Letters to the Editor
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2 Bits
I agree with everyone on option 2, but after you get over the whole collapse-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-in-Tupelo-MS bit, do realize that cost of living differences will make it harder for you to pick up and just move to the Big City up northeast. I know, NYC and Boston are great, but be prepared for a major dose of sticker-shock...
Also, it sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it too. You want to be a city girl, but you also want to start spitting out kids before you're "past your prime." Well, it's kinda hard to have it both ways, because most folks up north are even LESS inclined to marry quickly and start having kids...but the fact that your current fi-ance is a knuckle-draggin' brute that clearly doesn't want to have childrens doesn't bode well either, so you might as well pick up the pieces and move on...there are plenty of other fish in the see, and you're still very young.
Being a Southern gal in the northeast will make for some interesting conversation for people up there...but I wouldn't let that be a deterrent, especially in regards to dating. But as progressive as you claim to be, you'll almost feel out of place in comparision to the liberal masses you'll encounter up there (the dichotomy of a liberal Democrat with a conceal-n-care handgun license is rather amusing to most Yankees).
The suggestions below to going to Athens, Atlanta, etc. are all very good...if you REALLY want big city flair, come out here to Dallas or Houston...cost of living is very low compared to other big cities, you should be used to the heat out here coming from Da South, and things are a bit more racially diverse (and tolerant), especially with the large hispanic population here. Sure, TX is a red state at present, but in 10 years time, hispanics will be running the major metro areas any way (they own Dallas County now), and they are overwhelming Democratic when they vote.
I'll throw a bone to KC and St. Louis as well, and the Raleigh-Durham and Baltimore/DC areas up north would be a good transitional area for a Southern gal to move to. I think your best strategy is to move to a major city somewhere near the South, get used to how that kind of life is, then take the next step to a major metro area. It sounds like you can continue to go to college online, and since you have no other real baggage (other than yo' man), there's nothing stopping you.
Come on, take the plunge!
Just remember: "You're gonna make it after alllllllll...."