Looking into Hattiesburg, any advice welcome! (homes, high school, colleges)

[alybain]

My husband is loves recreational diving, so the gulf coast is very appealing for him and I love the water, I really miss it here in Ohio. We have always lived on the coast in England, so it would be great to live an hour or so away from it again.
The restaurants linked above all seem a bit 'posh'! is Hattiesburg a bit like that? or are there chain restaurants there too?
Is there a gun/drug issue?

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by alybain

My husband is loves recreational diving, so the gulf coast is very appealing for him and I love the water, I really miss it here in Ohio. We have always lived on the coast in England, so it would be great to live an hour or so away from it again.
The restaurants linked above all seem a bit 'posh'! is Hattiesburg a bit like that? or are there chain restaurants there too?
Is there a gun/drug issue?

I'll have to let someone else address drugs, but I know guns aren't an issue; everyone already owns one!

But you won't see them.

All part of life in Mississippi.

You have asked a lot of good questions. I hope you get to move here, I just wish I could be there to see your face when you encounter your first rattlesnake.

[alybain]

RATTLESNAKE!!! really! are they dangerous! I actually dont mind snakes as much as spiders. We were told not to leave boots outside up here because of snakes.
The worst thing we have encountered so far was a massive snapping turtle wandering across our front yard! he was a mean old thing, luckily we have a fab neighbour who came and took it away...

Theres a lot of guns here too, and living in the country we are no strangers to gun shots.. we dont have one.. yet! The guns/trucks/boots life is appealing, I really hope we get to make the move too, I like the sound of things down there so far!

I am hoping there will be lots for our teen kids to do as well, theres not too much up here. My son says the uni football team are rubbish.. are they really THAT bad??

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by alybain

My husband is loves recreational diving, so the gulf coast is very appealing for him and I love the water, I really miss it here in Ohio. We have always lived on the coast in England, so it would be great to live an hour or so away from it again.
The restaurants linked above all seem a bit 'posh'! is Hattiesburg a bit like that? or are there chain restaurants there too?
Is there a gun/drug issue?

Yes, fast food drive-thru options are ABUNDANT in Hattiesburg, with your Four Basic Food Groups (Wendy's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, and McDonald's ), plus some home-grown chains that are pretty good. I don't know if Popeye's Fried Chicken is in Ohio, yet, but it's really, REALLY good. Surely, 99% of all restaurant sales are from fast food places. But that's pretty-much a given in any American town with more than five thousand inhabitants.

Being a university town, Hattiesburg will have well-priced apartment complexes where actual white people live - who are not druggies. That is not the case in most towns in Mississippi, where price is a filter, and nothing "white-friendly" is available under $1,200 a month - or much, much more. But you are going to have to go to the complex after dark and see what kinds of cars are parked there, and whether or not "under-served youths" are loitering in the parking lot, watching people.

If you want to rent a house, you will have to either network through people at the U (they're used to it), or go to a realtor who's trusted by people owning the houses. Landlords with plum properties learn not to run ads. Another something you cannot do, in Mississippi.

Yes, drugs are a huge problem, but no more or less than in most of what used to be 'America'. However guns are a solution... not another problem. South Mississippi has some notorious families, about like England's legendary 'Hooligan' family. If you've heard the song, Copperhead Road https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvaEJzoaYZk, then you know the kind of people I'm talking about. Only NOW, they OWN South Mississippi, keep the 'posh' eateries in business, live in multi-million-Dollar houses in Canebrake, hire the best decorators and architects, and have multitional business interests (clandestine AND legit). Most likely, they own the apartment building you'll rent in. They own banks. They decide who will be Mississippi's Governor, and one of them usually IS Governor. But it's the street-level druggies, not the shady arriviste rich, who pose a danger, and that's why you have to find a place to live, where you're insulated from that element.

The difficulties that people of moderate means experience in finding places to live (and send their children to school), where they are insulated from the criminal element, are the PRIMARY reason why people leave Mississippi, and why so many are loathe to move there. Hattiesburg is far better in that regard than are most of the state's towns.

[alybain]

Thanks again for the info, so does that mean that anywhere outside of the main town could be not much good?
There is crime and drugs everywhere, its just the 'visibility' of it and the problems it causes that bothers me most. I would hate for my kids to be in the wrong place at the wrong time of you know what I mean. There are places here where we dont go at night.. and we are careful during the day too! you get that everywhere, its just knowing where those places are I guess.
We would be looking for a house to rent ideally rather than apartment. We have a dog, so most apartments dont allow them.

[P47P47]

Hattiesburg is the home town of Webb Wilder, the Last of the Full-Grown Men.

Work hard.
Rock hard.
Eat hard.
Sleep hard.
Grow big.
Wear glasses if you need 'em.

- The Webb Wilder Credo


www.webbwilder.com

[viverlibre]

Not much diving off the Mississipi Coast (water too murky), but plenty of diving in Destin, Fort Pickens and the rest of the panhandle, you will find some freshwater diving there also.

[alybain]

can anyone tell me what the uni football team is like? Ive heard theyre not too good... does the town support them well?

[viverlibre]

If you mean Murican football (not soccer), then the team is horrible, one of the worst in the country. The mustard buzzards (golden eagles) are ranked 123 out of 128 teams for this week. It wasn't long along that this was a proud program (the most successful in the state wins and losses wise), but has hit rock bottom and is digging.

The South Eastern Confernce (SEC) rules college football in general, but especially in the south. Because USM is not in the SEC (or any major conference) they are regulated to second/third class status. If USM was in the SEC, the program and college would dwarf Mississippi State or Oles Miss. The town supports the team, but not to a SEC level extent.

I went to a job fair at USM earlier this year and saw nearly as much LSU, MSU, UM and Bama gear as USM, plenty of USM grads are fans of these schools and only have a minor interest in USM.

If you are referring to soccer, I have no idea. Likely there is no men's scholarship team, but they will have a women's soccer team.

[alybain]

ohhh yes I definitely mean 'murican football not soccer! lol!
Thats a real shame they are so bad, we LOVE football, and its always good to support the team where you live/work ideally.. sad that they are THAT bad then.. is there any hope of them getting any better?
My son plays, he's a corner, and loves the game, he is enjoying playing at high school level, and would play at college too. As he would attend USM its a shame they are no good