I have to admit that the Memphis area is my least favorite part of Tennessee.

Many rural parts of the country have serious drug/crime problems, mainly meth. Google for the local newspapers and sheriff reports.

I have family there. I haven't been down in a good 10 years, but it seemed sketchy even back then.

Looking at City-Data and another site, I had no idea it was *that* bad (or that small), but it definitely always felt poor and desperate- I remember my great aunt talking about the gang problems back in the 90s.

Personally, I wouldn't ever want to live there. It has all of the disadvantages of a major metro area (mainly a whole lot of violent crime), but none of the advantages (culture, good food, good shopping, good medical care), and the summers are miserable, but they still have winters, too.

It's definitely not going to compare favorably with a relatively crime-free place.

If you're looking at WTN, go more northern, like Covington. Close enough to Memphis for civilzation, but not so close for the problems. Or, skip TN entirely in favor of N MS.

As far as crime, it is not as bad as some bigger cities. Just like most places they have areas that are bad and areas that are good. Never felt unsafe here.

Negatives -

If you have lived in other places, you might not like Jackson. It is very standoffish and most locals do not welcome you with open arms.

Tornadoes - we are on our 3rd roof in less than 10 years.

Nothing to do. City is years behind other cities regarding culture, fitness, etc. New restaurants are usually chain restaurants.

There are some great rural properties outside of Nashville. The prices are reasonable and you have access to Nashville for all your activities.

Had friends who moved there several years ago, said the same thing as Cricket49. No sign of the southern hospitality they were looking for, they were treated like outsiders. And they weren't even "Yankees", lol! They lived there for about 5 years, decided they had had enough and moved to NC. It took them 2 years to sell once the decision had been made, but they have been in NC for 5 or 6 years now and last I heard, still loving it. They are somewhere northwest of Raleigh, near the VA border.

I live 15 minutes north of Jackson in Gibson county. Moved here 7 years ago from Chicago burbs. There is crime but again, it's everywhere. There are areas that are better than others, just like everywhere. It doesn't sound like you'll be planning to move to the city proper. The only thing you'll end up going to Jackson for is shopping and the main shopping area is pretty far removed from where most of the crimes occur.

There are some nice rural areas in Gibson, Carroll, Crockett and Madison counties that you might want to look into. Additionally, Henderson (big town is Lexington), Hardin (big town is Savannah) are pretty nice and are within 45 minutes or so of Jackson.

Be warned; outside of Jackson, the only real grocery store is Walmart. Jackson has Kroger (not so great) and Walmart. You have to go to Nashville for Costco and Trader Joes (2 hours); Memphis for Costco (1.5 hours). Restaurants around here are mostly chains and are so-so. There are trade offs when you move.

As far as weather goes, we have some good storms. Tornados happen pretty much everywhere so there's that. People are people; the hospitality you get matches the hospitality you produce. We've met lots of really nice people here.

If you would like some assistance on areas you are looking at, shoot me a private email via my page. I can either connect you with a real estate agent in the area or give you a preview of the property/area to see if it's overpriced. There are still some folks who think their property is worth a lot of $$$.

Maybe start your own, new thread.