Relocation near OKOLONA (Tupelo, New Albany, Amory: top schools, income, place to live)

[katerinaver]

Hey fellow City-Data Members,

I just got an offer to relocate to OKOLONA, bu as I've checked that area seems to have quiet low rated schools. Where near that town would you say is the best area for kids, activities to do, atmosphere schools?
Need some local advice.

[brickpatio]

Tupelo is 20 minutes away and has strong schools, both city (Tupelo) and county (Saltillo) (see schooldigger.com). Tupelo has about 40,000 people and is considered one of the more livable towns in Mississippi -clean, livable, and prosperous. The billion dollar Toyota plant is 15 minutes northwest of Tupelo and those adjacent communities (Pontotoc, New Albany) are small but quite livable and also have well rated schools.

[sammyreynolds1977]

Best place would probably be Tupelo. But it would also help to know where you are moving from?

[katerinaver]

I am from big cities such as California and NY

[sammyreynolds1977]

You're in for a culture shock. But Tupelo is the best place to live where you will be working.

[Cathycarl]

Tupelo is your best bet.. I relocated from Michigan 3 years ago and Culture Shock is putting it mild. If you are relocating from such a big city just know you will have the need to visit Memphis quite often which is about 90 miles away. Tupelo is growing because of Toyota, However it still lags in restaurants and shopping. The growth is coming maybe 5 years down the road it will be more appealing.

[brickpatio]

I checked schooldigger.com's ranking of middle schools across the state (based on test scores).

In the Okolona region, I was surprised at how many schools rank near the top of the state. Pontotoc, East Webster, Caledonia, Amory, South Pontotoc, New Albany and Ackerman were in the top 40 (out of about 240 middle schools). Among those, Pontotoc, East Webster, and Caledonia were in the top 15.

The Tupelo city schools aren't ranked in the top. However, in looking at the data, it appears (although I definitely stand to be corrected) that Tupelo city schools are roughly half Caucasian and half African-American students, and the Caucasian group appear to be middle and upper middle class/ professional families.

Tupelo has always produced its share of national merit scholars etc and has always been considered to have top schools. It appears that the county schools (Saltillo), which are something like 85% Caucasian students, are more heavily working class, i.e with a smaller share of lower-income families as well as a smaller share of upper middle/ professional families. That said, the actual schools are absolutely beautiful, both city and county.

I could be wrong obviously but I deduced that info by looking at the number of students who qualify for government-paid meals. In short, in Tupelo it appears that you have a choice between city schools that combine high-performing upper middle class/ professional families and lower income families - or county schools that are mainly working class and some middle class.

[EarlVanDorn]

There's been quite a bit of white flight from the Tupelo schools in recent years. The district used to produce four or five National Merit Finalists every year, but in recent years they have had none or one, so there has been a substantial academic decline.

The Pontotoc School district reaches almost to Okolona. So you could live in Pontotoc County and work in Okalona. The South Pontotoc and Pontotoc schools are very highly rated, and have gotten a bunch of money from Toyota to ensure its employees have access to good educational facilities.