Texas Gulf Coast vs Mississippi Gulf Coast (homes, casinos)
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Neither is my favorite as far as beaches go. That being said, South Padre Island is gorgeous, though it's a long way from just about anywhere! On the Mississippi coast, I don't care for the beaches at all, but I do love me some Ship Island which is just off the coast.
OP, the Texas Gulf can be divided into two halves. The upper half around Houston/Galveston has more populations, ammenites, cultural diversity, and lucrativity... but the beaches aren't so great. Whereas the lower half around Padre Island has low residential prosperity and population, but very beautiful beaches with a near tropical climate ...
But unless you really, really enjoy casinos and gambling, there's no real advantage to the Mississippi Gulf over either half of the Texas Gulf. The beaches of Mississippi aren't any better than what is seen along the upper Texas Gulf, while also having colder winters, rainier climate, and less diversity in tropical plantings and urban amenities. That gap in beach weather and vegetation gets even wider the further you head down the Texas Gulf. And with the sand and water becoming more and more beautiful, you eventually get South Padre, a party-perfect, exotic, tropical, Latin beach experience matched only by peninsular Florida herself.
Mississippi's gulf coast I'm fairly certain is the only place on earth to combine the Gulf/Mississippi Sound, sugar white beaches, lush green lawns, massive live oaks, and elegant historic mansions/homes in cute towns right along the beach... such as Pass Christian, Bay St. Louis and Ocean Springs.
Usually in places with historic homes by the water, they are along the intercostal waterway or along bays, etc, rather than on the open beachfront. Or they are modern homes on the beach and without the green lawns, huge oaks, historic homes and charming small towns.
I don't think I've seen that particular combination anywhere else, and in those towns on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that have survived Camille and Katrina, it's indeed melt-in-your-mouth beautiful.
The big downside to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for me is the lack of surf, since the water is shallow due to the offshore barrier islands. It's like a long, white sand beach on a ginormous lake. People in nearby New Orleans, for example, will bypass the Mississippi coast to vacation along the much more beautiful Alabama and Florida beaches.
Mississippi's true, actual gulf beaches are on the four barrier islands (Horn, Ship, Cat, and Petit Bois) that run roughly in line with the Alabama beaches on over to Florida. They are a national park and can only be accessed by people who go out on their own boats and by a ferry in the summer out to Ship Island. It's a blessing in that Mississippi's gulf beaches are totally pristine, but most people never see them which is a bit of shame. I think a monorail of some kind out to the islands would be cool. Maybe one day..
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