OT - Need help from the pack on relocation to Mississippi

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Decided to retire and leave Texas and Mississippi is on our radar. I have isolated 4 homes on Zillow that meet our requirements, and would like the pack's opinion on the areas.

Here are the targets:

Home #1 is 5 miles east of JAN airport, north of Brandon near Castlewoods Blvd.

Home #2 is south of Brookhaven off of Greenview Trail north of US 84.

Home #3 is in Jackson, south of Northpark Mall in the Wildwood/Northpoint neighborhoods.

Home #4 is in Madison next to the Annadale Golf Club and Mannsdale Road.

Any help given is greatly appreciated.

 

[JenBielema]

Hey Hun....Madison.

 

[ll Martain ll]

As much as I’d like to love Jackson, I don’t recommend #3. That area declined and isn’t coming back anytime soon.

1 and 4 would both be fine.

#2 is not like the others. Brookhaven is a fine area, but definitely more isolated than the others. So hard to judge because living there would likely be a lifestyle choice.

In a vacuum (not knowing you, your lifestyle, or if you want to work again in the future) I would lean towards #4

 

[dawgstudent]

No on #3. My mother in law lived in Northpoint until 2018. If I lived in Jackson, these would be my choices in no particular order:

1. south of old canton, north of lakeland Dr and east of 55
2. Belhaven
3. Woodland Hills/Fondren

I was just north of old canton but we moved in 2017. I did not mind living in Jackson but private schools is a definite.

 

[8dog]

4. No way on 3.

 

[ronpolk]

Decided to retire and leave Texas and Mississippi is on our radar. I have isolated 4 homes on Zillow that meet our requirements, and would like the pack's opinion on the areas.

Here are the targets:

Home #1 is 5 miles east of JAN airport, north of Brandon near Castlewoods Blvd.

Home #2 is south of Brookhaven off of Greenview Trail north of US 84.

Home #3 is in Jackson, south of Northpark Mall in the Wildwood/Northpoint neighborhoods.

Home #4 is in Madison next to the Annadale Golf Club and Mannsdale Road.

Any help given is greatly appreciated.

1 or 4 If you want the Jackson area. Either would be fine.

Not having kids would make Jackson an easier choice for you but I wouldn’t do it. Much easier to sell a house in the suburbs.

My wife has some family in Brookhaven and it’s nice. But it’s a small town, so depends on what you want. If you want a little more space, Brookhaven would be nice.

I think if it were me and I was looking for maybe a little bigger lot and space, I’d check out flora. Pretty close to Jackson and there is some really pretty land out in flora.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

Glad to have you back. Here are my recommendations:

1) If you like golf and want to be close to plenty of amenities and shopping, go the Castlewoods route. Good neighborhood, the golf cart trend is taking over.
2) Brookhaven is a great small town, and is thriving. That said, it's a small town, albeit a cool one with stuff going on.
3) I would not recommend this, especially a retiree.
4) Madison would likely be my recommendation for you, has the same stuff #1 has. Guess it depends on where you need to be most often, when choosing between Madison and Brandon/Flowood.

 

[patdog]

#1 or #4 would both be fine. Stay away from #3. #2 would probably be OK too if you don't mind living in a rural area over an hour away from anything.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

My personal opinion: Don't even consider Hinds County.

MAYBE: Home #1 is 5 miles east of JAN airport, north of Brandon near Castlewoods Blvd.

NO IDEA: Home #2 is south of Brookhaven off of Greenview Trail north of US 84.

NO, UNLESS YOU LIKE SHARING YOUR STUFF WITH OTHERS (and paying very high taxes for very poor services): Home #3 is in Jackson, south of Northpark Mall in the Wildwood/Northpoint neighborhoods.

YES: Home #4 is in Madison next to the Annadale Golf Club and Mannsdale Road.

PS: If you are still thinking Hinds County, don't be thinking Hinds County.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

If he is retiring with school age children, he can come live with me and give me pointers...

 

[crackerjax]

Madison or Flowood would be better than the others.

 

[GloryDawg]

Move to Flowood.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

My personal opinion: Don't even consider Hinds County.

MAYBE: Home #1 is 5 miles east of JAN airport, north of Brandon near Castlewoods Blvd.

NO IDEA: Home #2 is south of Brookhaven off of Greenview Trail north of US 84.

NO, UNLESS YOU LIKE SHARING YOUR STUFF WITH OTHERS (and paying very high taxes for very poor services): Home #3 is in Jackson, south of Northpark Mall in the Wildwood/Northpoint neighborhoods.

YES: Home #4 is in Madison next to the Annadale Golf Club and Mannsdale Road.

PS: If you are still thinking Hinds County, don't be thinking Hinds County.

Unfortunately this is the truth. Jackson had the beginnings of a resurgence but the current politics and COVID just put a damper on that whole deal. It's the suburbs (in Madison and Rankin County) at this point for Jackson Metro living. Without the service industry, what is there in Jackson, as far as personal living?

I hope all these people who put huge investments in these downtowns across the country got their money back before COVID, because I doubt those areas grow again for a while. People are looking for space.

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

If you choose 3, you have interest in this thread, too. https://forums.sixpackspeak.com/showthread.php?p=1822760#post1822760

 

[johnson86-1]

Decided to retire and leave Texas and Mississippi is on our radar. I have isolated 4 homes on Zillow that meet our requirements, and would like the pack's opinion on the areas.

Here are the targets:

Home #1 is 5 miles east of JAN airport, north of Brandon near Castlewoods Blvd.

Home #2 is south of Brookhaven off of Greenview Trail north of US 84.

Home #3 is in Jackson, south of Northpark Mall in the Wildwood/Northpoint neighborhoods.

Home #4 is in Madison next to the Annadale Golf Club and Mannsdale Road.

Any help given is greatly appreciated.

Might help to know what the draw to the Jackson area is. If you needed to be in the Jackson area, then I would say option #4, then #1 (although that's probably just personal preference), and would not consider #3. If you are going to live in Jackson, then Fondren or Belhaven to me are the only places that make sense. If you are going to accept big city crime, bad roads, and unreliable water service, you might as well get somewhat close to downtown and have something like some city amenities nearby.

But throwing in Brookhaven makes me question the need to be in the Jackson area at all? If you can get that far away, I'd go ahead and go to the coast. Nicer place to live, basically the same available amenities. Healthcare doesn't have UMC but has good hospitals and as close to New Orleans as Brookhaven is to UMC. GPT is as good as JAN as far as airports, and also close to MSY.

If you don't need those amenities, maybe Starkville or Oxford or Hattiesburg would be good options?

If Brookhaven and Jackson are just the two places with family, then that makes sense. But if that's not it, neither Jackson nor its burbs is where I'd look to locate if I weren't tied to a job.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I'm on record here saying that Hattiesburg would be my #1 in-state retirement choice.

 

[Sienfield]

Flowood is a short drive to all the other places listed except Brookhaven. More centrally located to everything.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

In order:
1. Madison
2. Flowood
3. Brookhaven








4. Jxn

 

[TaleofTwoDogs]

Thanks for the feedback guys, its been very helpful. We have some family near Madison but the main draw is that we are moving from the Dallas area and are accustom to urban amenities. My wife is from rural Winston county so she can go urban but also would like the country and some acreage. I grew up on the coast and have a lot of family there but we were kinda looking for something different but familiar. At this point we haven't locked in any location or state but it needs to be below the Mason-Dixon line!

 

[Joe Schmedlap]

Why would you leave Texas?

 

[InTheIttaBenaHotSun]

Was wondering that myself.

 

[Ingomardawg]

We relocated/retired from Colorado to Tupelo and love it. Good hospital, wonderful doctors, good restaurants, large enough to provide all services but small enough to get anywhere in city in 15 minutes, great schools, and close to MSU.

 

[III.sixpack]

Might help to know what the draw to the Jackson area is. If you needed to be in the Jackson area, then I would say option #4, then #1 (although that's probably just personal preference), and would not consider #3. If you are going to live in Jackson, then Fondren or Belhaven to me are the only places that make sense. If you are going to accept big city crime, bad roads, and unreliable water service, you might as well get somewhat close to downtown and have something like some city amenities nearby.

But throwing in Brookhaven makes me question the need to be in the Jackson area at all? If you can get that far away, I'd go ahead and go to the coast. Nicer place to live, basically the same available amenities. Healthcare doesn't have UMC but has good hospitals and as close to New Orleans as Brookhaven is to UMC. GPT is as good as JAN as far as airports, and also close to MSY.

If you don't need those amenities, maybe Starkville or Oxford or Hattiesburg would be good options?

If Brookhaven and Jackson are just the two places with family, then that makes sense. But if that's not it, neither Jackson nor its burbs is where I'd look to locate if I weren't tied to a job.

This^^^

 

[horshack.sixpack]

“You spend the first half of your life trying to get away from home and the second half trying to get back.” -Lewis Grizzard

 

[Negative Waves]

Decided to retire and leave Texas and Mississippi is on our radar. I have isolated 4 homes on Zillow that meet our requirements, and would like the pack's opinion on the areas.

Here are the targets:

Home #1 is 5 miles east of JAN airport, north of Brandon near Castlewoods Blvd.

Home #2 is south of Brookhaven off of Greenview Trail north of US 84.

Home #3 is in Jackson, south of Northpark Mall in the Wildwood/Northpoint neighborhoods.

Home #4 is in Madison next to the Annadale Golf Club and Mannsdale Road.

Any help given is greatly appreciated.

If you end up getting a house in the Jackson Metro Area, make sure you have the foundation checked before you buy. The soils are terrible in the area, and you don't want to buy a house that has foundation troubles. To add to the chorus, I would not buy in the City of Jackson right now. Madison and Brandon are good picks; I do not know enough about Brookhaven to give an opinion.

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

Why would you leave Texas?

Can't speak for him, but I've lived in DFW for 19 years now (all on the Fort Worth side). I can tell you, as soon as my youngest, currently in 6th grade, goes off to college, I will be getting out of TX if at all possible and heading back east. There are something like 7.5 million people in this area. Air quality sucks, traffic sucks, land is expensive, city planning and zoning sucks, the civil engineers that design roadways and infrastructure are idiots, and a host of other problems that to me don't outweigh the positives of a large metro area. Plus, honestly, I miss forests and trees that grow more than 20' tall. It is funny, I grew up in the Memphis suburbs and have lived almost my entire adult life in DFW, and I desperately long to live in a small town or to live on acreage 15 to 20 minutes outside of a small to medium size town.

A huge metro area with lots of "things to do" just isn't important to everyone. Honestly, if it wasn't for the close group of friends we have here, our church that we truly love, and my children loving their schools, church youth group, etc., I would have left long ago to move back to TN, AL, or MS.

 

[johnson86-1]

Can't speak for him, but I've lived in DFW for 19 years now (all on the Fort Worth side). I can tell you, as soon as my youngest, currently in 6th grade, goes off to college, I will be getting out of TX if at all possible and heading back east. There are something like 7.5 million people in this area. Air quality sucks, traffic sucks, land is expensive, city planning and zoning sucks, the civil engineers that design roadways and infrastructure are idiots, and a host of other problems that to me don't outweigh the positives of a large metro area. Plus, honestly, I miss forests and trees that grow more than 20' tall. It is funny, I grew up in the Memphis suburbs and have lived almost my entire adult life in DFW, and I desperately long to live in a small town or to live on acreage 15 to 20 minutes outside of a small to medium size town.

A huge metro area with lots of "things to do" just isn't important to everyone. Honestly, if it wasn't for the close group of friends we have here, our church that we truly love, and my children loving their schools, church youth group, etc., I would have left long ago to move back to TN, AL, or MS.

I really wonder how many people that live in metro areas really take advantage of having so much to do. Obviously enough do to support things, but when I spend time with friends in metro areas, it doesn't really look like people's lives are that different than how we live. Most of the time they spend doing the same things we do. Work, eating out, church, kids activities, etc. While they have some dining options we don't, they don't really go to those options that much. They are primarily doing the same stuff as us, steaks, seafood, sushi, chinese, mexican, thai, etc. They don't do a lot of live entertainment. Except for the few with season tickets, they do live sports about the same amount we do. They either get hooked up with work or pick a game to go to about the same we do, except it seems more fun to us because it's part of a getaway rather than just a night/afternoon out like it is for them. Their golf much more expensive. The only thing I see that we are missing out on is cheap flights because they are at a hub, and then they make more, which is I think completely offset by paying higher prices for everything, if they buy a house that allows them to avoid spending way more time in traffic, their higher pay is more than offset by housing expenses, although in theory a lot of that higher cost is basically savings, which can be unlocked when they move out of the area or die.

All that to say, I think my sweet spot is around the 100k-200k mark, depending on how the population is spread out and how affluent it is. That seems to result in a town that offers options for the stuff I do regularlyl, and the stuff I don't do regularly, I don't mind getting my fix while traveling.

 

[L4Dawg]

We relocated/retired from Colorado to Tupelo and love it. Good hospital, wonderful doctors, good restaurants, large enough to provide all services but small enough to get anywhere in city in 15 minutes, great schools, and close to MSU.

The Tupelo area is booming and not that well known outside of North Miss. It has a lot of stuff you wouldn't expect in a town that size. The only drawback to me is if you like to travel by air. The airport only has flights to Nashville and you can't fly on one ticket or check bags through to another destination, at least not yet.

 

[thatsbaseball]

I live in Madison and I can assure you that closely checking foundations is good advice for this whole area.

 

[ronpolk]

Can't speak for him, but I've lived in DFW for 19 years now (all on the Fort Worth side). I can tell you, as soon as my youngest, currently in 6th grade, goes off to college, I will be getting out of TX if at all possible and heading back east. There are something like 7.5 million people in this area. Air quality sucks, traffic sucks, land is expensive, city planning and zoning sucks, the civil engineers that design roadways and infrastructure are idiots, and a host of other problems that to me don't outweigh the positives of a large metro area. Plus, honestly, I miss forests and trees that grow more than 20' tall. It is funny, I grew up in the Memphis suburbs and have lived almost my entire adult life in DFW, and I desperately long to live in a small town or to live on acreage 15 to 20 minutes outside of a small to medium size town.

A huge metro area with lots of "things to do" just isn't important to everyone. Honestly, if it wasn't for the close group of friends we have here, our church that we truly love, and my children loving their schools, church youth group, etc., I would have left long ago to move back to TN, AL, or MS.

I grew up in the Tampa area (st. Pete) and outside of the beach/water activities and pro sports, I really don’t miss it. I moved back for a couple years after college and I’ll say once you get in the swing of a job, there is only so much entertainment you can do anyway. Now that I have kids, I wouldn’t take advantage of nearly what all Tampa has to offer. All a bigger metro could offer me now is more traffic.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

I really wonder how many people that live in metro areas really take advantage of having so much to do. Obviously enough do to support things, but when I spend time with friends in metro areas, it doesn't really look like people's lives are that different than how we live. Most of the time they spend doing the same things we do. Work, eating out, church, kids activities, etc. While they have some dining options we don't, they don't really go to those options that much. They are primarily doing the same stuff as us, steaks, seafood, sushi, chinese, mexican, thai, etc. They don't do a lot of live entertainment. Except for the few with season tickets, they do live sports about the same amount we do. They either get hooked up with work or pick a game to go to about the same we do, except it seems more fun to us because it's part of a getaway rather than just a night/afternoon out like it is for them. Their golf much more expensive. The only thing I see that we are missing out on is cheap flights because they are at a hub, and then they make more, which is I think completely offset by paying higher prices for everything, if they buy a house that allows them to avoid spending way more time in traffic, their higher pay is more than offset by housing expenses, although in theory a lot of that higher cost is basically savings, which can be unlocked when they move out of the area or die.

All that to say, I think my sweet spot is around the 100k-200k mark, depending on how the population is spread out and how affluent it is. That seems to result in a town that offers options for the stuff I do regularlyl, and the stuff I don't do regularly, I don't mind getting my fix while traveling.

I've lived in major metro areas and I've lived in the Jackson metro. The answer is, it depends on what you are doing. It's the things like zoos and convention centers and such, the basic amenities that most cities have. If Jackson would just do the BASIC ****, it could be so much better. I'm basically saying to not be totally awful. All these major cities have problems. Jackson just seems to not give half a crap about anything. It may be like a river attitude or something, I can't really tell.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I really wonder how many people that live in metro areas really take advantage of having so much to do. Obviously enough do to support things, but when I spend time with friends in metro areas, it doesn't really look like people's lives are that different than how we live. Most of the time they spend doing the same things we do. Work, eating out, church, kids activities, etc. While they have some dining options we don't, they don't really go to those options that much. They are primarily doing the same stuff as us, steaks, seafood, sushi, chinese, mexican, thai, etc. They don't do a lot of live entertainment. Except for the few with season tickets, they do live sports about the same amount we do. They either get hooked up with work or pick a game to go to about the same we do, except it seems more fun to us because it's part of a getaway rather than just a night/afternoon out like it is for them. Their golf much more expensive. The only thing I see that we are missing out on is cheap flights because they are at a hub, and then they make more, which is I think completely offset by paying higher prices for everything, if they buy a house that allows them to avoid spending way more time in traffic, their higher pay is more than offset by housing expenses, although in theory a lot of that higher cost is basically savings, which can be unlocked when they move out of the area or die.

A friend who lives in New York City definitely took advantage of having so much to do pre-pandemic. There've been a lot of times I've wished I lived there because of things she's done/events she's attended.

And then there's the airfare to Europe, which seems like it's fairly inexpensive all the time.

 

[ronpolk]

A friend who lives in New York City definitely took advantage of having so much to do pre-pandemic. There've been a lot of times I've wished I lived there because of things she's done/events she's attended.

And then there's the airfare to Europe, which seems like it's fairly inexpensive all the time.

Airfare to me may be the biggest negative to living in a smaller metro like Jackson. I do feel like Jackson has become more competitive with rates over the last couple of years but it does suck that basically every flight takes you through Atlanta or Dallas.

 

[Junction John]

#3 is a good idea, just wrong neighborhood. You need to be south of there, closer to Northside, like DS said. I recommend the Sheffield neighborhood as an oasis amid all the chaos these other suburb-loving goons are talking about. Ignore them. With the right house in that area, you would get all the charm of northeast Jackson, plus the benefits of being close to all the amenities the City with Soul has to offer. I always dreamed of having a house over there. Bonus if you have kids/grandkids who would like to go to one of the finest private schools in the state. I mean, it would really be the perfect area for anyone.

PS. Wait, this just came to me out of the blue... I just thought of the perfect house for you!

PM me for details on a great deal.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

The Tupelo area is booming and not that well known outside of North Miss. It has a lot of stuff you wouldn't expect in a town that size. The only drawback to me is if you like to travel by air. The airport only has flights to Nashville and you can't fly on one ticket or check bags through to another destination, at least not yet.

The Tupelo area has been "booming" for 30 years and hasn't grown for crap. I lived there as a kid in the early 90's and it's "growth" is nothing more than stability. Great town, nice folks, a few too many Rebs... But a long way from booming.

Desoto county and Jackson suburbs had some booms, but Tupelo has been claiming a boom since Jack Marshall announced the Cracker Barrel was coming and I still haven't seen it.

 

[Dawgg]

Can't speak for him, but I've lived in DFW for 19 years now (all on the Fort Worth side). I can tell you, as soon as my youngest, currently in 6th grade, goes off to college, I will be getting out of TX if at all possible and heading back east. There are something like 7.5 million people in this area. Air quality sucks, traffic sucks, land is expensive, city planning and zoning sucks, the civil engineers that design roadways and infrastructure are idiots, and a host of other problems that to me don't outweigh the positives of a large metro area. Plus, honestly, I miss forests and trees that grow more than 20' tall. It is funny, I grew up in the Memphis suburbs and have lived almost my entire adult life in DFW, and I desperately long to live in a small town or to live on acreage 15 to 20 minutes outside of a small to medium size town.

A huge metro area with lots of "things to do" just isn't important to everyone. Honestly, if it wasn't for the close group of friends we have here, our church that we truly love, and my children loving their schools, church youth group, etc., I would have left long ago to move back to TN, AL, or MS.

Same. I've been in DFW since 2003 (bounced between Waxahachie and Arlington). I can't imagine retiring here. If it wasn't for my kids and my job, I would consider going back to Mississippi or east Tennessee.

 

[johnson86-1]

#3 is a good idea, just wrong neighborhood. You need to be south of there, closer to Northside, like DS said. I recommend the Sheffield neighborhood as an oasis amid all the chaos these other suburb-loving goons are talking about. Ignore them. With the right house in that area, you would get all the charm of northeast Jackson, plus the benefits of being close to all the amenities the City with Soul has to offer. I always dreamed of having a house over there. Bonus if you have kids/grandkids who would like to go to one of the finest private schools in the state. I mean, it would really be the perfect area for anyone.

PS. Wait, this just came to me out of the blue... I just thought of the perfect house for you!

PM me for details on a great deal.

[gif] rat fleeing sinking ship [/gif]

 

[johnson86-1]

The Tupelo area is booming and not that well known outside of North Miss. It has a lot of stuff you wouldn't expect in a town that size. The only drawback to me is if you like to travel by air. The airport only has flights to Nashville and you can't fly on one ticket or check bags through to another destination, at least not yet.

Yup and that's a big one, because even if you drive, you are going to Memphis or Birmingham and those options aren't really good either. Surprised Birmingham isn't a better airport but I guess a lot of its potential flights get sucked up by being close to Atl.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

The Tupelo area has been "booming" for 30 years and hasn't grown for crap. I lived there as a kid in the early 90's and it's "growth" is nothing more than stability. Great town, nice folks, a few too many Rebs... But a long way from booming.

Desoto county and Jackson suburbs had some booms, but Tupelo has been claiming a boom since Jack Marshall announced the Cracker Barrel was coming and I still haven't seen it.

Yeah. I'd say the micropolitan area of Tupelo has been 'solid' at about 7-8% growth, but Tupelo itself is at about 2%. Which isn't too shabby for a small city in Mississippi.

In the end, north Mississippi does have some potential.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Yep. Sometimes though there are really good deals. For example, I took advantage of round trip fare of $535 between Jackson and Dublin (via Atlanta of course) in 2016 but they don't often happen on my preferred dates.