Advantages & Disadvantages of Moving to Mississippi

You think about moving to Mississippi but want to learn more about the state, overall quality of life, housing market, living costs, entertainment options, nature, safety, public infrastructure, income prospects, job market and much more before making your final decision in this regard?

Great! This article is exactly for you since I will show you the pros and cons of living in Mississippi in the following chapters.

Living in Mississippi – Overview

Advantages of Living in Mississippi

1. Living costs in Mississippi are rather low
2. Property prices in Mississippi are below national average
3. Buying a home is still affordable for the general public
4. Rents are pretty reasonable in most parts of Mississippi
5. Many housing options for people moving to Mississippi
6. Housing shortage will not be a big problem in the foreseeable future
7. Low overall financial pressure for people living in Mississippi
8. You don’t have to make a really good income to afford a decent lifestyle
9. It is not all about money in most parts of Mississippi
10. You can meet many great guys and gals in Mississippi
11. People in Mississippi are often pretty helpful
12. You can make many social connections in the big cities of Mississippi rather quickly
13. People in the big cities are usually pretty tolerant
14. People in Mississippi can live a rather relaxed life
15. Mississippi is not a crowded state
16. You will have more than enough public space for yourself
17. People in Mississippi are often less career-focused than in other states
18. You may be able to make many friends for a lifetime
19. Many people in Mississippi can still live the American dream
20. You can experience a pretty original version of the American lifestyle in Mississippi
21. Living in Mississippi may help you go back to the roots
22. Mississippi may be a great state to live a self-sufficient life
23. Mississippi is not the most hectic state
24. Traffic jams are rather rare in most parts of Mississippi
25. Finding a parking lot in Mississippi is not a big problem
26. You can enjoy warm and humid summers in Mississippi
27. Mild winters are attractive to many people moving to Mississippi
28. Mississippi has a coastline
29. You can enjoy yourself with nature activities in Mississippi
30. People in Mississippi have an incentive to spend lots of time outdoors
31. You can get lots of fresh air in Mississippi
32. Many people in Mississippi exercise in a natural manner
33. Decent medical infrastructure in the big cities of Mississippi
34. You don’t have to worry about running out of important goods of daily life
35. Many recreational spaces in Mississippi
36. Mississippi is not flooded by tourists yet
37. Living in Mississippi may help you slow down your life
38. Mississippi may be an interesting place for retirees
39. Mississippi may still be an underrated state

Living costs in Mississippi are rather low

One advantage of moving to Mississippi is that living costs are pretty low and this is great since you don’t have to spend as much money on drinks and many other nice things as people living in California or other more expensive regions where the overall price level is often much higher.

Property prices in Mississippi are below national average

Not only living costs are pretty low but also property prices are fairly cheap so you don’t have to spend a fortune on buying a home and your mortgage rates may also be much higher compared to people moving to much more expensive regions.

Buying a home is still affordable for the general public

Thanks to pretty low property prices, buying a home is still feasible for the general public in Mississippi and they also have a rather easy time saving up enough equity for making a down payment while people moving to Washington D.C. or other regions where property prices are much higher are often in a much more difficult spot and it may take them much longer to fulfill their dream of owning a home.

Rents are pretty reasonable in most parts of Mississippi

Another upside to moving to Mississippi is that even in case you don’t want to buy a home, also rents are still pretty affordable and you therefore don’t have to spend a lot of money on housing but will have more money left to spend on other nice and important things of life.

Many housing options for people moving to Mississippi

When moving to Mississippi, you also don’t have to worry about finding a decent home since there are so many housing options in this region and you often don’t have to search for a long time to find a decent place to stay while people moving to Seattle or other more popular places often struggle in this regard much more.

Housing shortage will not be a big problem in the foreseeable future

Since Mississippi is not the most popular state, not as many people from other states consider moving to Mississippi and demand for housing is therefore pretty low in many regions which is great for you since you can find a decent place to live rather easily and housing shortage will likely not be a serious issue in the foreseeable future.

Low overall financial pressure for people living in Mississippi

Another benefit of moving to Mississippi is that the overall financial pressure you have to deal with will be rather low since living and housing costs are much lower than in many other states and you may therefore not have to worry about money as much as many other people in the US.

You don’t have to make a really good income to afford a decent lifestyle

Thanks to rather low living and housing costs, you also don’t have to make really good money from your job to afford a decent lifestyle and may therefore not have to work as many extra hours to make a living as people moving to San Francisco or other much more expensive regions.

It is not all about money in most parts of Mississippi

While people in many other regions often just care about how much you make and about your material things in general, many people in Mississippi are more genuine and real and rather care about your character instead of what you have and hanging out with those people can be a great feeling since you will feel appreciated for who you are and don’t have to play a role you actually don’t want to be.

You can meet many great guys and gals in Mississippi

In general, you can meet many great people in the Mississippi region and enjoy lots of interesting conversations with each other so you will learn a lot about life and may also become more tolerant by listening to those stories and experiences.

People in Mississippi are often pretty helpful

You should also know that many people in Mississippi are pretty helpful and this is great during the first days and weeks when you are still new in this place and often need someone who can give you directions or help you out on various other occasions of daily life.

You can make many social connections in the big cities of Mississippi rather quickly

Since you can meet many interesting people in Mississippi, you can also make many new social connections rather quickly and don’t have to worry about becoming socially isolated, at least if you are an open and tolerant person and also know how to behave.

People in the big cities are usually pretty tolerant

You can also meet many tolerant people in the big cities of Mississippi and you therefore don’t have to worry about your origins and your background and can rather enjoy your life with many interesting people in this region.

People in Mississippi can live a rather relaxed life

Since overall financial pressure for people living in Mississippi is rather low, you can also live a rather relaxed life in this region since you don’t have to worry about money as much as in other states and may therefore have more energy to really enjoy your life with the things you like more than just working.

Mississippi is not a crowded state

Another advantage of living in Mississippi is that it is not the most crowded state.

In fact, population density is rather low and instead of running into large groups of people on a regular basis, you will be able to live a rather quiet life in this region which helps you relax quite a lot in the long run.

You will have more than enough public space for yourself

In general, people in Mississippi have lots of public space for themselves and during periods you want to hang outdoors but don’t want to talk to other people since there are things on your mind that need to be addressed on your own, you will find many locations where you can just sit down in a nice spot and think about complex problems and how to solve them.

People in Mississippi are often less career-focused than in other states

Since people in Mississippi are often not as career-focused as in many other states, they often have more time to hang out with you and life in Mississippi may therefore be more interesting compared to living in other regions where people just rush from one meeting to the other without having the time to participate in social life at all.

You may be able to make many friends for a lifetime

Another upside to living in Mississippi is that you will also be able to make many friends for a lifetime since you can meet many genuine and real people whom you will be able to really rely on and this high level of stability can be great since you know you will have people who will be there for you during difficult periods of your life.

Many people in Mississippi can still live the American dream

Thanks to rather low living and housing costs, many people in Mississippi are still able to live the classic American dream including owning a decent car, a nice home and so on while this will often be impossible for people moving to Los Angeles or other places where property prices are often far too high to live this kind of lifestyle unless you make really good money from what you are doing.

You can experience a pretty original version of the American lifestyle in Mississippi

Many people in Mississippi also still live a pretty original lifestyle as many people in former times have done and you can therefore honor your ancestors by moving to Mississippi and live in line with natural forces close to natural environments as well.

Living in Mississippi may help you go back to the roots

Since you can live a pretty original lifestyle, this also enables you to go back to the roots and to live a pretty simple lifestyle for a while so you will see how hard life can really be and after this period of time when you go back to normal life, you will appreciate our modern technologies much more.

Mississippi may be a great state to live a self-sufficient life

If you no longer want to be dependent on society, you may also want to move to Mississippi, buy a large piece of land and grow your own food and raise farm animals since land prices are rather low and living this kind of lifestyle may therefore be more feasible in Mississippi than in many other more expensive regions.

Mississippi is not the most hectic state

Another upside to living in Mississippi is that it is not a really hectic state.

Instead, many people in Mississippi live a rather quiet and laid-back lifestyle and if you don’t want to have the trouble that comes along with living in big metropolitan regions, Mississippi may be an interesting place to live for you.

Traffic jams are rather rare in most parts of Mississippi

Since population density in Mississippi is rather low, traffic jams are also rather rare and you will therefore be able to get around by car in most parts of Mississippi in a pretty efficient manner while people moving to Chicago or other crowded places often lose lots of time in traffic on a daily basis during rush hour.

Finding a parking lot in Mississippi is not a big problem

Since there are not many cars on the roads, you also don’t have to worry about finding a parking lot in Mississippi in most regions and will find more than enough opportunities to park your car close to your home even if you don’t have a garage.

You can enjoy warm and humid summers in Mississippi

Another benefit of living in Mississippi is that you can also enjoy warm and sunny summers so you can get tanned and many hours of sunlight may also get you into a pretty good mood.

Mild winters are attractive to many people moving to Mississippi

While people moving to Alaska or other cold regions often have to deal with strong winters, people in Mississippi can enjoy rather temperate winter months and rarely have to deal with snow and other annoying things that may come along during cold periods.

Mississippi has a coastline

Even though it is rather small, Mississippi still has a coastline and if you live close to the coast in the south, you will be able to go surfing and swimming on a regular basis which can make your life in Mississippi just much more interesting.

You can enjoy yourself with nature activities in Mississippi

There are also many nice things you can do in nature in the Mississippi region.

For instance, you can go fishing, hunting or camping and can enjoy your time in natural environments so you can relax from your stressful life and reload your batteries for the challenging times that may still lie ahead of you.

People in Mississippi have an incentive to spend lots of time outdoors

Since there are many nice things to do in nature, you will also have the incentive of spending lots of time outdoors and this may also get you into a really good mood while people living in other regions where they often just spend lots of time indoors and just sit in front of their computers all day long may not feel as well in the long run.

You can get lots of fresh air in Mississippi

Since you can spend lots of time in nature, you can also get lots of fresh air and this allows you to get lots of oxygen which is crucial for your body and your brain to work properly.

Many people in Mississippi exercise in a natural manner

Since you can spend lots of time fishing, hunting and with other nature activities, you will also burn lots of calories in a pretty natural manner and there may not be the need of going to the gym as many other people have to do after work.

Decent medical infrastructure in the big cities of Mississippi

As long as you move to the biggest cities of Mississippi, you will also find decent doctors and hospitals where you can get proper treatment for possible health conditions.

You don’t have to worry about running out of important goods of daily life

In most parts of Mississippi, you also don’t have to worry about running out of important goods since overall supply of material goods is pretty decent and you will find many things you need rather close to your home.

Many recreational spaces in Mississippi

In the big cities of Mississippi, you will also find many parks and other recreational spaces where you can relax quite a lot and also reload your batteries during lunch break or after work so you may be able to stay balanced in the long run.

Mississippi is not flooded by tourists yet

Since Mississippi is not the most popular place among tourists, you will also not run into large groups of tourists on a regular basis and while tourists often congest the streets in other big metropolitan regions, you will have a rather relaxed time in this regard in most parts of Mississippi.

Living in Mississippi may help you slow down your life

Since Mississippi is a rather relaxed state, moving to Mississippi may also make quite a lot of sense in case you want to slow down your life and need some time for yourself since there are many things you can do on your own in this region and you will also not have to deal with many hectic people in this region.

Mississippi may be an interesting place for retirees

Since there are many nice and free things to do in nature and living and housing costs are still fairly low, moving to Mississippi may also be a great idea for retirees who don’t have a high pension but still want to live a decent lifestyle in their older years.

Mississippi may still be an underrated state

Since there are many nice things to do in nature and living and housing costs are pretty low, Mississippi may also be considered an underrated place to live right now and by moving to Mississippi, you may be able to make a real bargain and may be able to enjoy many nice things at an affordable price level.

As you can see, there are many reasons for moving to Mississippi.

However, there are also many drawbacks of living in Mississippi I want to talk about in the following so you can get a more comprehensive picture of reality and may be better able to decide for yourself whether you still want to move to Mississippi or rather want to live in Alabama or other interesting regions instead.

Disadvantages of Living in Mississippi

1. Nightlife is not great in most parts of Mississippi
2. High unemployment rate in Mississippi
3. Low-qualified people have a hard time finding decent jobs
4. Low income level in Mississippi compared to the rest of the US
5. Hard to get rich in Mississippi
6. Mississippi doesn’t attract many ambitious and talented people
7. Hard to find really good education in most parts of Mississippi
8. Hard to build a strong business network in most parts of Mississippi
9. Managing your daily life may be really exhausting in the rural parts of Mississippi
10. Above-average crime rates in Mississippi
11. Mississippi may not be the most exciting state
12. Not many big cities in Mississippi
13. Entertainment options in many regions are rather limited
14. Moving to Mississippi may not make sense if you don’t like nature activities
15. Living in Mississippi may get boring in the long run
16. Many young people consider leaving Mississippi
17. Mississippi may not be a great place to study
18. Mississippi may be too hot and humid for you
19. Lack of real seasons may become annoying for many people moving to Mississippi
20. Poor public transport in most regions of Mississippi
21. Finding good doctors may be a real challenge in the rural parts of Mississippi
22. You may not be able to meet many international tourists
23. You may miss cultural diversity in Mississippi
24. Not many great foods to try in Mississippi as in many other regions
25. Hard to get to many rural parts of Mississippi
26. Internet connection is not really great in many remote regions
27. You may miss fancy shopping options in Mississippi
28. Mississippi may not be the most popular state
29. Storms and other natural disasters may damage or destroy your home
30. Homeowners insurance is about to get more expensive in Mississippi in the future
31. Rather questionable future outlook for Mississippi
32. Many people in Mississippi live rather unhealthy lifestyles
33. You may have a hard time finding great museums in Mississippi

Nightlife is not great in most parts of Mississippi

One problem with living in Mississippi is that it is often pretty hard to find decent bars and clubs in this region, especially outside the big cities where party people will often not find what they are looking for and may become pretty sad about overall nightlife in Mississippi in the long run.

High unemployment rate in Mississippi

You should also not forget that Mississippi has to deal with pretty high crime rates and it may therefore take you a while until you find a decent job when moving to Mississippi since the job market in many regions is often pretty difficult.

Low-qualified people have a hard time finding decent jobs

Especially if you don’t have solid education, moving to Mississippi may be pretty risky for you since you may not find a decent job anytime soon and may have to work multiple low-wage jobs to make a living which would be really exhausting in the long run.

Low income level in Mississippi compared to the rest of the US

You should also keep in mind that overall income level in Mississippi is pretty low and while people moving to San Diego or other high-income regions will be able to make lots of money, you may have much lower income prospects in Mississippi in the long run.

Hard to get rich in Mississippi

Due to the rather low income level, moving to Mississippi may also not be a great idea for you in case you want to get rich as quickly as possible since this will be almost impossible as an employee and you may rather want to move to higher-income regions instead.

Mississippi doesn’t attract many ambitious and talented people

Another downside to living in Mississippi is that it often also doesn’t attract as many talented people as other regions and you may therefore also not be able to hang out with many ambitious people and may not get the same fancy career opportunities as people moving to bigger metropolitan regions.

Hard to find really good education in most parts of Mississippi

While you may find solid education in the urban regions of Mississippi, finding good education in the rural parts of Mississippi can be a real challenge and you may therefore not be able to get the best education possible and may therefore struggle in the labor market later on.

Hard to build a strong business network in most parts of Mississippi

Since it may be pretty hard to find many really ambitious and talented people in many regions of Mississippi, you may also have a hard time building a strong business network and it may therefore be harder for you to climb the corporate ladder and you also have worse career prospects in the long run.

Managing your daily life may be really exhausting in the rural parts of Mississippi

Since distances are often pretty long, managing your daily life can also be pretty exhausting.

For instance, it may take you quite a long time to bring your kids to and pick them up from school and this may be true on various occasions of life so you may lose lots of time on organizational topics and may have less time to enjoy your leisure.

Above-average crime rates in Mississippi

Another disadvantage of living in Mississippi is that it is also not the safest state and you may have to deal with rather high crime rates in many cities of Mississippi so you may just not feel safe and comfortable in the long run.

Mississippi may not be the most exciting state

While there are many nice things to do in nature, Mississippi may still not be the most exciting state and if you are the type of person who needs action 24/7, you may be better off moving to Vegas or other much more vibrant regions.

Not many big cities in Mississippi

You should also know that you will also not have many really big cities in Mississippi and if you love big city life, you will therefore likely not get happy with the Mississippi lifestyle in the long run.

Entertainment options in many regions are rather limited

Since there are not many big cities in Mississippi, also overall entertainment options may be rather limited and you will just not have as many exciting things to do as in bigger metropolitan regions where you will just have more action and entertainment options on a regular basis.

Moving to Mississippi may not make sense if you don’t like nature activities

Before deciding on moving to Mississippi, you should also take an honest look in the mirror and ask yourself whether you really like nature since in case you don’t, you may not get happy with your life in Mississippi in the long run since many leisure activities in this region are done in natural environments.

Living in Mississippi may get boring in the long run

Since there may not be as many exciting things to do in Mississippi compared to bigger metropolitan regions, you may also get bored with the Mississippi lifestyle in the long run and may want to leave this region rather soon.

Many young people consider leaving Mississippi

Another problem with moving to Mississippi is that many young people out there also consider leaving this region since there is simply not enough action for them and labor market conditions are rather poor and if you are still rather young, you may just not find many other people of your age to hang out with.

Mississippi may not be a great place to study

Also in case you are a student and consider moving to Mississippi, you may be better off studying in Chicago or other regions where student life and educational infrastructure may be much better and where you can also really enjoy your life as a young person.

Mississippi may be too hot and humid for you

You should also know that Mississippi is a rather hot and humid place and in case you can’t deal with this sort of tropical climate, you may just not get happy in this region in the long run and may be better off moving to Illinois or other cooler regions.

Lack of real seasons may become annoying for many people moving to Mississippi

In general, it is pretty warm in Mississippi all year long and you will therefore not be able to enjoy real seasons and may not be able to do winter sports as many people living in cooler regions which may lower your overall quality of life quite a lot in the long run.

Poor public transport in most regions of Mississippi

Another downside to moving to Mississippi is that public transport is not great in most regions and you therefore urgently have to rely on your car to get around which can be a real issue in case you are no longer able to drive since you may just be not mobile enough to live a decent lifestyle in this region.

Finding good doctors may be a real challenge in the rural parts of Mississippi

While you may find solid medical treatment in the biggest cities of Mississippi, you may still miss good medical infrastructure in the rural regions of this state and in case of medical emergency, it may take you a pretty long time to get help if you live in remote regions of Mississippi.

You may not be able to meet many international tourists

Since Mississippi is not the most popular state among tourists, you may also have a rather hard time meeting many people from all over the world and this may make your life less interesting compared to people living in regions where they can talk to people from all over the globe on a regular basis.

You may miss cultural diversity in Mississippi

You should also know that the overall level of cultural diversity may be rather limited in many regions of Mississippi and you may therefore not be able to experience as many different lifestyles in this region as in many other areas of the US.

Not many great foods to try in Mississippi as in many other regions

Since cultural influences in many parts of Mississippi are rather limited, you may also not be able to try as many delicious and diverse foods as in many other regions and this may lower your overall quality of life quite a lot.

Hard to get to many rural parts of Mississippi

Another disadvantage of moving to Mississippi is that many rural regions are not well-connected to the world and your loved ones may therefore have a rather hard time visiting you, especially if you want to move to rather remote region.

Internet connection is not really great in many remote regions

While you may find solid internet connection in the big cities of Mississippi, internet connection still gets increasingly worse once you get outside of those urban regions and you may therefore have a hard time staying connected to your loved ones and you may also not get important information in real-time if you move to a region in Mississippi with rather poor internet connection.

You may miss fancy shopping options in Mississippi

You should also not expect to find many fancy boutiques or other shopping opportunities in most parts of Mississippi and in case you are a shopping victim and want to follow fashion trends on a regular basis, you may be better off moving to a region where fashion might play a bigger role.

Mississippi may not be the most popular state

You should also know that Mississippi may just not be the most popular place in the eyes of many people out there and your family members and friends may therefore not understand your decision of moving to Mississippi and you may have to justify quite a lot in this regard.

Storms and other natural disasters may damage or destroy your home

You should also be aware of the fact that storms, floods or other natural disasters may damage or even destroy your home which could cause serious financial damage in case you don’t have proper insurance.

Homeowners insurance is about to get more expensive in Mississippi in the future

Also in case you get solid homeowners insurance, you should still know that insurance premiums will likely go up significantly in the future due to climate change and living in Mississippi may therefore get much more expensive in the future.

Rather questionable future outlook for Mississippi

Due to high unemployment and crime rates, also the overall future outlook for Mississippi may be rather questionable and overall quality of life in many regions may also drop significantly in the long run.

Many people in Mississippi live rather unhealthy lifestyles

You should also know that many people in Mississippi just do not care about proper nutrition yet and you may therefore also adopt some of those unhealthy characteristics into your own life which may harm your health quite a lot sooner or later.

You may have a hard time finding great museums in Mississippi

You should also not expect to find many great museums in Mississippi and in case art is really important to you, you may be better off moving to New Orleans or other places where art plays a much bigger role.

Top 10 Moving To Mississippi Pros & Cons – Summary List

Is Mississippi A Good Place To Live?

While Mississippi can be a great place to live since living and housing costs are still affordable and you can spend lots of time in beautiful nature, you should still know that crime and unemployment rates are pretty high, income levels are low and public infrastructure may also not be really great in many regions.

In the end, it is on you to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of moving to Mississippi so you can make the best possible decision according to your individual preferences.

Most Popular Cities To Live In Mississippi – Comparison

Alternative States To Live

If you no longer want to move to Mississippi, you may also want to have a look at the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Minnesota

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Massachusetts

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Michigan

Sources

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/MS

About the author

This site is about living, moving and traveling to various parts of our fascinating planet.

My name is Andreas and when I was younger, I traveled the world and learned a lot about different cultures and countries.

Thus, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can benefit from them and avoid common mistakes in this regard.

In my articles, you will find everything you need to find the best location for a happy and successful life.