Isn’t this that town from “Sharp Objects”?
1 Like
As a former ISP to a small village in Central Texas in the 1980s-90s, I can tell you, “the future is here” alright but heck if I know how to get it evenly distributed.
So that’s satellite, satellite, and AT&T fiber.
Hmm. Plenty of folks near me use satellite and they hate it. Weather is a factor in quality and speed of connection. Massive charges for when one goes over data limits. Unreliable. Uploads take forever even on a good day. Throttling.
Let’s take a look at railroad rights-of-way…
http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/215753.aspx
… because big datapipes [telco, fiber, etc.] often parallel those train tracks:
So one could possibly push on that angle. I should remind anyone thinking big about giving AT&T some competition wrt being an ISP for broadband that GoogleFiber got out after a few rounds because the Goog found out it’s a timesuck and costly upfront to bring fiber in to a place that ain’t got none.
3 Likes
Considering the emphasis on attracting teleworkers via this program, it’s almost like they’re saying “we know you probably wouldn’t actually want to work a day job with our citizenry, of course!” 
2 Likes
I hear you.
Some other factors I’d pay attention to, since I am a POC, a woman, working in environmental fields, IT, and a vegetarian:
https://www.splcenter.org/states/mississippi
(Disclosure: 9 hate groups in MS but 54 in TX, where I am now.)
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/us-literacy-rates-by-state
Colleges? Universities?
https://geology.deq.ms.gov/floodmaps/
Hurricanes Delta, Laura, Gustav, Isaac, Katrina…
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ms/natchez/crime
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ms/natchez
Costco is good at stuff like car tires, cheaper Rx, hearing aids, other services, in addition to offering wholesale prices on food etc. Equally far away in Red Stick, Jackson, Nawlins:
Here’s the latest copy of their water supply system’s consumer confidence report:
Heads up, a decent RO filtration system may be in order for anyone who is either childbearing age, has children in the household, is immuno-compromised, has family hx of cancer, or other mitigating personal health considerations:
Those trihalomethanes and the heavy metal chromium are Serious Dang Issues and we all need water to live.
Let’s look at cancer clusters JIC:
https://www.sunherald.com/news/special-reports/dipg/article220306810.html
Huh, elevated for Adams County compared w U.S. average:
Hard pass. But hey that’s just me.
16 Likes
When I saw which state was involved, Nina Simone’s classic “Mississippi Goddam” ran through my head. I’ve got a cousin who took a similar offer in Tulsa, but she’s just at the beginning of the program. I’m curious to learn how she feels about the place after a full year, though.
15 Likes
That’s hard. Madam Mrs the Ratel coaxed me out of SF a while ago, and recently we bought a pretty nice house in Tucson for a little more than that, though as AZ blues up the house prices have followed. Funny that. Looks like the Ratel kit will walk to elementary school.
“Drivin’ outta Natchez…”
4 Likes
It’s a PR thing. Small towns or smaller cities occasionally do this to generate some quick headlines and attention. Tends to go hand in hand with redevelopment plans.
Idea seems to be people will hear about it, realize [insert town] is great and move there or visit. Even well after the pay you to live there gimmick is over. A lot of times its about tourist dollars.
I really doubt it works. Cause you tend to see the same places running different gimmicks like this repeatedly. Like temporarily changing the name of the place to something wacky like a brand name. Or hiring an “online ambassador” to relocate and blog about the area for a year or something.
They’re laying out $180k for well more headlines than that amount could buy in ads basically. I always figured that was about as far as it goes for real world benefits.
8 Likes
walks in
“Hi, Stefan said he was doing some cool stuff here, so I thought I’d come by with my pals from Austin Mutual Aid, Food Not Bombs, some friends from a food co-op / buying club, and I just had a few questions.”
“… yesssss?”
“Which way to Stewpot? I’d like to donate my time.”
https://www.natchezstewpot.com/
https://www.foodpantries.org/ci/ms-natchez
“And uh, which way to the community gardens? I brought some red wrigglers and a worm box for those folks.”
(Maybe call over at this place to see if they’d come down to visit:
Some stuff with real positive potential in Natchez, MS:
10 Likes
I haven’t read up on their selection process, mea culpa, but that’s mostly because I’m not interested in going.
However.
I wonder what decision criteria the handers-outers of the $ incentive employ to determine who is in this wee social engineering experiment, and who is not.
Raffle? Lottery? Age? Skillset(s)? Ostensible job? Business owner? etc.
3 Likes
I’d put money on large social media presence.
2 Likes
Hell, the monthly cost of buying the building might cover the rent on a studio apartment in SF. (Although prices have dropped there due to covid, so it probably would, now.) An apartment like… oh, one the five in that building…
1 Like
Hmm, should I move to Mississippi or Italy… Decisions, decisions…
11 Likes
I walked from Natchez… to Hushpuckena. I built a fire by the side of the road. I worked for nothing… in a Belzoni saw mill. I caught a blind out on the B and O. Tallulah’s friendly… Belzoni ain’t so. A 44 will get you 99. ~Tom Waits, Pony
[edited once for growly voice effects]
6 Likes
Nooooooope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
About 60 miles (or one-third of the way across Mississippi) from the nearest interstate. Sure, you have the river, but that’s quite a double-edged sword. Plus, I’d have to live in Mississippi, and I’m way too much of a Yankee for that. If I were going to move, Michigan would be more my speed.
If I had to live in the South, I’d lean towards Raleigh-Durham, Austin, or maybe Nashville or Atlanta. Chattanooga, with its municipal fiber, would be a good telework option. Mississippi wouldn’t even be on my radar.
2 Likes
The first two things that pop into my mind are Internet (others have covered that here) and flood history. My current house is next to a creek that is dry most of the time. After learning about floods I will never live within site of a body of water again.
3 Likes
But, but. I thought clothing & apparel was a big thing in Natchez? After all, everyone knows that:
There was a young girl from ol’ Natchez
Whose clothes were always in patchez
When questions arose
Upon the state of her clothes
She drawled: “When ah itchez, ah scratchez”.
8 Likes
In the greater seattle area here, I feel ya.
1 Like
If it’s good enough for Bret Maverick…
I was there a few years ago for work, and it is pretty and the downtown really walkable.
Seems like it would be a nice place to live for a white conservative. For all others, seems like it would be very lonely.
4 Likes
