Underrated: The Coast. It's the only desirable place to live in Mississippi that is somewhat unique. People bash it because they are comparing apples and oranges. It's not a blue water tourist destination where you can't get a job that's not tied directly or indirectly to tourism. It's got a pretty decent economy (great for Mississippi), has tons of recreation, good food, good fishing. If you're going to visit a place once, yes, do Florida panhandle for water, Venice for fishing, New Orleans for food, Vegas for gaming, etc. But if you want to go to a place over and over and want to have options, then it's great. Being able to get to the islands does make a world of difference though. Ship Island Ferry is great for what it is, but you are tied to a schedule, which isn't great.
Underrated: Small town/city living. I understand a 10,000 person town isn't going to have what people want, but I think somewhere between that 20k to 100k range, most people are underestimating how happy they would be. I see coworkers daughters come back home that have moved to whatever city, and they're in their 30's and have no serious prospect of having a spouse or family. I don't doubt they had a lot of fun in their twenties and even early thirties, but I really question whether they are as content as the women the same age I know locally who have a family. Certainly family life isn't for everybody, but these are women typically from families with multiple children that at least claimed they wanted to get married and have children "some day". Same goes for the sons to a lesser extent. Maybe this is just me projecting my preferences onto other people, but however much fun they are having when they're younger, it doesn't seem like they're all that thrilled about their life when they are older. And I think people underrate the small town/city living for the wrong reasons. The lack of amenities really aren't that big of a deal. Most people I know even with the means and the access aren't eating particularly nice meals or doing a lot of live entertainment on a regular basis. They are in their routine hitting up the same places and living a lifestyle that they could easily replicate in a town with 40k people in it, except with deeper connections in the community. I think the real drawback is lack of career opportunities and often only having one employer in the area for your type of job, which means you are stuck without being willing to move your family.
Properly rated: Hattiesburg (overrated by the people that live there). Has everything it needs to be a great town/small city. University, some industry, medical complex to provide a lot of income, decent sized population, but just 17ed it up by developing in a straight line and then losing the public schools. Still a fine place to live, just a big missed opportunity for the state.
Properly rated: Starkville (underrated by the people that bash it). Residents of Starkville spent decades viewing the school and its students as a necessary evil rather than something to be embraced, so it's not nearly as nice as it should be. But it's still a nice college town. Small town benefits with extra entertainment and food optiosn b/c of university.
Properly rated: Gas station food. Some really good options out there.
Overrated: Oxford. Really nice college town. But it's still just a small college town.
Properly rated: The Delta. Unfortunately, it's properly rated, if underrated in some respects and overrated in others. I like the Delta and have a lot of friends from there and think it was probably a fine place to grow up (see comment about small town living being underrated), but I'm sort of over people from there pretending it's some jewel because of its eccentricities. No, you have a bunch of crazy people that have probably inhaled too many pesticides; that's not a sign of culture; there are bat **** crazy people other places too, but there are other things to do so they don't treat them like some sort of institution. And growing up hunting and fishing and riding fourwheelers is great also, but it's not like people that live in towns of 50k don't do those things. They just drive a little bit further to hunt and thtey don't ride their four wheeler to the gas station; it's more or less the same otherwise. And I love some of the Delta restaurants and it may have the finest restaurants in the world per capita (Lusco's, the Crystal Grill, and Giardinias being in Greenwood is somewhat insane), but at the end of the day, they aren't better than restaurants you can find elsewhere, they are just restaurants that you can't find in other small population areas.
Underrated. Vicksburg Military park. Not overrated by people elsewhere. Used to go there and see license plates from all over the country. Not sure if that's still the case. Think interest in the civil war and history in general probably has tapered off with younger generations. But people in Mississippi I don't think appreciate it.
Overrated. Madison. It's a nice bedroom community but you have to drive to far to work and then work is likely in Jackson.
Overrated. Clinton. Is there a restaurant in Clinton yet? This may not be fair because it's been a while since I've tried to eat there, but asked somebody from Clinton for a recommendation and they claimed there was not a single non-chain restaurant in Clinton.
Underrated: Golf Options in the State. Waverly, Dancing Rabbit, Grand Bear, The Preserve, Fallen Oak, Mossy Oak, Shell Landing, the Bridges. That's a great lineup of courses you can play that are relatively affordable for the type of courses they are.