I give this state a 3 only because of how unspoiled it is.  if you are on the highway all you will see is grass/prairies/woods.  I only give it a 3 because there is nothing to do, very plain/boring, and the farther south you get, the more the more you feel you are in redneck territory.

Not much to see here.

I've driven through Mississippi a few times and have always had good experiences.  Natchez and Vicksburg are scenic, pleasant cities; the Natchez Trace is beautiful; the food and music are good.

Want a dose of reality? The racism in Mississippi is mainly coming from the blacks towards whites. I never thought negatively of blacks until I came here & got called every racist name in the book by nearly all black folks! It was disgusting....I had nothing to do with slavery & I will not take the blame for it either. They can't pass a white person without muttering something racist... it is shameful how they cry "RACISM" & get away with it. No, it is the OPPOSITE, but people are too spineless to admit this.

The violence and danger of the ghettos are the ONLY negative aspect of Mississippi! Too many people are poor while they work their butts off & that is not right. However, the food is AMAZING, there are so many historical sites & the weather & beaches are breathtaking! The rain & thunder are UNIQUE in this state & not dull like in other places... the fresh sea air is so cozy & I ADORE the sweet people:)

CHEESE CAPITOL USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!! +!!

I lived in Greenville, MS for 6 months, and did not travel much of the State. That said, perhaps my review is for Greenville, which was a true craphole. By far the worst city(of perhaps a dozen) that I've lived in. Nice history in that region of MS(the Delta) if you listen to the Blues. I had fun at the Belzoni, MS world Catfish Fest. Enjoyed Vicksburg National Battlefield. That's it. Unfriendly folk.

Mississippi is the greatest state ever! We are yankee free. We have sweet tea & we live out to our nickname "The Hospitallity State". We have made the term of being "southern" cool by rockin
the camo shirts. It't all about front poarch siting, hunting, fishing, church, fellowship, & hospitallity. Mississippi is one of the nations most wonderful treasures!!!!!!!

Glad to see Mississippi near the bottom of the list.

I still owe them a $50 parking ticket.

Tupelo has lots of pretty girls with some of the cutest accents that I have ever heard. The NE is the best part of this state. I liked the beaches on the coast but wasn't too impressed with the towns themselves. Jackson is a decent town but doesn't rate among my favorites. Stay out of the Delta! Most of it is shantytowns. Everything averages out to a 3.

I spent quite a bit of time in the hill country. It's charming and the people are courteous and friendly. UPDATE: The narrow mindedness on this site is incredible. The above comment, rather bland, acquired 2 helpfuls and NINE unhelpfuls between June 14, 2005 and December 16, 2005. That is a hoot! What chthonic realms harbor those trolls?

Nice people, great culture, excellent food. The Biloxi Mississippi casino is off the hook. These people down here are real friendly and down to earth people. People take real pride in religion and it is progressive unlike Northeast states like Massachutsetts (dirty liberals), Vermont, and New York. I love the beaches -- nice fine white sand. I wouldn't have it any other way! Down south yall.

Mississippi is a beautiful state with very few Yankee transplants compaired to other southern states. A great area for other southerners who wish to get away from the Yank tourist and transplants.

WOW! What a pitt of sh.... Stay the hell out of this state. It's like the days of slavery all over again!

Seems like Missisippi has an image problem, at least on this forum. Sadly, much of the negative comments made here are true.

Just goes to show you the hidden horrors of states in the deep south- and this one is perhaps the worst-sadly this state gets picked on the most. There are other places in the south, border states and great plains that are just as slow and backwards.

Just a downright horrible place to exist. Disgusting

This state has a long and colorful history-too bad it is so tainted by racism and intolerance. If this state could overcome this stigmata- it could become a very interesting tourist mecca.

I had the misfortunate of living in Gulfport for a few years. Truly the armpit of America. The once nice beaches are plastered with cheesy casinos, and many of the houses are run down and shanty-like. As for the attitude towards blacks being more progressive I didn't see it. You should have heard the racist filth I heard from many of the natives. These were people who were otherwise quite nice and pleasant to be around. Only if you're white that is... No offense Mississippians, but your state still has a long way to go. at least along the coastline. Oh, and they also have those lovely hurricanes to deal with. I lived there during Andrew and it wasn't fun having to tape my windows and wrap plastic around my valuables. I will say some good things about the food there. They have great seafood that is incredibly cheap and they make EXCELLENT po-boys. The waitresses there are very sweet and friendly. Southern hospitality at it's finest as far as their restaurants are concerned.

Awful state. Wish they had permanantly seceded.

I live in Biloxi and we have a business in a local shopping mall. We do not live in a tar paper shack, I drive a Mercedes Benz and live in a plantation style home. voted to keep the battle flag. If you all dont like our state dont come here, cause we really dont care.

Lots of beautiful pine trees. Other than that, a trip to Mississippi is pretty much a waste of time. Plus, when I was driving through on the interstate, the state trooper followed me for a few miles I guess because I had out of state plates. I was not speeding or in any other way acting suspicious. It gave me the creeps.

I have to give it a 5 because that is the homestate of my family so I guess you could say my roots are in Mississippi even though I grew up in the Midwest. I never experienced any racism in this state and my family said the same while they were growing up there. I guess because they didn't live around any white people, they grew up in a black town. It's beautiful, not too much to do but I gotta give Mississippi it's props. I would never live there however.

I'd say Flick01 sums it all up rather nicely...

UPDATE: Emma come first. Den I come. Den 2 @sses come together. I come once more. 2 @sses come together again. I come again and pee twice. Den I come one last time. ... Hey, that's how you spell Mississippi. ...... Old message: As I recall, they still treat their blacks as slaves. My God, Mississippi, WAKE UP!

I backpacked around the US a few years ago and couldn't quite believe how backward many of the Southern and mid US states were. Worst of all was Mississippi where I got beaten up for wearing an earring, after being called a f*ggot. Not a nice place.

I have visited there several times, and have been treated really well by everyone. Ole Miss football games are always a lot of fun, and if you're into American history, Vicksburg packs an enormous amount of history into a small area. My favorite place there is the Old Courthouse Museum. It costs very little and will keep you fascinated for hours. They's also got some good tours of old plantations (McCraven is my favorite). If you don't like Mississippi, then by all means, stay out, so it will stay friendly.

Seems stuck in 1861 is it part of the USA in the 21st Cemtury? NOPE. I hope this state really gets it act together and moves beyond the NEGATIVE racial and social dogma it seems to represent. I hope it can Clean up the countryside, its attitude and perhaps then its true natural beaity someday will shine.

Visiting family in Louisiana, my family and I always had to drive through this really underwhelming state. What I saw were 50's-era highways beaten to hell and accompanying trash everywhere. Although the state helped give rise to some meteoric figures, I'm not so forgiving about Jimmy Buffett. Oxford seems like an alright town, but I wouldn't know as I haven't visited, but the pervading atmosphere is one of the Deep South, which isn't my favorite region. Facts and figures speak for themselves, and Mississippi is a big embarrassment though they're making some strides.

I don't think this state will ever become anything more than the most back-water state in the union. I spent a year stationed in Mississippi, and I couldn't count the days fast enough until I left. The beaches are filthy (in fact they dump their sewage into the Gulf), people are rude and ignorant, and weather is always hot and muggy. The only reason anyone should be in this state is if you were driving through it to get somewhere more civilized (ie, anywhere other than Mississippi).

Here is another stellar example of people who consider themselves progressive in their thinking giving no credit to any state or group of people that does not fall into line with their stereotypical view of what meets with their approval. They have no tolerance for any lifestyle that does not fit the mold of their criteria. At one time Mississippi was a prime example of bigotry and backwards thinking but in the last 35 years it has taken significant steps to correct its mistakes and no longer ignore people in need which includes a large number of minorities. The Division of Community Services provides a range of services to some of the most vulnerable citizens who are economically disadvantaged. The programs are designed to alleviate both the causes and effects of poverty. Some of these programs include Community Services Block Grants, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Community Food and Nutrition Program. The Division of Economic Assistance promotes self sufficiency and personal responsibility. Programs within this heading include the Responsible Fatherhood Initiative, which assists fathers in assuming responsibility for the nurturing, growth, and development of their children, and other services which range from adoption and medical care to food stamps. Mississippi has given us such well known people as Jimmy Buffett, Jim Henson, Faith Hill, James Earl Jones, B.B. King, Walter Payton, Elvis Presley, Charlie Pride, Leontyne Price, William Raspberry, Tennessee Williams and Oprah Winfrey. Mississippi is a state that depends heavily on agriculture. It employs 30% of the population in that field, has 11 million acres of farm land and is a 5.6 billion dollar industry. The egg business alone does $1.59 billion per year. The state also produces billions of dollars worth of forestry related goods, cotton, soybeans, catfish, cattle, corn, rice, hay and horticulture. There are 17 community colleges and technical schools and 16 universities. It was the first state in the nation to have a planned system of junior colleges. Home ownership is 72.3% and 13.1% of all business is minority owned and an additional 22.8% are owned by women. The first nuclear submarine was produced in Mississippi and Vicksburg houses the worlds largest hydraulic research laboratory. Litton Industries, located in Pascagoula, builds the Navy's most sophisticated ships and the state's 8 research centers has programs under way in acoustics, polymer science, electricity, microelectronics, hydrodynamics and oceanography. These true progressive steps forward are ignored by the liberal elitists and as long as progressive liberals insist on living in the 1950s in regards to how they preceive other people, they will continue to err on the side of obsolete stereotypical thinking and will also continue to prove that their lack of tolerance is exceeded only by their arrogance.

A real hell hole of stupidity and ignorance- do avoid.

I hate it. It caused me to lose the spelling bee, along with it, my reputaition, goals and dreams.

A state with some pretty areas, with historic regions throughout, and it has an uncrowded and pristine gulf coast- the state however is terribly backward- and therefore deserves to be rated this low.

An OK state. However, the residents of this state have wonderful Southern accents. UPDATE: How can you judge a state just by driving through it? And I have to agree with GoneAway that you reap what you sow. If you have a bad attitude, you're going to get a lot of snarls in return.

The term Southern Hospitality is definately a false statement. Forced to drive through Mississippi to get to soemwhere else, the state may have the most unfriendly, socially backward residents in the country. It is not a coincidence that Mississippi always ranks #50 in poverty, education statistics. As far as the comment from another poster that the North is more racist, segregated? Why is it in Mississippi most towns are split down the middle, one half of the town white, the other black? The Delta area is the only place in the country where whites have started their own schools and refuse to send their kids to public schools with blacks kids.

some nice mansions from the pre civil war period- the gulf coast is underated- however the state suffers badly with its rather anti progressive culture.

Bordering on third world- somewhat primitive- a state held captive by the past and its continued bigotry of anyone not white, straight and christian. A poor educational attainment of its populace (along with a lowly educational system) are responsible for this states low standing- along with resistance to change and progressive ideas. A good place to live? NOPE- also not a place I would go with a license plate from a state in New England- need I say more?

One of if not the worst state in the union, lol oh yeah i forgot, it isnt in the union. If they were, their state flag wouldnt have the confederate flag on it, and they wouldn't have cross burners. In MLK Jr.s Speach, he said that he hoped that one day the state of mississippi would be a heaven for all races to come together, well im sory MLK jr, but that part of your dream just never has and probably never will happen. Mississippi has been rated the least livable state every single time sinse they started taking that pole. And like i said, that will never change, bunch of hicks! And with that, i have just finished rateing every single american state!

what a cesspool

if i could rate it lower than 1 i would... totally worthless, socially backward, confederate bullsh*t i got news for you hicks: the south (with the exception of florida) WONT rise again! MISSISSIPPI, GET YOSELF SUM EDUMACATION!

Mississippi doesn't seem as bad as many people make it out to be. There's no denying that it's very poor, but it seems to be pretty scenic. I think Mississippi's one of those states where one could drive through old county roads and see Miss. as it really is - a rural, laid-back type of state where the people are as helpful and friendly as they come. I only drove through Mississippi (to get to Alabama) but one day I just might go back and really see what the Magnolia State has to offer. I give it 3 stars based on what I saw, it very well could deserve a higher rating.

Pretty scenery, friendly people, great food, good music, and beautiful women. If you northerners think that Mississippi is so backwards, then how come northern cities are more segregated than southern cities? If you want proof study the results from the 2000 census. The census will show you that you Northerners seem to have more of a problem with racism than Southerners. Mississippi also has more elected black officals than any other state in the country.

When i think of mississippi, the first thing that comes to mind is that paranoid racist hick whos on vcpr in Grand Theft Auto: vice city! we must build a river and float out to sea lol

The epicenter of American bigotry.

I am pretty shocked at the people that are rating the southern states..Many of them are saying that it's backwards and uneducated etc..The worst one is when they say that the south, Mississippi in particular are bigoted and racist..They spout this stuff off while not realizing they are being just as bigoted and racist as the people they say are prejudiced. I have lots of family members from Mississippi and Alabama and they enjoy living in these places. The people are nice, the food is awesome, and theres alot of great music. The scenery can be nice too. Now I am not a racist, but I don't care how someone thinks. If your racist, fine, thats your right. It may not be right but it's not everyone elses job to tell you how to think. It seems that in the future based on our crusade against bigots, were going to have thought police. I just think people should care less about that whole thing. It seems stupid. Any way, I give this state four stars because I really like it for the reasons above mentioned, but I've seen prettier states like Wyoming and Maine.

Allright place, I guess. Not really my cup of tea. I don't think I'd fit in there. There are so many extreme religious fanatics and racists here that I feel it is disgusting. Plus, I really don't like the politicians.

News from Mississippi is nothing if not consistent. The following Associated Press item carries a July 28, 2003 dateline. ----- The Gulfport, Miss., city council voted 5-1 to condemn the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Texas sodomy law prohibiting gay sex. Councilman Billy Hewes, who introduced the resolution criticizing the high court's decision during Tuesday's council meeting, said the ruling "corrupts the moral fiber of this nation." In June the Supreme Court ruled that the Texas law that made gay sex a crime was an unconstitutional intrusion into people's private matters. The ruling invalidated similar laws in 12 other states, including Mississippi. Billy Hewes said the ruling is "the worst thing to happen to this country since they took prayer out of schools." Jody Renaldo, director of Equality Mississippi, a statewide civil rights organization, told Hewes he was elected to serve all the people, including gays. Speaking to the Gulfport City Council, Renaldo said many gay men and lesbians own homes and pay taxes in Gulfport and deserve the same rights, freedoms, and protections as other residents.

I like Mississippi, but the state and the people are so old fashioned and VERY southern. But that isn't always a bad thing. I LOVE the food and the heritage here.

hicksville

Family responsibilities forced me to spend a week in Mississippi last October, and it was the worst week of my life - notwithstanding the generally fine weather and attractive scenery. Perhaps the colleagues, friends, acquaintances, and neighbors of my relatives are not typical of Mississipians - I certainly hope they aren't, because the local folk I met were the most judgmental, bigoted, mean-spirited, nasty, and generally hateful bunch of born-again Christians I've ever run into. I was never happier than when I was able to return home to Kansas where a more live-&-let-live attitude prevails.