Living in Starkville tips - have young children (Columbus, Eupora: for sale, apartments)

[ABRD]

I have a family with two young children & have to relocate to Starkville. Does anyone have information that would be helpful about this city? We plan to only be there for a couple of years, but, my son will start Kindergarten there. School suggestions? Neighborhoods to avoid? Area of town that is the best? Any tips would be appreciated. We are coming from a big city & are underwhelmed by the information available.

[brickpatio]

Starkville has about 25,000 people and as you know (I'm assuming), it's the home of Mississippi State University.

There are no real bad parts of town. Overall it's very safe. There are two private schools, Starkville Academy and Starkville Christian. The Starkville public schools are also a possibility and you can check Schooldigger.com or Greatschools.org for lists of schools.

For homes for sale, try trulia.com, which has a very useful map that shows every house for sale based on the price points you enter. The most residential neighborhoods, particularly newer ones, are generally along South Montgomery Drive, which runs south from town for several miles. Overall this is a pleasant area and fairly affluent, with quite a few nice new subdivisions with houses of all sizes.

Or you might try a cottage within a few blocks of downtown Starkville (University Ave). One of these neighborhoods is called the Greensboro Historic district, located just west of the small downtown area. Another unique area is the Cotton District, located between downtown and the university along University Ave. This area was designed to mix houses, duplexes, apartments and a few shops and restaurants, and to be both affordable and with a unique architectural look to create a feeling of neighborhood and community. Across the street is the Nash Street historic district, which has several blocks of cottages from the 1920s and 1930s.

For other resources, you can go to Starkville.org.

Lastly, you might want to make a conscious decision to adopt a positive approach, and your email doesn't exactly evoke that feeling (to be candid, although it's a free country and you can write whatever you want obviously). Starkville is a true small town with football games, downtown parades, churches, and farmers markets.

Another alternative, 25 minutes east, is the city of Columbus, which is a similar size but has a different feel. It has a nice little downtown area, nearby residential neighborhoods full of elegant antebellum homes, and newer neighborhoods built amid steep wooded ridges and ravines. It has its own university, Miss Univ for Women, but overall it is a bit more traditional and less of a college town as Starkville is. The best public schools in this area are called Caledonia, which are in the north of the county in a semi-rural, semi-suburban area. There is also Heritage Academy, a private school.

[KRich01]

I have lived in Starkville for the past 15 years and recently graduated from the city schools.

The main residential strip in Starkville is definitely South Montgomery. South Montgomery has been seeing a lot of growth over the past decade or so, and many of the homes in that area are going to be relatively new. However, the prices in this area are going to be the highest anywhere in town and I'd argue that they are quite inflated. Additionally, all of the growth on South Montgomery means that traffic (particularly in the mornings) can get a bit congested. Nevertheless, South Montgomery homes tend to have good resale values which can be important if you are only looking at being in the city for a few years. Neighborhoods to look into if interested in this area are Sherwood Forrest, Greenbriar, and Country Club Estates. I would personally try to avoid the Timbercove neighborhood as the housing stock there is quite aged and values have been falling in recent years. If you're willing to go a bit further out on South Montgomery, good investments would be Kathy's Pond or Sunnyland. These neighborhoods are outside the city limits but inside the city school district, which is important even if you choose not to send your kids to city schools because of resale value. Whatever you do, STAY INSIDE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

If you choose to not go with South Montgomery, there a few more options. Previously mentioned were Greensboro and the Cotton District. Another historic district adjacent to downtown is the Overstreet Historic District. Greensboro and Overstreet have great housing stock, historic homes with nice Southern charm. However, affordable family housing is very hard to find there (trust me, I've been looking for years!) Since you have young children, I would try to avoid the Cotton District or anything east of Downtown because its going to be a lot of college students (rowdy parties, lots of bars, etc); not too many families live in this neighborhood with the exception of maybe Nash Street. Another option off of South Montgomery is Oktibbeha Gardens (a neighborhood off of North Montgomery, north of Downtown) which has a good mix of college students and young families. In general, North Montgomery is a good area to live in too; as long as you don't go too far north. Other neighborhoods to look into in North Starkville would be Green Oaks or Indian Ridge, these neighborhoods are older but they have affordable housing and are full of families with young kids.

The only places I would tell you to avoid in Starkville would be areas overrun with college students or some neighborhoods in northwest Starkville. Generally speaking, anything north of Hwy 182 (save for the neighborhoods I have previously mentioned) should be approached with caution.

In terms of schools, I would absolutely recommend the city schools. Starkville has some of the best public schools in the state, and the public schools offer much more in terms of extracurriculars/athletics than Starkville Academy or Starkville Christian. Sending your children to SA may not be a bad decision for the early elementary years, but I will warn you: Starkville Academy is very conservative and is basically an extension of the local country club. The school is in no way academically focused, and students from the city schools always outperform the private schools in academics and athletics. Additionally, Starkville Academy has fallen on tough financial times (with many families opting for the public schools) and has raised its tuition every year for the past four years. Many newcomers are scared because there is a heavy minority presence in the city schools, but in my experiences the city schools are by far the best investment for a well-rounded education. I'm am less of an expert on Starkville Christian, but it has been growing a lot recently. However, I must caution you that this is not a nominally "Christian" school like many private academies. Religious instruction is a major part of the curriculum, and it tends to be of the conservative, Evangelical Protestant/Southern Baptist variety. If you end up living outside of the school district though, by all means send your children to the Starkville private schools as the county schools are failing by every measure.

I hope that this wasn't too overwhelming. Starkville is a great place to raise a family and grow a career. If you have any more questions about Starkville, don't hesitate to post them here or send me a PM/email

[peppermint]

KRich gave you a really good post. I don't like South Montgomery, myself, because the values are very overinflated, IMO, especially for a small Southern town. I graduated from Starkville Academy more than 15 years ago, and the school has changed. It used to be very academically focused. Many of my graduating class went to med school and law school. It's not that way anymore, from what I hear.

KRich is correct also that you should absolutely stay in the school district unless you want to send the kids to private school. The county schools are really, really bad. That's why I was sent to SA, because we lived in the county. I would argue about the quality of Starkville Public schools, but it all depends on your frame of reference. Mine has radically shifted after leaving the state. Where are you moving from?

If you have any other specific questions, let us know. KRich can probably get your answers.

[SippiStateBulldogs]

Starkville is straight. The two private schools are good. The academy is not a Mississippi seg academy it is just like any other christian school. Starkville public schools also are pretty solid. I would stay somewhere near the university or get something in the unicorporated parts around the Golden Triangle Airport. Best of luck.

[Okie7597]

Originally Posted by MissStateDawg

Starkville is straight. The two private schools are good. The academy is not a Mississippi seg academy it is just like any other christian school. Starkville public schools also are pretty solid. I would stay somewhere near the university or get something in the unicorporated parts around the Golden Triangle Airport. Best of luck.

The area around GTR is in west Lowndes County. West Lowndes school district is just as bad, if not worse, than Oktibbeha County schools. You'd be better off living in Starkville.

[brickpatio]

In neighboring Webster County, East Webster and Eupora high schools have ranked 24th and 29th in the state in the last two years out of about 240 high schools across the state. That's about 20 minutes west of Starkville. About 30 minutes east in Lowndes County, Caledonia schools rank at a similar level as listed at schooldigger.com. Starkville schools don't rank as well, but if you dig into the data especially at the state department of education website, the top third of students are some of the top scoring students in the state, presumably children of college professors.

[nkt10]

My hubby and I are young professionals who moved to Starkville a year ago (roughly). We moved into Green Oaks subdivision and really like it. Plenty of space for walking our dogs, bike riding, easy access to downtown and campus, and affordable housing. Lots of families with kids and young professionals living in the neighborhood!