I am an immigrant from the Philippines. I arrived in Pascagoula and the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1988. I have been to the 45 states of the United States, but I still preferred to stay in Pascagoula and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. If you are raising a family, and I have four children who went through public school of Moss Point and Pascagoula/Gautier Public Schools for their Elementary and Middle School. The first two children got scholarships for the Mississippi School of Math and Science for High School and the second two were not interested to apply for the same school as their elder siblings had done but, instead they chose to stay in Pascagoula High School where they graduated and have participated in the Pascagoula Show Choir where they have garnered First Place awards for their years competing in regional show choir competitions. All four of them graduated college, with two having graduate degrees, and all are now responsible citizens contributing to the economy of the nation with their own careers. This would not have been possible if the environment in Pascagoula is not conducive to family building, good education with a caring community, and a place with unique culture of the deep south common to many communities along the coastal cities of the Gulf states. Pascagoula is and has been a melting pot of people and cultures, rich in diversity of food and people. This city may not satisfy the other needs of the community like big shopping malls, and places for fun and recreation for children and adults, but our needs are served by neighboring communities, cities and states where eating places or restaurants are abundant for options, big malls for shopping, theaters for movies, museums for culture and entertainment, coliseum for concerts, and lastly, beaches for picnics and fun in the sun. Harvesting vegetables and fruits from farms are just half an hour to two hours away in New Orleans. Pascagoula is in Jackson County, together with Harrison County and the Mississippi Gulf Coast used to be the oyster capital of the world. Nowadays, it is part of the coastal cities that offers a variety of fishing, or kayaking fun in creeks, rivers, creeks, bayous, and in the Mississippi Sound. It is an industrial city after all so, it may not offer freshly desired smell of everyone certain times of the year, but whatever smell it has early morning or afternoons during certain months of spring and fall, it is the smell of money, industry and work that can support families and their children. Economic pursuit to afford the standard and cost of living of anybody who works around here, support a family, pursue higher education and compete in the marketplace. It is a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina but had rebuilt slowly and methodically, to answer the needs of the community residents who chose to remain and rebuild. It is still rebuilding although, many of the grand houses facing Beach Boulevard have not rebuilt, the Beach Park, the Point and the Pier is enough to make up for the comfort of beach lovers and recreational fishermen. The glory days of Pascagoula where the jobs available were served by personnel locally and from neighboring states dwindled from more than 18,000 in the labor force to about 4 digit strong now, but it is still an industrial city that is proud to serve the country by building boats for domestic use and for international export filling orders of foreign countries especially ships that serves the country in keeping the country safe. Mosquitoes, gnats, water moccasins and alligators are part of living near bayous which is a necessity for a good and healthy environmental habitat to support terrestrial critters and marine animals like turtles, frogs, fish, etc. When you are living near the water and nearer the equator, humidity is natural and expected. The place is not for everyone to love. It may not be a paradise in the tropics or in the four-season states, but it is a community with affordable standard of living, average standard of education comparable to other states, a city with great medical support of clinics, doctors, nurses and specialists for the city's medical needs, a place with spectacular sunrises and sunsets, picturesque bayous and beaches, and a lot of places for spiritual growth and nurturing of one's spirit. Pascagoula have its own share of crimes and transient vagrancy, with some cases of drug problems but our Police force and Sheriff personnel are one of the best trained in state of Mississippi. They are respectful and very helpful. The people are friendly. the city hall and city mayor are public servants who cares. It is a city with hometown feel to it. If you want to live in Pascagoula, have a need to belong to the community, find yourself a church and when you do, they will welcome you into their community. Pascagoula has a lot of churches. Because of Covid, some churches had to close down but we still have a lot remaining to survive. Welcome to Pascagoula.
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