I've never been to Mississippi or know much of anything about it.
What am I in for?

Gun laws?
Hows the crime rate?
Best town(s)to live?
Fun things to do?  (I do love dirt bike riding)
Meeting women? (Single dude here)

thanks!!

(Edit because I can actually spell.   Autocorrect fucked me)

No specifics on Meridian but as far as MS in general:
 Gun laws are awesome:  Constitutional Carry but we do offer a permit with an Enhanced Endorsement.  No permit needed in general, you can have in it your car or on your person with a few restriction. All NFA items are legal.  And we have Nolo if you run afoul for some reason.
  MS is a sportsman's paradise especially for whitetails.  
  Cost of living is pretty low compared to the rest of the country.
 
 The best part is, you're within reasonable driving distance of FEMA Camp Liberty, Home of Cola Warror Classic. Come, puke with us.

Man!  Sounds awesome and thanks for the reply.  I was almost thinking I'd have to repost in GD and deal with the antics over there, haha.   Hopefully more people will comment in here although it seems like a pretty desolate forum.  

It has its moments, give it a couple of days,

I'm the only single woman in my age bracket in this entire state.  

My part of the state is red--a conservative stronghold.  Plenty of the new residents in DeSoto county fled from Memphis once things started going bad.  Very little Obama love here and very little crime in Hernando.

Other than that I think Meridian is a pretty decent sized place, not too far from Jackson, and again, will have good and bad areas. Be warned: It gets hot and muggy down here.

Single huh?  Haha!   Kidding.   But seriously, how far is Hernando from Meridian?   And thanks for the feedback by the way

Excellent!!  Thanks!!  So how far are Starkville and Jackson from Meridian?    I may end up commuting a little if I find a nicer area somewhat within driving distance to the base.  (Within a half hour)

I've been divorced for 15 years.  No kids.  I was only married for seven, so I've just kind of erased those years (a mistake to never repeat).

Meridian is a good ways away.  I'm just south of Memphis, and commute in to work there.  My area is solid red though.  We aren't much on libtards up this way.

Starkville and Jackson are both about an hour and a half away. Meridian wouldn't be a bad place to be.

We lived on NAS Meridian for 3 years, and didn't do too much in town (NAS is about 12 north of the town)- so I can't say too much about it.  

Been up north in DeSoto county for approximately 10 years in a small town, and absolutely love it.

IMO, southern DeSoto county is close enough for the good things in MEM, but far enough away that the urban blight hasn't spread this far.

Take what I say with a grain of salt, since I wasn't looking for chicks in Meridian or DeSoto county.

Sounds like we got divorced about the same time (mine was about 17 years ago) and have the same views on getting married again.  Nope!   

Good to know now on the red state front.  That's one of the things drawing me there.  I hope it works out!!

Oh ok.  Thanks.  More good info!  If the job works out, it will be at nas.  

So how long ago were you at NAS?   Because that's where I am trying to get on at.  Also, I did not realize that NAS was 12 miles north of Meridian.   So Desoto is a good area.  

Desoto is a great area, in Hernando... I wouldn't want to be in Southaven though.

Desoto county is also about 4 hours from Meridian, just FYI.

Well damn, haha.  Guess I need to get a county map handy 

I was there about 15 years ago, so it's been awhile.

After looking at a map, NAS is about 25 minutes north of the town.

Oh ok.  Yeah I was looking at a map last night too.  And from the research I've done and feedback that I've gotten, it seems that north of NAS is "better" anyway.   Problem I was seeing is that all the towns north seem tiny.   Not sure which ones have lower crime, nice housing and apartments and such.   I've got time.   Hell I may even drive down.  I think I'm 8 hours away

You wont find any apartments worth living in North of NAS, towns along 45 are Macon, Scooba and Brooksville, the next city worth living in would be Starkville (seriously). Columbus and West Point have gotten pretty rough, I work in those areas regularly.

I'd go the opposite direction, South, back towards Meridian. There has to be tons of housing for Naval and associated personnel. Maybe you could try posting in the .mil forum and asking folks that are currently stationed there?

Oh man!   Ok.  Thanks for the tip!!   I'll try the .mil forum.  

I have nothing to add except welcome to Mississippi! (We hope)

I was born and raised near DeKalb (north of Meridian about 30 miles).  Used to go to Meridian every Saturday night to movies and such.

The town of Meridian has gone the way of most all southern towns: whites moved out, blacks reproduced in great numbers, crime went way up, housing became unacceptable for most law abiding folks.

But it's still safer than, say, Memphis and Jackson.

If you move to the Meridian area, you won't want to live in town.

Lots of the good folks have moved into the Collinsville area northwest of Meridian up Highway 19.  It's MUCH safer.

I would go to the gun store Modern Outfitters.  Find out where the owners of Modern Outfitters live and buy or rent in the same area.

Yep.  We will tell you were you want to live

Welcome to Mississippi!  I live on the Coast which is a few hours south.  I train dogs in the Meridian area all the time.  I would look outside of town, but NOT Laurel, though.  Ellisville is still O.K, from what I have seen.

 Man am I late to this thread...

 I live in Meridian and the first thing you need to know is we have an idiot of a mayor and the police department is a reflection of his stupidity. Now the sheriff on the other hand is damn good. If you live just outside of the city, your taxes will be half. The area between Meridian and NAS is a really good area to live, that would be the area of Hwy 39, same road Modern Outfitters is on. 

 We have some decent places to eat, one of the best Thai places around and the area is very gun friendly. And it's easy to get to other places like the coast. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to Biloxi, 1 1/2 hours to Jackson, 3 hours to New Orleans.

 If you want to talk more about the area send me a pm and I'll send my number.

 @eightiesheaven   

I'm in Meridian also and late seeing this. Are you looking to buy or rent up front? If you want a nice place close to everything thats reasonable and basically 0 crime EMAIL me. The owner of Modern Outfitters lives in north/central down town, basically the older neighborhood part. Plenty of places to eat (but no Hooters or Longhorn), gas station everywhere you look and more hotels than shopping. I used to be a member of the shooting facility range but can give you a name/number if you're interested.

I'm a Hattiesburg native living the life of a displaced Mississippian in Texas, and I miss my home state more and more every day, especially WARD'S! I haven't had a decent breakfast biscuit since I've been to Texas.

As far as Meridian goes, all I've ever done is drive through it a million times on the way to drill up I-59, but I have a few friends a relatives who live in the area, and outside the city proper, it's not a bad place to be.

My stomping grounds are further south, and my goal is to get hired on at the 154th RTI at Camp Shelby sometime soon, so that I can come back home and enjoy the good life with my family and friends.

A word of caution...

Jackson is literally run by a neo African socialist determined to make the city the most radical in the country.  Everything but northeast Jackson and a few blocks of downtown is to be considered a war zone and openly hostile towards whites. That being said there are lots of good people in Jackson, but even my black friends and coworkers are either moving or looking to move. To the north is Madison, basically a suburban area where people of means and education fleeing Jackson settled among people that were very rural until about 20 years ago. To the East is Rankin county, which you can usually think of as suburban redneck and not be wrong. This is where Bass Pro, the minor league baseball team, an outlet mall, and more than a few gunshops are. Usually seen as a great place to raise kids and live if Madison is not your style. West of Jackson is Clinton, which other than being the home of Mississippi College is mostly people that left Jackson but are still in Hinds county.

Be aware that a common criminal tactic is to commit crime in Clinton, Rankin, or Madison and then flee into Jackson where criminals are openly coddled (by that I mean a Jackson city coucil member openly advised his constituents to throw rocks and bottles at police that come into their hood to arrest criminals). Yes, it is that bad.

If you have to go to the Jackson metro area for one reason or another please contact one of us or someone else to act as a local guide, because one block the wrong way may literally get you killed or injured.

I remember reading about Jackson electing ol' Chokeweed Lumbago or whatever his African bullshit made-up name is.

Jackson has always been bad, but now it's basically Zimbabwe, and I don't stray off the highway there for any reason when traveling.

One last thing: If you find a need to stay in a motel in Meridian a few nights while you look around, I recommend the Drury Inn.

They have a good free breakfast and an OK free supper with 2 free mixed drinks.

And it is clean and safe.