What's So Bad About Mississippi? (Jackson, Greenville: house, contractors, inspections)

[Desert kid]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Unfamiliar with contemporary life in Mississippi? It's the same as anywhere else in the United States. Most people have smart phones, 4G LTE is widely available throughout much of the state through AT&T and Verizon, most people drive newer cars, 5 years old or less, there are subdivisions and suburbs just like in any other city, most people are connected through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more, the same big box retail stores you find around the country are also available in Mississippi.

Life here is not different from anywhere else, we ALL live in the 21st century now, regardless of the age of some of our infrastructure.

I'm aware of all of this, people drove brand new cars, and there was cell service and Walmarts where I went I Mississippi.

I've always been a bit of a fan of Southern culture, but have experienced it very little in reality. Makes me quite the anomaly.

It's just, Arizona is all I know.

[Anne Trudel]

My daughter just graduated from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. We had never heard of this little gem until she started her college search in earnest. Being from Nashville, TN, I am used to Southern hospitality and friendliness. But I was unprepared for how bad the infrastructure in Mississippi is. The roads around Jackson, the state capital, are horrible. They remind me of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes (I haven't been there since my early adult years, so they may improved); they have the excuse of rotten winters, while Jackson does not. Once during our daughter's sophomore year more than 90 water mains broke, and the city had to shut down everything except "essential" services. Millsaps closed for a week; this was in January right after Christmas break.

There are some lovely places in Mississippi, and I wouldn't judge the whole state by visiting just a few places like Jackson, Vicksburg, Biloxi, and Gulfport. The last time we were in Gulfport was about 7 months after Katrina, and things were still in sad shape.

All that said, while there is some "gracious living" in the state, I would not choose to live there because of the huge gap between middle class and poor (and rich and poor) and the lack of "cosmopolitanality" (just made up that word). Our daughter's school has a good deal of diversity, but I'm not sure that is true of the state universities (and in the spirit of full disclosure, I have not visited either one except to drive through Ole Miss campus). I get the sense that the debutante effect is still ingrained in young women, and many try to get their MRS degree in college. I believe that beauty pageants are still big there too, so again, I would not want to be a woman living in that state. Perhaps I have been too influenced by reading "The Help" and other novels set in Mississippi. I do know of people like Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts and Rev. Edwin King who have done much to improve race relations in Mississippi. There are certainly many intelligent people who live there. I sense a lot of racial tensions under the surface, although I felt quite comfortable talking to all the people I met. The public education system there consistently ranks as the lowest in the nation. Of the state universities, I would opt for Mississippi State over Ole Miss, mainly because of the later school's preppie mentality, which, I admit, turns me off. I guess that can be found at any university. We were pleased with our daughter's education at Millsaps, a historically Methodist school that is quite progressive. (And there was a good element of preppiness there.)

[Dollydo]

My brother and I spent a week RVing in Ms. We camped right on the river, fished and had a great time. I go there 3-4 times a year to gamble, normally Biloxi. Although Biloxi has changed so much since the big K hit, it is still enjoyable. Tried Tunica last week, didn't care for it at all.

[Southern man]

[quote=Anne Trudel;29541347



Our daughter's school has a good deal of diversity, but I'm not sure that is true of the state universities (and in the spirit of full disclosure, I have not visited either one except to drive through Ole Miss campus). [/quote]
According to the following link your daughters college has a diversity rating of "C"
Old Miss had a"B-".

Compare Colleges - College Prowler

[Anne Trudel]

Interesting! Her college has less than 1,000 students...kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

[Anne Trudel]

I will add a disclaimer to my first post. I read it to my daughter, and she said, "Mom, you're being a little unfair. Tennessee isn't exactly cosmopolitan." (I would argue that Nashville is, and Knoxville and Chattanooga have a lot of culture for their size. Memphis also has some gems.) We do pay higher sales tax in Tennessee, which is a regressive tax, in my opinion. Part of our gas tax goes to pay for improving our roads, and Tennessee roads that I have traveled (mostly interstate; some state highways) are superior to the roads in Mississippi. OK, that's all I'm going to say about that. I have seen a lot of good in Mississippi, even if I am critical of its infrastructure.

[Southern man]

Originally Posted by Anne Trudel

Interesting! Her college has less than 1,000 students...kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

No fruit, just categories common to colleges. Milsaps did beat Old Miss in one category, drug safety.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by Anne Trudel

I will add a disclaimer to my first post. I read it to my daughter, and she said, "Mom, you're being a little unfair. Tennessee isn't exactly cosmopolitan." (I would argue that Nashville is, and Knoxville and Chattanooga have a lot of culture for their size. Memphis also has some gems.) We do pay higher sales tax in Tennessee, which is a regressive tax, in my opinion. Part of our gas tax goes to pay for improving our roads, and Tennessee roads that I have traveled (mostly interstate; some state highways) are superior to the roads in Mississippi. OK, that's all I'm going to say about that. I have seen a lot of good in Mississippi, even if I am critical of its infrastructure.

Interstates are not a representation of the state, they are federally owned. Having seen a better section of Interstate in Tennessee vs Mississippi means nothing on the state level.

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by Southern man

According to the following link your daughters college has a diversity rating of "C"
Old Miss had a"B-".

Compare Colleges - College Prowler

I'm confused. A higher grade means MORE diversity? So... are we saying that a higher grade is a selling point, or a strike against? 'Cause I'm not seeing the advantages here...

College Prowler assigns letter grades UsNews uses a different type of ranking.
Campus Ethnic Diversity | Rankings | Top National Universities | US News

Funny to see who's last. I guess the "Diversity for Thee, but not for Me" quip, which I previously found offensive, is not totally off-base.

But these are wonderful lists. I'm sure the narcissistic Goody-two-shoes Ideologues could choose from one end of the scale, while the Realists would tend to choose from the other end.

[An Einnseanair]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Interstates are not a representation of the state, they are federally owned. Having seen a better section of Interstate in Tennessee vs Mississippi means nothing on the state level.

Not true. Interstates are Federally funded. Meaning that as long as Federal design guidelines and operating parameters are met (as overseen by the Federal Highway Administration - FHWA), the feds will pick up a large chunk of the tab for construction and repair projects. But the roads are owned, maintained, and patrolled by the respective states they go through, and they have to pay for a percentage of the cost of construction and repairs (I believe the states pay 20% and feds pay 80%). States design the roads, pick the contractors, oversee construction, and handle inspections and maintenance. There are vast differences in the competencies and priorities of the various Departments of Transportation (DOTs).

To specifically address the roads around Jackson...
I lived in Jackson a few decades ago and while there I worked as an intern at the local FHWA office. In MDOT's defense, the area around Jackson (and along I-20 between Vicksburg and Meridian) has the most cr@ppy soil you could ever choose to build roads and houses on. It's an expansive clay known locally as "Yazoo Clay" (it has other local names, but they aren't fit to type here). When exposed to water it swells and when it dries it shrinks. It swells and shrinks A LOT, and it carries whatever is sitting on it along for the ride. Almost all new houses in the area are built on a heavily reinforced and post-tensioned concrete foundations, and cracks and movement still occurs.

The only ways to get around it as far as roads are concerned would be to build a continuous bridge (highway bridges are insanely expensive), dig out the clay and replace with non-expansive soil (good fill soil is rare in the area and is therefore very expensive), or to try and mix other substances with the clay to make it more stable (usually this is powdered Portland cement). Because the only true "fixes" are too expensive, the state does the best it can with the money it has. A new road that may stay in good shape for 25 years in Kansas may last only 5-10 years in Mississippi.

This article addresses house foundation problems, but roads have the same problems: http://thecosmiccorner.blogspot.com/...ring-slab.html