MB is a couple hours from me and I haven’t been there in a few years. I have zero desire to go.
The last time was for a photo gig. It was depressing seeing the boarded up hotels.
There is some recovery but the golf business continues to tread water. Ironically, a building boom that later became a bust kept many courses from being bulldozed already as they were built to be show-pony loss leaders for real estate sales but the real estate market went horribly wrong. Many courses still wind through undeveloped ie natural landscapes. Not a lot of fun for the sales gerbils but a bonus for the golfer who seeks a peaceful round.
Still, a seemingly unstoppable flow of Yankees has transformed the area into more of an upstate-type environment with the usual numbing additions of Walmarts, fast food, etc. And, as usual, the Yanks have brought their problems and their attitudes with them and spend many hours whining and moaning.
Many new arrivals are rather tight-fisted. Living anywhere south of MB means more expensive retirement real estate and Florida as a whole is viewed as a write-off due to the immigration problem. So they put up with a mild winter for 2 months in the Grand Strand area.