the seasoned traveler with george bauer

Program 206:

The Gulf Coast: After the Storms

Parts of it have been battered and bruised, devastated and destroyed but hurricanes have not defeated residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast. In fact, new people are visiting all the time and many folks are coming to live out their golden years.

It is America's third coast and the Gulf of Mexico region has known its share of misery. Hurricanes are a fact of life and most of the people who live here, and love it, accept that. When bad weather comes, they take precautions. The victims then repair or rebuild their damaged possessions and start over.


Beaches as far as the eye can see...

The Gulf Coast stretches more than 15-hundred miles from the southwestern tip of Florida to the Texas-Mexico border: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

I decided to visit the region because I know its charming communities and because many people have decided to settle down here in retirement.

I'm starting in Florida, home to some 16 million people, a fast-growing retirement kingdom. I've decided to start in the northwestern part of the Sunshine State.

And what better place to begin than St. George Island, an upscale spit of land off the Florida mainland. St. George claims to be one of the last inhabited but unspoiled islands in America, although its inhabitants are becoming more numerous. There's a long stretch of beautiful beaches, clear Gulf waters, fishing and shell fishing in the Gulf and in Apalachicola Bay, not to mention pristine marshlands and wooded areas. A state park on the eastern tip of St. George is probably how this area looked before the first developer brought in an earth-mover. Some call this "the real Florida". During World War Two the park was used by American troops for training exercises in the dunes that stretch across the park.

The original causeway, built in 1965, led to increased use of the island for recreational activity by mainlanders. That span is now a truncated fishing pier while a new bridge takes visitors from the mainland. Supporters say the strict building codes have preserved St. George. Houses are generally upscale and prices escalate rapidly. Many homes are rented for several weeks of the year to city folks from Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville. And once many renters arrive, they fall in love, looking for property of their own.


Kayaking is very popular...

Mainland towns include Apalachicola, Mexico Beach, Port Saint Joe, and Panama City, then you come to the picture post-card called Seaside. It made a giant splash in the architectural world when developer Robert Davis carved out a modern Victorian town with narrow streets, picket fences, and homes arranged close together. That was a quarter-century ago and it has spawned other towns that seek to emulate it.

Seaside was featured in the 1997 film 'The Truman Show'. The house used as Truman Burbank's "residence" is actually someone's real home but folks still flock by to take photographs. Seaside's Post Office is among the smallest in the country but very busy and at the foot of each street there's a distinctive beach Pavilion, nine in all.

Next stop: Destin and Fort Walton Beach, with a rich history dating back to American Indians, as early as the 7th Century. Destin traces its more immediate roots to a fisherman, Captain Leonard Destin. He moved from New London, Connecticut, settled here in 1845, and he never regretted the relocation. Captain Destin pioneered the fishing industry here and the community has maintained it ever since but visitors come here for more than just seafood.

The beaches here boast what locals say is sugar white sand, which is actually minute particles of quartz. That attracts new visitors, 40 percent of whom become new Florida residents. With them come more homes, condominiums, and businesses. Some beautiful white dunes have been leveled so new beachfront dwellings can be constructed. Okaloosa Island was nothing but dunes until half a century ago but not so today. Many worry about the growth, more homes, more traffic, more pollution, more crime.


Dolphins of Destin...

Destin is one of only three places along the Gulf coast where pods of dolphins remain close to shore. You can take a boat ride out into the harbor to get a closer look.

Northwest Florida was a victim of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 but was spared the wrath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Crossing the border into Alabama, it's Sweet Home Alabama to four and a half million people. It has a small expanse of coastline, harmed by Ivan and Katrina. In fact, Ivan did more damage here than Katrina. The cleanup was slow but residents along the shore were determined to rebuild and go on. Damage was less severe away from the water's edge and inland Gulf Shores has attracted many empty-nesters and retirees.

One of the local sites nearby is Fort Morgan, where the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay was fought. A ferry takes visitors from here, across the bay, to Fort Gaines and Dauphin Island, Dauphin is a bird sanctuary which reminds me of St. George Island. The birds are getting more company every year, as new houses go up across Dauphin Island.

Despite the hurricanes, the magazine "Where to Retire" in 2004 picked the Alabama coast as one of eight desirable coastal communities.

High on the bluffs of the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, Fairhope has long been known for its parks and its pier, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina but is restored. The high ground proved a blessing, buildings on the bluffs survived, while those down below were damaged badly.

When the weather is fine, if you stand on high, there are dramatic views of the Bay. There's a vital downtown, full of shops, restaurants, galleries, and flowers. Come here any time and there'll be flowers in pots along the major streets.

Fairhope is not your typical town, in many ways. It was settled in 1894 as a dream of individuals seeking their own economic Utopia. They espoused the theories of Henry George, who advocated a single tax scheme for entire communities.

According to legend, one group member said the new colony had a "fair hope of success" and the community of Fairhope was born. The single tax formula remains in effect today in many parts of the town.

Fairhope became a city in 1908. It's always been a resort town. Early visitors came by Bay boat from Mobile to vacation in small cottages and hotels along the bluff top. Vacationers still come today while others come to stay, among them writers and artists. Dean Mosher is one of those artists. As we sat in the living room of the castle he's building, he told me about the company he keeps, as writers Winston Groom and Fannie Flagg live nearby.

Fairhope has an arts center, with special programs and events all year long.


Grand residences of Mobile ...

Cross Mobile Bay and you come to Alabama's main port city and many would say, it's most beautiful community. Mobile is a blend of French, Spanish, British and American Indian. And, of course, its culture is deep south. Locals say it's a smaller version of Savannah and Charleston. There are quaint city squares and fine homes in grand old neighborhoods. The city was struck by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but has come back.

And it takes pride in a not-well-known claim to fame: America's first Mardi Gras in 1703, more than a century before the first fiesta in New Orleans.

Mobile is an arts and culture center in the mid-South and it has a terrific museum complex. Fort Conde is part of it, once a working military garrison where residents defended themselves from invaders, often attacking from the water. And Mobile is the final port of call of the USS Alabama. The big storm tilted the ship but it's been righted, repaired, and reopened for business.

Another stateline crossing brings me to the Magnolia State. Mississippi has nearly three million residents.

My Mississippi sojourn starts in Ocean Springs. It was just one of the coastal communities here savaged by Katrina, although the historic downtown district was not damaged too severely. Ocean Springs was settled by the French, in 1699, part of the vast central region of North America. The town aged gracefully, commemorating its heritage along oak-shaded avenues, and encouraging artists, potters, and performers to settle here.

One of Mississippi's best-known artists hailed from here. Walter Anderson was an eccentric who lived in town and made major contributions to it. He's been called the van Gogh of the South.

The cranky artist had two brothers, Peter Anderson and James McConnell Anderson. All three were potters at Shearwater Pottery, located right on the Gulf. Sad-to-say, the gallery and many prized pieces of pottery were destroyed by Katrina but the family salvaged some works.

The very same issue of the retirement magazine that picked Gulf Shores as a leading beach community also chose Ocean Springs.

Next door is Biloxi, from the Indian word meaning 'first people'. All the people suffered from Katrina, notably the hotels and casinos.


Grand Casino Biloxi ...

The casinos are here in an ironic twist of history. Biloxi had been a resort town for years but it began to decay. Then in 1969, a major storm called Hurricane Camile devastated the city. That paved the way for big changes. In 1992, the State of Mississippi allowed legalized gambling along the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River. That helped revitalize this region, at least until another destructive force, Katrina, barreled through. The state enacted a new law: no longer do casinos have to be floating in the Gulf, they can exist on land. As the casinos rebuild, the gamblers are returning. Seasoned travelers from across the South come to play; gaming is the city's leading economic engine.

Also damaged heavily by Katrina was the Jefferson Davis Home and Library in Biloxi, called Beauvoir. Davis was the first, and only, president of the Confederate States during America's Civil War. The private group which runs the complex sought help to restore the home and library to their former condition.

The 2005 hurricanes claimed other victims. The Gulf Coast has long been heralded as a leading shell-fishing area. Biloxi was once the shrimping capital of the United States. The storms sealed the fate of some shrimpers and hurt many others.

Another town in the hurricane's path was Pass Christian and here the damage was severe.

Built by wealthy New Orleans residents who wanted to escape the city, Pass Christian had the South's first-ever yacht club, established in 1849. The docks are back in business after being battered by Katrina but the yacht club building took longer to reconstruct.

Much of downtown was washed away or damaged but residents are fighting back. Many stately antebellum homes were harmed by the water and wind in 2005 but residents here vowed to return the town to its former beauty.

The small-but-select nature of the town is what drew many people here and keeps them here. The beach stretches from one end of town to the other and the city prohibits any homes or condos near the water.

Since 1900, hurricanes and tropical storms striking the Gulf Coast have killed more than nine thousand people and caused billions of dollars in damages.

The infamous non-named Galveston hurricane, which struck the Texas coast on September 18, 1900, was the deadliest storm in U.S. history. More than 6,000 people perished when storm surges up to 15 feet, swept over the island community.

Hurricane Carla, September 10, 1961, was one of the largest and most intense Gulf Coast storms. 46 people died.

Hurricane Betsy, September 8, 1965, killed 75 people along the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Camille, August 17-19, 1969 was very destructive and left 256 people dead. The damage estimate: 5 billion dollars.

Hurricane Andrew, August 26, 1992 did extensive damage to Florida and Louisiana. 15 people died but it had been the costliest storm in U.S. history...until Katrina ripped through the region in 2005.

If you are thinking of retiring to this region, here's the financial picture:

Florida has no state income tax. Retirement income is not taxed but there is an intangibles tax on the value of investments. There's no inheritance tax and property taxes carry several exemptions.

In Alabama, the state income tax ranges from 2-5 percent, based on income. Social Security, military, civil service, government, and qualified private pensions are tax-exempt. Property taxes are low and there's no inheritance tax.

And in Mississippi, the state income tax goes from 3-5 percent. Social Security, civil service, government and qualified private pensions are tax-exempt. I-R-As are exempt too and so are out-of-state pensions. Military retirement pay is tax-free. Property taxes are low and there's no inheritance tax.