Quote:
Originally posted by NutBrnHair
One thing I've observed about the state of Mississippi is that practically everyone knows everyone else in the state! My perception is that this occurs because basically the state is made up of a bunch of small towns. Jackson is the largest city and they have a population of only 185,000. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but statistically, I don't think there's a large influx of people moving to Mississippi, so most of the population is from there & stays there.
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Please no one take offense... I am from Mississippi myself and I am not hesitant to say so. I just don't think folks from other places really understand the Mississippi mindset & environment because it is SO different from anyplace else.
NutBrnHair got it right. Mississippi is a relatively isolated place, practically a fence around the state. Few people move out, fewer people move in. That is why everyone there knows each other! I am telling you, there is NO 7 degrees of separation between any 2 people in the state ;-)
There are a lot of reasons that Mississippi is like this. I won't go into them, some of them are not very flattering. Just acknowleging that this IS the environment there and has been for a very long time.
And an awful lot of the people there like it just the way it is. For many people, Mississippi feels very safe, kind of one big "small town", without a lot of the major problems of big cities. A good place to raise a family, a sense of community in an age where most of us don't know neighbors more than 3 houses away. Yes, people are born there, live there, go to college there, marry & settle down to raise a family all in Mississippi. Nothing wrong with this, if that's your cup of tea! It does make for very very long memories and tight knit groups.