Should we move to Mississippi???? (Jackson, Gulfport: 2013, rent, insurance)

[juls1985]

A family of three from Omaha, Ne thinking of making Biloxi, MS our home? We're in our early 30's and have a seven year old son. Please if you can tell me what its like to live there?. Is there work? my DH is an electrician and i work in the insurance industry. Are the schools good? Also why are houses so cheap??? ( nice homes under 200,000.00 ) these are the only questions i have for now. Thanks

[An Einnseanair]

The first question to ask it, "WHY are you planning on moving?" Is there a specific reason you picked Biloxi? Are you looking for a place nearer the beach than Omaha? Is it because of the military base? Do you have family/history in the area?

Pulling up stakes and moving across the country is a phenomenal task and a huge risk if you don't have any ties to the area. Especially if you don't have jobs lines up before moving.

Also, the cheaper houses are probably in flood zones with astronomical insurance rates. Do lots of research on the FEMA maps (search this forum) and hurricanes.

All that said, it's quite possible that Biloxi is the town of your dreams and you will live a long and happy life there.

[juls1985]

Thank you very much for your response. . Yeah, we want to be close to the ocean. We have no family ties in the area and most of our family lives in the west coast. Our home is paid off here in Omaha an could easily rent it for 1200 a month. We just feel that our son is getting older we want to start roots in a place we can be happy. I know visiting a place is so different from actually living there and that's why I started this thread. :-)

[brickpatio]

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is a lovely part of the country. For schools, you can check schooldigger.com which ranks all the schools across the state based on test scores.

The top schools on the Coast are in the cities of Diamondhead (Hancock County), Ocean Springs, Pass Christian, Long Beach and some in Gulfport and Biloxi. You would have no problem finding something affordable in either Long Beach or Ocean Springs, both just blocks from the ocean.

The economy in this area is okay and the area is growing. However, it's not booming in the same way as Florida, North Carolina, Atlanta, etc. However, that can also be a blessing as it's not crowded and it's fairly free of crime or traffic etc. Overall I would describe the culture as middle class and working class with an egalitarian feel.

Location is a big asset for the Coast as they are just an hour from New Orleans and two hours from Florida. And the weather is nearly perfect if you like a warm climate, with average daily highs in the winter around 60 degrees.

[juls1985]

Thank you much. HAPPY that it's not booming since that's not what we're about. We want a decent jobs,want a modest home and buy a nice fishing boat and spend time with our little, but happy family. Mississippi sounds wonderful.

[Southern man]

Originally Posted by juls1985

Thank you much. HAPPY that it's not booming since that's not what we're about. We want a decent jobs,want a modest home and buy a nice fishing boat and spend time with our little, but happy family. Mississippi sounds wonderful.

The coast is nice, but before you buy a house, get a quote on insurance. Insurance is much cheaper north of
I-20.

[juls1985]

Thank you that's good advice I will definitely get quotes.

[mikestrong]

To me though beach is ok, the water is muddy unless you get past the barrier islands.

[GrandviewGloria]

Omaha is one of my favorite cities. I own commercial properties in a good many American cities, and I travel a lot. We've gotten VIP treatment in places from Shanghai to Milan to Moscow. We have a house in Aspen, and have rented houses in the Malibu Colony. But I LOVE Omaha.

I consider it to be one of the most fun cities in the world. It does not hurt that there are huge, beautiful men, everywhere you look: Poles, Belgians, Swedes, Norwegians... But it's the goodness of the people, and their lack of psychic damage, which sets Omaha apart. They're witty. They're not guarded. They're honest. They're a joy to be around.

The people of Iowa may surpass Nebraskans, just a bit, where kindness and goodness are concerned. Minnesota may have more, bigger, sweeter and smarter blonds. But Iowans have heavy psychic damage from the Farm Crises. And Minnesotans are altruistic to the point of absurdity (which was fine, when it was 'just them', before non-Scandinavians started invading the frigid steppes the Swedes and Norwegians turned into a paradise, and exploiting their altruism: http://images2.dailykos.com/i/user/1...air_poster.jpg , making the locals hate themselves for being nice, smart, and well-behaved, as if it were their fault that others aren't).

I realize that horrible people from horrible places are flooding into Nebraska, now. But the Heartland isn't the only place it's happening. The West Coast (as your cousins have surely told you) is getting a virtual tsunami of disadvantageous immigration. So is the East Coast. So is Florida. So is Texas. And the VOLAGS (https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wor...lags-for-2008/) are seeking out each and every nice place remaining in America (especially the ones where there are good "services for the poor", public transportation, and "jobs") in order to settle colonies of nasties from the four corners of the globe. The Gulf Coast (which, demographically, is an extension of South Louisiana) was getting equally horrible people in the NINETEENTH CENTURY. They had high birthrates, and there are even more of them, now. I should know. My 'Real Daddy', who lived around New Orleans, but who had "bidnis interests" on Mississippi's Coast, was from a vile country, and continued that vileness, during his life in America. Most recently, Hurricane Katrina brought in a NEW problem population.

America is being MURDERED. And, right now, you're in one of the last good cities. Things are even worse, elsewhere. Moving to the Gulf Coast would be like jumping from the frying pan, and into the fire.

Here's a book which describes, pretty well, what the Coast is like. It's kinda old, and cartels from another country are taking over the crime, since Katrina. But things have not changed too much, in the ensuing years. You'll notice that not just the Perps, but the Victims, and even the Author, are pretty slimy. That's the Coast for you. Mississippi Mud: Southern Justice and the Dixie Mafia: Edward Humes: 9781439186657: Amazon.com: Books

Middle Class people from 'the rest of Mississippi' have traditionally avoided the Gulf Coast. Just as South Florida is not considered, by Southerners, to be a part of the South, Mississippians do not consider the Gulf Coast to be "really part of Mississippi". The state's big criminal politicians tend to come from there, and their campaigns really downplay their origins. Even before gambling was legal, it was a place where Mississippi's more dissolute menfolk would go, to gamble and consort with prostitutes. It was NOT a place considered by nice people, for family vacations.

[Ankhharu]

As someone who has picked up and moved to another state, site unseen, no job, I see nothing wrong with that part. But where you are wanting to move to....uh....Please. Don't. I'm from the area. Born and bred Mississippi boy. I was born in Pascagoula and left as soon as I graduated.
The beaches are not nice. Muddy and a bit polluted. It is not a place to take your son to enjoy the sun and sand. My 17 years of living in that area, my family and everyone I've ever knew always drove the 1+ hour(s) to Florida if we wanted to go to the beach, and we never lived more than 15 minutes from the water. What does that tell you? I haven't been back since my dad's funeral, but I would imagine that if they haven't put up more concrete barriers to keep the beach from eroding, they are due soon. Either way, it's not a pretty site.

Hurricanes are a real threat and insurance is always looking for a way to skip out on paying the bill no matter how long you've been with them. A guy I graduated with is currently living in a mobile home after losing his home toKatrina was not the first and won't be the last Cane to slam Biloxi. The area just doesn't offer anything to risk facing that problem. If the beach was gorgeous, I could see it.

Crime. Corruption. In adjacent county (Jackson) Mike Byrd got away with "murder" for 30 years before the Feds finally moved in. Mike Byrd, Mississippi Sheriff, Indicted On 31 Charges
And after all the lives this so called Sheriff ruined, he's walking around a free man. He wasn't the first, and he isn't the last. Too many people in the south think they are a friend to the "good ole boys" running that state, just because they are white. They think these good ole boys are only taking advantage of minorities, and they are simply ok with that. That is not the case.


Having lived in 7 states, I meet people who often romanticize the south and wonder why I left and never want to go back. It's not all pretty magnolia's, spanish moss and plantation homes. There are only little pockets of that. It's mostly pine trees, hot, very humid summers, racism, stubborness, and a general attitude of "you should live the way we want you to live." If you moved, I think you'd regret it in a heart beat.