re: Tupelo - good place to live?

My wife has family in the Tupelo area. We visit there a lot, and I always enjoy going there. My favorite restaurant there is a place called Harvey's. It's kind of a blend between Louisiana and delta land cuisine; a bit heavier on the delta cuisine side.
If you want an even smaller town feel that still only about 30 minutes from there, someone else mentioned New Albany. That's a nice little town, and it would be a little bit closer to Memphis which has plenty of direct flights.

ETA: Back in my father-in-law's Hay Day, he leased some hunting land near Tremont (about 30 minutes East of Tupelo) where he's killed some really nice heavy antlered bucks. There's definitely good white tail hunting up there.