VIDEO: The Appeal That Keeps Residents Here

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI News) – With two universities in the Golden Triangle area, being Mississippi State and MUW, as well as the various community colleges, many people are seen coming and going from the area.

Some, however, decide to stay and call this area home.

So what is it that makes this area so appealing?

After speaking with residents, several reasons were given explaining why they have stayed here over the course of their lives.

For some it’s work, family, or maybe a little bit of both.

In the end, an overlapping factor that make the cities in this area so appealing was the people.

Two people who can attest to this are Rachel Bell and Dean Threet.

The two are long time Golden Triangle residents

“Well, I can tell you what; this is home to me. I moved here when I was about 14-15 from Alabama. I can go on and on, telling the good things that they’ve done for me and my family,” said Bell.

Both say they have seen changes over the six decades of living here.

“I think people who have observed Columbus over the years can say that it really evolved form being called Possumtown to the friendly city,” said Threet, “and that’s one of the things that attracted me. Columbus has always been a very friendly area.”

This is something that is not only felt by the two long-time residents but also their children, all of whom have stayed in this area

“They saw the people, as a whole, and they wanted to be like those people,” said Bell. “They wanted to do what Mississippi had already taught them to be like and what they wanted to be like, and they just wanted to settle here.”

To perhaps convince people to stay longer, Bell and Threet give advice that back up their hometown as the Friendly City.

“It’s so easy to make friends here, friends who are really friends, who are willing to help you, and that’s a good question they all need to ask themselves,” said Threet. “If I move somewhere else, will I have the neighbors, the friends I have in Columbus?”

The two also advised that if someone was to leave the area, that they take what they’ve learned from the people here to make wherever they go a little more friendly.