well thank you! i would say it kind of just depends on your budget/finance situation, but my best advice would be
1) if you have a larger budget, fly into Nola 2-3 weeks before classes start, 1-2 days before you’re planning to move in, spend the night in Nola, find the dealership of your choice (there is CarMax in Nola too) and drive a car off the lot.
2) if you have a more limited budget and don’t care about the car type, try to get maybe $1-2K to put as a down payment and buy a used car from one of the reputable dealerships in hattie!
3) if you’re in canada or US, buy a car where you’re located and spend a couple days driving down. i know some folks from Canada have driven down in caravans from places like Toronto, Vancouver, etc. Of note, you don’t need to worry about changing your registration or licensing in MS since we’re technically considered temporary residents!