Why does it seem that Mississippi/Louisiana are staying stagnant when every other Southern state is booming? What are we not doing right?
How to fix Mississippi
- Thread starter AttalaDawg72
- Start date
How to fix it? Leave it the way it is.
I plan on retiring there, and at an early age too. Don’t yankee it up. If anything, please start posting negative articles about my beautiful, messed up, hospitable, affordable, over-criticized, and under appreciated home state.
I plan on retiring there, and at an early age too. Don’t yankee it up. If anything, please start posting negative articles about my beautiful, messed up, hospitable, affordable, over-criticized, and under appreciated home state.
If not for healthcare, I would move back there for the rest of my retirement.
The variety of food here is good as well.
The variety of food here is good as well.
Mississippi doesn't have a city to move to after college. Alabama has Birmingham and even Huntsville, GA has Atlanta, Tennessee has Nashville, Chattanooga..... Mississippi doesn't have that type of city to move to. Jackson should be it but it's not for obvious reasons. We have pockets of nice towns, Starkville has good industry, Oxford is a nice town, the Coast is great, but there is not one big hub.
Mississippi is just an unhealthy state. People don't take care of themselves and only goes see the doctors when they are about to die. Why that is I don't know. As far as healthcare goes it depends on where you live. I live in Brandon. You can buy a big house for less. Over all taxes are low. Low Crime. There are nine general hospitals, several specialty hospitals, around 2984 hospital beds, one level I trauma, one level III trauma and six level IV trauma hospitals and two critical care hospitals with in a 20-minute radius.
I would rather live in the City of Madison. I grew up in Madison County, but I have determined for the money Rankin County is the place to live and retire.
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A variety of reasons.
1. No city. Jackson growth has been in the suburbs. There is no booming downtown. The only employment is government work. The state is going to have to make a tough decision if the March election doesn't work out. Jackson has to get better for Mississippi to succeed, period.
2. Bad luck on geography. Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee have mountains. Alabama has a good beach and several beautiful lakes. Mississippi doesn't have a decent clear lake and the beach is not as great as other states. Louisiana beats this with a cultural city like NOLA.
3. We struggle to change and move fast in a variety of things. This is getting better.
Here's a good video that fairly outlines the issues
1. No city. Jackson growth has been in the suburbs. There is no booming downtown. The only employment is government work. The state is going to have to make a tough decision if the March election doesn't work out. Jackson has to get better for Mississippi to succeed, period.
2. Bad luck on geography. Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee have mountains. Alabama has a good beach and several beautiful lakes. Mississippi doesn't have a decent clear lake and the beach is not as great as other states. Louisiana beats this with a cultural city like NOLA.
3. We struggle to change and move fast in a variety of things. This is getting better.
Here's a good video that fairly outlines the issues
Here are the reasons I always felt hold Mississippi back:
1. Weak leadership - What state has the more big cities right outside it's boarder? New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Memphis. When they drew state boundaries in the 1800s, MS must've had weak leadership to lose all these cities. Mobile Bay & the MS river should be the boarder thus giving MS Mobile & Baton Rouge, but nope lost them both. There is no greater example of this lack of leadership that the creation of MSU. MSU should've never existed if there was strong leadership to tell OM that they're not going to reject the agriculture curriculums
2. MS & LA have the most arable land of the southern states & thus had the highest population of slaves. The remnants of that has cast a long standing economic/social problem in the state that has led to gangs & poverty that Jackson has.
3. With Dallas & Atlanta being roughly the same distance East & West of Jackson, I feel like MS is in the center & gets pulled on by both mega cities. Without a good instate city, it's super easy for brain drain kids to move to those cities.
4. The lack of mountains & beach created a lack of diversity in the economy. Since places with mountains couldn't grow crops, they had to develop different specialties that hold up better in the modern era.
As others have said, the #1 thing that MS can do to become better is to fix Jackson. I am not sure how you fix Jackson or where to begin but that's where it has to start. Turn Jackson into a modern city & everything else improves fast
1. Weak leadership - What state has the more big cities right outside it's boarder? New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Memphis. When they drew state boundaries in the 1800s, MS must've had weak leadership to lose all these cities. Mobile Bay & the MS river should be the boarder thus giving MS Mobile & Baton Rouge, but nope lost them both. There is no greater example of this lack of leadership that the creation of MSU. MSU should've never existed if there was strong leadership to tell OM that they're not going to reject the agriculture curriculums
2. MS & LA have the most arable land of the southern states & thus had the highest population of slaves. The remnants of that has cast a long standing economic/social problem in the state that has led to gangs & poverty that Jackson has.
3. With Dallas & Atlanta being roughly the same distance East & West of Jackson, I feel like MS is in the center & gets pulled on by both mega cities. Without a good instate city, it's super easy for brain drain kids to move to those cities.
4. The lack of mountains & beach created a lack of diversity in the economy. Since places with mountains couldn't grow crops, they had to develop different specialties that hold up better in the modern era.
As others have said, the #1 thing that MS can do to become better is to fix Jackson. I am not sure how you fix Jackson or where to begin but that's where it has to start. Turn Jackson into a modern city & everything else improves fast
That's a great list. And Jackson changing is right on. It's the only city in the state that has the possibility of significant growth, because it's the business and governmental center of a state. Gulfport/Biloxi cannot do this, for that reason, and hurricanes. The college towns, while they have decent economies, are just too small. Same for Tupelo. All can be great areas, but they can't drive the state like Jackson can/could, economies just aren't diverse enough.
I almost think at this point the rest of MS has to embrace its rurality, at least culture wise. Small towns are just the way it's going to be, muh der huntn and eatin' supper at mawmaws and travel baseball. Of course this means a lot of social interaction and cliques, and many people just don't like that. But I don't see any other way. There's nowhere to vacation, so we have to lean into the college towns for that. It's a MS tradition to one up each other in snow skiing and gulf beaches.
I just don’t know if Jackson can be turned around. Maybe continue to get rid of the income tax and get ready for an influx of people when Texas/Tennessee/Florida become too expensive to live
If Mississippi was serious, like absolutely dead serious about fixing Mississippi, they'd shut down both MSU & OM, move them to downtown Jackson & build a central State university that was in the SEC.
Do that & Jackson turns around into a modern city in about 10 years. This decision would be mostly unpopular & cause a ton of lawsuits, due to homes that would lose all their value in Oxford & Starkville, but it would absolutely be the right decision for the future of the state.
Everyone could start by not bad-mouthing their home state. Yes, we have out problems, but frankly, no one puts down their home state as often and as badly as Mississippi State students and Alumni. They just do. It totally pisses me off. This state and its people educated you. Show a little respect.
I have never and will never tolerate people from elsewhere insulting Mississippi. I give it right back to them in spades. No place is without its problems.
And I am not talking about constructive criticism or helpful ideas.
I have never and will never tolerate people from elsewhere insulting Mississippi. I give it right back to them in spades. No place is without its problems.
And I am not talking about constructive criticism or helpful ideas.
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Jackson solution: Gentrification
That's the solution everywhere. But nobody wants to gentrify Jackson, for obvious reasons. And it sucks too, because the place has good bones.
I've often wondered what would have happened if the purple-headed antifas had tried to come set up 'Chaz' or whatever inside the Jackson city limits.
This. I know when you grow up in Mississippi it’s easier to bad mouth. Do we have a lot room for improvement, of
course. However, Mississippi has a lot of positives.
I help people move to Northwest MS, lot
of relos. Almost all of them are surprised that’s not like the media portrays it. They expect a 3 world state. People are moving here for several reasons including retirement. A family from California is building down the street from me. (I Know) It would be great if people focused on the positive and tried to work toward changing the ridiculous narrative the media has of Mississippi.
When? Boy, you ain’t looked at prices in TN in the past few years, have ya? If I hadn’t gotten here when I did, I wouldn’t be here currently. It’s gotten extremely ridiculous the price of homes and land around here. The only thing more ridiculous than that is the way these transplants dress. They look like they’re either on the set of Yellowstone, in a bro country music video, or an OM trust fund baby who’s trying to look outdoorsy wearing anything that’s priced over $500.
Where does a white collar, non farmer legitimately go after graduation and stay in Mississippi? Lets just take an accountant for instance.
An accountant can go to a small KPMG office in Jackson or the Coast, but the goal there is to move up bigger and better. You can go to a mid-sized firm like Horne that is Mississippi based, but they don't pay as well. You can start your own firm, but in most places you are just a tax preparer because we don't have enough business to support another mid sized firm. You can go work a government job, but that's not for everyone. Dallas, Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta start to look a lot better with higher paying jobs and more advancement opportunity.
Its a tough question. But the key to fixing Mississippi starts with making Jackson a livable city.
An accountant can go to a small KPMG office in Jackson or the Coast, but the goal there is to move up bigger and better. You can go to a mid-sized firm like Horne that is Mississippi based, but they don't pay as well. You can start your own firm, but in most places you are just a tax preparer because we don't have enough business to support another mid sized firm. You can go work a government job, but that's not for everyone. Dallas, Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta start to look a lot better with higher paying jobs and more advancement opportunity.
Its a tough question. But the key to fixing Mississippi starts with making Jackson a livable city.
Mississippi's own people badmouth each other. Look at how folks degrade Jackson. Anybody in NE MS thinks nowhere else matters. People in Memphis don't even know they are in MS. The Coast doesn't want to be a part of the state. Central MS folks fight continual social wars with each other.
I mean there's something to this. That's the reason all the California people are now in Texas and Tennessee. There's a good many of them in Georgia, North Carolina and Arkansas too. Maybe they'll eventually find their way to Mississippi and solve this problem.
What would really help is if there was actual leadership for poor people instead of the charlatans who profit off of the perpetual-victimhood mentality. Freaking men need to step up and be GOOD male role models. Schools need to help kids either prepare for the workforce or college. The good ole boys need to be put to pasture.
And I agree with the above poster about not bad-mouthing the state. Every person I’ve met that goes to visit MS with an open mind, comes back praising it. They acknowledge that there’s a good reason it’s called the “hospitality state”.
I’d love to eventually come back once I’m no longer on house arrest here.
And I agree with the above poster about not bad-mouthing the state. Every person I’ve met that goes to visit MS with an open mind, comes back praising it. They acknowledge that there’s a good reason it’s called the “hospitality state”.
I’d love to eventually come back once I’m no longer on house arrest here.
You don’t really want their crazy there. Those people are legitimately crazy and that’s regardless of which way they lean. It’s nice when they blow their money but they. Are. Cray. Zee. And they would love nothing more than to change your way of life to fit theirs. The way they look down on and pity Southerners has to be the same way we look at tribes in Africa and South American jungles. They’re only there to “help” make things better.***
I mean, that's a good idea too, but we have some disadvantages that getting rid of sh1tty government won't fix.
Probably not doable politically, but we need to make the CID equivalent to Washington DC, except without home rule. CID crimes go outside of hinds county court system and operate more like Madison county. You do a crime there, you get prosecuted reasonably quickly and get serious sentences; no revolving door. Put some money into downtown jackson and it would turn into a decent city fairly quickly, provided criminals view it as not worth doing crime there, but to get to that point you have to make it not worth doing crime there.
The next biggest opportunities are the Coast and South Memphis. Ideally we'd have a downtown/business district basically on the state line that was convenient to Memphis and could compete. I don't guess we have this? Southhaven would have been the obvious place for it, but from what I can remember (which it has been a while), it's basically just residential and some highway type developments; no actual downtown? But it'd be nice to have something with a pitch of "we're close enough to Memphis you can feasibly do a meeting there in the day if you need to, but we'll be safe and still have a downtown feel even if it's smaller." Or alternatively try to create a bunch of Ocean Springs type downtowns in the smaller towns up there. Something more than just "I'm driving 45 minutes to work so I can live somewhere safe with decent public schools." It would be "I'm driving 45 minutes to work so I can live somewhere safe with decent public schools, plus the quality of life on the weekend is great," and not just in the "we love it; all we do is go to baseball/soccer fields on the weekend and squeeze in some church when it doesn't interfere with travel sports" sense.
I think the Coast is going to continue to improve, but I'm not sure what the potential is to be really big with the insurance situation. Definitely have some more opportunity to create good places to live. There's not a real reason that Biloxi and Gulfport can't have downtowns similar to Ocean Springs. The prices there are getting exorbitant enough that clearly nearby towns could do something similar if they got some momentum going.
Neither South Memphis nor the Coast are really going to turn into the type of metropolitan area that could drive the economy of state, but it'd at least be a draw to get Mississippians to stay or return to Mississippi after college.
Yeah, 'better government' is just a cop out. Government is a reflection of the people, so of course it's just going to take people who are willing to make a change, which then reflects government.
You mention Memphis and having a downtown - no dice in Southaven, Horn Lake, Olive Branch. Only place that has that is Hernando, but in general the whole area is just suburban sprawl.
Gulfport and Biloxi have good downtown areas. The Coast isn't doing anything wrong. The only problem with it is the hurricanes, as you say. I personally think they are maximizing down there.
IDK man why did Amazon choose to build here instead of EVERY OTHER SOUTHERN STATE?
There's $45 Billion in high tech economic development in 2 projects that will be announced within the next 9-10 months. That will be transformative tax revenue for those two counties. We aren't doing as bad as you think
yep - Mississippi is the new greenfield for the "silicon south"
if you do not realize why then your and idiot
This is a great point, and to drill it down further.... even smaller cities regionally bleed Mississippians over. New Orleans from south Mississippi, Memphis from North Mississippi, and Birmingham from east/north Mississippi. This affects healthcare, airports, retail, etc.
Short answer, as many have pointed out, is neither has a city that is growing/cool to move to. TN has Chatanooga and Nashville. Alabama has BHM and Huntsville. Little Rock has emerged as a nice place to live with opportunity, on top of NW region of Arkansas. South Carolina has Greenville and Charleston.
If you look at the other communities/towns in Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Arkansas, they are very similar to Mississippi. We are a predominantly rural state without a booming metro but a few nice places to live
everywhere is nice to live in MS if you enjoy zero traffic and fresh air, and a nice slow pace of life that is better for families