A bit of little bit of small-town southern attraction goes a great distance.
As soon as outlined by the spirited pulse of Mississippi State College, Starkville, Mississippi has emerged as a multifaceted vacation spot, not too long ago named the highest small Southern city by USA Right this moment for the second consecutive 12 months.
With a inhabitants exceeding 25,000, this group blends affordability, financial vitality and cultural richness, attracting a various mixture of residents from younger professionals to retirees.
The city’s financial enchantment is rooted in its low value of dwelling.
Housing choices vary extensively, with properties priced between $50,000 and $500,000.
“You will discover a pleasant clear home in a superb neighborhood below $250,000,” Colin Krieger, a neighborhood RE/MAX realtor, informed DailyMail. “Then we have now a big group of homes round $300,000 to $350,000 and one other crop round $500,000.”
Rental properties are equally accessible, with three-bedroom properties averaging $475 to $600 month-to-month. Current building has prioritized multifamily housing to accommodate the college’s 22,000 college students.
“We’ve seen a number of condominium improvement,” Krieger famous. “The city’s building has been a ton of flats made to make extra room for the faculty children.”
Starkville’s financial system thrives on the college, the state’s largest, which anchors a strong job market alongside rising healthcare and know-how sectors. The downtown space, significantly College Avenue, balances youthful power with subtle choices.
“College Avenue is a big stretch, which begins with a cotton district and leads to a extra grownup part of downtown that has its personal eating places so that you’re in a position to separate from the faculty children a bit of extra,” Krieger informed the outlet. This combine fosters a energetic but navigable social scene.
Schooling is one other draw, with native colleges forging robust ties to the college.
“They constructed a partnership with the center college a number of years again that’s truly built-in with Mississippi State College, in order that the children have entry to a number of the professors there,” Krieger mentioned. “And so they have a plan to approve a highschool to do the identical factor that ought to come up later this 12 months.”
These collaborations improve educational alternatives, making Starkville interesting to households.
The city’s cultural and leisure choices are equally compelling. Historical past fans go to the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, whereas the Starkville Neighborhood Theater and Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra enrich the humanities scene.
Out of doors actions abound, with the Starkville Wildlife Refuge providing climbing, searching, and birdwatching.
The close by Oktibbeha County Hospital offers superior healthcare, a major issue for the rising retiree inhabitants.
“It’s a university city with Mississippi State College right here. It’s vibrant. The children preserve us busy over right here, however there’s additionally a big retirement inhabitants coming in from each alumni and different components of the state,” Krieger noticed.
Starkville’s group spirit peaks throughout Mississippi State’s soccer season, when sport days unite residents in tailgates and native bars.
“In fact there are occasions on SEC soccer weekends the place it’s a madhouse and there’s site visitors in every single place, however that’s one of many distinctive options I like about it for such a small city of the South,” Krieger mentioned.
But, the city maintains a protected, approachable environment.
“It’s very welcoming. You are feeling protected. You stroll the streets and it’s not as a lot of a throw down school environment as you would possibly suppose,” he added.
Starkville’s rise displays a broader pattern of small Southern cities gaining recognition for his or her high quality of life.
USA Right this moment additionally highlighted locations like Lewisburg, West Virginia, and Williamsburg, Virginia, however Starkville’s mix of financial alternative, cultural depth and affordability units it aside.
Its evolution mirrors the imaginative and prescient of HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier, who, in close by Laurel, Mississippi, advocate for the potential of small-town dwelling to rival city facilities.
