Born here, still here — and building the resource I wish I'd had.
I'm Brad Perniciaro — lifelong Gulf Coast native, software developer, founder of Living Coastal, and a real estate investor. I build this site's free coastal tools myself. I don't sell houses. I tell you the honest version of living here.
The version of the Coast nobody was writing down
I was born here and I never left. I've watched this coast get written about two ways: as a sales pitch, or as a travel blog by someone who spent a weekend at the casinos. Neither one tells you what it actually costs to insure a house near the water, which streets flood, or why locals pick one town over the next.
So I started building the resource I kept wishing existed — honest, local, and backed by real numbers instead of vibes. I've spent over a decade building websites and studying how people search for answers online, so I knew exactly what was missing. When I couldn't find an answer, I did what I do for a living and built a calculator for it. When a question kept coming up, I wrote the piece that answers it straight.
My wife Lacey is the licensed expert who handles the real estate itself. I'm the one who builds and writes — and lives what we publish.
No awards wall. Different proof.
Nothing here is padded — this is the authority I actually have, and it's the kind you can check.
The native's lens
Born and raised on the Coast. I know how locals actually use it — which beaches we go to, what changed after Katrina, what a "good street" means town by town.
The builder
I'm a software developer by trade — I build the site's free tools because I wanted answers I couldn't find anywhere. A working calculator that solves a real coastal problem beats any title.
The investor
I own and analyze property here myself. The investor content on this site comes from doing it — spreadsheets, insurance quotes, and all — not from reading about it.
The data habit
Living Coastal leans on real sources — MLS data, FEMA flood maps, BEA cost figures — because "trust me" isn't a methodology.
Free answers to the questions everyone asks
I build these to answer the questions I kept getting asked. Free, no sign-up, built for this coast.
Flood Insurance Calculator
What flood coverage really costs for a specific address — zone, elevation, and all.
Cost-of-Living Adjuster
Compare your current city to the Gulf Coast with real regional data — housing included.
Gulf Coast House Payment Calculator
The true coastal monthly payment — PITI plus the flood and wind insurance other calculators skip.
How Living Coastal works
Brad Perniciaro
Founder. I write the editorial and data content, build the tools, and run the site. I'm not a licensed agent and I don't handle transactions.
Lacey Perniciaro
Licensed REALTOR® in Mississippi & Louisiana. She reviews our real-estate content for accuracy and handles every transaction, start to close.
What I write about
I write about it because I live it
Lacey and I are raising our four kids in Diamondhead. Weekends look like the beach before the crowds, festivals in Bay St. Louis, and arguing about which town has the best po-boy.
Stick around — the honest version is free.
Try the tools, read the latest, or — when you're ready for the real thing — talk to Lacey.
Brad Perniciaro · Founder, Living Coastal · Diamondhead, MS
Not a licensed real estate agent — all transactions handled by Lacey Perniciaro, REALTOR® (MS + LA).