I wanted to come back to this, as it's more valid than we're giving it credit.
Mobile has the best of all worlds. It's a port city with a major river. It has the benefit of the water, yet it's tucked back off the actual coast, which gives it protection from hurricanes. And, it has access to true vacation beaches in Baldwin County.
Then take Gulfport/Biloxi, arguably MS' best place to live and work in a semi-urban built up area. It's RIGHT on the water, thus susceptible to hurricanes. Then you take into account that most Coast people go East or West to do their shopping and entertainment. And two major coast employers, Stennis and Ingall's, likely have a workforce also coming from East and West. Then of course, you have no natural tourist beaches. It's like a no-win situation. So while our Coast has its cool factor and its casinos, it's always going to be limited by all those factors, especially compared to the NOLA and Mobile Metros. Just like anywhere in MS, you'll have to attract people who want the laid back lifestyle, and are alright without the city amenities. That's fine, but for a hundred years in the US growth has been concentrated in urban areas and cities.
Mobile's not perfect, though. They are messing up their airport situation for sure. But it's got a strong core. That's why I always come back to the Jackson Metro being the real 'chance' we have at that urban area, because it's got the state government and, at minimum, is the business center for central MS. But without that urban core it's always just going to be a suburban mess with no identity, and people will only live there because they have to, i.e. a job, being close to family, etc. Geography will always be a killer, though. People love to talk about access but it's still 3 friggin' hours to Memphis and NOLA and a haul to DFW, Houston, Atlanta and Nashville. Dang near 2 hours just to even get to Starkville.
