Anyone here know what Hattisburg, Missisipi is like?

[Taverner]

I mean besides hot and humid, and South of the Mason Dixon...

[GOPisEvil]

1. Maddy McCall might have an idea.

That's her neck of the woods.

[merh]

2. It is a college town. (University of Southern Mississippi)

What exactly are you trying to find out?

Do they wear shoes, can progressives be found, do they have fast food restaurants and fine food restaurants? Is English the first language?

Please give me a clue as to what you are trying to find out.

Like all communities all over the nation, there are some assholes, some rednecks, so racists, some bigots, some intellectuals, some progressives, some fundies, some hippie, some liberals, some hicks, some artists ... a little bit of everything.

[LynneSin]

3. You guys ever have something called "Indoor Plumbing"

:crazy:

[merh]

4. Well duh, everywhere but in our outhouses.

:silly:

[Taverner]

5. Well just a general sense of the town/city

Is it a town or city?

Do they have nice weather?

Is it near the coast?

Do they have a cute downtown?

And is it one of those Souther Progressive towns (like Athens, GA or Chapel Hill, NC) or is it mixed, or is it other...

just general kinda stuff...

[Rowdyboy]

6. I grew up 30 miles from there....Its a biggish small-town

Hot as hell in the summer, lots of rain coming up from the Gulf. Moderate temps in winter.

Downtown is nothing special as I recall, not unattractive, just not special. The University is quite attractive with beautiful rose gardens. A few decent restaurants in town(some of the best barbecue in the world at Leatha's). Even with the university, cultural opportunities are limited.

Its not an Athens, Ga or Chapel Hill by any means. If you're gonna live in Mississippi, its one of the "okay" places but its not a liberal oasis (at least thats my impression). Maddy could certainly tell you a lot more, certainly much more up to date information than mine.

[merh]

9. No city in Mississippi is a liberal oasis.

But, in each city, you can find liberal oasises!

I think it is more liberal than Jackson, to be honest with you.

How ya doing, Rowdyboy! :hug:

[Shell Beau]

10. Not more liberal than Jackson, but definitely more liberal

than the cities that surround Jackson, like my own! My city is the exact opposite of liberal. No liquor is sold in the county. And no beer sold on Sundays.

[merh]

19. Definitely more liberal than Jackson.

Sorry Shell, Jackson gives me the willies, I'm not sure what time the side walks roll up, but I wouldn't be caught standing on them at that time. Lord knows what can happen. :freak:

You all do have some great restaurants and cultural events. That is why Hattieburg is such a great little town (well, it is the 4th largest city in the state, but for discussion purposes), it is in between Jackson and the Coast.

I think the fact that it is a suitcase community/campus makes it very desirable. All the good places are within driving distance and anyone from California would think the commute is no commute whatsoever.

:hi:

[Shell Beau]

22. I used to do a lot of work in Hattiesburg, but I guess b/c

of the university it is a little more liberal, but Jackson has gotten a lot more liberal. But the surrounding towns like Madison, Ridgeland, Brandon, Canton, etc. are definitely not liberal. The crime in Jackson, though, is very bad. The new mayor is trying to cut that out. He is hard core about it and people either LOVE him or really really HATE him. :shrug:

[merh]

24. Some of those towns you named are pretty conservative.

I'm glad the mayor is working on trying to improve things.

[Shell Beau]

27. The mayor in Jackson is trying to demolish a lot of

places downtown that are and have been eyesores for a while. One building is an apartment complex where people are still living. He wants them moved out immediately and will relocate them. Most of them aren't happy about it. One woman has lived there for over 20 years. But there are a few who live there who thinks this is long overdue! :shrug: The other towns, though, you can pretty much forget about them becoming liberal! :shrug:

[Rowdyboy]

13. You're right about that! college towns are about the best bet though....

now that the coast is obliterated. Hattiesburg is probably more liberal overall than Jackson, but Jackson has slightly better cultural coverage and a decent set of restaurants.

We even have the International Ballet Competition soon!

Doing great, Merh. Now that my guy has decided to retire from teaching this year, I doing WONDERFULLY!
:hug:

[merh]

20. Oh yes, the international ballet competition. Do you know any dates yet?

Be sure to keep me informed. I'd love to try to make a performance.

I am so glad that your guy did retire! It looks like 2006 will be a good year! :toast:

:hug:

[merh]

7. Let's see, Brett Farve attended and was graduated from USM.

The college was originally known as a "teachers college" but now has a very good reputation in polymer sciences and nursing. http://www.usm.edu/index.php

I obtained my degree from USM and I enjoyed the campus, of couse that was some time ago. I had both progressive and conservative professors just like you will find at most universities today.

It is a suitcase campus, meaning a good many of the weekends the campus is empty because students love the road trips to Florida, NOLA, Mobile, Biloxi, Memphis, Tunica Casinos. Everything is in easy driving distance and once folks send you away to college, well out of sight, out of mind.

The President of the University is a fundy, repuke appointment and a real dipshit who has caused a great deal of grief for suspected "liberal" professors, but then again, his expertise before the appointment was that was a polymer scientist and that rubbed elbows with corporate america and sniffed way too many chemicals during his experiments.

Here is a good site to review:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Hattiesburg-Mississippi.html

The local online newspaper can be found at http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 44,779 people, 17,295 households, and 9,391 families residing in the city. The population density is 351.0/km² (909.0/mi²). There are 19,258 housing units at an average density of 150.9/km² (391.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 49.95% White, 47.34% African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 1.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 17,295 households out of which 25.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% are married couples living together, 19.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 45.7% are non-families. 34.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.29 and the average family size is 3.01.

In the city the population is spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 24.4% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are approximately 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $24,409, and the median income for a family is $32,380. Males have a median income of $26,680 versus $19,333 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,102. 28.3% of the population and 21.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 36.3% of those under the age of 18 and 16.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattiesburg,_Mississippi

[Shell Beau]

8. Also Brett Favre has a house there. My husband helped

lanscape it a few years back. :)

[merh]

26. psssstttt

I can't stand Favre - he is such a jerk. x( But Taverner should know that he did begin at USM. The football program is pretty good.

[Shell Beau]

28. My husband said he was likable but that his wife was just plain

mean. I have heard some rude things Farve has done but never knew if they were true or not!! But yes USM does have a good program. I wish they could play State and Ole Miss though!!

[merh]

31. State and Ole Miss dropped them from their program.

They got tired of being beaten all of the time.

They played them when I attended USM, talk about some great away games.

:bounce:

[Shell Beau]

35. I bet! I never understood why they quit playing them.

I think they should start back playing them. Some people are scared I suppose!

[merh]

37. Something to do with a dispute about revenue from ticket sales.

(supposedly :crazy: )

They just got tired of having their butts beat! :woohoo:

USM as a great program, they had a great my last two years there. Matter of fact, I was in attendance at the Alabama home game the day that USM beat BAMA 38 to 19 - it was one of Bear Bryant's last games. It was a magnificent game!

:Call yo' momma - call yo' momma"

[merh]

32. Well, maybe they both have their good days and bad days.

Or maybe they are a match made in heaven :crazy:

[MsUSA]

38. Shell Beau: would love to hear about those rude things

Brett has done, and his wife mean?? give examples. Thanks.

[Shell Beau]

39. Well, from what my husband told me she was rude to them

(the workers) and Brett only bought the house for her. One of the workers took pics of her house and she found out somehow and threatened to have him fired if he didn't destroy the pics. (I can understand her not wanting the pics to get out, but the way she went about it was very uppity)

One time a very bad tornado went through Hattiesburg and tore up a lot of his property. He refused to talk to the local news only the national news. Don't know why. Also one time at a restaurant there, he offered an autographed pic as payment for his meal. Even though the waitress assigned to him gave up all other customers that night to cater to him, she got no tip.

[MsUSA]

40. D*mn, I hate to hear that.......

but thanks for telling me. :-(

[Shell Beau]

41. Well everyone has their off days! Are you a big Favre fan?

He was friendly enough to my husband and he did a lot of work around the house himself. :shrug:

[MsUSA]

42. *nodding* yeah, he's a lot of fun to watch playing football, and he

does come across as a good ol' boy during his press conferences, glad to hear he was friendly to your husband.

[GOPisEvil]

11. It's also Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Damned Yankee! ;)

[Taverner]

12. How was I to know Mississippi has 4 s's, 2 p's and 4 i's????

[Shell Beau]

15. He was talking about HattiEsburg but you did misspell Mississippi too!

;)

[Taverner]

16. Well we can't expect those with a Masters in Journalism...

like me to spell now do we????

[GOPisEvil]

17. This is how I learned it.

M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-hump back-hump back-I

[Shell Beau]

14. Yes, he did misspell it!

:crazy:

[southlandshari]

18. Why do you ask, California?

Planning a move sometime soon?

:hi:

[Taverner]

21. Just sending my resume forth into the vast wilderness of tech jobs

And one of the jobs was there - paid well - at a hospital....

[southlandshari]

23. That's the university hospital, I'll bet

A very good facility and a nice little town, too.


And I only live a few hours away from Hattiesburg!

:evilgrin:


But Shell Beau would be much closer...


:hide:

[Taverner]

25. Kewl!

It was tied to a University...of course I have very little chance at that job...

[Taverner]

29. But - if I move to Mississippi do I gotta go to church?

Or can I sleep in and hit the gym instead?

[merh]

33. There is no mandatory church attendance as a part of the residency

requirement in Mississippi.

You can attend the gym and worship whatever you worship however, whenever, where ever.

[Taverner]

34. I know I know :)

I'm just joking...

[merh]

36. I know you were

I'm one of those folks that it is hard to tell when I am joking.

Hope we have provided you with some links that help.


Note to self: Use sarcasm & silly smileys more frequently! :freak:

[Shell Beau]

30. Hahaha! Yep, just 1 1/2 hours away!!

But Maddy would be right there!


;)