Mississippi is a state known for having a classic southern style. Mississippi real estate is some of the cheapest in the land. Named after the Mississippi River, Mississippi is a state holding on to its history. Much of the state is farmland and even the towns and cities seem to have eschewed modern development for a more familiar past. In an odd bit of trivia, the state is the biggest producer of upholstered furniture in the country. It goes without saying that Mississippi is a state with a turbulent history, particularly during the civil rights movement. The state was the quintessential southern state and plantations and antebellum mansions can still be found throughout the state. Racial relations have come a long way, which has left the state with the glorious culture of the old south without as many of the racial issues.

Jackson is the state capital of Mississippi and a hidden gem in the south. The city has somehow managed to mesh old southern hospitality with a rapidly growing high tech industry. While that sounds like an odd mix, it works. In fact, Jackson has been voted one of the most livable cities in America by numerous publications. Jackson is a town with a lot to offer from both a cultural and practical perspective. There are 11 colleges in town, a symphony, opera and multiple museums covering the history of the south and the civil rights movement.

Tupelo is known best for being the birthplace of Elvis Presley. With a celebrity like that, Tupelo has made a major effort to capitalize on the fame. Tourists flock to the city to see the first home, school and so on of the infamous one. Notwithstanding Elvis, Tupelo is a pleasant city with golf courses and such. There isn’t much to recommend it nor is there much to criticize. Mississippi real estate is universally very inexpensive. A home in Tupelo will set you back roughly $160,000 while you’ll pay $220,000 in Jackson. In 2005, Mississippi real estate appreciated at a disappointing 5.5 percent, one of the lowest rates in the nation.

The Mississippi State is home to some of my favorite things- catfish, sweet potatoes, and rootbeer (invented in Biloxi in 1898). Mississippi’s Treasury Department has also become home to something that’s on top of my list and probably yours as well – money. Mississippi unclaimed money, to be exact. “Nearly 1 in 5 Mississippians have money representing over $38 million that needs to be claimed,” stated Mississippi State Treasurer Tate Reeves in a recent press release. This is certainly good news for the numerous families that suffered hurricane losses in recent years, and are now dealing with serious setbacks in their budgets.

According to a recent report by NBC’s Dateline, a number of lucky Mississippians were recently reunited with their lost funds and it was actually a pleasant shock for most of them. A Biloxi, MS resident found out he had $30,000 from an investment his deceased father didn’t tell him about. A couple who had lost everything to the recent hurricane received $250,000 from Mississippi unclaimed property. Another woman who was struggling to rebuild homes for her mother and herself received $100,000. Gordon White, was in the middle of building his dream home when Katrina hit and was forced to live in a trailer had $200,000 from bank stock shares his father had kept secret. One of the biggest claims given-out yet was to a Vietnam veteran who was forced to retire from his job as a company supervisor due to post-traumatic stress. Turns-out he was owed almost a million dollars from old company stocks he had forgotten about after retiring from said company.