Hattiesburg, MS

[webprinter]

Is anyone from Hattiesburg, MS? DH was just offered a job there and we are headed down to visit on Wednesday before he accepts the offer. Can anyone give me any advice on where to live or good or bad of living there? We don't know anything about that area and have never been there. We have a daughter in 10th grade. Any and all comments are appreciated. Thanks. Debby

 

[5Slays]

We live in Jackson about an hour and a half north of Hattiesburg. Hattiesburg is a college town (University of Southern Mississippi), so you may not want to live in the city, but there are many great small towns around there. The Oak Grove area is a great area (I believe it is considered part of Hattiesburg) to live and really great schools. Petal is also a good place to look.

Feel free to PM me if you need more info, we have had many friends live in Hattiesburg. HTH

 

[JadenLayne]

I was born and raised in Mississippi and the first thought I had is why would anyone want to live here! That being said though I live in the Delta which is a horrible, horrible area. Crime is horrible, it's just awful.

Hattisburg is a nice area though and it is really growing. Like the above poster said it is a college town and super busy! It's also rather close to the Mississippi Coast which is growing again. I think it's a nice area, where Mississippi is concerned. I just think living in the Delta my whole life has turned me off of the entire state.

 

[FroggyinArk]

Chuck B who posts here sometimes lives in richton, just outside of hatties burg, its a nice little town, and from what we have seen going to visit him, there are some areas of hattiesburg i would avoid, but hten thats most cities, and it is close to the coast and N''orleans,

 

[horseshowmom]

I was born and raised in Mississippi and the first thought I had is why would anyone want to live here! That being said though I live in the Delta which is a horrible, horrible area. Crime is horrible, it's just awful.

Hattisburg is a nice area though and it is really growing. Like the above poster said it is a college town and super busy! It's also rather close to the Mississippi Coast which is growing again. I think it's a nice area, where Mississippi is concerned. I just think living in the Delta my whole life has turned me off of the entire state.

Well, I was born somewhere else but got here very quickly after that, and I can honestly say that I love Mississippi and think it's a great place to live. I will admit that things are a little different in the Delta than here (north Mississippi).

I've had friends who went to school at USM and loved Hattiesburg.

Best wishes, and I hope you come to love it here in the south as much as I do!

 

[Jennasis]

Two words: GIANT COCKROACHES...

They are pretty prevalent in that area of the south in general, but I was visiting my friends parents in Hattiesburg and I was afraid to sleep at night! There house was lovely and immaculate and in a nice neighborhood. My friend (in her 40's) had lived there her whole life an attended USM (her parents still live there). It got smacked up pretty good by Katrina.

My friend thinks fondly of the town and her parents have been there forever. They took me to a lovely seafood place where the gumbo was divine...but the town was not "for me". You'l need to check it for yourself to see if it's for you I'm afraid.

 

[webprinter]

Two words: GIANT COCKROACHES...

"YUCK!!!!"

 

[bluerendezvous]

The Oak Grove area is growing by leaps and bounds! They recently built a new High School and are already adding on to it. Oak Grove is a Level 5 school system (highest level)! Hattiesburg is like hundreds of college towns across the U.S. You either love 'em or hate 'em.

Cockroaches? Yes, there are large wood roaches that like to give you a scare by coming into your home after a good rain or a change in the weather, but we have never had any more than the stray "visitor." **shudders**

Hattiesburg has the most charming, tiny, little zoo! Try to visit while you're there - you won't be sorry!

Oh, and WELCOME we're glad to have you!

 

[webprinter]

Thanks so much everyone for your input. I guess we will see what we think tomorrow. Debby

 

[ilovejack02]

All of the south has tree roaches and yes when its raining or super duper cold you might see one. We have large oaks on our prop. so we have a bug guy come once a month and spray and have no problem.

 

[JadenLayne]

I will admit that things are a little different in the Delta than here (north Mississippi).

I think it's a bit more than A LITTLE DIFFERENT, LOL! We just visted Horn Lake and Southhaven this past weekend and both cities were BOOMING!!! We found so much to do. Huge, BIG BIG difference. In the Delta there is NOTHING to do. There is crime out the wazoo and your kids CAN'T go to public school if you expect them to get an education. It's really sad, and it wasn't this was 15 years ago but I sincerelly see the Mississippi Delta becoming Nothing but crime and welfare abuse in the next 15 years. Our town can't even keep a factory open because the people here don't want to work. It's really sad.

To the OP though, Hattisburg IS NOT like the Delta, it is much better, just super busy!!!!

 

[horseshowmom]

I think it's a bit more than A LITTLE DIFFERENT, LOL! We just visted Horn Lake and Southhaven this past weekend and both cities were BOOMING!!! We found so much to do. Huge, BIG BIG difference. In the Delta there is NOTHING to do. There is crime out the wazoo and your kids CAN'T go to public school if you expect them to get an education. It's really sad, and it wasn't this was 15 years ago but I sincerelly see the Mississippi Delta becoming Nothing but crime and welfare abuse in the next 15 years. Our town can't even keep a factory open because the people here don't want to work. It's really sad.

To the OP though, Hattisburg IS NOT like the Delta, it is much better, just super busy!!!!

I've got to agree with that, but unfortunately, we're not too close to either of them. They've got all kinds of shopping!

We're in a much more rural area (over closer to Tupelo - which is also nice and not quite as hectic).

But, hey, y'all have those nice HUGE mosquitoes down there in the Delta. The last time we were at a horse show in Greenville, I thought they might try to leave with our horses!

 

[Sunny37]

I've lived in Mississippi all of my life and DH and I lived in Hattiesburg while we attended college at USM. As mentioned before, Oak Grove is supposed to be a great place to live.

In my opinion, Hattiesburg has changed a great deal since Katrina. We live only 70 miles away and used to visit every weekend to shop or dine out, but we have cut back because the area seems to have attracted MANY transplants from NO and the MS Gulf Coast. It's still a great place, just a LOT busier!

For what it's worth, when I lived in Hattiesburg I NEVER saw a wood-roach!

 

[5Slays]

Yes, there are roaches, but Hattiesburg is in the Pine Belt, so they are really wood roaches. As long as you have your house treated regularly you won't have a problem.

Hattiesburg has a really great mall just off the interstate and they have a wonderful local restuarant called Chesterfields. It is really a great place, most of Mississippi is. Hattiesburg is 1 1/2 hours from Jackson, the Coast and New Orleans. It is also about 4 1/2 hours from Memphis.

 

[JadenLayne]

Oh yes our wonderful mosquitos. Ugghh! Another reason to hate the Delta!

We actually visited relatives in West Point over Christmas and went on to Tupelo to shop and it was awesome! Tupelo has a great mall and a T. J. Maxx, LOL! It was really busy too but that could very well be because it was Christmas time!

 

[december]

As someone who has never lived anywhere but MS, it is a great state. The cost of living is so much lower here than in other places. I have to laugh everytime I watch those home buying/selling shows, and 1600 square foot houses are going for 1/2 million dollars. I live in Forest, about 1 1/2 hour North of Hattiesburg. Mississippi is a great place-not what we are shown as in cheesy movies and tv shows!

As for the bugs, just budget for a once a month spray. I really don't believe other places don't have roaches!

 

[oxfordcircus]

Don't bother with a professional pest service, just buy a few cans of Bengal roach spray. It probably contains some cotton defoliant (kidding), but nothing kills roaches like Bengal.

Hattiesburg did take it on the chin when Katrina came through. Many many trees down and houses damaged.

Lamar County borders Forrest County on the west. That is where all the growth is. I would expect to live out that way.

There is an excellent "Rails to Trails" trail somewhere around H'burg. I think it's called the Longleaf Trace. It's 20 or 30 miles of paved road dedicated to cyclists and foot traffic.

Prepare for some culture shock.

 

[oxfordcircus]

I was born and raised in Mississippi and the first thought I had is why would anyone want to live here! That being said though I live in the Delta which is a horrible, horrible area. Crime is horrible, it's just awful.

I just think living in the Delta my whole life has turned me off of the entire state.

Do you mind sharing where you grew up? My wife grew up in Yazoo City. The Mississippi Delta is truly a sad place. The towns and their residents are aging and dying off. All the young people have moved to Jackson or Memphis or Atlanta. So there are no children, just grandparents. In 20 years there are just going to be a bunch of empty houses. Very sad.

 

[JadenLayne]

Hi, sure I was born in Greenville. I know Yazoo City well. I agree with you, everything is drying up here. We can't keep industry and crime is horrible. The teenage and young adult population here are mostly druggies and crime is so horrible.

As I've mentioned we have a son in a private school here that he loves. We are also almost finished adopting a baby girl from China. These are the two things keeping us here. Once our adoption is final and our son graduates we will be leaving. It's sad leaving your home but each and everyday more of the "home" city I grew up in dies.

I see you are from Oxford. Our adoption agency, Bethany, is in Oxford! Oh and of course our favorite team!!!!

 

[oxfordcircus]

Hi, sure I was born in Greenville. I know Yazoo City well. I agree with you, everything is drying up here. We can't keep industry and crime is horrible. The teenage and young adult population here are mostly druggies and crime is so horrible.

As I've mentioned we have a son in a private school here that he loves. We are also almost finished adopting a baby girl from China. These are the two things keeping us here. Once our adoption is final and our son graduates we will be leaving. It's sad leaving your home but each and everyday more of the "home" city I grew up in dies.

I see you are from Oxford. Our adoption agency, Bethany, is in Oxford! Oh and of course our favorite team!!!!

I'm actually from Clinton, but now living in Madison. Oxfordcircus is a name I use on Ole Miss message boards but it's actually a place in London where I ate at a Pizza Hut while in school there. It just had an Ole Miss sound to it.

Annnnnyway. I was going to use Greenville as an example of the dying delta. I heard that in some 10 year period (80's or 90's) G'ville went from 50,000 residents down to 40,000. I don't know how a town can survive that. On the bright side, Greenville has the highest concentration of tennis players per capita in the US. Aren't you proud?

Our state gov't is partly to blame. Schwinn bailed on G'ville right after the tax breaks and incentives expired. It's the same thing Oreck did recently.

Good luck on the move and the adoption.

OP, the Delta really is a place to its own. The major highways bypass the Delta, and now the economy is bypassing it too. On the other hand, the Delta is somewhat interesting culturally and historically. The Delta claims to be the birthplace of the blues, being home to such folks as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and B.B. King. There was also a good bit of Civil Rights Era history in the Delta, which was a focal point during the Freedom Summer. If you guys move to Hattiesburg, it would be worth a trip to the Delta to just drive around and look.