Retire to Mississippi

Mississippi is attracting more retirees each year, especially small towns like Laurel,
Hattisburg and Meridian. Dr. Charles Campbell at the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University recently reported that the state’s certified Hometown Retirement Cities program is appealing to more retirees aged 55 to 74. Retirees who have recently moved to the state reported that the deciding factors of moving
were being closer to children, taking advantage of the state’s exemption on retirement income, the state’s homestead exemption, the climate and the friendliness of the people,” Campbell said.

Country roads
& new adventures
await you in
Laurel, Mississippi
A Certified Mississippi Retirement City Towering pines. Tranquil lakes. Parks & nature trails. Historic architecture & gardens. Museums. Art & entertainment. Southern cuisine. Shopping. Golf, fishing & sports. A mild four-season climate.
Laurel has it all ... small town charm with sophisticated choices for the most discriminating tastes.
“Come See Us Soon!”
For more information, please visit our
web site at www.laurelms.com OR contact
Linda Reinholtz
Retirement Program Director
P.O. Box 647, Laurel, MS 39441
Telephone Toll Free 1.877.465.2875
E-mail lindareinholtz@laurelms.com

Laurel
Efforts to promote Laurel as a retirement destination are paying off according
to Laurel Planning Development/ Hometown Retirement Director Linda Reinholtz.

Reinholtz said interest from retirees is growing and that there have been
almost 600 inquiries through community marketing recently. The highest interest,
she said, has come from Florida, New York, Massachusetts, California and Texas.

Hattisburg
Retiring in Hattisburg just got a little more interesting after the Bernard Osher
Foundation recently gave a $1 million endowment to the Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute at Southern Miss.

Sue Pace, institute director, said OLLI had three years to increase annual
membership to more than 500 and finished a membership drive this past
spring with 543 members.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Southern Miss began in 1991 as the
Institute for Learning in Retirement. It is the only lifelong learning institute in
Mississippi supported by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

Meridian
Meridian, a city of almost 40,000, has emerged as a popular multi-county
medical, shopping, and banking center for east central Mississippi and west
central Alabama.

Some of the amenities that are attracting retirees: five regional hospitals
with 1245 hospital beds, the 80-store six anchor CBL Bonita Lakes Mall, 39 banks
and branches, the downtown Mississippi State University Riley Center Performing
Arts and Education Conference Center (recently featured in September’s
Southern Living Magazine), Mississippi State University’s Meridian campus, and
Meridian Community College.

Additionally, the city has 70+ civic, volunteer, and non-profit organizations, 211 churches representing 40 denominations and a lively cultural and recreational lifestyle.