What can anyone tell me about Oxford, MS?

[1moreroad]

Might be a job opportunity there for my wife.  What's it like?  I know a few people with family near Jackson, but no one can tell me much about Oxford.  I rode through Memphis last year.  Excellent BBQ.  Beautiful area outside the city, but not much to do out there except visit civil war memorials.  

Any good riding?

TIA

[caseylee]

I have lived in Oxford for the past 2 years while going to school there (just moved away) but it is a great town to live in.  It has all the amenities of a larger town with a small town atmosphere.  The only problem I see is that it is growing a little too fast for its own good.  Real estate has gone through the roof but it is not impossible to find a place to live.  It is a college town though and can get a little hectic through out the school year especially around the Square (the downtown area with all the bars and nice places to eat).  They do have a great school system with access to a community college and the main university so if you have kids it would be a great place for them to get their education.  

As for the riding there are a few decent roads like 334 from Oxford to Pontotoc and 315 around Sardis Lake but that's about all I have found.  If you have any questions let me know and I can probably answer them for you!

[farmer fred]

William Faulkner's home town, I believe, and therefore a model for Yoknapatawpha County.

"I don't hate the South," "I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,""I don't hate the South,"

[Yankee Dog]

Which Oxford?  North or South Mississippi

Yankee Dog

[1moreroad]

Which Oxford?  North or South Mississippi

Yankee Dog

Next to University, MS.  Next to Ole Miss, University of Mississippi.

[caseylee]

When you moving?  I've got an open apartment that's available through August 15th for $700 a month if you need a place to stay.....

[county]

Oxford is very Southern.  Better be accepting of Southern culture or you won't like it.

[1moreroad]

Oxford is very Southern.  Better be accepting of Southern culture or you won't like it.

Raised in MD (ages 2 - 22).  What do you mean?

[vfroger]

My mom and dad retired to Lafayette county (Como) across the lake from Oxford. They were there 20 years until they passed away a few years back. I spent quite a bit of time there and traversed back and forth between it and east Tennessee several times a year.

North Mississippi is rural and fairly poor. You'll likely notice that once off of the main roads, the quality of the roads sux. There isn't any really great riding (challenging, curvy) in the area, but it is rural and reasonably scenic. Because it's very stereotypical southern, it's laid back. Oxford has decent medical facilities, all the shopping I could ever need, and decent schools. The nearest large city is Memphis, about an hour north. If you need bike stuff, you'll need to go there or at least to Southaven.

Oxford is a college town. The campus is nice, but I have no firsthand experience with utilities or local politics.

The nearest mountain riding is northern Arkansas and will take 3 or 4 hours to get there. If you gamble, the casinos at Tunica are 50 miles away.

[deaconjones]

Raised in MD (ages 2 - 22).  What do you mean?

 
  Ever seen "Deliverance"?  

[threexcharm]

 
  Ever seen "Deliverance"?  

You are wrong for that. Oxford is a nice town. Life is slower and
more enjoyable than the big city. I moved away from a large city
to live while it is quiet and safe for my family.

Like others have said, you have Memphis an hour away. There
will be places where you can ride. A lot of state highways that
cut through the pine forests, etc.

It will grow on you. Avoid the condesending elitists.....

Joe

[sillyhillbilly]

if your looking for roads then go est young man, there is plenty of roads just east of the tennesse river, nice hills and curves, or go farther east the farther you go the twistier it gets

[CafeTBird]

Raised in MD (ages 2 - 22).  What do you mean?

He said very "Southern".  MD doesn't count for that - it is a Southern state that is very Northern ;-)

[rselin]

Re: What can anyone tell me about Oxford, MS?

Well for one thing, James Meredith didn't have a whole lot of fun there.

"He went down to Oxford town
Guns and clubs followed him down
All because his face was brown
Better get away from Oxford town"

"Oxford Town" from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, 1963.

[Sign Guy]

I stayed their several times while traveling The South and several states north of the Mason-Dixon Line in sales. MS has the friendliest people of anywhere I have ever been domestically or internationally. As for Oxford Town, I was born a few years after and only have recent references to the area. Can we sat Neal Young??  

[Tyrroneous]

I've spent very little time in Oxford.  But I did grow up in Starkville, MS.  Starkville is very similar to Oxford in many respects.  Both are college towns, etc.  

Life is definitely slower and more laid back compared to many of the more populated parts of the county.  The people are generally very nice.  Southern cooking is abundunt (thank goodness!).  Generally, the university will have some positive influence on the quality of public schooling in the town...at least that was the case for me.  

Oxford should be a great place to live, raise a family, etc.  Its at least worth checking out.  

[threexcharm]

Re: What can anyone tell me about Oxford, MS?

Well for one thing, James Meredith didn't have a whole lot of fun there.

"He went down to Oxford town
Guns and clubs followed him down
All because his face was brown
Better get away from Oxford town"

"Oxford Town" from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, 1963.

That was very ignorant of you. When was the last time
you or Dylan were in Oxford?

And what the hell do you care about James Meredith?

Nuckleheads in Boston were protesting and boycotting
school desegregation twenty years after it had become
a sucess in the South.

Better not to speak and be thought of as an idiot, than
to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I guess it doesn't take the winter temperatures long to
freeze your tiny semblence of a brain.

Sorry about getting personal, but that was a cheap shot.

Joe

[Mookie]

Home of the Oxford American Magazine, might be worth picking up a copy.

[CafeTBird]

That was very ignorant of you. When was the last time
you or Dylan were in Oxford?

And what the hell do you care about James Meredith?

Nuckleheads in Boston were protesting and boycotting
school desegregation twenty years after it had become
a sucess in the South.

Better not to speak and be thought of as an idiot, than
to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I guess it doesn't take the winter temperatures long to
freeze your tiny semblence of a brain.

Sorry about getting personal, but that was a cheap shot.

Joe

Didn't see anything ignorant about that at all, geez, all he did was quote lyrics from a song.  I thought it was a kind of amusing reference to the South of 40 years in the past (thank God).  I visited Oxford in the late 60's, and at the time it definitely needed reform.

Threex - looks like you have a MAJOR chip on your shoulder!  Get over it.

[rselin]

That was very ignorant of you. When was the last time
you or Dylan were in Oxford?

And what the hell do you care about James Meredith?

Nuckleheads in Boston were protesting and boycotting
school desegregation twenty years after it had become
a sucess in the South.

Better not to speak and be thought of as an idiot, than
to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I guess it doesn't take the winter temperatures long to
freeze your tiny semblence of a brain.

Sorry about getting personal, but that was a cheap shot.

Joe

The poster asked and I told him all I knew about Oxford.  I guess I was lucky the poster didn't ask about Birmingham or Montgomery or you probably really would have blown a gasket.

CafeTBird - thanks.