I love a good bagel but have trouble finding them locally
I also love bagels! I am sorry to hear that you are struggling to find the locally, but I know what you mean. It is hard to find a freshly baked bagel that is deliciously dense, chewy, and doughy with a beautiful crisp exterior
Yes and I moved to a southern state and they seem to prefer biscuits here to bagels
That is too bad, Maybe try the Jewish community within your area, because bagels originate from Jewish communities in Poland. You may be able to find some great bagels there! 
Yeah not much of a Jewish community here but family will overnight me a batch of bagels once in a while from up north
That is great, you are lucky to have family that can make you a batch of bagels. Do you have a favourite type of bagel? For example a bagel topped with traditional poppy seeds or sesame seeds?  
Poppy seed is my absolute favorite
Mine as well! I also love rye bagels that have salt sprinkled on their surface
I like Rye as well and poppyseed are ok too
Have you tried Lender's Bagels? They are a brand of bagels that pioneered the pre-packaged bagels that you find in the local supermarket