OT: Best place to live in Mississippi?

[Maroon Eagle]

Me and my brothers went to Jones County schools and I had JCSD teachers in my family for decades. There are some legitimately awesome teachers and kids in those schools, but also some nepotism hires and too much regurgitation of the same people (Jones County people don’t like to leave Jones County, I have found. That’s not always a good thing).

Jones County is weird.

I can say that: Laurel-born, grew up in Jasper County, lived in the Free State for a time, and have family on my mother and father’s sides living in Jones County.

Maybe @11thEagleFan should explore finding a place in his blue state that has a nice guest or mother-in-law house on its property for his mother.

Cross Oak Grove and Hattiesburg proper off of your list in the H’burg area. I live in Bellevue (just past oak grove on 98) and most people here are anxious about H’burg encroaching on us. Petal seems to be thriving and growing a good bit, but I rarely go to Petal so I can’t give much detail. Along with Petal, you might need to look at Sumrall if looking in the H’burg area. Sumrall is where everyone is fleeing too, but it is still pretty early in the process and is still a “small town”.

I thought about suggesting Sumrall in my earlier post for many of the reasons you’ve mentioned.

Every way out of Sumrall is a 2-lane road though and I wonder if it may be too much in the country for his kids.

 

[Mr. Cook]

The amount of "culture shock" you and your family encounter can vary wildly within the "southern half" of Mississippi . LOL

Depends if you are north or south of Laurel

 

[Mr. Cook]

Wherever it is, just make sure you don't have people living nearby that don't like banana pudding

…or banana Moon Pies********

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Depends if you are north or south of Laurel

Sharon versus Moselle? **

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Grab some property in noxapater.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Few, if any, private schools can offer the breadth of options you find at schools like Madison Central.

That wasn’t really my point, I was simply saying that those two were the best public schools, which are based on location - whereas you can find a good private school in all the areas mentioned.

 

[Duke Humphrey]

Two years ago I moved to the coast after 40 years in Texas ... it was a bit of an adjustment ...but having been on a school board and looking at the local districts and comparing them to Texas districts ... yes Ocean Springs is good ... but Long Beach is also good academically and actually is a bit ahead in how they are positioned for the changes that are coming in education.

Long Beach and Pass Christian are excellent school districts, and maybe better than OS

 

[leeinator]

I would recommend Desoto County, but there are so many families moving in from NY, CA, & CO that it's causing housing and real estate prices to increase dramatically.

 

[preacher_dawg]

What say the pack? I’m looking to move my family to Mississippi within the next year or so. My mom is getting older and I would like to be closer. We are a family of 5. My kids are 13, 9, and 6, so school quality is important. Moving from a blue state to a red state, I know there will be a bit of a culture shock, but probably not much as my wife and I raise our kids with pretty traditional values.

Would prefer to stay in the southern half of the state. Pretty stoked to see how much farther my dollar goes with regard to real estate.

Well, since you are a Southern Miss fan, Hattiesburg, of course. It pains me to say it, but much better than Starkville.

 

[RopeDawg]

Ocean Springs

 

[Scottfield1]

^^^^Boom Boom may know some or both sides of my family down there.

I grew up (early years) on the Coast (Gulfport) with all my family before moving to Jackson (the REAL New Jack City and in its city limits, too) for most of my formative years. I wouldn't touch the coast in any way, shape or form. It has areas of charm, no doubt, but it's only gotten overall worse since late August of 2005 (and really started 15 years before that). Central Mississippi or the Greater Hattiesburg area would be your best bets. And you're close enough to easily go down to the coast when you want for an easy day trip or weekend excursion . . . but you thankfully don't have to live or raise kids there.

The coast is the engine that drives this state. Like any metro area, violent crimes are isolated to certain communities. Coast schools consistently rank among the best in the state. There is no better place in Mississippi to educate and raise kids than the coast. Diversity of population and attractions separate the three coastal counties from the rest of the state. Plus proximity to New Orleans and Mobile add to opportunities no other areas provide.

 

[Coast_Dawg]

Do your school research and make your decision based on that. The areas on the coast are only 30 minutes difference from your mom for any that are worth considering. That same 30 minutes applies to just about anything you would want to do down here.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I would recommend Desoto County, but there are so many families moving in from NY, CA, & CO that it's causing housing and real estate prices to increase dramatically.

Where in the southern part of the state is Desoto County? Never heard of it. I knew there was one in extreme North Mississippi, but…

 

[horshack.sixpack]

What options are those?

Off the top of my head, and no longer having kids in school, I can think of band (few privates have this), special education or handling special needs kids, PSAT prep (in MCs case having the most National Merit Finalists in the state most years), general breadth of electives is greater (if you call me to the carpet for no specifics, I'm not looking it up or arguing it because I just don't care that much), finally, the "D" word, diversity, where you get exposed to a much more realistic cross section of society than in most private schools.

Realistically, though, my negativity towards most of our private schools is in how they were founded and why.

 

[ronpolk]

For me, the most important factors are quality of schools, public safety, and entertainment options. Mom lives in the Laurel area. My wife and I both drink, but we rarely go out (would like for this to change). Currently attend a non-denominational church. I know there’s no shortage of places of worship.

Currently on the short list are Madison, Brandon, Flowood, Petal, Hattiesburg, Oak Grove, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, BSL, Gulfport. Not necessarily in that order.

I think you’d be happy in any of those places. I live in Madison and enjoy it a lot.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

The coast is the engine that drives this state. Like any metro area, violent crimes are isolated to certain communities. Coast schools consistently rank among the best in the state. There is no better place in Mississippi to educate and raise kids than the coast. Diversity of population and attractions separate the three coastal counties from the rest of the state. Plus proximity to New Orleans and Mobile add to opportunities no other areas provide.

I used to think this, but I’m not sure it’s true. Jackson is the center of business and government, and MS is an Ag state, so I’d say Jackson is the driver. And it’s not doing a very good job, so that’s why the state is not doing well.

Heck all the other areas share allegiance with out of state cities. Like you said, Coast - Mobile and NO, Desoto - Memphis, Even the GTR and Tupelo folks generally go to Birmingham to do their shopping/dining/recreation.

That said, I don’t agree or disagree about raising a family in the Coast. Just have to deal with hurricanes, and maybe that is good in that it breeds some resiliency.

 

[Anon1704414204]

What options are those?

Off the top of my head, and no longer having kids in school, I can think of band (few privates have this), special education or handling special needs kids, PSAT prep (in MCs case having the most National Merit Finalists in the state most years), general breadth of electives is greater (if you call me to the carpet for no specifics, I'm not looking it up or arguing it because I just don't care that much), finally, the "D" word, diversity, where you get exposed to a much more realistic cross section of society than in most private schools.

Realistically, though, my negativity towards most of our private schools is in how they were founded and why.

Why they were founded has little to do with today regarding academic concerns. Many prefer meritocracy over diversity while still believing in equal opportunity. The political indoctrination seen in today's public schools is something many parents want to avoid. You make a good point with special needs if that's not available in a private school.

 

[sandwolf.sixpack]

Off the top of my head, and no longer having kids in school, I can think of band (few privates have this), special education or handling special needs kids, PSAT prep (in MCs case having the most National Merit Finalists in the state most years), general breadth of electives is greater (if you call me to the carpet for no specifics, I'm not looking it up or arguing it because I just don't care that much), finally, the "D" word, diversity, where you get exposed to a much more realistic cross section of society than in most private schools.

Realistically, though, my negativity towards most of our private schools is in how they were founded and why.

Haha, the Madison public schools are no more diverse than most of the Academies in the metro area. My kid is at Madison Station and it is probably less diverse.

And if you are negative towards private schools because of why they were founded 65 years ago, then maybe refrain from giving ignorant, biased insight about them. I would hate for your delicate sensibilities to impact whether a kid got the best possible educational experience.

 

[patdog]

Sharon versus Moselle? **

Shady Grove for the win!

Haha, the Madison public schools are no more diverse than most of the Academies in the metro area. My kid is at Madison Station and it is probably less diverse.
.

That’s just an absolute lie. MSE is 1/3 minority. Academies are still overwhelmingly white, unless you’re a good athlete.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Shady Grove for the win!

That’s just an absolute lie. MSE is 1/3 minority. Academies are still overwhelmingly white, unless you’re a good athlete.

Is that really diverse? I mean we are talking two races here.

 

[beachbumdawg]

As others have stated - Pearl River County and Rural Hancock County are not places I would call home now
I have family that still lives there but damn it’s tough to drive around Picayune and think I could ever move back

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Haha, the Madison public schools are no more diverse than most of the Academies in the metro area. My kid is at Madison Station and it is probably less diverse.

And if you are negative towards private schools because of why they were founded 65 years ago, then maybe refrain from giving ignorant, biased insight about them. I would hate for your delicate sensibilities to impact whether a kid got the best possible educational experience.

Prep and St. Andrews might be considered on par academically in the area but suggesting that JA or MRA are is farce. And the others are way behind.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

Is that really diverse? I mean we are talking two races here.

Looks so to me... Our school district below.

 

[patdog]

Is that really diverse? I mean we are talking two races here.

I would put money in that being more diverse than most schools nationally. And certainly more diverse than MS academies, which was the statement I was responding to.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Without replying to anyone in particular. My wife was teaching in the public schools in our small town when we got married in the 70's. The schools had really good administrators and the student bodies were diverse. Every child that needed special attention got it and if they weren't really prepared to go to the next grade (for whatever reason) they were held back and given a chance to catch up. By the time we had school aged children things had changed dramatically to the point we sent our children to private schools. I can tell you it was not about diversity of the student body, it was about lame federal mandates and a gross deterioration of the quality of administrators. So while the start up of private schools might have been for one reason (in the late 60's) before the migration was over education did in fact become a real factor.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Petal, Sumrall, a couple coastal areas and that's about it unless you want rural. Plenty of small towns with solid schools.

 

[was21]

There’s a few nice subdivisions popping up in pearl river county. A few on community lakes. That would put you about an hour from New Orleans, an hour from the coast, and 1.5 hours from laurel.

May want to check out Hide_A-Way Lake area. It' been rated among some pubs as the best place to retire in the state....gated community.

 

[Shmuley]

Looks so to me... Our school district below.View attachment 605384

Iowa-like.

 

[travis.sixpack]

Two years ago I moved to the coast after 40 years in Texas ... it was a bit of an adjustment ...but having been on a school board and looking at the local districts and comparing them to Texas districts ... yes Ocean Springs is good ... but Long Beach is also good academically and actually is a bit ahead in how they are positioned for the changes that are coming in education.

I graduated from LBHS and my mom still lives there, so that’s good to hear. It’s still too sleepy for my tastes. The good thing about all the little towns along the coast is they’re still close to GP/Biloxi for dining, shopping and entertainment.

 

[leeinator]

Where in the southern part of the state is Desoto County? Never heard of it. I knew there was one in extreme North Mississippi, but…

There's a southern part to Mississippi?

 

[GloryDawg]

You would probably do better to ask where not to move.

 

[Podgy]

East Biloxi. O.K. just kidding. I never heard of East Biloxi as a thing until I met someone with an "I Love East Biloxi" shirt. He told me it was the black part of town and he volunteered there after Katrina and taught a few years in MS. But I agree with those saying the MS gulf coast has nice places to live and to enjoy life. I no longer live there but I could easily enjoy my final years in Starkville too.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

If I were to move back it would be just north of gulf coast where I can get some property but still close enough to be in town by 15-30 minutes. Maybe north of dieiberville or northern Hancock county. Don't care much for Gulfport.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

I know many here have issues with North Mississippi but we do have 2 of the top 3 schools in the state according to US News.

Here is the link

A few schools on the coast are in the top 10 also with Ocean Springs being 1 overall.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

What say the pack? I’m looking to move my family to Mississippi within the next year or so. My mom is getting older and I would like to be closer. We are a family of 5. My kids are 13, 9, and 6, so school quality is important. Moving from a blue state to a red state, I know there will be a bit of a culture shock, but probably not much as my wife and I raise our kids with pretty traditional values.

Would prefer to stay in the southern half of the state. Pretty stoked to see how much farther my dollar goes with regard to real estate.

Based on your needs, BSL or OS. There's always something going on in one of those towns, plus there's a ton of community pride. You have the casinos and are an hour away from NOLA and a couple hours to the Beach and need I mention Buc-ee's?

 

[sandwolf.sixpack]

That’s just an absolute lie. MSE is 1/3 minority. Academies are still overwhelmingly white, unless you’re a good athlete.

That's pretty surprising....I haven't seen that reflected at any of the multiple events I've been to. I would've guessed 20-25%.

Either way, I have no doubt it is more diverse than the Academies. But I was exaggerating to make a point. To act all high and mighty about sending your kids to the Madison public schools, like you're raising them to be all culturally diverse is a 17ing joke.

 

[El Perro Grande]

+1 for Oak Grove/Purvis.

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

Don’t care what Goat says, stop at the state line and turn around. MS sucks and the “leadership” doesn’t give a damn about Joe citizen. They only care what puts $$ in theirs and their buddies pockets.

can’t wait to get out.

Well.... BYE!

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I know many here have issues with North Mississippi but we do have 2 of the top 3 schools in the state according to US News.

Here is the link

A few schools on the coast are in the top 10 also with Ocean Springs being 1 overall.

Theres already eleventy billion kids in my daughters’ class. No need to add more.

 

[HWY51dog]

Hernando is full, go South.