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.....which looks like it will soon be the state that I, myself along with family, will be calling home. Trying to learn as much as we can in as short amount of time as we can. Looks like I will be relocating in the next month to the greater Jackson area for work.

We are in our early 40's, 11 year old daughter and 14 year old son. The kids have never lived outside of small-town Iowa. I've lived the vast majority of my life in Iowa, and she moved around a bit (Caribbean, Oregon) before settling back down around here.

So, basically our entire lives have revolved around Iowa and its "culture", "customs", etc.

Fill me in on as much as you think would be good to know for us to prepare ourselves for our new adventure. Thanks in advance, by the way. Looking forward to learning more about not just your state and its people, but to experience football season in the SEC!

You can sell your snow chains, if that helps any.

You will likely be welcomed with open arms. Your neighbors will probably speak or at least wave when they cross your path. Catfish at Cock o the Walk on the reservoir should happen within 3 months if arrival.
We just legalized high gravity beer last year and home brewing July 1 of this year, if you partake.

You have got to go to an SEC game in Oxford. Just do it. Wear your Iowa (or other school) gear and its like a free coupon to tailgate with the locals.

BBQ. First learn where to get it. Then learn how to do it.

Decent art gallery in Jackson (and planetarium).

Nice Braves farm team in area.

Look around and help make it better.

Thank you Reb; and hoping to make an Ole Miss game this fall....have always wanted a reason to visit "The Grove". Surprised to hear about people being inviting if I were to wear my Hawkeye gear (of course, I guess we would just be offering up the fact that we are NO THREAT WHATSOEVER!!!) LOL.

Really interested in finding the "locals" bbq hangouts, as well as other restaurants in which to explore our new culinary "customs-to-be". While I was only there for one day and one night for my interview, I found the people to be extremely nice, but then again.....its so hard to judge when you get that little taste of a place. All in all, I left with a very good impression and "feel" to the area.

When you see a Chevy Silverado sporting Hawkeye plates in the area in the next month or two, give me a honk!

I think it works like this. If you are wearing Ole Miss, or opposing team gear, everyone thinks you already have a tailgate to go to. True visitors from other conferences are usually there to vist the Grove and see some SEC football. We want you to be impressed.

bbq - yes

fresh market for some fun grocery shopping - yes

visiting the grove with hawkeye apparel - yes

renaissance shopping center off Lakeland - yes


asking about the area on this website - good idea, there are folks from every part of the state and an unlucky few that had to move out of the state. each section of the state is a bit different and the delta is where the fun is.

So this may seem like an odd question, but I'll try to explain after asking:

QUESTION: Is it acceptable to bring the family (kids included) to a sports bar atmosphere on gamedays? (places like a Buffalo Wild Wings are probably the best comparison to make).

EXPLANATION: We have a local watering hole / family restaurant that really caters to the whole family. On any given football Saturday, it is the norm to see entire families in restaurant/bar type locales watching the multitude of games on the televisions, and hollerin out for their teams. Is this an activity that is really just specific to my current little corner of the world, or is this common down there too? Not to play into a stereotype, but in the back of my mind, I'm not certain how that kind of stuff is looked on by the public in general down there (as we've heard that religion is a LOT bigger down there in day-to-day goings on). I apologize if this is a really dumb question, by the way.

Another thing that I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere is that beer is not allowed in The Grove??? Is that actually true, or was that a smart-alec comment made by somebody and I just didn't pick up on the sarcasm? Kinnick Stadium (University of Iowa) turns into about 100,000 people grillling out, drinking a LOT of beer and other concoctions for hours before and hours after each game. Hard to imagine tailgating without beer. How big a culture shock am I in for????

Hawkeye wrote: Another thing that I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere is that beer is not allowed in The Grove??? ck:

It is almost impossible to walk through the grove without beer being spilled on you. Alcohol is one of the main reasons for the existence of the grove. I can't imagine why anyone would claim that it is not allowed in the grove. I have never seen nor heard anyone claim that. If anything, articles will discuss the alcoholic excesses in the grove rather than any supposed temperance. Alcohol is not allowed inside any SEC stadium though.

Hawkeye wrote:So this may seem like an odd question, but I'll try to explain after asking:

QUESTION: Is it acceptable to bring the family (kids included) to a sports bar atmosphere on gamedays? (places like a Buffalo Wild Wings are probably the best comparison to make).

EXPLANATION: We have a local watering hole / family restaurant that really caters to the whole family. On any given football Saturday, it is the norm to see entire families in restaurant/bar type locales watching the multitude of games on the televisions, and hollerin out for their teams. Is this an activity that is really just specific to my current little corner of the world, or is this common down there too? Not to play into a stereotype, but in the back of my mind, I'm not certain how that kind of stuff is looked on by the public in general down there (as we've heard that religion is a LOT bigger down there in day-to-day goings on). I apologize if this is a really dumb question, by the way.

Another thing that I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere is that beer is not allowed in The Grove??? Is that actually true, or was that a smart-alec comment made by somebody and I just didn't pick up on the sarcasm? Kinnick Stadium (University of Iowa) turns into about 100,000 people grillling out, drinking a LOT of beer and other concoctions for hours before and hours after each game. Hard to imagine tailgating without beer. How big a culture shock am I in for????

Can't speak to the family/sports bar atmosphere question. But, yes, beer is not allowed in the Grove. Ole Miss is a dry campus and you can't buy cold beer in Lafayette County(except at bars). You asked the wrong question, though. You asked if beer was allowed. You should have asked, "Will I be able to drink beer in the Grove?" The answer to that question is YES. On game days, the rules are relaxed a little as long as you don't make a scene. Keep the beer/alcohol out of site and in a cup.

I once saw Univ. Police force some Georgia students to poor out an entire keg. I felt bad for them, but you gotta get the 'lay of the land' like you have here before doing something like that. By the way, we've had kegs in the Grove also, you've just got to get creative about hiding it.

JustBlues wrote: Alcohol is not allowed inside any SEC stadium though.

That is in theory only of course...

Out of sight. Don't attempt to walk around with a beer can or bottle, or display an open ice chest with beer exposed. . Solo Cups are your friend. Oxford and University police can be butt holes at times. If beer was fertilizer, no one would wonder how those oak trees in the grove got so big...there has been a lot poured out on the ground.

Its basically the same in Iowa City, with the exception that they allow beer to be "openly" carried around on game days. Liquor bottles, on the other hand, are under the same "don't make it too obvious for us" kind of unspoken rule.

Red or blue solo cup. I prefer both. Not one for each hand but it makes the cup a bit easier to recognize when I set it down near others.

Hawkeye, I don't have kids, just me and my wife here. I have seen many times, whole families enjoying themselves in a sports bar. Just this past Saturday, at Bufalo Wild Wings, there was a whole family enjoying a baseball game. We were sitting in the bar portion of the restaraunt. Mississippi is a little more conservative as far as alcohol. Rebellious mentioned that state legislators recently gave approval for beers of higher gravity. Just this week, the county I live in approved alcohol sales. If I wanted anything, I had to drive a ways to buy it.

Good to know.....especially coming from a state where just about every town has a drive-thru liquor store. No, I'm not lying....we have drive-through windows and many liquor stores (you know, for the drunken drivers who are always on the go)

Live in Madison or Brandon... otherwise you will have a New Afrikan Black Panther as your mayor. Kids at sports dives are fine before 11 pm. Cock of the walk is a must. So is keifer's. Limit your trips to Pearl to just Braves games and Bass Pro. And take the train to New Orleans and back at least once.