Fondren North Questions (Jackson, Ridgeland, Brandon: real estate, rental, crime)

[Joff37]

My wife and I are moving to Jackson this spring and I would like to learn more about Fondren. I’ll be working at the Museum in Jackson and she is a Registered Nurse and will be looking for a hospital job. Rental prices have been so high (since we have a large dog and a lot of places won’t accommodate) that we are thinking of buying. We’ve found a few houses in Flowood and Brandon, but really like one in particular in Fondren North. Is it a nice area? Are home values staying stable, rising, or falling? Just want some local perspectives if possible, I’m having a hard time finding people who actually live in the area. We are coming down this week to check out the city. Thanks for the help!

[viverlibre]

Originally Posted by Joff37

My wife and I are moving to Jackson this spring and I would like to learn more about Fondren. I’ll be working at the Museum in Jackson and she is a Registered Nurse and will be looking for a hospital job. Rental prices have been so high (since we have a large dog and a lot of places won’t accommodate) that we are thinking of buying. We’ve found a few houses in Flowood and Brandon, but really like one in particular in Fondren North. Is it a nice area? Are home values staying stable, rising, or falling? Just want some local perspectives if possible, I’m having a hard time finding people who actually live in the area. We are coming down this week to check out the city. Thanks for the help!

Fondren, Belhaven, etc. real estate can be tricky. Houses can sit on the market for a long time and crime may be an issue. Personally, I'd buy in Flowood, especially if you aren't going to be here long term and may need to sell the house quickly.

[sammyreynolds1977]

IMO you should definitely look at Flowood or Brandon in the Rez area. I'm not totally going to poo poo on the Fondren. There are some nice places to live there but houses stay on the market for a while and I don't think home values hold well there atm. Jackson does in fact have crime issues. My first two places to look for a place to live would be Flowood or the Brandon in the Rez.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Fondren has its pluses. If you don't have kids and want to live in town, look into that, just be careful where you look. Most of it is fine, but the outskirts can be tricky. Some of it floods from time to time too so do the research, get a good realtor. Of course, you'll be very close to all the cool restaurants and bars and such.

Can't really go wrong in Flowood and Brandon.

Rents are high, yes, because all the millennials simply will not buy, thus they push rental prices up due to demand. I was in the same boat when I moved here, no way I was paying those ridiculous rental rates.

[jgirl63]

Curious where you might be moving from. While Fondren is being expanded and celebrated as the hippest part of town, it's also quite small, an island unto itself -- that is, surrounded by blight on the west and somewhat north side, interstate on the east, sprawling medical center to the south. Real estate is limited and largely over-priced. Bear in mind that moving to the Floowood area would likely include the bear of a commute down Lakeland Drive, which personally I would avoid at all cost. Brandon is just meh to me, but others seem to like it. I think east of I-55 between Northside Drive and Meadowbrook area is your best bet. Older, established, tree-lined neighborhoods, relatively safe, less cookie-cutter homes. Close to Whole Foods and restaurants in Highland Village and not far from hospitals.

[viverlibre]

Originally Posted by jgirl63

Curious where you might be moving from. While Fondren is being expanded and celebrated as the hippest part of town, it's also quite small, an island unto itself -- that is, surrounded by blight on the west and somewhat north side, interstate on the east, sprawling medical center to the south. Real estate is limited and largely over-priced. Bear in mind that moving to the Floowood area would likely include the bear of a commute down Lakeland Drive, which personally I would avoid at all cost. Brandon is just meh to me, but others seem to like it. I think east of I-55 between Northside Drive and Meadowbrook area is your best bet. Older, established, tree-lined neighborhoods, relatively safe, less cookie-cutter homes. Close to Whole Foods and restaurants in Highland Village and not far from hospitals.

Not to be argumentative, but I commute Lakeland every day (from north of Flowood), it is not bad at all, especially if you've lived in any decent-sized city.

Leaving my house before 0700, I make the 18-mile commute to downtown Jxn in 30 minutes. Leaving a little later will lengthen commute time, but it still flows well.

A couple of years ago, Lakeland was three laned from Grant's Ferry to I55, which helped out a good bit.

[jgirl63]

That's good to hear. I guess it's all relative, depending on what you're used to.

[JacksonPanther]

Joff37, as you can see you stumbled into the anti-Jackson, Jackson board. Makes you wonder why they subscribe to this board if they believe Jackson is not worth living in.

The one thing to look into is houses close to Eubanks Creek, which does flood several houses in fondren.

Of course pay attention to market time, but I'm not convinced Flowood is any better in that regard. The entire Jackson area is not a big draw for outsiders, which means it takes houses a long time to sell. This is true even in so called desirable Madison.

You should include the neighborhood directly North of fondren also, as mentioned by someone else. I think it's called Broadmoor.

[brickpatio2018]

Fondren is lovely to the east of State Street and south of Meadowbrook Rd. The streets immediately around St James Episcopal Church and to the east across Old Canton Rd (Woodland Hills) are very nice.

If you're wanting in-town neighborhoods also check nearby Belhaven, Eastover, and Sheffield. Certainly Flowood, Brandon, Madison, Ridgeland, and Gluckstadt are all very strong suburban areas.