Please help this young couple find a nice city! (LONG) (Jackson: crime, university)

[deeslee]

peppermint - Thanks, I'll look into those places.

Robert_J - Good question. As I stated before, my parents want to live near us, and my dad is Japanese American. He's 65. And over 50 of those years he spent in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. In a lot of ways, Hawaii is like the South. People who are born there tend to stay there, because there is nowhere else in America quite like it. For Hawaii, 71% of the population is Asian or of mixed races. And so there are lots of Asian markets, stores, restaurants, etc. It's just comfortable to have those specialty stores and restaurants available. They remind my dad of his family and his younger years. It's psychological and emotional comfort.

With my mom, she just has a love for India and its people. She likes being able to interact with Indians and use her Hindi that she learned as a child. It makes her happy and brings her joy. Where my parents live now, they are 5 miles from Microsoft headquarters, so there are a lot of people from all around the world with various backgrounds. It's nice, but once my husband and I move, they won't have any family in state. They would rather live near us.

Having said all that, my parents would follow us to the middle of the desert if that were what we chose. (God bless 'em.) So ethnic diversity is not a necessity, just a huge bonus.


Side story: When my husband and I lived in Greenwood, everyone I worked with asked me if I was related to this one lady, whom I did not know. It was because she was the only other Asian they knew. She's not even Japanese; she's Chinese. And my boss called me "exotic." Haha! I still loved it there, and most of the people I met were great -- I'm still friends with them. It's just a little frustrating when you're that much of a minority.

[brickpatio]

You should look at the Coast. Because of NASA, military bases, casinos, shipbuilding, seafood industry, etc, it's very diverse. There are nice communities up and down the Coast with different personalities.

Since you mentioned Hawaii, you might look at the Diamondhead community, a golf course community in Hancock County. All the streets are named after places in Hawaii. It's next to the Stennis Center and NASA which means diversity. Good schools, safe, great weather, convenient to New Orleans and Florida. Or try Ocean Springs for a more artsy atmosphere, Long Beach for quiet and affordable, Bay St. Louis for quiet, affordable and artsy, Pass Christian for elegance, or Biloxi for diversity.

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by deeslee

Robert_J - Good question.

Thanks for not taking the question the wrong way.

Memphis is more diverse than the suburbs but even my neighborhood a mini-melting pot. There is a wide cross section of minorities with blacks, Indians, Asians and Latinos living in a majority white neighborhood. I'd guess it is about the same percentages as the city as a whole.

[SoBelle]

Please consider some great little towns in TN, near the Mississippi line! Germantown, Collierville, Cordova and Covington are good choices and easy access to I-55, which will take you to Hwy. 82 and on to Greenwood/Greenville, MS.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by peppermint

I'd suggest Huntsville or Chattanooga. They are more like big towns, IMO. They are clean, lots of stuff to do, and close enough for a road trip. I also like Lexington, KY and Fort Smith, AR.

I second the Huntsville recommendation....I have said a hundred times, Huntsville is like a small version of Atlanta. There are plenty of upscale people there because of the space center and associated industry. Nobody doesn't like Huntsville!

But I live in Tupelo. Tupelo doesn't really compare to Huntsville, but go where you can find a job! Don't go and then look! If you find a job in Tupelo, it'll be fine. My sister is half Chinese and fits in well.

I have traveled to or lived in most places in the U.S. Really. And Huntsville, AL is my #1 choice. Lexington, I like; Ft Smith, and Chattanooga, I don't.
Oxford, MS is not for me. I'm not a college football fan (I see it as exploitation of naive young men) and Oxford is all about football.

And I just could not live in Greenville/Greenwood, MS or any place around there (The Delta).

Good Luck! .........Y'all

[jd82]

I'll give you a list based on your broad parameters:

1. Oxford, I'm anti-all things Ole Miss, but it's a nice city and close enough to Memphis and despite that city's reputation, there are some fun things to do. If you like music, there is none better. It would probably cater to your tastes a little better because of your age and the fact that it's a college town.

2. Southaven, even closer to Memphis and close enough to your family in the Delta that a weekend trip is totally doable even after working all day Friday. Some parts of it are starting to get encroached upon by the raw element of South Memphis, but it's still a good spot. It's been the fastest growing area in MS over the last 20 years. As a corollary to this one, you could also consider communities like Horn Lake and Olive Branch in either direction down HWY 302 from Southhaven. Also further down I-55 is Hernando and a lot of my friends, young professionals, are moving here and commuting to Memphis for work.

3. Madison/Ridgeland, this place is a little yuppy, plastic, and sterile for my tastes, but it boasts a pretty solid economic base as far as the citizens go. They do a good job of making sure their area is distinct from Jackson, though a lot of its residents still work in that city. This is a place to think about more if you plan on staying a while and starting a family. It boasts excellent school options.

4. Hattiesburg, this place still has a college town feel and is sizeable enough, 45k, that there are things to do. It fits your age bracket well and there are a growing number of young professionals settling there. It always gets a high billing among MS cities, and is a sought after retirement community for the baby boomers with money.

5. Ocean Springs, this will be much farther away, about a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive from Greenwood, but it's a great city for night life down on Government street and the city has over 100 restaurants. The casinos are just across the bay bridge on HWY 90 and there are some really nice places to live down there. You of course have to become savvy in your hurricane preparedness if you live down there. It's close to D'iberville as well and there is a pretty solid commercial boom going on there right now. It's probably the fastest growing city on the coast at the moment.

Your husband may be anti-MS, but none of these places listed will disappoint you imho.

[jd82]

I would also consider any of these options, a decent place for your in-laws to retire, but I would put Southaven at the bottom of that particular list and bump cities like Hernando, Olive Branch, and Horn Lake above Southaven.

Hattiesburg and Madison are going to be your best options in regards to your family retiring and you and your husband starting a family. Being a half hour from Jackson will give you access to good medical care and Forrest General and Wesley in Hattiesburg are good hospital systems as well.

[Robert_J]

Originally Posted by jd82

I would also consider any of these options, a decent place for your in-laws to retire, but I would put Southaven at the bottom of that particular list and bump cities like Hernando, Olive Branch, and Horn Lake above Southaven.

There are a lot of nice places on the Southaven / OB border. Technically, I'm in Southaven but that the only applies to garbage pickup and police department. Move my house 40 feet to the east and I'm in OB.

OB did make the CBS News recently - Cities on the rise like never before - CBS News Video

[dowhatthouwilt]

I recommend Hattiesburg. It's a great place for young families (lots of well organized sports), boomers (restaurants, historic neighborhoods, revitalizing the downtown, GOLF), and retired folks (USM has programs, medical care, GOLF, and Hudsons Salvage for finding "treasures" ). New Orleans is close by, as is the Coast and Fla. It's nice not being land-locked, as I have been for years, . . .and the Smoky Mts. aren't too far away. You might like the idea of being close, but not too close, to the inlaws

I am from Hattiesburg originally but have lived elsewhere for almost 30 years. We hope to move back soon!! Going home!

Regarding your parents . . . Hattiesburg is humid and very GREEN (landscape-wise). Perhaps like Hawaii--in a way. Easy to garden and grow things. While the local school system needs much intervention, there are private, Catholic, and county school systems that are good. Lots of opportunities for dance, ballet, theatre, etc. A slew of new ethnic restaurants--lots of Asian, even Thai. Just an overall great town. Not perfect, but nice--and affordable!!

[EarlVanDorn]

There is a bit of diversity in Oxford just because of the university.

You mentioned your mother's experience in India and desire to interact with Indians. Ole Miss has a number of Indian students, and there are Indian students in my children's schools. Each year they have an India Night cultural event, and I think they are always looking for host families to "adopt" these foreign students and have them to their homes perhaps once a month, so they can observe American life. Just thought I would pass this on.