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The absolute richest neighborhood in the state is Eastover. It is the last true remnant of what used to be a vast area (and state of mind) known as FASHIONABLE NORTHEAST JACKSON. The people who own the twenty-plus-million-Dollar house on Martha's Vineyard, where the "First Family" vacationed, live there. A titled, magnamillionaire family from France has apparently moved there (With France poised to go under, who can blame them?). Aristos from Argentina live there. People who own the utilities in foreign countries live there. The neighborhood is heavily landscaped...huge trees...rolling hills... When the Azalias are in bloom, it's so pretty you might just cry from the beauty of it all. Many of the houses have been published in books and magazines. Eastover is manicured & decked-out 24/7/365, and is as close to Beverly Hills as you will get, in the Deep South.
Jackson's closest-thing-to-Gay-friendly neighborhood is Fondren. Fondren is 'hip'. There is a giant med-school/hospital complex adjacent the neighborhood. The metro's only true Coffee House is in Fondren, as is the (world-class) Natural Foods Co-Op (Rainbow). There are also Gay concentrations in Natchez (movie-star-has-beens, and alcoholics living off trust funds...playing house in historic mansions), Oxford (cigarette-smoking alcoholics acting genteel and literary), and Hattiesburg (the only place in the state where they seem actually happy: the only place in the state where straight people seem happy, too, BTW).
In answer to your specific criteria: Rich & Educated...The richest county is Madison. The richest city is Madison. Madison has the best school system. I presume that Madison leads the state in Education. A few years back, the public high school's Debating Team took First Place in all of North America.
Madison used to be for the free-thinking mavericks who couldn't stand Jackson's Rich Rednecks who think they're Old Money because their Grandaddies made the money, living in fake Williamsburg mansions, full of drab & dinky Licensed Williamsburg reproduction furnishings. Unfortunately, Rich Redneck holy-rolling New Money that thinks it's Old Money started moving from Jackson to Madison. They threw fits when an Italian Mannerist-style building had finials on top they thought were too big (by Phoney Colonial dinky standards...think of the little knobs on top of Sears Finest Colonialette 4-Poster Bed, in solid Cherry-colored Birch...well, to someone whose aesthetic expectations come from the 1957 Sears Roebuck...not 1557 Renaissance Italy...they were, indeed, 'too big'), and so the building was destroyed to please them. That's when we decided it was time to try another part of the country.
When Portland's demographics get as bad as LA's and Seattle's we'll be back...maybe... We have an Arborist refining the forest on an estate-sized parcel inside Madison, in anticipation of a retreat to Mississippi. But the West Coast will have to go to Hell in a handbasket, before we'll make the transcontinental schlep again. We're planning against a situation where the Nation is imploding, the borders are sealed, we can't get to our families' places off Sicily and in Eastern Europe...and we have to find a safe haven in the former America....but not until when and if . In the meantime, we're getting higher and higher offers for the homesite.
I thought I was happy in Mississippi...until I moved to Oregon. Now, I'm really happy. The kids say that nothing short of Civil War on the West Coast will get them to move back. DH agrees.
But Madison is definitely your best bet, if you have to live in Mississippi: still, by far, the best place to live, between Atlanta and Dallas. Their Lowe's and Wal-Mart are in an Urban Planning history book. Their new Kroger will probably be the most gorgeous Grocery Store ever constructed. People are calling me, daily, telling me how fabulous all the new stores are...and why don't we move back? There are no truly exclusive shops (or a Saks, or a Neiman's), because Mississippi is too poor a market to support one: but each Big Box retail establishment in Madison is generally the nicest example in the world.
The most fun place in Mississippi is Hattiesburg (free of the moralism and paranoid group-think conformism that make Jackson and Oxford so miserable). Hattiesburg's Power Neighborhood is Canebrake...gated...guarded...lushly-landscaped...designed by a famous architect... Quirky, individualist residents: many with serious money. Again, many of the houses have been published.
The best bargains for fine homes on large, well-landscaped lots are in Jackson-proper.
The absolute richest neighborhood in the state is Eastover. It is the last true remnant of what used to be a vast area (and state of mind) known as FASHIONABLE NORTHEAST JACKSON. The people who own the twenty-plus-million-Dollar house on Martha's Vineyard, where the "First Family" vacationed, live there. A titled, magnamillionaire family from France has apparently moved there (With France poised to go under, who can blame them?). Aristos from Argentina live there. People who own the utilities in foreign countries live there. The neighborhood is heavily landscaped...huge trees...rolling hills... When the Azalias are in bloom, it's so pretty you might just cry from the beauty of it all. Many of the houses have been published in books and magazines. Eastover is manicured & decked-out 24/7/365, and is as close to Beverly Hills as you will get, in the Deep South.
Jackson's closest-thing-to-Gay-friendly neighborhood is Fondren. Fondren is 'hip'. There is a giant med-school/hospital complex adjacent the neighborhood. The metro's only true Coffee House is in Fondren, as is the (world-class) Natural Foods Co-Op (Rainbow). There are also Gay concentrations in Natchez (movie-star-has-beens, and alcoholics living off trust funds...playing house in historic mansions), Oxford (cigarette-smoking alcoholics acting genteel and literary), and Hattiesburg (the only place in the state where they seem actually happy: the only place in the state where straight people seem happy, too, BTW).
In answer to your specific criteria: Rich & Educated...The richest county is Madison. The richest city is Madison. Madison has the best school system. I presume that Madison leads the state in Education. A few years back, the public high school's Debating Team took First Place in all of North America.
Madison used to be for the free-thinking mavericks who couldn't stand Jackson's Rich Rednecks who think they're Old Money because their Grandaddies made the money, living in fake Williamsburg mansions, full of drab & dinky Licensed Williamsburg reproduction furnishings. Unfortunately, Rich Redneck holy-rolling New Money that thinks it's Old Money started moving from Jackson to Madison. They threw fits when an Italian Mannerist-style building had finials on top they thought were too big (by Phoney Colonial dinky standards...think of the little knobs on top of Sears Finest Colonialette 4-Poster Bed, in solid Cherry-colored Birch...well, to someone whose aesthetic expectations come from the 1957 Sears Roebuck...not 1557 Renaissance Italy...they were, indeed, 'too big'), and so the building was destroyed to please them. That's when we decided it was time to try another part of the country.
When Portland's demographics get as bad as LA's and Seattle's we'll be back...maybe... We have an Arborist refining the forest on an estate-sized parcel inside Madison, in anticipation of a retreat to Mississippi. But the West Coast will have to go to Hell in a handbasket, before we'll make the transcontinental schlep again. We're planning against a situation where the Nation is imploding, the borders are sealed, we can't get to our families' places off Sicily and in Eastern Europe...and we have to find a safe haven in the former America....but not until when and if . In the meantime, we're getting higher and higher offers for the homesite.
I thought I was happy in Mississippi...until I moved to Oregon. Now, I'm really happy. The kids say that nothing short of Civil War on the West Coast will get them to move back. DH agrees.
But Madison is definitely your best bet, if you have to live in Mississippi: still, by far, the best place to live, between Atlanta and Dallas. Their Lowe's and Wal-Mart are in an Urban Planning history book. Their new Kroger will probably be the most gorgeous Grocery Store ever constructed. People are calling me, daily, telling me how fabulous all the new stores are...and why don't we move back? There are no truly exclusive shops (or a Saks, or a Neiman's), because Mississippi is too poor a market to support one: but each Big Box retail establishment in Madison is generally the nicest example in the world.
The most fun place in Mississippi is Hattiesburg (free of the moralism and paranoid group-think conformism that make Jackson and Oxford so miserable). Hattiesburg's Power Neighborhood is Canebrake...gated...guarded...lushly-landscaped...designed by a famous architect... Quirky, individualist residents: many with serious money. Again, many of the houses have been published.
The best bargains for fine homes on large, well-landscaped lots are in Jackson-proper.
I enjoy reading your post about my home state. There very thought out and analytical. A few questions: Can you clarify what it means by how Jackson and Oxford became such conformist thinking places?? I agree with this. What do you think can be done to change this snobby attitude??
There’s almost a tension in the air that you don’t find in Hattiesburg or the Coast (where my family is from originally). I just find it interesting how a place becomes this way.
Again, cool post with 100% honesty and truth. Whether it be positive or negative.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
Thanks for everyones replies! And I am very sorry about coming off too snobby... I was just trying to get a feel of the financial scene, not trying to surround myself with the same people. Now that we have been in Ridgeland for two weeks, we think we are going to try to sell the BMW! We never used it that much anyways... plus we need an SUV for when the kids get bigger.
Do any of y'all know about the financial situation down in McComb? That town fascinates me!
Most of the nicer, newer homes in McComb are just west of the interstate. You can mapquest these streets (Pinehurst, Cherokee, Oakleigh, and Natchez) for several nice neighborhoods. East of the interstate there is Lakeshore Dr. along a small lake just east of Hwy 51. The homes on the north side of the lake are nice. Down Hwy 51 through town there are some charming older homes and also just south of Delaware Ave next to downtown there are some big old Queen Anne style victorian homes on the streets named after numbers (e.g. 3rd, 4th street, etc). That section is somewhat transitional. Further west of the interstate along the backroads there subdivisions and quiet streets with pretty homes and occasionally a big home set back on acreage off the road. It's all very wooded with pine forests.
For those who are still seriously responding to the troll, "Southern Gentleman", it's way past time to end it. A troll on the net is someone who pretends to be something they are not and whose posts are just for the purpose of eliciting controversy. As I explained earlier, "Southern Gentleman", as he describes himself, just doesn't exist. - Best to quit replying.
And GrandviewGloria and the "Oxford (Mississippi) educated Charlestonite", both successfully amused me with their comments. So GVG, you moved from Madison simply because some of the nouveau riche moved in?? What does that say about you?
Though I don't agree with much of what they said, the lengthy comments from both of these two rise to the level of being almost literary, but in the end neither actually likes MS enough to live here - so I say phoo on you both!
Quote:
Originally Posted by GrandviewGloria
The absolute richest neighborhood in the state is Eastover. It is the last true remnant of what used to be a vast area (and state of mind) known as FASHIONABLE NORTHEAST JACKSON. The people who own the twenty-plus-million-Dollar house on Martha's Vineyard, where the "First Family" vacationed, live there. A titled, magnamillionaire family from France has apparently moved there (With France poised to go under, who can blame them?). Aristos from Argentina live there. People who own the utilities in foreign countries live there. The neighborhood is heavily landscaped...huge trees...rolling hills... When the Azalias are in bloom, it's so pretty you might just cry from the beauty of it all. Many of the houses have been published in books and magazines. Eastover is manicured & decked-out 24/7/365, and is as close to Beverly Hills as you will get, in the Deep South.
Jackson's closest-thing-to-Gay-friendly neighborhood is Fondren. Fondren is 'hip'. There is a giant med-school/hospital complex adjacent the neighborhood. The metro's only true Coffee House is in Fondren, as is the (world-class) Natural Foods Co-Op (Rainbow). There are also Gay concentrations in Natchez (movie-star-has-beens, and alcoholics living off trust funds...playing house in historic mansions), Oxford (cigarette-smoking alcoholics acting genteel and literary), and Hattiesburg (the only place in the state where they seem actually happy: the only place in the state where straight people seem happy, too, BTW).
In answer to your specific criteria: Rich & Educated...The richest county is Madison. The richest city is Madison. Madison has the best school system. I presume that Madison leads the state in Education. A few years back, the public high school's Debating Team took First Place in all of North America.
Madison used to be for the free-thinking mavericks who couldn't stand Jackson's Rich Rednecks who think they're Old Money because their Grandaddies made the money, living in fake Williamsburg mansions, full of drab & dinky Licensed Williamsburg reproduction furnishings. Unfortunately, Rich Redneck holy-rolling New Money that thinks it's Old Money started moving from Jackson to Madison. They threw fits when an Italian Mannerist-style building had finials on top they thought were too big (by Phoney Colonial dinky standards...think of the little knobs on top of Sears Finest Colonialette 4-Poster Bed, in solid Cherry-colored Birch...well, to someone whose aesthetic expectations come from the 1957 Sears Roebuck...not 1557 Renaissance Italy...they were, indeed, 'too big'), and so the building was destroyed to please them. That's when we decided it was time to try another part of the country.
When Portland's demographics get as bad as LA's and Seattle's we'll be back...maybe... We have an Arborist refining the forest on an estate-sized parcel inside Madison, in anticipation of a retreat to Mississippi. But the West Coast will have to go to Hell in a handbasket, before we'll make the transcontinental schlep again. We're planning against a situation where the Nation is imploding, the borders are sealed, we can't get to our families' places off Sicily and in Eastern Europe...and we have to find a safe haven in the former America....but not until when and if . In the meantime, we're getting higher and higher offers for the homesite.
I thought I was happy in Mississippi...until I moved to Oregon. Now, I'm really happy. The kids say that nothing short of Civil War on the West Coast will get them to move back. DH agrees.
But Madison is definitely your best bet, if you have to live in Mississippi: still, by far, the best place to live, between Atlanta and Dallas. Their Lowe's and Wal-Mart are in an Urban Planning history book. Their new Kroger will probably be the most gorgeous Grocery Store ever constructed. People are calling me, daily, telling me how fabulous all the new stores are...and why don't we move back? There are no truly exclusive shops (or a Saks, or a Neiman's), because Mississippi is too poor a market to support one: but each Big Box retail establishment in Madison is generally the nicest example in the world.
The most fun place in Mississippi is Hattiesburg (free of the moralism and paranoid group-think conformism that make Jackson and Oxford so miserable). Hattiesburg's Power Neighborhood is Canebrake...gated...guarded...lushly-landscaped...designed by a famous architect... Quirky, individualist residents: many with serious money. Again, many of the houses have been published.
The best bargains for fine homes on large, well-landscaped lots are in Jackson-proper.
For those who are still seriously responding to the troll, "Southern Gentleman", it's way past time to end it. A troll on the net is someone who pretends to be something they are not and whose posts are just for the purpose of eliciting controversy. As I explained earlier, "Southern Gentleman", as he describes himself, just doesn't exist. - Best to quit replying.
I agree with you. He is a troll. He needs to be removed.
I know I'm a little late coming to this thread. But the question, wealthy parts of a poor state? It's a bit contradictory. Thinking the wealthy areas are around Jackson? The largest city, about 180,000 and the capital? I'm sure there is some wealth there, but Jackson was ranked as the 11th most dangerous city in the nation in 2007, and over 30% of the population is below the poverty line.
I happen to live in Meridian, the state's 6th largest city, about 39,000 peopple, and I have seen a Ferarri, a few nice new Mercedes, Jaguars, and heard the owner of the hospital owns a Bentley, despite some of the nice cars Meridian is a very poor city. 32% of the population is in poverty, 16% of the population has a college degree compared with 29% on the national average.
I have been to Oxford, watched an Ole Miss game there once. Oxford has some nice neighborhoods, and some obvious wealth too, a lot of Ole Miss alumni remain there, and like other people said Sheppard Smith bought a condo there, along with a few other wealthy people. But Oxford as a whole has a poverty of 32% also, all and all it's a very segregated town, you have your Haves and your have nots, not much of a middle class. The average person earns about $37,000 per year, the average family earns about $72,000 per year. As I said before, it has its fair share of wealthy people and it boasts a low unemployment rate, but there are a lot of poor people working and living in the town also. Oxford is much smaller though, 19,000 people, and was also voted as the 6th best college town in the nation by Newsweek.
Then you have Biloxi and Gulfport. I had heard that Whoopie Goldberg owned a large beach house down there. Those two cities border the gulf actually, and though I have never been there, I have heard the best things about them. Lowest poverty rates, there is a decent amount of business down there, and casinos, and tourism since it's on the coast.
There is also Southaven, which is in northern Mississippi. It's a small suburb of Memphis, supposedly a wealthy suburb. So I would say, Southaven, Biloxi/Gulfport, and Oxford. Living in Meridian I have seen a few large houses in the area, a few mansions maybe. But nothing worth over $2million.
Last edited by ColdAilment; 05-19-2011 at 11:07 AM..
After doing further research, it seems that Madison is the wealthiest town in the state, Average earning per person are over $70,000 per year, and over $90,000 for a family. It seems it's a wealthy suburb of Jackson. Madison also boasts the lowest crime rates of any city in the state. Madison is also 93% white, where Jackson is only 29% white. The amount of white people in a town usually dictates the amount of wealth, the amount of blue collar crime, and the quality of schools.
Last year, one of the new stations had a ranking of all of the public schools in MS. Bay St. Louis schools were at number one. I was down there a few weeks ago and the area is still pretty... empty? Abandoned? I'm not sure where those kids are coming from lol (Diamondhead???), but I distinctly remember that the Bay had the best public schools in the state (as of last year).
From my personal point of view, MS seems to have a relatively small middle class. It seems to be the affluent versus the impoverished.
People fail to understand that there are some wealthy people in MS and West Point has its share. They are called landowners! There are huge swaths of land, some exceeding 20,000+ acres that are owned by some extremely wealthy people. A lot of them do not live there, but use the land as getaways, hunting sites, etc. Don't be fooled into thinking that because the land looks unused or vacant and next to it are the usual trailer sites, that no money is concentrated in MS. In a state this size with only 2.9 million people in it, the wealthy will own land, not just fat bank accounts.
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