Is Mississippi Fat, Ugly, and Stupid? (Jackson, Hattiesburg: crime, house, buy)

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by poptones

I dunno how you can really make an assessment of any major area. I lived in LA, a city of like 14 Million people, and it was both modern and old, diverse and homogenous, family oriented and extremely dangerous. On any given street you could go five blocks and experience a pretty substantial change in living conditions. About the only universal trait was everywhere you went you had to endure traffic. I lived five miles straight up Sunset blvd from my office and it took me 30 to 45 minutes every day to get home.

I think the internet makes "sustainable and modern" a bit moot. Here I used to live in the country, about an hour from starkville and two hours from jackson, and I was able to do business with folks from all over the world (selling via ebay), obtain pretty much whatever I wanted within a few days (Amazon, Newegg, ebay), but was still fairly isolated - and definitely didn't have to endure that traffic. Now I live in a small town at the crossroads of two interstates and realize what I was missing in the country but still enjoy all that other stuff that DOESN'T come with "modern" places. I don't have to get a permit to work on my home unless I am making it bigger, I don't have to worry about being ticketed if a friend parks in the street, and I sure don't have to answer to anyone about what color I paint my house, or even if I want to put a hot tub in the front yard In that same half hour it used to take me to get home from the office in LA, I can drive to a substantially larger town (Grenada) where one can enjoy many "modern conveniences" but still without too much traffic hassles.

Course, I no longer have a pond and 30 acres where I can walk around naked outside with the ol' lady (no one wants to see that, us all being fat, lazy and stupid)... can't pee under a tree... can't just go cut a few trees and sawmill them when I want to build something... can't plant beans in the woods for the deer... it's amazing what you miss when it's gone. Sometimes I even miss Los Angeles... but mostly I just miss having 30 acres and a woods to play in.

Great post poptones!

[carolinajack]

Originally Posted by 2HHI

Likes:
Weather, the best.
Topography, the most beautiful state in the union, and I've seen them all except AK
Architecture: Nothing beats a southern antebellum house, especially overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.
People: friendly, down to earth, not pretentious...and definitely NOT backwards.
Entertainment: NEVER boring...always something to do...nothing like being able to walk out of your beachfront hi rise condo and stroll down a strikingly beautiful beach and sunset and enter a world class resort and see world class entertainment...or top rated golf...or deep sea fishing...or world class art galleries...and this is just the Gulf Coast...dont forget Jackson and the International Ballet Competition...which rotates between other world class cities of other nations...but when in the USA...they come to Jackson. Lets also not forget Natchez and its charms, Vicksburg and its History, Tupelo and The King, Tunica and its resorts...I could go on and on about the desirability of MS....but not enough room here.

Boring, redneck and backwards are very subjective terms. Depends on who you talk to and your definition of those terms.

Again, I encourage all to go to Mississippibelieveit.com and find out the real MS...you may surprise yourself.

I totally agree and since the state has blacks, asians, native americans as well as whites, then calling it redneck is silly, anymore than calling atlanta or DC redneck for all the so call backwards things the black population does there

[sosmart]

I live on the coast in Gulfport. I have a master's degree, am slim, athletic, and not ugly if I say so myself. I have lived all over Ms, but the coast is where it all is. Its great!

[carolina17]

After having moved to MS from the Northeast and lived both on the coast and in northern MS, this is my impression. There is a reason why Mississippi has a reputation for being prejudiced. I've found people to still be prejudiced against blacks but hiding it well, prejudiced against northerners and not hiding it at all, and very prejudiced against anyone who thinks differently than them. There is a lot of self righteousness on the part of the "haves" against the "have-nots". The treatment of animals down here is atrocious. If you are an animal lover, you will be upset over what the locals view as no big deal. If you decide to move here, settle in larger towns, as the small towns are very insular. The folks on the coast are a lot more open minded but I found the area to be really filthy with horrible air quality. 7% sales tax on everything, including food.

The things I like about northeastern MS is the beautiful countryside. There is nothing more breathtaking than a country lane dripping with purple wisteria, wild roses, and the air filled with the perfume of wild honeysuckle. The Natchez Trace is lovely. It really is a gorgeous state, as some folks have mentioned - green and lush. If you like to garden, there is a long growing season with not much winter. Yes, it is humid, even in the winter, which makes it very raw even though the temps don't dip as low as they would up north. You'll feel it. Nice and low cost of living, but the wages are low, too. Not much interference from the government...you can do pretty much what you like without a lot of red tape to deal with. Good for someone who likes a laid back lifestyle. If you want a lot of activity and things to do, northeast MS isn't the place for you.

MS is not for everyone, and since the different regions of the state are so different, one area might be a better fit than another. Just stay out of those small towns....

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by carolina17

After having moved to MS from the Northeast and lived both on the coast and in northern MS, this is my impression. There is a reason why Mississippi has a reputation for being prejudiced. I've found people to still be prejudiced against blacks but hiding it well, .

Isn't that the truth. I have lived all over the country and i see this as well. But I also understand that this is more common among generations before my own. I have heard many many times comments from whites about blacks like it is the most natural thing in the world.
But you have to understand that down here things are different and the history is different. People here grew up different from myself so I can't put myself in their shoes.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot

Isn't that the truth. I have lived all over the country and i see this as well. But I also understand that this is more common among generations before my own. I have heard many many times comments from whites about blacks like it is the most natural thing in the world.
But you have to understand that down here things are different and the history is different. People here grew up different from myself so I can't put myself in their shoes.

I find this even in my own family. And there is some truth to the prejudice being more prevalent in smaller towns. Thankfully, my generation has shed the bad habit much better than the previous, so hopefully the trend continues as the years go on so that we can all lead healthier lives.

[poptones]

I live in a small town and I find no more racial prejudice here than I found in LA. Now, some folks do take exception to yankees, but that's not strictly because they're yankees... it's because many are seen as rude and arrogant. I was born a yankee but this has been my home long enough no one would consider me a yankee, and I find myself seeing yankees through the eyes of a "pure bred" southerner.

Nothing personal.. seriously: they can't help it. We can't help it. My own son in law is a completely arrogant jackass and I say this as someone who actually kinda liked the kid (yes, liked - and I didn't stop because he's an arrogant jackass, I stopped because he's lazy and unmotivated). Northerners tend to be less careful of people's feelings (sound like anyone here you might know?) but not in an eccentric, outspoken southern kind of way, just more in a belligerent, I don't have time for you kind of way. Not smiling, beginning statements with a sigh, and talking about how great the place was you USED to live are not ways to win friends in the south.

[carolina17]

That may be true, but I've found that northerners have to walk on eggshells and bite their tongue to avoid offending, while southerners feel it is perfectly ok to bash "yankees" and make as many derogatory comments as they feel like. I went to a new church and introduced myself to the pastor who actually had the nerve to make a joking comment about how he didn't like yankees. That's just wrong. I'm not still fighting the civil war....my ancestors were stomping grapes over in Italy when it was going on and it was over 100 years ago, anyway. Time to get over it. I think that any area of the U.S. is open to any US citizen and people should be judged on their character and actions, not where they were born and raised.

[poptones]

Any area of the US IS open to anyone - there are no borders, no requests for ID at the state line. But you cannot mandate people's feelings. Just like you said - he made a joke, you took offense. I doubt he meant to offend.

Perhaps part of that comes from having to take so much of the same. When I lived in LA in particular I cannot tell you how many times I had people mocking southern accents and insinuating southerners were stupid by their accent. I was working on one fellow's machine in his office and as he flipped past an indy car race he started speaking mockingly in a southern accent, knowing full well where I was from.

[joanie55]

That's just plain rude. Something I've already said I see no reason for. As for as treatment of "yankees" I am from the midwest but when I lived there when I was 14 I was at Forest Hills High School and they considered me a yankee and sat me in the back of the classroom with the black people and the Indians. Funny thing was, I always liked to sit in back and didn't mind it all. What they most likely thought was a punishment could not have been further from the truth.