Rural towns within an hour drive of Memphis? (Covington, Somerville: houses, schools)

[DownSouth88]

I'm looking for a livable rural town within roughly an hour drive of the Memphis area. No kids, so schools aren't an issue. I'm looking for a smallish town that has a solid housing stock (Victorian if possible, or at least some Craftsman or ranch style houses -- nowhere that's all trailers), has some sort of grocery store, and if possible, at least one bar that does live music occasionally. If they were just slightly closer, either Clarksdale or Water Valley would be great fits (the former has plenty of live music and nice housing in parts, the latter has a brewery and several old Victorian houses -- both are about 90 minutes away, though).

Anywhere else that would meet these criteria, but a little closer? I'm thinking maybe the Mississippi or Arkansas sides since the suburbs tend to stretch farther on the Tennessee side, and I certainly don't want to be in suburbia.

Thanks for any recommendations!

[USERXXXX]

Originally Posted by DownSouth88

I'm looking for a livable rural town within roughly an hour drive of the Memphis area. No kids, so schools aren't an issue. I'm looking for a smallish town that has a solid housing stock (Victorian if possible, or at least some Craftsman or ranch style houses -- nowhere that's all trailers), has some sort of grocery store, and if possible, at least one bar that does live music occasionally. If they were just slightly closer, either Clarksdale or Water Valley would be great fits (the former has plenty of live music and nice housing in parts, the latter has a brewery and several old Victorian houses -- both are about 90 minutes away, though).

Anywhere else that would meet these criteria, but a little closer? I'm thinking maybe the Mississippi or Arkansas sides since the suburbs tend to stretch farther on the Tennessee side, and I certainly don't want to be in suburbia.

Thanks for any recommendations!

Marion is the best.

[85rx-7gsl-se]

Somerville offers a decent stock of affordable historic homes.

[CristenS]

Oxford?

[jabogitlu]

Marion, AR could work, yes. West Memphis, AR also (check out Roosevelt and Cooper Streets for probably what you're looking for...) I wouldn't think Oxford is any closer than Clarksdale, though, unfortunately. Covington, TN might be worth checking out, too. There are some beautiful homes along Main and Maple streets.

Helena-West Helena has some really, really beautiful Victorian homes, but it's also just a little farther south, probably, than you're looking for. I think if you extend your drive time to 2 hours from Memphis, you'll find quite a few more possibilities. Unfortunately, the closer-in Mississippi towns just aren't as quaint (Senatobia, Byhalia) or have been transformed into suburbia.

[eastmemphisguy]

Here's the deal with small towns in this part of the world. They used to service local cotton economies. However, around the mid 20th century, most of farm jobs dried up due to mechanization. These towns have been losing population for quite a few decades now and most of the local businesses are long gone, replaced by WalMart. The exceptions tend to be college towns like Oxford, MS and Jonesboro, AR.

[USERXXXX]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Marion, AR could work, yes. West Memphis, AR also (check out Roosevelt and Cooper Streets for probably what you're looking for...) I wouldn't think Oxford is any closer than Clarksdale, though, unfortunately. Covington, TN might be worth checking out, too. There are some beautiful homes along Main and Maple streets.

Helena-West Helena has some really, really beautiful Victorian homes, but it's also just a little farther south, probably, than you're looking for. I think if you extend your drive time to 2 hours from Memphis, you'll find quite a few more possibilities. Unfortunately, the closer-in Mississippi towns just aren't as quaint (Senatobia, Byhalia) or have been transformed into suburbia.

West Memphis is not a very safe community while Helena is way too far from Memphis.

To OP, the home lot of Marion is even larger than many N. Mississippi homes.