Where to live in Mobile, AL? (Daphne, Jackson: for sale, apartment complex, rentals)

[BlueGal]

Hi! I will be moving to the Mobile area for school next month. I recently graduated with an undergrad degree and I will be starting a masters degree in the medical field at USA in August. Even though I have lived in AL my whole life, I don't know much about Mobile or USA. I have read many bad things about the area and I am kind of nervous about moving there. I will only be living there for about 21 months and then I will be moving elsewhere. I am looking to rent a place in a safe area that is close to the medical/health building (springhill ave). I would prefer a gated community since I have heard of crime being a problem in parts of Mobile. I am willing to pay more money for the newer and nicer places to live. Any opinions on where to live and about USA would be very helpful. Thanks!!

[BlueGal]

Anyone? I need some help on finding a decent place. I have been doing a lot of research and from what I have read, I believe it will be best for me to live as close as possible to the health building of USA (on Springhill ave). This is where I will spend most of my time. I don't care whether I live in an apartment or house, whichever is best. Thanks!

[downtowndoll]

Since you will be here a short time, look into the Lake Forest subdivision (golf community) where there will be many nice but still reasonable rentals there. This is in Daphne just past Home Depot right off the Bay Way. It will be close to your work, less than 15 minutes away. Or there are some apartments south HWY 98 to the right in Daphne. One is Lake Forest's Yacht Club which has some condos you could probably rent.

Midtown is nice (where I live) but since you are single, I think you will prefer Daphne, at least for a short time. One problem with Midtown is it has some urban aspects to it that some people are bothered by. For instance, there may be a lot of walk-through traffic that seems transient, but is really people who just don't/can't own cars. On the other hand, houses are so close together, crime is deterred many times. Most of the crime is , sadly, minority on minority crime and petty crime such as stealing ladders off your porch or the lawnmower you left outside like a dummy.

We are pretty tame here urban-wise. We're no New Orleans.

[DreamWeavin]

ok, first of all you do NOT want to commute from Daphne each day. Especially since you requested information about apartments on Springhill Ave-definitely that is not Daphne area. I am not positive there is a gated apt community near the campus. Crime is certainly at an all time high in Mobile. Especially since hurricane Katrina and people coming into Mobile from other states. I would feel safer walking down the streets of New orleans in the middle of the night than I do in Mobile....seriously! So be cautious. Be careful when pumping gas,when shopping and leaving the store with bags in your arms. Be careful to hang onto your purse when it's in the cart in a store and make sure it's the first thing to put into your car while unloading the cart. Lock your doors immediately.
As for apartments I suggest you look online,call realtors in Mobile and ask at the school for suggestions.
Most of all Be Careful/

[Mobilenative]

I just wanted to correct northernexposure's statement. First, Mobile is not at an all time high regarding crime. Moreover, Mobile is considerably safe when compared to other southern cities of similar size such as Jackson, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette. I have lived in Mobile my whole life and have never had anything stolen from my home or car. Also, northernexposure must not know about the bloodbath that has plagued New Orleans since Katrina. On one night a few months ago 12 people were murdered in 10 separate incidents in that city. At one point the national guard, who the governor sent to help the NOPD, were fired upon while patrolling the streets.

BlueGal sorry but I do not know of any gated apartments in that area.

[luvstennis]

I concur with the poster who said don't live in Daphne. I think this is way too much commute for a grad student working lots of hours. I don't think there are any gated apartments in that area. It is not nearly as unsafe as some posters are making it out to be - just use the same common sense you would in any city. There are some great condos in that area - Cannongate is one (lots of docs live there - it is very nice) and there were some apartments on Springhill Ave that are being converted to condos right now. Although you may not want to buy it could be that some investors would be willing to rent. Call a realtor on this option. I am NOT a realtor, but I know Moderator cut: use PM for recommendations has a big rental department. Another option for a rental would be The Commons townhouses in springhill (again privately owned, but units are usually available for rental - check the paper - it is not gated, but a nice area) and the new Legacy Village apartments (gated). These are both right off the beltline at Dauphin Street. Very convenient area, you would be a max of ten minutes to work and convenient to all else in town. For the record, the Springhill Ave area can be be a little spotty, but some of mobile's finest homes are in this area, it is not scary at all.

[Willy99]

Mobile is the ultimate example of urban sprawl gone bad. Everything is so spread out, when you run errands it ends up taking five hours just to drive back and forth between shopping destinations. The small downtown area has its charm, but it's certainly lacking in quite a number of areas. For my money, I'd stick with an area away from downtown as I have experienced some problems with crime in the area where my brother lives, which is not far from the city.

[downtowndoll]

I remembered another nice condo area. Summerville Court. Corner of Upham and Spring Hill Avenue next to the lovely Ashland Place Subdivision. Many are probably for rent, since the condo concept is taking a while to take hold here.

[funmudder]

I'd be curious as to how anyone can get from Lake Forrest to Springhill in 15 minutes. Even driving at 2 AM with no traffic it's not really possible if you stick to the speed limit.

Juist sayin'

Mobile is no different than any other city except that it's got less crime overall. The ex-New Orleans/Katrina people that moved in have added to the crime rate no doubt, but the police force is on top of it and rooting out the dark places the less savory people in that exodus are hiding. It's actually not bad at all.

Use (un)common sense. Lock your doors, car and home. Don't leave valuables out in the yard where anyone could walk off with them (that happens out in the country "safe" areas just as much as the urban). Be reasonable. If you are going to leave all your CD's spread out on the front seat of your car with the windows down....well thats not being reasonable. Gated community or not.

I second the idea of calling the url removed - use PM for recommendations, please. They can find you exactly what you want, my family has used their services for years and rarely have they not come through with flying colors.

[Dragynwing]

Originally Posted by downtowndoll

I remembered another nice condo area. Summerville Court. Corner of Upham and Spring Hill Avenue next to the lovely Ashland Place Subdivision. Many are probably for rent, since the condo concept is taking a while to take hold here.

Summerville Court has turned into condos for sale. i had a couple of friends who lived there when they were for rent condos. they were fairly nice!

there are lots of houses in Midtown with add on areas above garages and such that the homeowners rent out. if you don't have much "stuff" and don't plan on being in the area long term, that can work out quite well. i am honestly trying to think of a nice apartment complex that's a straight shot down Springhill or Old Shell Rd. to the hospitals. hmmmmm....

you don't want to be west of the University 'cause you'll run into major traffic problems during the school year (though they're not so bad now that Old Shell Rd. is wider and they're working on Hillcrest) and you really don't want to be east of I-65 unless you know what you're doing. i'll wrack my brain a little more and post some actual useful info later. just know that you're pretty much going to be stuck with a 15-20 minute commute if you want a fairly nice place. Springhill isn't that bad a street as far as commutes go. Old Shell Rd. is fine when school isn't in session. Dauphin Street between I-65 and Florida is a bust. horrible traffic during commute time. Airport isn't so bad. Personally, i would recommend something like Regency Gates Apartments. it's at Grelot and University, pretty close to Airport. you can come up University and either keep going north to avoid traffic or go west on Airport (then to Florida, then to Old Shell, then Kenneth to Springhill. it'll take you about 25 minutes, but Regency Gates is a nice apartment complex.

oh! just though of a couple more. Yester Oaks (between Airport and Dauphin just west of I-65. probably looking at a 15 minute commute one way) and Windsor Apartments (just south of Airport west of I-65. maybe tack on an additional 5 minutes). between the two, i would recommend Yester Oaks just for the easy access to Dauphin Street. I have had 3 groups of friends who lived there over a 5 year period or so. the only problem they ever had was flooding near the drainage ditch on the far east side of the complex. try to get an apartment closer to the Dauphin Street side and in the center/west part.

sorry for the ramble!