Mississippi

[whiterock]

What is it like to live in Mississippi? I'm talking about as a place to retire to.
Real estate costs, taxes, general cost of living.

I'm asking because retirement looms on the horizon, I like what I've seen of Mississippi, and the developers are going to run me out of here if the taxes don't.

Ed

[JanaKaye]

I'm glad that caballoviejo did such a good job of addressing your questions, because I know nothing about those things. However, I do have something to offer you.

I left a lucrative and secure job in Dallas-Fort Worth four months ago to relocate to the country in Southeastern Mississippi and live with my aging mother. I was eager to become a country girl after playing the corporate game for far too long, and I haven't regretted the move for one minute.

We live in a two-story log cabin on 5 acres of land. Quite frankly, I feel like I have landed in paradise. Its more home than we need, but since she already had it I doubt if we'll be leaving it. I'm falling in love with the place. The Mississippi climate is good...not so dissimlar from the Dallas area, except summers aren't quite as hot. So far this winter we had a couple of nights down in the teen's. Fortunately, though, that kind of cold weather comes in brief spells here, and after a few days of winter cold, we often experience the next few days as Spring-like. (For instance, several days last week I was out in the yard working in 70-degree weather, today the high was in the 40's - but by the end of the week, we're back in high 60's.) I'm finding it quite enjoyable, since I can do outside work (on 5 acres, quite a lot of outside work to do!) for several days straight, then it turns cold or rainy and I have a few days to do "inside work" around the place.

The country here is lovely; lots of wildlife, woods, etc. On days I can get outside, I spend my breaks sitting in a porch swing watching the birds at the feeders, the squirrels, the lizards, and whatever else migh crawl up into the yard... and for the life of me, at those moments, I can't remember why I ever got so caught up in corporate deadlines and high pressure deals!

Although we are out in the country, we are only 15 minutes away from a small city (Walmart*yuck*, groceries, gas, fast food, etc.). In fact, I wouldn't mind being a little farther out if I had my druthers, but its quite convenient as it is. I'm hoping to get some chickens soon, and can't wait to start my spring garden. There are plenty of farmers around, and they report excellent crops here (lots of fruit trees, vegetables and flora/fauna grow well here.)

The only inconveniences I've found so far are of a technical nature (not necessarily a bad thing)... my cell phone wouldn't pick up from our house but did once I drove a few miles down the road - I have since cancelled it anyway, so thats no problem for me. No cable TV here, no high speed internet except via the satellite dish, so too expensive for me. For now I'm stuck with dial-up - this is a little bit of a problem for me, since I intend to do some online gainful employment, and dial-up will limit the number of employers who will hire me. But still, its something I can work around.

One last thing. The people in Mississippi are good folks, mostly gentle natured. Like most places, you have the rich, the poor, and the in-between. Of course, you do have a good bit of 'redneck' mentality here in the Southern part of Miss. that might take getting used to for some people. They fly the Rebel (confederate) flag here with pride, and can't in any way comprehend why anyone would consider it otherwise. Underneath it all, these "good ole boys" are kind, caring neighbors and will usually do anything they can for you.

All parts of Mississippi are quite lovely, and your choices range from fairly large cities to extremely rural, with plenty of attractive land available.

I know these aren't the things you asked about, but I thought you might like to know them anyway. Let me know if I can answer any questions for you.

[heelpin]

Skeeters, deer flies, fire ants, Armadillos and Coyotes are abundant, there is a poultry farm every hundred yards and they don't smell like Kentucky fried, most everybody lives in trailer houses, this is why we have so many tornados, everybody knows trailers draw tornados.
http://www.drbukk.com/gmhom/park.html
But its official, you can look it up, Mississippi is the most generous state in the union.

[Ravenlost]

Three years ago my hubby transferred from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Memphis, TN. Because property was SO much cheaper in MS than in TN we ended up buying 96 acres in NW MS (30 miles south of Memphis). My paternal ancestors are from Mississippi so I kind of felt like I was coming home.

We LOVE our farm. It's pretty and we have a great neighbor behind us. We're not so thrilled with the State of MS though.

"But don't expect things to get attended to in a New York minute." could be the understatement of the year!

The flies, mosquitoes, cottonmouths and fire ants are terrible.

The amount of trash on the roadsides here is UNREAL. The way people drive is scary (I'd rather be driving in Dallas/Ft. Worth!!!).

But, like I said, we love our farm. I never, ever want to live anywhere else. And, not to be contrary, there IS an opera house in Mississippi...in Como, MS. But don't blink or you'll miss it...the town, not the opera house!

[whiterock]

Originally Posted by caballoviejo

JanaKaye,

You talked about all the really neat stuff. But don't go on too much or we will end up like northern California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Arizona that got invaded by the effluent population (O.K., so I'm cruel) from the big cities and south California. :waa:

Ed is the last person that should be let in.


Reasons not to come to Mississippi:

Although lynchings are down to only 3 or 4 a week nowdays, outside agitators and suspicious acting visitors are the primary target.

Everybody is forced to go to Church on Sundays and Wednesday nights.

There is not a single opera house in the State.
Don't care for opera


Everybody weighs over 250 lbs and feeds mostly off of chitlins and pork rinds.
I'm 245


The Republic of France has no consulate here.
es bueno


The movie rental stores double as tanning bed facilities.
same here


Cajuns from Lousiana come to Mississippi to teach diction.

It was here that Billy Joe McCallister threw somethin off the Tallahatchie bridge that everybody's still looking for.

Women are shunned if they speak when not spoke to.
good idea


Pick-ups stop dead in the highway and occupants pile out to fight over who gets the treasure of aluminum cans on the road shoulder.
I know that feeling


John Grisham left for Virginia.


Catfish raising ponds looks just like sewage lagoons.

Yep

[whiterock]

Originally Posted by heelpin

Skeeters, deer flies, fire ants, Armadillos and Coyotes are abundant, there is a poultry farm every hundred yards and they don't smell like Kentucky fried, most everybody lives in trailer houses, this is why we have so many tornados, everybody knows trailers draw tornados.
http://www.drbukk.com/gmhom/park.html
But its official, you can look it up, Mississippi is the most generous state in the union.

Armadillos and coyotes passed me to get to you. You must have sent the fire ants to get even.

[whiterock]

Originally Posted by JanaKaye

I'm glad that caballoviejo did such a good job of addressing your questions, because I know nothing about those things. However, I do have something to offer you.

I left a lucrative and secure job in Dallas-Fort Worth four months ago to relocate to the country in Southeastern Mississippi and live with my aging mother. I was eager to become a country girl after playing the corporate game for far too long, and I haven't regretted the move for one minute.

We live in a two-story log cabin on 5 acres of land. Quite frankly, I feel like I have landed in paradise. Its more home than we need, but since she already had it I doubt if we'll be leaving it. I'm falling in love with the place. The Mississippi climate is good...not so dissimlar from the Dallas area, except summers aren't quite as hot. So far this winter we had a couple of nights down in the teen's. Fortunately, though, that kind of cold weather comes in brief spells here, and after a few days of winter cold, we often experience the next few days as Spring-like. (For instance, several days last week I was out in the yard working in 70-degree weather, today the high was in the 40's - but by the end of the week, we're back in high 60's.) I'm finding it quite enjoyable, since I can do outside work (on 5 acres, quite a lot of outside work to do!) for several days straight, then it turns cold or rainy and I have a few days to do "inside work" around the place.

The country here is lovely; lots of wildlife, woods, etc. On days I can get outside, I spend my breaks sitting in a porch swing watching the birds at the feeders, the squirrels, the lizards, and whatever else migh crawl up into the yard... and for the life of me, at those moments, I can't remember why I ever got so caught up in corporate deadlines and high pressure deals!

Although we are out in the country, we are only 15 minutes away from a small city (Walmart*yuck*, groceries, gas, fast food, etc.). In fact, I wouldn't mind being a little farther out if I had my druthers, but its quite convenient as it is. I'm hoping to get some chickens soon, and can't wait to start my spring garden. There are plenty of farmers around, and they report excellent crops here (lots of fruit trees, vegetables and flora/fauna grow well here.)

The only inconveniences I've found so far are of a technical nature (not necessarily a bad thing)... my cell phone wouldn't pick up from our house but did once I drove a few miles down the road - I have since cancelled it anyway, so thats no problem for me. No cable TV here, no high speed internet except via the satellite dish, so too expensive for me. For now I'm stuck with dial-up - this is a little bit of a problem for me, since I intend to do some online gainful employment, and dial-up will limit the number of employers who will hire me. But still, its something I can work around.

One last thing. The people in Mississippi are good folks, mostly gentle natured. Like most places, you have the rich, the poor, and the in-between. Of course, you do have a good bit of 'redneck' mentality here in the Southern part of Miss. that might take getting used to for some people. They fly the Rebel (confederate) flag here with pride, and can't in any way comprehend why anyone would consider it otherwise. Underneath it all, these "good ole boys" are kind, caring neighbors and will usually do anything they can for you.

All parts of Mississippi are quite lovely, and your choices range from fairly large cities to extremely rural, with plenty of attractive land available.

I know these aren't the things you asked about, but I thought you might like to know them anyway. Let me know if I can answer any questions for you.

I'm referred to as an educated redneck. My son has the Confederate Battle flag tattooed on the back of his right shoulder.

As for the telephone, I don't answer the darned thing anyway. I got it to call the people I want to talk to!

[MarkNH]

We are also looking to relocate to the north miss area, probably somewhere in tate county. We are told that the senatobia schools are pretty good, any comments on that or other schools in that area?

[whiterock]

bumping this back up for MarkNH

[Ravenlost]

Senatobia, MS is where we moved to and I really don't like the town, but I love outside of town here in the Looxahoma area. Move out here and we can be neighbors!

There are a couple schools in Senatobia - the regular public school and a Christian school (Magnolia) that is, from what I hear, a very good school. Our neighbors' grandkids go there. Senatobia also has a large junior college.

There isn't any other place in Tate County I would want to live. Senatobia is the county seat and pretty much the only "real" town. If there's anything else you'd like to know feel free to ask. We've been here three years or more and don't plan to ever move anywhere else.

Here's a link to the Senatobia newspaper: www.thedemocrat.com

And you can go to my website to look at photos of our farm in Tate County (we're eight miles east of Senatobia): www.funtigo.com/ravenlost (Click on "Hickahala Ranch").

[MarkNH]

We visited the area a little over 2 weeks ago and the senatobia area was our favorite. We liked the lay of the land east of town more than west but both are pretty. It was pouring rain when we visited so couldn't really look at everything in detail. Attended sunday school and service at First UMC in town and were very warmly welcomed.

Our intent is to live outside of town but near enough to town so that we can have some basic shopping. Memphis is close enough to get to for work and has even more shopping. Seems like the best of both worlds.

Originally Posted by Ravenlost

Senatobia, MS is where we moved to and I really don't like the town, but I love outside of town here in the Looxahoma area. Move out here and we can be neighbors!

There are a couple schools in Senatobia - the regular public school and a Christian school (Magnolia) that is, from what I hear, a very good school. Our neighbors' grandkids go there. Senatobia also has a large junior college.

There isn't any other place in Tate County I would want to live. Senatobia is the county seat and pretty much the only "real" town. If there's anything else you'd like to know feel free to ask. We've been here three years or more and don't plan to ever move anywhere else.

Here's a link to the Senatobia newspaper: www.thedemocrat.com

And you can go to my website to look at photos of our farm in Tate County (we're eight miles east of Senatobia): www.funtigo.com/ravenlost (Click on "Hickahala Ranch").

[Ravenlost]

It is the best of both worlds! As for that rain...it does that a lot here! My husband works in Memphis...he has a 45 minute commute and most of it is on I-55 and 240-E so the drive is easy.

The Animal Hospital here in Senatobia is tip top. Dr. Loftin, Dr. Vincent and their staff are the best and we've been very pleased with the treatment our animals have received there (we have one there right now recovering from a run-in with the mail lady's car).

They are currently building a huge new shopping center on Goodman Road in Southaven. All the shopping you need is in the Southaven/Goodman road area. That's only 25 miles away so there's no real reason to go into Memphis. Memphis has a very high crime rate and some parts of it are downright scary. The only reason we ever go into Memphis is for doctor appointments.

There is a great family doctor in Senatobia - Dr. Larry Black. He can fix you up or refer you to the best if you need a specialist.

We were surprised to find that car insurance was higher here than in Texas. That's because there are a LOT of uninsured drivers here and none of them know how to drive! You really have to watch out for them in town. Like I said before, a large majority of folks love to toss their trash out the window and there's a problem with illegal dumping around here. If I see someone down on the road stopped along my property I jump in the truck and go ask them what they're doing. We actually had a fellow stealing the gravel off the road not to long ago and I had to call the sheriff's dept. And then there's the problems with poachers, trespassers, etc. But once you get the word out that you won't put up with such stuff it pretty much stops. My neighbor (the best neighbor in the world) calls me "Sheriff Paula".

Next time you're coming to town, let me know. I'd be happy to have your family over for dinner and we can discuss Mississippi living, etc.