I just moved from Southaven MS 2 months ago so heres my 2 cents.
There are a few lakes for recreation...Sardis is the good for boating/jet skiing even bass fishing. Arkabutla for fishing mostly. They put a sportsmans warehouse in Southaven which is nice or a Bass Pro shop in Memphis if you like. Desoto county is nice but growing very fast. That bad thing is (and i'm not sure if it was mentioned or anyone cares) but tags for your car or truck are ridiculous in that county. i bought a new truck in 05 and paid $780 for tags the first year and then $740 last year. Other than the heat its not a bad place to live.