Program 103:

The Gulf Coast

America is often called a bicoastal nation. We talk about the East and the West Coasts, the beauty of the Atlantic from Maine to Florida, and the Pacific from Alaska to California. But there’s a third coast in the United States, often overlooked but every bit as charming as those in the East or West. The Gulf Coast is not only a wonderful vacation destination but, for many folks, a great place to spend the retirement years as well. The Gulf Coast is a huge geographic arc, stretching some 1,500 miles across five states from the southwestern tip of Florida to the city of Brownsville on the Texas Mexico border.

Beaches as far as the eye can see...

On this program I travel to parts of three states along the coast. I begin at St. George Island, Florida, a remarkable island connected by causeway to the Florida mainland. No high-rise condominiums here, just beachfront homes and low-rise apartments. Many homeowners rent their properties to the hordes of summer and winter visitors from places like Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville. Farther west, there is a trio of inviting towns: Seaside, Destin, and Fort Walton Beach. These are well-run communities, with miles of white, sugar-sand beaches beckoning vacationers (the sugary appearance is from minute particles of quartz). Thousands of people have discovered this area as a place to call home. Seaside is especially appealing, bright and clean; it served as the backdrop for the motion picture The Truman Show. It’s a walkable town, with everything close together.
Many people move to this part of the country because of the tax and other financial incentives. That’s particularly true for the folks of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Founded on utopian principles, the community is funded by a single tax system: Residents hold renewable ninety-nine-year leases on their property, and the single tax colony pays the taxes. You can see how well the system works by looking at the downtown shopping area, festooned with flowers year-round, and the lovely marina on the bay with its charming pier.
Mobile is the old-time charmer of Alabama, the state’s chief port and the first American city to celebrate Mardi Gras, well before the natives of New Orleans. There are some fine older neighborhoods here to go with Mobile’s civic pride. There’s pride, too, in the state’s contribution to military history, as the USS Alabama is docked along the waterfront.

Kayaking is very popular...

The Mississippi coastline is dotted with cities like the shipbuilding center of Pascagoula, the South’s new casino center at Biloxi, and appealing smaller towns of Ocean Springs and Pass Christian.
Of course, no place is perfect, and this region has suffered repeatedly from hurricanes. Four major storms affected the Gulf in 2004 and another blew through in 2005, bringing death and devastation to a wide area. Residents here know the risks and prepare themselves each June to November for the storms.

For information on Florida's Emerald Coast (from Destin to Fort Walton Beach), contact the Emerald Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-322-3319, or visit www.destin-fwb.com/

For information on the Mobile Bay area of southern Alabama, contact the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau at 251-208-2017 or visit www.mobile.org/ You can find the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau in Gulf Shores at 251-974-4625 or visit www.gulfshores.com/

For information on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, try the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce at 228-875-4424 or visit www.oceanspringschamber.com/ or the Pass Christian Chamber of Commerce at 228-452-2252 or visit http://www.businessfinance.com And if you are thinking of retiring to the Gulf Coast, go online to each state and inquire about taxes for retired Americans.