M. Suzi Gravenstuk, Independent Broker

If South Mississippi beckons you, be sure and visit the Spring 2010 Local Resource: Newcomers and Visitors Guide .

However, please remember that this edition is similar to the MLS. Only participating advertisers are listed. There are more hotels, restaurants--well, more everything!

No one entity can actually list everything. I also can't think of a person or company that has the ability to advertise in every media. My point is--I believe you will enjoy the online magazine; just remember there is more.

One of my favorite articles is: South Mississippi: A Natural Habitat for Birding, by Meaghan Chapman, Photography by Olivia Graves. If you have read any of my blogs you are already somewhat prepared for an extraordinary bird life experience along the MGC. Believe me, you do not have to visit a wildlife habitat to be totally amazed by the very active and abundant bird population. I think I should add loud and very happy as well. Just sit outside awhile anywhere close to the coast--you will feel like you are in a jungle or a bird sanctuary just by the sounds of nature.

The following information is gained from the Gulf Coast MLS. My search query focused on methods of financing, pend to close time, and areas of recent activity. (GO North Gulfport!) Other data is thrown in for good measure:-)

58 Closings in the last week (ending March 24, 2010). 16=Cash, 17=Conventional, 12=FHA, 8=VA, 3=Other, 5=?

Average DOM=129, High DOM=297, Low DOM=22. *DOM is unreliable unless looking at the complete history of a listing!

Area closings were: Pearl River-1, Bay St. Louis-2, Diamondhead-4, Pass Christian-1, Long Beach-3, Gulfport North-11, Gulfport SE-4, Vancleave-2, Gautier-2, Moss Point-2, East Jackson County-2, George County-1, West Harrison County-1, Stone/Perry Counties-2, Biloxi-2, Biloxi North-1, Woolmarket/Harrison County-2, D'Iberville-1, St. Martin-3.

Today's closings (also in the above group):

George County-1 Cash, (Pend 3/22/10-Close 3-24-10),240 DOM, Original List=$199K, Closing=$145K

Biloxi North-1 FHA, (Pend 2/10/10-Close 3-24-10), 208 DOM, Vacant

Gulfport North-1-FHA, (Pend 1/29/10-Close 3-24-10), 145 DOM, Owner-Occupied

Gulfport North-1-VA, (Pend 2/26/10-Close 3-24-10), 34 Dom by last listing agent, on market from 08/07. Originally listed at $265,000. Vacant.

In closing--there must be some VERY happy buyers/new residents in the Mississippi Gulf Coast at this time.

The purpose of this summary is to give an overview to those thinking of buying or selling in the MGC. Perhaps it may be useful as a very general guideline.MLS data is only as reliable as the persons who enter it. The Gulf Coast MLS, nor I can be responsible for inaccurate reporting.

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Are you ready to start working on your -deal of the century-?

Let's say hypothetically that you are thinking of relocating to Mississippi. The Mississippi Gulf Coast especially appeals to you. Possibly, you just want a change of scenery for awhile. It makes sense to stay in a town that centrally located to the other coast towns. So, you choose Long Beach, Mississippi.

Excellent choice! We are thriving. Aside from that, the nearby towns are--near by... If you want to enjoy yourself and NOT drive, take CTA's Beachcomber tour. If you would like to stay where you can not only soak in the beach view, but simply walk across the highway to the beach, the Holiday Inn Express, Long Beach is the premier choice. (Click for your reservation, or call direct:300 Beach Boulevard West, Long Beach, MS 39560-6007, (228) 868-9178).

Okay, let's say you had a good night's sleep and youare ready to enjoy the beach. You walk outside, look both ways, and cross the highway. Get some good exercise if you feel like it. Take your shoes off, walk barefoot in the sand, or wade walk for good exercise. Just remember you are sharing the water with sea creatures (mostly little fish that close to the beach).

On second thoughts, wear beach shoes. However, I cannot resist walking barefoot in the sand:-)

When you walk or drive, .3 of a mile West, you will be at Jim Simpson, SR. Memorial Pier. This is also the intersection of Jeff Davis and HWY 90. Jeff Davis and Interior Long Beach deserves merits its own discussion. Just remember, there is more to Long Beach than the beach. (Ok, for starters--up Jeff Davis we have a sonic, LiL Rays Poboys and a couple of other cafes near by).

We estimate the Pier to be .1 mile long. I will make a note to measure it soon. So, from the HIELB to the Pier, down the pier and back you have 1/2 mile. It is about .3 of a mile from this pier to the Long Beach Harbor Pier.

You may conveniently book your charter...

Then let's say you want to go on down to Long Beach Harbor from the pier. It is between .2 and .3 miles. At this time LBH is constructing new showers and changing stations, so we look a bit messy.

So, now you may be a bit hungry, even though you had the complimentary breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express--hey, you are on R & R, so enjoy yourself. Choices, choices. If you want to stay on the beach--you could do fast food: McDonald's, Burger King, Waffle House...all three are nearby. But, maybe you would rather visit the only full service restaurant on the beach (in Long Beach). Juan Tequila's Mexican Steak and Seafood has recently opened. Click the hyperlink for more information, or here's the scoop: Extensive moderately priced menu. 306 East Beach Boulevard (Hwy 90), Long Beach, MS. 228-867-2906. Sombreros off to this group of friendly restaurateurs.

Well, we didn't get very far. By the time you make your way back to the Holiday Inn Express you have about 1.25 miles in. Remember to enjoy the

Highway 90/Beach Boulevard is constantly changing. If you haven't visited recently, you need to come back. This post highlights only a small section of the Mississippi Gulf Coast; yet Long Beach is an excellent location to stay because it puts you within a reasonable reach of the rest of the coast. If you just want to kick back awhile, Long Beach is one of the quieter areas of the Coast, yet has about everything you could possibly need.

If you visit and you fall in love with the coast as I did--give me a call. I am experienced at relocating to the MGC myself.

No sales pitch here--just the truth. This has got to be the optimal time to buy into the MGC.

What a game! Unforgettable Super Bowl 44--CONGRATULATIONS, Saints

An odd thing about this post--I hope Google Spiders look on it kindly because some folks are actually going to be looking for it. So, I took a leap of faith and told them to use search strings with Long Beach, MS in them. We will see how that works:-)

Hey, if you move to Long Beach and a high school student is in your family--well, it might be time to be grateful. We are a level 5 school. You may hear complaints from students that we are poor school district.

OK, once my daughter actually complained about LBSD being "poor". She named off a few deficiencies. "Well, dear--I think we should pack right now. We can move." Come to find out--though the building has issues and some "things" are a bit dated; most of her teachers and most of her friends are irreplaceable. So, now the deal is that we cannot move until Skye graduates, and probably not then, either.

Well, it depends on how you look at things. Long Beach is a separate independent school district. Of course we are part of Harrison County, but Long Beach Schools are not a part of the Harrrison County School District. Despite funding challenges because of being so independent (sounds like, me), Long Beach time and again scores high in testing and frequently scores highest marks in competitions of all kinds.

Thank you--dedicated Long Beach Teachers!

Posing with Mom's permission.

I will post more photos later, for now--I want to get this up to Congratulate New Orleans' Saints.

PS: I learned an interesting tidbit today from a visiting couple. Ironically, of all the people in the crowd to speak to, I chose the ones who were visitors. Come to find out, they are from Pennsylvania and (pay attention here) had learned about the parade when the stopped at a rest center on I-10. ...Just in case you have ever wondered about advertising at visitor's centers.

Long Beach usually has more people turn out ,but this time we had some of the media stating 1PM and some of the media stating 2PM as the beginning time.

One awesome aspect of living in the Gulf Coast is that you scenery can change quickly, as well as methods of relaxing. Incidentally, your cellular service may also change quickly. Along Highway 90 and town areas North of I-10 you should have no problems with signal strength.

When you get into the rural areas of Hancock and Harrison Counties, you should plan in advance for lack of signal, particularly if you are AT&T subscribers. I hear from locals who have lent me their phones when my AT&T signal is nonexistent that Verizon, Cellular South and Boost Mobile are better choices for rural areas.

(Most services work well near the coast, even out on the water from what I hear.)

Do not expect AT&T service in rural Hancock and Harrison counties.

I hope others will comment here about their cellular experiences in South Mississippi.