How about Mississippi?

Taking Situation X out of the picture how does Gulfport, Mississippi or just Mississippi in general stand from a survivalist point of view?
We have been offered a very enticing package to move down to the Gulfport area and I am looking at the pros and cons, wanted to ask the experts about it as well. Yes I know about the Hurricanes, we would be livinh inland and would run for the hills at the first sign, I also realize the situation X scenario would not be good for that area but once again we would plan in advance.
What do you guys think?

You couldn't pay me to live in Mississippi.
First off, it's the poorest state in the country.
Second, it's the poorest state in the country.
Third, the hurricanes. I've never been in one, and don't plan to ever be in one.

I wouldn't want to live in an area prone to flooding/hurricanes. I'd suggest moving to Montana. Very few people, very rural state. Thats where I'm hoping to move someday. Whitefish, Montana.

reply to post by SEEWHATUDO


Ooooh... I don't know about that. Let's face it, if Sit X went down you'd be hard pressed to "Run for the hills." It's awfully hard to get out of Mississippi under normal circumstances - let alone when 5 million other people are making a run for it as well. Unles you have experience in swampland survival, you're not likely to find many places to "hide out."

As someone else already pointed out, it is the poorest state in the US. I duno, doesn't seem like such a great idea when the only direction to run is North and everyone else will be doing it too.

Gulfport, Mississippi has very few roads out of town. But you do have DeSoto National Forrest about 20-25 miles away. From what I remember driving throught the area the land is somewhat swampy so gators and poisonous snakes are a reality. Now if your situation would include being able to afford a good sized boat (or at least knowing how to use one if the need to "appropriate" comes) escape options become better.

The people in the area are on the whole friendly. But passing through versus living there could make a difference. Now not knowing where you live, in the deep south they don't take kindly to Northerners. You may have to prove your worth. Also racism, while not as bad as 60 years ago is still pretty rough.

Local foods will be an interesting difference compared to what you may be used to eating. A bowl of soup beans (white beans) and cornbread is considered a meal. As is gumbo. Wildlife for survival is plentiful and diverse fish, deer, fowl. Lots of variety that Midwest, West and East can not boast about.

Recreation consists of hunting and fishing and other outdoor pursuits like sporting events (read college/high school football), bowling, going out to eat, and of course church.

If you are still an outsider then a nod to people talking in a group or a polite and subdued hello as you walk past them speaks volumes about your charctacter. Once you build trust enough to be invited to a cook out, by all means go. Take note of the menu. Plan to invite others that hosted and attended to a cook out of your own in a week or two. Make your menu the same or very similar. In other words being social is a way of life there.

A final word on shrimp, always check to see if it has been pealed before eating. In otherwords if you haven't pealed it yourself, no one else has.

Guns are a way of life, most people will have one or two hunting rifles, a 12 gauge and a pistol or two for personal defense (which is refered to as "for shootin' snakes"). So a person in a conversation would say that they "got a Remmington .22, Mossburg 500 and a .38 for snakes."

There are military bases in the area. Which can be good or bad depending on the situation. If you have the land for it, a small garden and some chickens are a good idea. Can what you grow and don't be afraid to offer a sack (mess) of green beans or corn if you are having a good crop to people that year.

Edit to add that odds of getting a social network estabished is faster. The people already work together to weather storms and bad times. Survival as a small group is usually better than going it alone. As campy as it was look at Gilligan's Island as an arguement of group dynamics versus individualism. None of the charatcers would have made it on their own. But as a group they had resources. The Howells had raw materials, the Professor had adaptability of materials for manufactoring, the Skipper had area knowledge and authority (gov't), Maryanne cooked (service industry), Gilligan was raw labor and Ginger was arts and entertainment (comforting distraction for stress reduction). It is hard to do all these things well as one person. Being able to do all these things is important to survival.

[edit on 11-1-2008 by Ahabstar]