Dear friends, family, and members of the Pretty Southern squad:
Y’all, it has been a tiiime. Since we first launched this baby blog more than 12 years ago, so much has changed in the world. AI may very well one day take over Pretty Southern. But that day is not today.
Today, we are still here, writing, living, and maybe even making dreams come true.
Because once upon a time, in May of 2011 to be exact, your girl found herself unemployed with severance and dreams of becoming a blogger. Thanks to my “helluva engineer” husband, we brought this blog to life. He bought the domain, set up our WordPress instance, and we were live.
Then thanks to our community (and some very savvy PR ladies, y’all know who you are!) we were off to the races with media opportunities as soon as we launched. In the early years of Pretty Southern, we got to go behind the scenes with VIP passes, serve as a judge at food festivals, attend some swanky parties, and were treated to some pretty epic tasting menus.
It was also thanks to learning WordPress, PR, and social media that I was ready to ride the content marketing wave. In the last decade, I’ve had full-time employment at several venture-backed tech startups, served as an advisor to countless other growth-stage companies, and mentored fellow entrepreneurs and proteges who I’m now thankful to call friends,
Welp, fast forward to October of 2023, and here I am again, back at the beginning. I was recently impacted in a company-wide layoff; but this time, I have a little bit of money in the bank and still have this dream of making it on my own as a writer.
So now let’s do this thing!
Over the last decade, I’ve made too many excuses for putting Pretty Southern on the back burner: working full-time in marketing, my family, our geriatric dog going downhill, you name it. But the other night, I decided that I didn’t want to just be someone that bad things happen to — I want to make good things happen.
And reviving this blog, telling stories that might bring about a bit of hope, well, I just want it to be a place for good things. So if you have a story you want to tell, whether you’re launching a business here in Atlanta, you’re a Southerner who wrote a song, or a Southern writer who published a book, we’re here to help.
Please send me an email: editor(at)prettysouthern(dot)com or message me on LinkedIn to talk about how we can help make your own dreams come true.
We’re on a mission here to build a better world. Let’s do it together, y’all.
For the love of this world, and #LoveTheSouth, your pal, LP
Polina Marinova Pompliano is the founder of The Profile, a weekly newsletter that studies some of the world’s most successful and influential people and companies. She began her journalistic career as Editor-in-Chief of The Red & Black at the University of Georgia and has since worked as a producer and writer at CNN and an editor at Fortune magazine.
During her five years at Fortune, Pompliano wrote over 1,300 articles, mostly covering entrepreneurship and venture capital. She also wrote and edited the magazine’s newsletter, Term Sheet, for which she interviewed some of the industry’s leading dealmakers, including Melinda Gates, Steve Case, and more. In 2020, Pompliano left Fortune to focus full-time on The Profile. With over 100,000 followers on Twitter, Pompliano has since made a name for herself in the entrepreneurial world and has garnered a loyal following among both industry professionals and the general public.
Read on to learn more about Pompliano’s personal definition of success, how she balances writing and motherhood and whether she’s discovered her own ‘Hidden Genius.’
Q: When were you first inspired to write a book?
A: I always thought I would write a book but it was never my goal. The only reason I wrote this book is because an editor at a publishing house in London saw something I wrote for my newsletter and reached out to me. He suggested I start by sending a summary of the type of book I would write or just the table of contents. Little by little he sucked me in.
The lesson there is everything you put out into the world is a vehicle for serendipity. Whether it’s a newsletter or a project you’re working on, or a company you’re building, take the extra 10 minutes and send it to someone who you think could be helpful because you never know.
Q: Talking about serendipitous moments, you not only wrote a book in a year but also became a new mother. You said you wrote this book “on the edges of time.” How did you balance a newborn and a new book… and did you sleep?
A: I’ve learned that you’re never gonna have time. It’ll never be the perfect time, but you can work on the edges of time. Sofia was three months old, so she wasn’t sleeping and neither was I. One of my friends told me to take 15 minutes and do something that I only do for myself. She meant scrolling through Instagram and TikTok, but I really enjoy writing. So at night, Sofia would sleep from 7 to 9 p.m. before her first wake-up. During that time, I would write. When she woke up, it forced me to leave the desk and let those thoughts marinate.
Q: There are countless quotes throughout the book. One of which was from a UGA journalism professor who told you, “No one is inherently boring. They’re boring because you haven’t asked them the right questions.” Talk us through your interview process.
A: The way I learn is through people and their stories. Every person that I meet, I’m interested in. I don’t just listen to what they say, I look for the subtext. If I asked you about your story, what are you choosing to emphasize and what are you downplaying? Every person is the hero of their journey. We’ve all done stuff that we’re not proud of so if you can look at it from the perspective of other people, maybe you can be a little bit more self-aware.
Q: You said “This book is about learning, not idolizing” — This almost seems like a roadmap for how an individual can live their most creative life. Is this how you also charted your own path to self-discovery?
A: In the book, I talk about how even though I interviewed people who are successful in the traditional sense, I never idolized them. When you idolize someone, you’re worshipping perfect versions of imperfect people. Yes, these are successful people but it’s success in one area. It’s a technique I want to replicate. It’s not their life, it’s not their worldview, or how they conduct themselves.
Q: Several of the people you profiled have the kind of wealth or accomplishment that would leave many others content. What motivates “successful” people to continue to push themselves?
A: Most of the people in the book, the ones that I’ve included, have reinvented. There’s an example in the creativity chapter where I talk about Grant Achatz, one of the most innovative chefs in the country. He makes it to the top and then, of all things, gets stage four tongue cancer. So he started playing with sight and smell to create flavors in a way that he wasn’t able to before.
Constraint breeds activity, but how do you replicate that when you have everything? You have to force yourself into situations that make you uncomfortable because otherwise, you’re gonna stay complacent.
For me, I was kind of in a rut with The Profile because I had been doing it at this point for five years…on a weekly basis. I have never missed a Sunday to Sunday. I felt a little complacent because I was good at it. With this book, it was terrifying. I knew it would be hard starting to write a book with a baby, but I didn’t care. I wanted to do something scary again.
Q: Hidden Genius is comprised of 10 steps to self-discovery. How did you end up deciding on these 10 categories?
A: My biggest problem with most books is that there’s a good message, but it’s mostly theoretical. I really wanted this book to be practical. These categories are just things that I’ve learned that have helped me discover what I’m good at. I hope that I can help people figure that out earlier in life.
Q: You’ve been signing your books: “Bet on yourself.” What does that mean to you?
A: I was never someone who really believed in myself. I always wanted external validation from someone that told me, “You’re gonna make it, it’s going to be okay.” That hit me hard when I graduated from college. I realized that you can do all the right things and make all the right decisions and still not end up where you want to be. When I was working at Fortune, I realized that I started wrapping my identity around external things like a job title again. Being a reporter and editor of Fortune magazine was great but I could also lose that. So I started to realize that I want to bet on myself in some area of my life, where nobody can take that away from me.
Q: One of the most shocking revelations you shared in the book was in the chapter “Clarifying Your Thinking” when you discussed the struggles you had coming over from Bulgaria to the U.S.:
A: I was over-the-top nice, I never had an opinion, and I ate pizza with my bare hands like a savage. I was boring, and it was exhausting… By the time I graduated college, I had friends, I was generally well-liked, and I was never alone. But now, not only did I still feel like an outsider, I also felt like a fraud.
What advice do you think you’ll give Sofia one day when she’s dealing with something similar?
A: I have a theory that if you were born in another country, or even another status bracket, and you make it into a different status bracket/country, you try your best to fit in. In the beginning, I was the “weird kid.” I ate my pizza with a fork and knife. While it was just funny to other kids, I didn’t want to stand out or be the center of attention, so I tried to blend in.
I think if you’re born here, you try to be more independent and embrace those differences, more so than trying to hide them. What I’ve learned is don’t worry, because nobody’s looking at you. Everybody’s just looking at themselves. You can be whoever you want to be.
Q: Describe how it feels, as a writer and mother, to see your book published and in stores.
A: In the tiniest moments, it’s the best feeling in the world. I dedicated this book to my daughter, which if we have other kids that’s really unfortunate for them. But it’s cool because, although she won’t remember this, she was part of the process.
When asked if I wanted to record the audiobook or get a voice actor, I originally thought, “Definitely voice actor, I don’t have the voice for a book.” Then I thought about it. If I could hear the voice of my grandparents who also wrote, that would be awesome. I did it with that in mind. Longevity. 20 people could read the book, but for her, it will live on for generations.
Q: After everything, do you think you have officially discovered your hidden genius?
A: I think it’s an ever-evolving journey. There’s always more work. When people hear that I wrote a book about successful people, the biggest criticism I hear is that it’s just hero worship or survivorship bias. It’s true if you define success in a very traditional way: wealth, money, status, cars. But to me, success doesn’t exist in a vacuum. We all know very successful people who have a shitty personal life. Every chapter in this book is different. There are relationships, leadership and creativity. The reason people are in specific chapters is because they’re not good at other chapters. Everyone can learn from a different chapter because they’re probably not good at everything.
To me, success is a life well lived. There are going to be struggles. But ultimately, it’s about reinvention, getting up again, and realizing that you can do it again and again. My hidden genius is that I can pretty quickly get to the essence of who someone is just because I really, really pay attention to what they’re saying.
You’ve heard the name, and you might have heard terms like “Beaver Nuggets” and “Romanian garlic beef jerky” and wondered what is this place and what are they selling? Well, it’s Buc-ees! The world’s largest gas station, truck-stop and convenience store chain, and it is incredible.
We’d heard whispers about Buc-ee’s for a long time, and I was always curious about this super-sized gas station convenience store. Now, on multiple road trips to the beach, we’ve been able to really soak in the Buc-ee’s travel center experience in various locations and can confirm it’s one of the best places to stop on a trip.
We are entirely smitten with the ever-expanding Texas chain of gas stations and truck stops.
Fudge? Brisket? Home Decor? T-shirts? Beach towels and chairs? A jerkey counter? Christmas ornaments? It’s all at Buc-ees.
Freakishly clean public restrooms? Check! I can say in my multiple decades of life that Buc-ee’s restrooms are the cleanest public restrooms I have ever entered! I have three children, and we’ve frequented a lot of public restrooms over the years…some I’d like to forget, but Buc-ee’s? They win the restroom game. They win, period.
The first thing you notice when approaching a Buc-ee’s store is the size. The campus is massive. When they say everything is bigger in Texas, Buc-ee’s took that to heart and is spreading it around the country.
The New Braunfels, Texas, store is the largest convenience store in the world, boasting a massive 66,335 square feet. The one in south Alabama isn’t as big, but it’s nothing to shake a stick at. Here’s another fun fact, Buc-ee’s has a Guinness World Record for the longest car wash at its Katy, Texas location. So basically, Buc-ee’s took the good, better, best ideology and bested it.
Everything about Buc-ee’s is top-notch. The shopping experience, the customer service, and the interior signage are all on-point with Buc-ee’s brand–the biggest, and the best.
During this latest trip to Orange Beach, I realized that I’d rather have the food items from Buc-ee’s than almost any fast food place I’ve ever stopped at on a road trip.
Although many people do, I’m not saying you should take the family out for a meal at Buc-ee’s, but the fact of the matter is Buc-ee’s is a great place to eat when on the road. No matter what your plans might be, Buc-ee’s is a great place to treat your taste buds if you’re traveling and don’t want to stop for a full sit-down meal.
We even take requests from friends who know we will pass through this magical place of beaver nuggets and pickled quail eggs and bring them back their favorite treats from everybody’s favorite gas station.
I’m not sure I’ve ever planned a vacation to visit a particular gas station or truck stop. Now, it’s a “must-do” whenever we have headed anywhere near a Buc-ee’s.
A lot can happen in a visit to Buc-ee’s. Let me tell you a story, or rather, a real-life experience…
It’s a Saturday afternoon, and my family and I stop at Buc-ee’s just outside Gulf Shores, Alabama. Naturally, it was hoppin’! We were anxious to get to the beach, so our goal was to get in and get out quickly. My husband offered to stand in line and get our food while I took our children to the bathroom. In minutes, my husband bought brisket, homemade potato chips, beaver nuggets, fudge — a lot of fudge — several kolaches, and some drinks.
Meanwhile, I took our kids to the cleanest bathrooms in the country, and we somehow ended up with Buc-ee’s t-shirts and a Christmas ornament adorned with the famous beaver mascot on the front. Oh! I can’t forget that before we left the building, we took a family picture in front of the red Buc-ee’s truck, with the giant oversized beaver on it, in addition to another family photo outside with a bronze beaver statue. Again, all of this in just minutes!
At this point, I find myself asking, “How did we get here?” “Why do we have so much fudge?” And, “Why do we love this place so much?” Everybody loves Buc-ee’s.
The good news was with multiple cashiers working, we didn’t have to wait long to check out despite the massive crowd.
Why does everybody love Buc-ee’s? I think it’s because there is something for everyone, honestly. The Texas-based and Texas-sized gas station chain has developed a cult following since its inception in 1982 for its clean restrooms, ample snacks, kitschy gifts, and adorable beaver mascot, and we are here for it! It’s a fun place to stop and an added novelty to any vacation or day trip.
There are 40+ locations in states all over the south, including its home state of Texas, plus Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, and Georgia. There is one coming soon to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
More states are continually being added to the Buc-ee’s roster; you can check and see if there is a Buc-ee’s coming to an area near you on their website, where the welcome message reads “Potty like a rockstar.” Think about it, if you’re on the road traveling, there’s nothing you’d like to do more than potty like a rockstar and get a delicious snack and maybe a cool hat. Done and done at Buc-ee’s.
If you’ve heard fanciful tales about this large travel center with a beaver mascot that people just can’t get enough of, here’s the truth… it’s amazing. Buc-ee’s is larger than life, and The Guinness World Record-holding nirvana promises the cleanest restrooms, a plethora of fueling positions, plus road snacks that put other stations – with higher gas prices – to shame. What could be better than that?
Just for fun, Pretty Southern has included a list of Buc-ee’s most popular foods:
Huntsville, Alabama, was once a sleepy, farming town that you drove through on your way to Nashville.
Well, folks, stand back because the Rocket City is on the move! Last year, Huntsville officially took the lead as Alabama’s largest city by the population at 215,006, edging out Birmingham for the top spot by just over 14,000 people.
When you think of Huntsville, what comes to mind? Probably a rocket, right? Rightfully so, as Huntsville is also known as Rocket City! Why? It is the site of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command.
Why Rocket City?
Huntsville earned national recognition during the Space Race of the 1960s. During this time, the U.S. government relocated a team of German rocket scientists to the area. It opened a NASA center that would design the Saturn V. This rocket sent Apollo astronauts to the moon!
A landmark rocket now commemorates this historical event at U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Did you know that Huntsville, Alabama is home to the most significant space museum in the world?!
Education is Key
Huntsville residents pride themselves on being the most educated population in the state. They’d have to be, as a large portion of the population works in engineering thanks to the significant presence of NASA and the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal.
The city has a strong tech industry that dominates the area’s local economy. Meaning, highly educated people are moving to Huntsville from all over the United States and the World! Wallethub recently ranked Huntsville among the Top 25 Most Educated Cities in America, and Forbes Magazine named Huntsville one of The World’s Smartest Cities.
Reinvention Done Right
Preserving Southern traditions while building a positive community and infrastructure is what the Rocket City has done. Huntsville’s city center has undergone a major renovation in recent years. An outbreak of new construction downtown means more shopping, dining, and housing options are available. Just west of downtown, an old cotton mill became a bustling arts center, and craft breweries and bars have sprung up in a renovated old middle school.
How cool is that?!
Welcome to the Final Frontier!
Space is the true core of Huntsville’s identity. To get a better understanding of the area’s ties to all things outer space, visitors and residents alike can spend a day touring the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Here, they can learn about the history of space exploration. Also, The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is home to every kid’s bucket-list experience (and maybe some adults too), Space Camp!
Famous author and astronomer Mike Brown, a Huntsville native, has even said:
“I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, a thoroughly dedicated rocket town. The father of everyone I knew—mine included—was some sort of engineer working to build the Apollo rockets to send men to the moon.” ~ How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
Textiles, Art, & History
If space doesn’t interest you, several other cultural attractions might! For example, the Alabama Constitution Hall Park gives visitors an inside perspective of life in Alabama in the 1800s. You can also visit The North Alabama Railroad Museum and the Historic Huntsville Depot, which highlight the history of train travel in north Alabama.
Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment is a renovated textile mill, the largest privately-owned arts center in the southern United States. That alone is reason enough to go! The Mill House artists work in various media, featuring live music and theater, and it also serves as Huntsville’s unofficial fine arts headquarters.
The Huntsville Museum of Art also offers visitors a wide range of pieces across various permanent and traveling exhibits. The multipurpose Von Braun Center downtown hosts concerts, comedy tours, and dance performances, as well as games for the city’s minor league professional hockey team, the Huntsville Havoc.
Diversity in the Deep South
Huntsville has a significant international population, thanks to its high-tech sector. With such great diversity comes a fantastic culinary scene that offers everything from Vietnamese to German to Indian cuisine. In addition to superb international food, the city also provides a plethora of fabulous Southern cuisine, including delicious barbeque and several farm-to-table concept restaurants.
Music & Vitamin-D Vibes
Who doesn’t love sunshine and music? Because the climate in Huntsville is warm most of the year, outdoor concerts and events are easy to come by. The downtown area hosts outdoor shows, movies, and food truck rallies almost every weekend (except in winter). Monte Sano State Park is a favorite with hikers and mountain bikers. Are you a water enthusiast? They have something for you too! Boaters often head to the beautiful, nearby Tennessee River for a day out on the water.
Who Lives in Huntsville?
There’s housing and entertainment for young professionals and suburbs with affordable housing and great schools for families. The city has been dubbed an up-and-coming tech hub, bringing people from all over the world for job opportunities.
Due to the extensive defense and technology sector, it’s also a popular place for military retirees. Higher education institutions in the area – including Alabama A&M University and the University of Alabama–Huntsville – make Rocket City a great college scene as well!
Why is Huntsville Growing?
The Huntsville area was, and is, very resilient to the pandemic and the challenges that have come with it. Since the city is such a large tech hub, many people could work from home and still do so today. Because of this, there wasn’t significant job loss, and many people took telework positions out of Huntsville during the pandemic and later relocated there. It appears that Huntsville is doing something—many things—right!
Whether you’re looking for a new place to call home or a just fun weekend trip, “Sweet Home Alabama” has something for everyone in Huntsville!
Eudora Welty is an iconic Southern writer who brought life to every single word she ever wrote.
When many of us think of Eudora Welty, we probably picture an older lady with silver hair and endless words of wisdom. However, just like us, Welty was once a child too. Her insight was gained through life experiences and influenced by the culture of the Mississippi Delta.
Her words became almost tangible to readers when there was only text, and they often instilled hope and humor during eras of great despair.
The Beginnings of Eudora Welty
Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, on North Congress Street, Eudora Welty was the oldest of three children and a prominent insurance executive’s daughter. Perhaps her love of reading and writing began at an early age, as it has been said that her Mother once risked her life to save her collection of Dickens novels from a house fire!
“I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them–with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.” — Eudora on her work
Unlike many iconic writers, Welty was not a tortured artist; her childhood was pretty ideal. After attending college at the Mississippi State College for Women, The University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Columbia University, Welty finally returned home to her beloved Mississippi.
The Great Documentarian
Returning to Jackson brought challenges as she struggled to find solid job prospects in 1931. She worked in radio and newspaper before signing on as a publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration. This position required her to travel the back roads of rural Mississippi, taking pictures and writing press releases. She might have taken this job out of necessity at first; however, these trips connected her with the same people who would soon shape her short stories and novels and developed her deep love for photography.
Welty’s longtime friend and fellow writer William Maxwell once said: “It obliged her to go where she would not otherwise have gone and see people and places she might not ever have seen. A writer’s material derives nearly always from experience. Because of this job, she came to know the state of Mississippi by heart and could never come to the end of what she might want to write about.”
It has been said that even if Welty never published a single word, she would have likely secured her legacy as a gifted documentarian of the Great Depression through her photographs of that time.
Passion & Heart
Eudora Welty had a tremendous heart. Her observation skills and ability to connect with people were unmatched. Welty attributes much of this to observing her parents as a young child simply because she loved them.
“Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an early form of participation in what goes on. Listening children know stories are there. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole.” ― Eudora Welty, One Writer’s Beginnings
Much like real life, all of Welty’s characters are flawed. Aren’t we all? However, despite their flaws, she still wanted the best for them. You can feel the passion and belief she instills in her characters in almost all of her stories.
Welty was not a Civil Rights activist during the 1960s, and she took quite a bit of criticism for being too quiet during the earlier years of the Civil Rights Movement. However, Welty’s power and voice came from her pen when she wrote: “Where is the Voice Coming From?” Welty wrote this piece overnight in June of 1963 after hearing the tragic news that Medgar Evers had been assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi.
“Where is the Voice Coming From?” is a story narrated by the man who had killed Evers. Welty wrote this, of course, before Byron de la Beckwith had been identified and charged with the crime.
Her imaginative portrayal of the murderer was so accurate that before she published it, she revised it to move the setting from Jackson. The title of her story asks readers where that voice, this voice of hatred and prejudice…where does it come from?
Mississippi Made
Mississippi’s geography, history, culture, and politics are a powerful presence throughout Welty’s writing career. The novel Delta Wedding (1946) and the story “Powerhouse” are set in the Mississippi Delta. Her best-selling book, Losing Battles (1970), is set in the kudzu-covered hills of northeast Mississippi.
Welty was known as one of America’s greatest writers. This title earned Eudora many national and international honors, including a Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel, “The Optimist’s Daughter.”
“Colleges keep inviting me because I’m so well behaved,” Welty once remarked in explaining her popularity at the podium. “I’m always on time, and I don’t get drunk or hole up in a hotel with my lover.” That type of dry wit and modesty was a trademark of Ms. Welty’s!
Eudora Welty’s words are her legacy.
Welty never married or had children and was often mocked for her quiet and simple life. Welty didn’t fit the stereotype of a literary genius as she was not the tortured artist type, nor did she live that kind of lifestyle. Welty was quiet, humble, and did not seek fame, status, or riches. She lived in the same house for more than 70 years! And spoke with anyone who wanted to talk with her; in fact, it was not uncommon for her to invite them in for a chat.
These recollections of Eudora’s social graces are not surprising! She was a woman and a writer who connected so well with not only Mississippi but also the world around her! How else could she write about people and relationships in such a beautiful and authentic manner if she wasn’t truly connecting with people herself?
“As you have seen, I am a writer who came of a sheltered life, a sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within.”
In one of her final interviews before her death in 2001, Eudora Welty was at her home and made a profound comment about her garden in proper Eudora form. “The garden is gone. It makes me ill to look at it. But I’m not complaining. It’s just the state of things.” Welty adored gardening, and mentions over 150 different kinds of plants in her writings.
What a blessing it is to have the words of this wise and wonderful woman to inspire us in our relationships with people and our gardens of life.
Never in my life did I think I’d live in the northeastern pocket of Mississippi, in the hometown of Elvis. This “microtropolis,” with its rolling hills, local culture, and large Magnolia trees, now holds an extraordinary place in my heart.
My family and I never planned on living in Tupelo. We were “Hattiesburgers” through and through. However, a few years ago, a recruiter from North Mississippi called my husband with a job opportunity, and it was just perfect for him! Suddenly, we felt a strong push towards the state’s northern region.
Since I am not originally from Mississippi, I ignorantly thought Tupelo would be like Hattiesburg, and I quickly learned that my assumption was wrong. South Mississippi and North Mississippi are different, but some things remain the same, hospitality and tradition.
Time For Change
Change is hard—especially unplanned change. So, to be one hundred percent honest with you, it took me about a year to adjust to living in North Mississippi. I missed our family, friends, and living close to the beach, plus a million other minor details. I often wondered if we made the right decision. I often expressed my concern about making the right decision too. Bless my sweet husband for his patience during this time. Fast forward a little bit…and I’m so glad we made this decision!
Life likes to shake things up a bit sometimes, doesn’t it? Now that we’ve been here for a few years, there is no doubt in my mind that Tupelo was part of a greater plan for my family and me as an individual.
I can say out loud and confidently that I love Tupelo!
Let’s Talk About T-town
Nestled up in the northeastern part of the state, Tupelo is the only city in the southern United States to be named an “All America City.” Not once, but five times! With good reason too! With local charm and history, there’s a reason why Southern Living selected it as Mississippi’s town for “The South’s Most Storied Streets.”
One of the things I love the most about Tupelo is the incredible local morale and support. Much of our city and the surrounding areas consist of local businesses, and not only do the people who live here support them but so do other surrounding companies. You don’t have to remind people to shop locally here; they already do.
The Tupelo area is full of rolling hills covered with oak trees, pine trees, magnolia trees, and the ever-growing, beautifully green kudzu vines. Cotton fields are in full bloom during the fall, and speaking of fall, we have a little bit of Autumn here! Translation: I can still live in the south and enjoy sweater weather too! In the deep south, a cool breeze is as common as a bagel, but here in Tupelo, the leaves change, and the air gets crispy for a little while.
Most folks know Tupelo is the birthplace of Elvis Presley. On just about any given day, you can visit the small, two-room home that the King of Rock and Roll grew up in. Swing on his front porch swing, and see the neighboring museum. You can also stop by Tupelo Hardware and stand in the very spot where Gladys Presley bought her son’s first guitar. Good choice, Mrs. Presley, good choice!
Main Street, Tupelo is a visual representation of love, loyalty, pride, hard work, and determination. The downtown area of Tupelo has become the heart of the city. It didn’t use to be that way, and so while I love to shop, eat, and walk around downtown, it’s the relentless dedication and effort that’s continuously put into buoying up this city that I love the most.
Downtown Tupelo
Our downtown is a place where everyone is welcome. Diversity, imagination, and faith in a positive present and even brighter future lives within every historic brick and stone that lines these streets. I’m genuinely proud to raise my children in the Tupelo area.
There is something to see on every square foot of Tupelo’s charming downtown. Hand-painted murals can be found on several buildings, while guitar silhouettes line the main street. You can even follow the path of Elvis’s blue suede shoes by looking for blue footprints on the sidewalks.
Pre-Covid, Tupelo hosted several events and festivals that included live music, delicious local food, and great family fun. Its dedication towards enriching personal and family experiences at the local level is simply top-notch.
The Bancorp South Arena hosts several big-name concerts and events, providing opportunities for locals to attend while also inviting tourism and building a more robust economy. These events have slowly but surely been coming back, and it makes my heart sing to see the streets alive again!
Tupelo is genuinely a little-known cultural oasis.
Family, Food, and Fun
My family and I are total Tupelo foodies! The local restaurant scene is fabulous here! There’s something for everyone’s pallet, and you’ll surely be served with a smile. Forbes Magazine named Tupelo as one of the “next big food destinations” in 2019. It seems we’re not the only ones that enjoy the local food here!
My kids and I love to “Park Hop.” There is plenty to do at each park, with duck ponds, splash pads, and disc golf courses too! Tupelo has several beautiful parks to visit that promote beauty, history, and an active and healthy lifestyle.
The Natchez Trace is a national landmark here, and it is gorgeous! Tree tunnels for miles, and you can drive on it from Tupelo to Nashville! You can also walk, hike, or bike the beautiful Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail. Hence, those who are planning to purchase an e-bike may visit this page https://www.aventon.com/collections/step-through-electric-bike-aventon and use the bike for a leisurely ride in these scenic bike trails.
Why Tupelo?
It’s not uncommon for people to ask, “Tupelo? How did you end up there?” I could give a million long-winded explanations as to why or how we ended up in Tupelo. Instead, I much prefer the response of…
“It’s where we are supposed to be.”
Southern charm, mixed with innovation and modern repurposing, makes Tupelo the perfect blend of tradition, culture, and progress. It’s also the ideal place for me and my family to call home.
