Thinking of moving to Miss....

[oglebee02]

I highly recommend Ocean Springs. The people are awesome and there is art, culture, and good weather. (OK, aside from a 500-year hurricane...) It's got relatively high elevation and a lot of the city did not flood. My house was less than a mile from the beach, south of 90, and we were fine. We had to transfer out, but I would love to go back. Being military, we've been all over the place, and O.S. is one of my favorite places.

[pomona]

Again, all of your comments are so helpful! I get the idea, seems like coastal areas are THE thing, though I don't want to move from bad to worse. Hattiesburg sounds pretty good, what with the farmers markets ~ our main concern is to find a place that is not strip malls, fast food joints and car dealers and one cheap supermarket. We are not rich so McMansion type homes are out - prefer smaller older bungalows with lots of trees.
How cold does it get in Oxford, are there any weather disasters there? Earthquakes? Not a big fear I know -- does it flood a lot after lots of rain? And how small is the town, are there affordable apartments w/ atmosphere and houses w/ a walking type neighborhood?

Again, any opinions pro or con are welcome!

[shags1]

Oxford's not bad, except the college students tend to act foolishly at all times. There are a few Yoga studios here, some incredible restaurants (I highly recommend Ajax, Two Stick, Waltz, Marie's Lebanese, and the Yocona River Inn when it reopens) , a year-round farmers' market (even though I can't remember the name of it right now), many artists and musicians, and a lot of available, affordable housing (condos, apartments, and houses); there was a bonanza of development a while back, but the developers built more houses than they could sell . The car dealerships are mostly on the outskirts of town. There are fast food restaurants, but not many. Also, with all of the great local restaurants, you won't want fast food and/or chain restaurant food.
The problem with the weather in Oxford is not so much how hot or cold it gets, but the humidity. The humidity makes the cold seem colder and the heat so much hotter. One winter, I went to Montana for Christmas. On Christmas Day, I went for a walk in eight inches of snow wearing jeans and a sweater. When I got back to Oxford a few days later, there was no snow, but I had to wear thermal underwear and a heavy coat. In the summer time, some days feel like you're walking through a bowl of soup. Keep in mind that those are the extremes; the rest of the time it's quite pleasant.
Oxford is in the hill country, so unless you buy a house at the bottom of a lot of hills, flooding is not a problem.
I want to tell you about the Grove in the fall for the football games, but I really can't explain it. All I can say about it is it's the largest picnic I've ever seen.
There is a bit of a pretentious attitude here, and it can be really annoying if you let it be. But if you don't let it bother you, then it's not a big deal.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by pomona

Our main concern is to find a place that is not strip malls, fast food joints and car dealers and one cheap supermarket. We are not rich so McMansion type homes are out - prefer smaller older bungalows with lots of trees.
And how small is the town, are there affordable apartments w/ atmosphere and houses w/ a walking type neighborhood?

From what you are describing, I think the Fondren area of Jackson would appeal to you very much. Most of the houses were built in 1920s to 1950s, a good mixture of bungalows, cottages, tudors, etc. The trees are just as old as the houses if not older. Fondren also has a small "downtown" that is home to restaurants, boutiques, coffee shops, salons, locally owned grocery store, etc. There are at least 14 restaurants there, and only 2 are chains (Quizno's and Lenny's). It's about a 10 minute walk from my house to the stores/restaurants. There are always people out walking, jogging, walking dogs, etc at all times of the day. It is quite affordable too. Most houses sell for $90-100/sq ft. The fixer-uppers are cheaper, and the newly renovated could be more. Check out the community here:
Fondren Renaissance Foundation

[mlane225]

Southaven/Olive Branch are wonderful places to live! Close to Memphis for social activites and yet still small town enough to feel "at home". Oxford is another great place to retire. Many things to do!