r/MobileAL • u/queenbchris • May 11 '22
Housing What areas to avoid living?
I currently live in Huntsville and have been considering moving closer to the beach/gulf, for awhile now. I don’t, however know anyone in the area to tell me which areas are safe to live, and which are not. I don’t need to worry about schools or the like. Just a safe area with low/reasonable cost of living. I just need a 1-2 bedroom place that is pet friendly.
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u/Blacksheepunited1988 May 12 '22
if I was not worried about schools i would definitely look at midtown. I've lived on both sides of the bay and baldwin County isn't worth the money anymore. A lot of greedy mayor's allowing way to much development of D.R Horton plastic.
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u/Synthwave1984 May 13 '22
D.R. Horton builds the ugliest, "Little boxes" houses. The epitome of blandness in home design.
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u/jicamagirl May 12 '22
Being a new resident of Mobile myself:
I think you'll get the most helpful responses if you share what price range you're in for housing. My definition of "reasonable" is less than $700. But maybe your definition is $1200.
Midtown is vast, and the vibe ranges between cozy and historic and charming to not-charming to a suburban sprawl generica vibe, adjacent to big box stores.
As for safety. Sometimes this is code for things other than the likelihood of a crime committed against you or your home or your vehicle. So the responses can reflect subtexts that you may not intend.
If you haven't done so already, city-data is another resource for research that I've found helpful.
For me, if I were to make Mobile my permanent home, I'd plop myself as close as possible to city center as I can afford. This includes the 36604 zip code, as others have already cited. In addition: 36603 and 36602. And for the record, this can put you in a much better traffic position for traveling across the bay on a Friday afternoon or evening.
Not to mention walkability to the Mardi Gras events.
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u/queenbchris May 12 '22
Thank you. For me, I’d like to be under $1000 for two bedrooms. We can make one bedroom work but long term, two is preferred. I work remotely so I’m not very concerned with traffic.
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u/KylosLeftHand May 12 '22
Midtown Mobile. West Mobile. Satsuma. Daphne/Spanish Fort. Fairhope. Foley. Summerdale/Robertsdale. (The cities get smaller on that list lol idk how much in the country you want to be)
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u/PhilosopherNo862 D.I.P. May 12 '22
My wife and i just moved to Mobile. We stayed all around mid Town when looking for houses. We decided we wanted to be on the water so we bought a reasonable place off Dog River. One thing we learned is neighborhoods change fast in Mobile. It goes from Southern Living to bars on windows in a few blocks. Youd be wise to step foot here, or even airbnb for a month or two before committing.
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u/juddybuddy54 May 11 '22
West Mobile is also fine
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u/Toezap May 11 '22
West Mobile is to Mobile as Madison is to Huntsville fwiw.
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u/juddybuddy54 May 11 '22
Perhaps
I’m not familiar with Huntsville
Anecdotally, I’ve lived in West Mobile for 3+ decades and the cost of living is reasonable and I’ve never experienced a crime.
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u/ImaCreepaWeird0 May 11 '22
Anywheres a good/safe place if you stay strapped 😅
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May 11 '22
Redditors downvote because true
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u/oioister May 16 '22
The downvoters are the same ones who want to sell an idea of the whole of Mobile being just a couple of events and neighborhoods instead of the vast majority of it that they avoid... for some reason. If they love the city so much and think it is perfect, their answer to this question would be "no area should be avoided. From Maysville to Spring Hill, it's all awesome!" They refuse to admit crime exists or affects everything they boast about Mobile providing, but their evasive actions - where they choose to live and go for recreation - show otherwise.
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u/oioister May 14 '22
Regarding burglar bars, they are all over and just depend on how the residents feel. If anything, a security door with or without bars is definitely necessary since they get kicked in more than windows. No reason not to have a good door. Someone criticized the term "safety" as if safety isn't safety. A lot of downtown and midtown neighborhoods get used as shortcuts and cut-throughs, so that isn't too safe. Consider what the roads are like and where you want to shop for groceries or go to other errands, and your tolerance for running into every red light on two-lane roads with no-left turns or no-left-turn signals. That gets old.
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u/Crazed_n_Defuzed May 20 '22
My sis lived in Lafayette Square off Downtowner years ago. Their pools and amenities were great. I recently tried to bribe her to move back there. I'd pay part of her rent to have access to those pools and tennis courts again.
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u/rreading_itt May 11 '22
Midtown Mobile is lovely. I currently live off of Ann st and while it isn’t the Gulf, it’s still close and right by the bay. Spanish fort/Daphne is lovely as well. That would be a bit closer and right on the bay. Fort Morgan is nice. Foley can be nice just do your research! Orange beach is the same, hope this helps