Residential real estate boom transforms rural areas: bustling bedroom communities, developments...

Several counties in South Mississippi are experiencing a surge in residential real estate sales. Some rural areas say they're becoming bedroom communities as residents opt to leave more heavily populated cities, looking for life in the slow lane.

Pearl River County, which borders Louisiana, is the fastest-growing county in the state right now, according to Poplarville Realtor Jack Beith who's with Coldwell Banker Country Properties. "People are coming from St. Tammany Parish. They're moving to rural areas where there's more elbow room, a better tax structure, low crime,