Moving from Delaware~Trying to choose between MS and AL

[downtowndoll]

I don't care for Mississippi but I am familiar with these areas. Grew up in O.S. and have family all over MS Gulf Coast. The reason I don't like MS Gulf Coast is the lack of control over housing built around you. You can build a wonderful great-looking house and someone with terrible taste can erect who knows what! And then 5 more people like that build around you!

I would try to live in Ocean Springs if I were you. It tends to be pricier than the other areas. Schools are definitely good there. I'm never embarrassed to say I graduated from there. Class of 87! I had a really nice life there growing up. Sometimes I wonder why I don't want to go back and stop paying all this money for private schools,but I don't. Be very careful with builders; half don't know what they are doing and do shoddy work.

We did live in Vancleave at the beginning of our young married lives. Now looking back, I don't see how I lived there. Well, I do know... we couldn't afford Ocean Springs! It's(Vancleave) supposedly an up and coming place. It is very country and that's just not me. I lived there to please my husband and was forced to have pigs, chickens! Finally, he came to his senses and made me move to Mobile. Anyway, many have moved there from Pascagoula and Gautier, some even from Ocean Springs. There is a nice area to live : the bayou part. Otherwise, it's acreage. My grandparents had a summer fish camp there and it was a magical place. Some parts flood.

There is also the Diamondhead golf resort area right on I-10, north of Bay St. Louis. My in laws live there and I know there is land available to build on.

Woolmarket used to be a bad area, but it isn't anymore. My brother lives in that area on Dogwood Golf Course and there are many nice houses on the way to this golf course. It seems to be a great location, midway. I don't know about their schools because she sends hers to Ocean Springs.

I wouldn't drive back and forth on I-10 from Alabama because the traffic is really bad. Noone will get out of the left lane so you can pass. And with gas the way it is, you need to be thinking closer to work.

[dave311311]

Your best option is to look for something around the Ocean Springs area. They have some of the better schools and lower crime rates than neigbor cities, (higher taxes also).

[PNightbird]

Ocean Springs is a lovely area, but the home prices are high their, as are their taxes, and for my taste it is a bit too congested. It will also be hard to find an affordable home with a bit of land to it, because after Katrina most home prices have doubled it seems.

If you want a safe, nice area to live in, with country charm, privacy and affordable land, then my best bet would be to check out the Saucier area. Saucier is just outside Gulfport, and you are only about 20 minutes away from the beach and casinos. Home prices are still very affordable their, and you can get a great home with a few acres for your pets and other activites. Depending on what your home budget is, if you can afford a higher priced home and would like to live in a luxury development, then I would also recommend looking into the Tradition luxury development being built their, although they somehow managed to have themselves listed as being in Biloxi when they are actually in Saucier..probably has to do with increased market visibility. It is going to be THE premier luxury development in all of MS, and only one of a few in the nation that focuses on creating a friendly, upscale hometown environment with lots of walkways, a town square with it's own grocery store, restaurants, etc..and they are even building a huge private lake, their own theatre, library, etc. It is being built as we speak, but they already have homes available..just keep in mind this is going to be a premiere luxury development, so the home prices reflect this. Their website is traditionms.com

Personally, I would rather just look for a nice home with alot of land in Saucier, as I like my privacy and wouldn't want to live in a development, even a fancy upscale one..lol. There are other developments and homes being built in Saucier, so make sure you take a good look around. Lot's of money is moving into the area, so it's a good time to buy while the prices are still decent.

As for Alabama, Gulf Shores and Navarro beach are my faves, but the prices of homes their are still very high, being beach property..but if you can afford it, go for it. Good luck to you!

[navman]

I live in Gautier, Ms - east of Ocean Springs. My family has lived here since '91 due to my military career. I was on the East Coast most of the 90s until I was able to fanagle orders here in '98. We own our home, it's not bad in Gautier but we're looking around and the best places I see are north of Ocean Springs past I-10. There's growing development there but still lots of acreage too. Saucier, north of Gulfport is okay but the traffic on that corridor is very congested. That area is the most growing development area of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Lots of shopping, outlet malls, restaurants. Back to north of Ocean Springs though. When you hit I-10 you can head west towards D'Iberville (no, don't move there) for shopping right off the interstate (exit that splits south to Keesler AFB and the beach - Hwy 90 and the casinos) or further on to Gulfport. Or head east towards Mobile. Since Gautier is actually closer to Mobile we do our big grocery shopping there because they recently dropped sales tax on groceries in Alabama.
Ocean Springs does have the top rating education-wise for the State, well-above the national average. Ignore the MS state stats for education when it comes to the Gulf Coast overall. The monies from the casinos have helped quite a bit as far as education costs. That's another thing. Don't know if you like casinos but they're spread along Hwy 90. Ocean Spring is connected to Biloxi over a new bridge that goes over the back bay. Very nice, picturesque.
Last note: I was stationed at Pensacola from 2001-2005 and lived in Lillian, Al near Gulf Shores. I traveled back and forth to Gautier on weekends due to the travel distance and traffic. I would NOT commute to Biloxi from Gulf Shores as traffic across the bridge to and through Mobile is dicey. I've been all over the U.S. and consider Alabama drivers to be the worst I've ever seen (Georgia and Louisiana are up there too). That's my .02 worth too.