour-pusses" but since I moved here 5 years ago from the Delta area, I have not had any problems finding nice people.

[JACKSON TAXI DRIVER]

FAMILY601..Lakeland dr,,,which was mentioned by Jacksonian, has 4or 5 lanes.going in each direction...plenty of redlights...easy to get thro when it is not crowded...but rush hour....listen to some good music or do facial exercises to relieve the stress of going slow and hitting every red light. But my pet peeve is I-55 from Woodrow Wilson to downtown area..it has several sharp curves affectionately known as the Water Works curve that frequently have accidents ..north bound or southbound.....and the "Stack" where I-55 and I-20 intertwine....can cause a bad backup problem. But fear not...there are alternative routes and that you can take to escape the madness and get home at a decent hour. Once you get here....you can get advice from co-workers or neighbors on how to survive the rush hour.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by JACKSON TAXI DRIVER

Just north of Ridgeland is Madison. It is rated one of the 10 most liveable cities in the U.S. Great shopping, bike trails..nice apt complex's...

Quick edit, there are no apartments in Madison. They do not allow rental properties there.

Other than that, good information Taxi Driver!