Page 26 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2017

COASTNOTES
story by Lynn Lofton photo by Katherine Sowers
GULFPORT ON THRILL LIST’S UNDER APPRECIATED CITIES
What does Gulfport have
in common with San Diego, Milwaukee, Chattanooga,
St. Petersburg, Houston
and Kansas City? All are listed on the latest edition
of Thrill List’s “Under Appreciated Cities You Should Totally Move To.” The online publication has 2.7 million readers daily. With a population of 69,913, Gulfport is the second-to-smallest city on the list with the smallest honors going to South Carolina’s capital, Greenville, with 60,670 residents.
“It’s unbelievable just to be listed with these cities,” says Gulfport’s Public Information Officer Chris Vignes. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
The honor came about as
a result of a media visit arranged by Erin Kenna, public relations/media manager of Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast. “I went out on a limb and invited Matt Melzer of Thrill List to visit here
last year. He gets a lot of invitations, but he came,” she said. “I wanted to get a better understanding of the various lists they do, and Matt wanted to focus more on local culture. “Thrill List is trying to inspire younger people who are willing to go to places that are not as well known as a lot of tourist destinations.”
Kenna enlisted Vignes to help her show Melzer around the Coast. “He was like a
lot of people who come here for the first time and always say they had no idea what is
here,” Vignes said. “We just introduced him to where we live.”
A feature story and several spin-off lists such as Places with Friendly atmosphere,” “Most Authentic,” and “Most Affordable Beach Towns” resulted from Melzer’s visit.
There is no nomination form to fill out or specific criteria to make any of Thrill List’s designations.
“Thrill List is great at spotlighting off-the-radar places. They urge people to think outside the box,” Kenna said.
Vignes added, “No one can tell our story better than us. We know it’s special.”
Kenna and Vignes agree this publicity gives the area
a great advantage and that’s something they intend to promote as much as possible.
Meltzer’s online story reads in part, “The entire Mississippi Gulf Coast is nothing like the Mississippi you’ve stereotyped in your head, and Gulfport is its de facto capital. Just to the west is Bay St. Louis, a funky artist colony. To the east is Ocean Springs, a beach town boasting a strip of bars with the densest concentration
of live music outside New Orleans.
With the Stennis Space Center and Keesler Air Force Base nearby, the crowd here is always changing, and it’s easy to meet others who are new in town — most of whom will be more than happy to come over to your shockingly affordable beachfront home.”
Gulfport beach front homes sit on the beautiful and scenic Highway 90.
26 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • April 2017
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