Possible move to Madison Mississippi (Jackson, Fayette: fit in, transplants, new home)

[cbz]

we are contemplating a move to Madison MS and never lived in the South - lived mostly in the Northeast and now five years in Portland Oregon. Is it a hard adjustment? How are the people - is it easy to make friends and fit in? I checked out he school and it seems good - not sure thou if the HS graduates get accepted to top colleges - will check that out during our visit next week. any information is appreciated. I've heard mixed reviews from folks in terms of how accepting community members are to transplants - and what about the summer weather - is it really unbearable? thx.

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by cbz

we are contemplating a move to Madison MS and never lived in the South - lived mostly in the Northeast and now five years in Portland Oregon. Is it a hard adjustment? How are the people - is it easy to make friends and fit in?

I gave some tips to the guy who started the women at Ole Miss thread. Check it out. Basically it is as easy or as hard as YOU make it.

Originally Posted by cbz

I checked out he school and it seems good - not sure thou if the HS graduates get accepted to top colleges - will check that out during our visit next week. any information is appreciated.

What do you mean by this?

Originally Posted by cbz

I've heard mixed reviews from folks in terms of how accepting community members are to transplants

See answer #1

Originally Posted by cbz

what about the summer weather - is it really unbearable? thx.

It depends. This summer has been relatively mild. The high temp today was in the 80's. We have already had days into the 100's though. We can have summers with a few days in the 100's or weeks in the 100's. The heat index can reach 115 easily during these times. That's why we have air conditioning.

-Robert

[cbz]

Robert - thanks for responding. In terms of the weather - well it seems like it's not a lot different than the NE summers with high temps and humidity. In terms of the college acceptance question - a friend mentioned that since Mississippi doesn't have a strong education record - that even if your kids attend a "good HS" they may not be accepted in really good colleges because you're still coming from a good HS in a poorly viewed education state.

I'll check out the tips you gave the other woman on the acclimation process - thanks again - Carolyn

[Robert_J]

What is your definition of a 'really good college'?

I attended the 2nd worst high school in the state of Arkansas. I graduated first in my degree from the University of Arkansas -Monticello and then went on to get an MBA from the University of Arkansas - Fayetteville. I've had a very successful 17 years in the IT field doing what I love to do every day.

It's not where you come from, it's what you did while you were there.

-Robert

[lhpartridge]

A graduate of a good high school in Mississippi who has taken advantage of AP classes is often very attractive to top universities because they bring in geographical diversity. When your freshman class is made up mostly of legacies from other NE residents, a Mississippian can be very attractive to an admissions committee.

Madison students can choose from Madison Central, a good quality public school, or the top private schools. St. Andrews Episcopal school would be the closest. They have National Merit Scholars nearly every year who go on to Harvard, MIT, etc.

[cbz]

Thanks for the insight. I was reading some other posts from folks living in MS who said that the southern hospitality only extends to visitors and not folks who move into the area. We just returned from visiting MS last week and were impressed with how friendly folks seemed to be. Our realtor said that we shouldn't expect folks from MS to make time for us - that they are busy with their own circle of friends and family and have no time for new comers. That left us to believe that we'd be better off moving into an area with other transplants. We are active in our kids' schools and in church - we are yankees, but like to think we are open minded and not arrogant like others from our area - do you think we'd have any problems fitting in?

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by cbz

Thanks for the insight. I was reading some other posts from folks living in MS who said that the southern hospitality only extends to visitors and not folks who move into the area.

Absolutely not. If a Southerner that isn't friendly, then they won't be friendly no matter where they live.

Originally Posted by cbz

Our realtor said that we shouldn't expect folks from MS to make time for us - that they are busy with their own circle of friends and family and have no time for new comers.

Sometimes it isn't personal. My wife and I are busy with work trying to make ourselves lay-off proof if that is possible. We have family 10 miles away that we haven't seen since the 4th of July.

Originally Posted by cbz

We are active in our kids' schools and in church - we are yankees, but like to think we are open minded and not arrogant like others from our area - do you think we'd have any problems fitting in?

From one one of my other posts - The way of life is slower. We are accepting of people from other places just don't try to change us. Don't tell us how things are done elsewhere. We've been there and seen it. We didn't like it and came back. Don't critisize or be afraid of the cultural differences either. When it gets cold you will notice a lot of guys carrying guns. There is no civil uprising, it's just huntin' season. Give it a try. You can make some life-long friends at a deer camp even if you don't shoot anything.

When you get down here, get you a plate of fried dill pickles, fried green tomatoes, fried hushpuppies, fried catfish (see a theme here?) and a glass of sweet tea and just enjoy your new home.

-Robert

[brickpatio]

Madison is full of transplants from all over the country. My guess is that it would be an easy place to get connected, because of the strong sense of community in Madison. There are churches all over the place that are constantly looking to welcome new members. And there are some very nice schools, public and private in the Madison area that provide an obvious opportunity for connecting with others. Compared to Portland, yes, there is bound to be some difference in culture. Jackson's in-town Belhaven neighborhood probably offers a feel more common in a place like Portland. But Madison has been very deliberate in its focus on law enforcement, zoning, and an effort to preserve a sense of community, which is why so many people are moving in.

[poptones]

Madison is Legoland. If your taste runs to the prefab mcmansion style you should be very comfortable there. The only good thing I can think of about Madison is there's a Nagoya sushi bar there.

Sorry but I really dislike Madison. You have to go through there to get to Jackson from here and from what I can tell it's jsut a giant speed trap. Traffic is always bad there not entirely because there are always police sitting there with somone pulled over. Everyone slams on their brakes and suddenly you're jammed up in heavy traffic going 60mph in a 70mph zone just because of the cops.

[peppermint]

I just wanted to comment on the weather. I was raised in MS and moved to PA for six years. I love the climate there. We relocated to TN last year, and the summers are horrible. The humidity is higher than PA and the temps are also much higher. This may not be an issue for you, and you said you visited so perhaps it's not important. I just thought I would mention that if you aren't used to the heat and humidity, it's very miserable.

Good luck!