Oxford In Retirement?

[sammyreynolds1977]

I wouldn't call Ole Miss a solid retirement community. Most people when they retire move to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or Florida

[viverlibre]

The good: For MS, Oxford is a nice town, one of the nicest in the state with good public schools (city and county), with low crime and a strong real estate market. Oxford also has an abundance of medical care and has a large man-made reservoir nearby. Oxford has Ole Miss with a vibrant sports program and a lot of social activities interconnected.

The bad: Outside of Ole Miss and water activities (Enid is not a nice lake), there is a not a ton to do. Real estate in Oxford was going like gangbusters in the 90s and into the 2000s, but it may be nearing a peak, therefore your real estate investment may not see the same amount of appreciation as year's past.

If you are really into attending college sports in person, you'll be in hog heaven. If not, you may want to look elsewhere.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by viverlibre

The good: For MS, Oxford is a nice town, one of the nicest in the state with good public schools (city and county), with low crime and a strong real estate market. Oxford also has an abundance of medical care and has a large man-made reservoir nearby. Oxford has Ole Miss with a vibrant sports program and a lot of social activities interconnected.

The bad: Outside of Ole Miss and water activities (Enid is not a nice lake), there is a not a ton to do. Real estate in Oxford was going like gangbusters in the 90s and into the 2000s, but it may be nearing a peak, therefore your real estate investment may not see the same amount of appreciation as year's past.

If you are really into attending college sports in person, you'll be in hog heaven. If not, you may want to look elsewhere.

(Ahem)... There is no such thing as hog heaven in Mississippi.
That only exists in Arkansas.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

I grew up in a sleepy little college town - Auburn in the 1950's.
I don't see Oxford as a sleepy little town.

Actually, when you grew up in the '50s, Auburn was twice the size of Oxford and still is........and that doesn't even consider the fact that Auburn and Opelika are basically the same town. So Auburn is about three times the size of Oxford if you include Opelika.

But you are probably right in that there aren't sleepy little college towns anymore. Back in the day, there were less students. Ole Miss is probably almost 3-4 times larger than it was in it was in the 1960s. Back then probably only half of the students had cars and there were only 1-2 cars per family.

When you throw in all these extra students who all have their own cars, and you throw in the fact that all the families in town have 3-4 cars it ain't sleepy no more. Infrastructure in these quaint little college towns hasn't kept up with the changes, party because those changes would ruin the ambiance even if they did improve things in other ways.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

Actually, when you grew up in the '50s, Auburn was twice the size of Oxford and still is........and that doesn't even consider the fact that Auburn and Opelika are basically the same town. So Auburn is about three times the size of Oxford if you include Opelika.

But you are probably right in that there aren't sleepy little college towns anymore. Back in the day, there were less students. Ole Miss is probably almost 3-4 times larger than it was in it was in the 1960s. Back then probably only half of the students had cars and there were only 1-2 cars per family.

When you throw in all these extra students who all have their own cars, and you throw in the fact that all the families in town have 3-4 cars it ain't sleepy no more. Infrastructure in these quaint little college towns hasn't kept up with the changes, party because those changes would ruin the ambiance even if they did improve things in other ways.

Auburn had a population of 14,000 in 1955, and Opelika many miles away. There really wasn't much past North Ross and Opelika Hwy. I didn't even know anyone who had 2 cars; few of my friends' mothers worked.
It was a time when students struggled and ate crackers to get by. Athletes were actually students. If I wanted to go somewhere, I walked. If I was in a hurry, I ran.
After school we would go to the college gym. If the basketball team was practicing, they would leave one goal open for us kids. And it was OK to just wander out of the baseball field and shag flies; no one ever said anything. Sometimes they needed us to operate the scoreboard during a game.
Little League? .... We had coaches everywhere and none of them had kids who played. They were usually Phys-Ed majors from the college. I never could afford the fees, so they just let me play anyway. The clock at Samford Hall rang out the time.



No. Those places don't exist anymore.

[the_little_truth_writer]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

Auburn had a population of 14,000 in 1955, and Opelika many miles away. There really wasn't much past North Ross and Opelika Hwy. I didn't even know anyone who had 2 cars; few of my friends' mothers worked.
It was a time when students struggled and ate crackers to get by. Athletes were actually students. If I wanted to go somewhere, I walked. If I was in a hurry, I ran.
After school we would go to the college gym. If the basketball team was practicing, they would leave one goal open for us kids. And it was OK to just wander out of the baseball field and shag flies; no one ever said anything. Sometimes they needed us to operate the scoreboard during a game.
Little League? .... We had coaches everywhere and none of them had kids who played. They were usually Phys-Ed majors from the college. I never could afford the fees, so they just let me play anyway. The clock at Samford Hall rang out the time.



No. Those places don't exist anymore.

So sad and so true. No time in history is free from a variety of problems, but in the old days children got to be children, unlike the last 25 or more years. Whence I was growing up, children had two "jobs," to go to school and make good grades, and to play and have fun. Yes, by a certain age most kids had assigned chores, but by and large kids got to be kids, and their job was to be good students, good sports in play, and obedient children. Rarely see the likes anymore.

[squarpeg]

I am from the Northeast. Approaching retirement. I too was looking for someplace to relocate. (warmer) I had about 20 places on my list I thought might be good and on the list was Oxford, Starksville, Natchez, Vicksburg and the list went on and on through the south eastern states. I took a number of trips over several years exploring my list of towns. I recall my trip to Oxford well. It struck me as a very good place to relocate. It was southern but had some of the leanings of the north. They had recycle bins on main street. A small thing but indicated a forward thinking mindset. There was a great music scene and the town square has sort of a french quarter feel with all the balconies. Lots of bars/restaurants. I enjoyed my time there. It is a college town, Prosperous and down right expensive if you want to live in the main area of town.. I thought it might well have been a good fit for us. In the end, I decided it was still to cold for where I wanted to be in the winter. I eventually settled in Fernandina Beach, FL. after years of looking. I think it was a better choice but I did like Oxford, Best of Luck

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by squarpeg

I am from the Northeast. Approaching retirement. I too was looking for someplace to relocate. (warmer) I had about 20 places on my list I thought might be good and on the list was Oxford, Starksville, Natchez, Vicksburg and the list went on and on through the south eastern states. I took a number of trips over several years exploring my list of towns. I recall my trip to Oxford well. It struck me as a very good place to relocate. It was southern but had some of the leanings of the north. They had recycle bins on main street. A small thing but indicated a forward thinking mindset. There was a great music scene and the town square has sort of a french quarter feel with all the balconies. Lots of bars/restaurants. I enjoyed my time there. It is a college town, Prosperous and down right expensive if you want to live in the main area of town.. I thought it might well have been a good fit for us. In the end, I decided it was still to cold for where I wanted to be in the winter. I eventually settled in Fernandina Beach, FL. after years of looking. I think it was a better choice but I did like Oxford, Best of Luck

Well, it'll certainly be warmer. Hot as hades is probably a better description.

I see similar comments about recycling and wonder why. My town, fairly populous, has near 100% participation. I assumed it was like that just about everywhere.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

A ton of people are retiring in Oxford and Starkville these days. I think, personally, I would love it. If you enjoy going to sporting events and are a fan of either school, seems like a no-brainer. It's actually my plan.

Not to mention, Oxford is a very nice town.

I'm sure Oxford is the same, but Starkville is a surprisingly expensive place to buy a house, especially considering the average income there. It's probably that way in any college town.

[Mouldy Old Schmo]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

I'm sure Oxford is the same, but Starkville is a surprisingly expensive place to buy a house, especially considering the average income there. It's probably that way in any college town.

Housing in Cleveland is expensive, and our average income is certainly lower than those two towns.