Mississippi often has a bad reputation, and that’s for understandable reasons. The state, which became the 20th to join the nation in 1817, gets its name from the famous Mississippi River. Its early dwellers were indigenous communities of the Choctaw and Natchez tribes, among others. During the first half of the 19th century, Mississippi’s economy was largely based on plantations. The state was the top cotton producer in the nation and the institution of slavery was widespread. 

After the American Civil War, Mississippi’s economy essentially tanked, because of the abolition of slavery. Still, racial discrimination has endured on for centuries, and the state was the center for much of the Civil Rights Movement. Mississippi’s Delta region along the northwest part of the state is one of the poorest regions in the nation. To this day, some of the state’s more conservative forces linger on and have managed to pass some restrictive laws like a ban on critical race theory. 

However, just as the state still battles with forces of discrimination, there are vanguards of change within the state, who are really helping it blossom like the state flower of the magnolia. In 2017 for example, the state opened a large Civil Rights Museum in Jackson. In 2020, the state finally replaced its official flag in an effort to showcase how it’s reconciling with its past. 

Jackson is a majority Black city and is highly diverse, with numerous amenities and events that showcase how much more modern the state is trying to become. Moreover, communities along the coast tend to be more laid back and welcoming. So, if you’re looking for that type of environment to live in, why not consider the capitol or beachfront condos for sale? Mississippi Gulf Coast has plenty. 

Let’s do the numbers first. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Mississippi’s 3 million people are about 57% white alone, 38% Black, less than 1% indigenous, about 1% Asian, and 4% Hispanic. So, Mississippi has one of the largest Black populations in the country. The population also tends to lean more middle-aged, with the majority of people sitting between the ages of 18 and 65. 

Certain parts of the state are more diverse than others. Jackson, Mississippi is about 82% Black and 16% white alone. Meanwhile, Biloxi is 63% white alone, 20% Black, and 5% Asian. Part of the reason why the coast has a higher Asian population has to do with Vietnamese refugee resettlement. After the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people moved to the United States. And a large chunk of them moved to the Gulf Coast so that they could continue to work in the seafood industry. A lot of Vietnamese people continue to do shrimp farming, which is common in Vietnam. Unfortunately after Hurricane Katrina, much of the coast’s seafood industry was shaken by an oil spill, but the Asian community is certainly trying to revitalize it. 

So certainly, if you’re looking to move to an affordable, beautiful beach coast, with a diverse population of people,  a condo in Biloxi Mississippi or nearby condos in Gulfport Mississippi might be suitable for you. Fortunately, there are plenty of Mississippi Gulf Coast condos for sale. All you need is a real estate company that wants to help you find the best deal and not try to make a massive profit off your home.

Mississippi is a long state. To drive from Gulfport to Memphis on the edge of Tennessee would probably take about 9 hours. So naturally, the weather is also variable. At the northernmost edge of the state, the weather tends to be quite hot in the summer and quite cold in the winter. 

But along the coast of Mississippi, the weather is more tropical. The water from the Gulf Coast brings in warm humid air during the summertime and tends to linger into the winter months. The coast can get cold, of course, but that doesn’t last very long. And fall is just a blissful time across the entire state.