MOBILE area .. need help :) (Gulf Shores, Dauphin Island: job market, neighborhood, living)

[spaghetti_squash]

in a few months i will be moving from mississippi to either new orleans, mobile, or pensacola / destin / ft walton beach.
i would LOVE to know more about Mobile. im a 24 yo just graduated. ive been to new orleans many times, but never Mobile or the florida panhandle.
i know that i would love being near the beach, etc, but what im mainly wanting to know about is
1. the safety of the area. im assuming it would be safer than new orleans, but since ive never been there i was just curious as to whether general safety is an issue (any more than anywhere else).
2. the job situation there. i dont need anything specific. just wanting to know if there are service jobs available (b/c where i live right now, u cant even get a job at burger king, its RIDICULOUS), like bartending, restaurants, sitting, office work, etc. im a freelance photographer, so i do that on the side & get a part-time or full-time job.
3. o, & if youve ever lived in new orleans or the florida panhandle (such as Pensacola, Destin, Ft. Walton, or Panama City), i would love your input/pros & cons w/Mobile!

thanks so much in advance!

[mimpdaddy]

Originally Posted by red_0329

in a few months i will be moving from mississippi to either new orleans, mobile, or pensacola / destin / ft walton beach.
i would LOVE to know more about Mobile. im a 24 yo just graduated. ive been to new orleans many times, but never Mobile or the florida panhandle.
i know that i would love being near the beach, etc, but what im mainly wanting to know about is
1. the safety of the area. im assuming it would be safer than new orleans, but since ive never been there i was just curious as to whether general safety is an issue (any more than anywhere else).
2. the job situation there. i dont need anything specific. just wanting to know if there are service jobs available (b/c where i live right now, u cant even get a job at burger king, its RIDICULOUS), like bartending, restaurants, sitting, office work, etc. im a freelance photographer, so i do that on the side & get a part-time or full-time job.
3. o, & if youve ever lived in new orleans or the florida panhandle (such as Pensacola, Destin, Ft. Walton, or Panama City), i would love your input/pros & cons w/Mobile!

thanks so much in advance!

I have been to all those areas.Mobile is larger than those other cities you listed on the panhandle except New Orleans, so the job market is probably stronger than those Florida panhandle cities. Being that you are a new graduate.I would recommend checking out Baldwin county that way you would have the city of Mobile on one side and Pensacola on the other side.I plan on moving in that area also when I graduate.Mobile has several Major corporations from ThyssenKrupp Steel and Stainless USA, Austal,DuPont,Alabama Power Generating Plant....etc, plus it's the 8th busies port in the nation.There are many jobs in Mobile and some good entertainment.

[downtowndoll]

Mobile definitely needs help in the service sector; should be ZERO problems there. Several companies had to go to eastern bloc countries to get workers!

Mobile is much safer than New Orleans plus you have the Mardi Gras (you know we started Mardi Gras, right?!) side which is fun! Mobile has the same French/Spanish background as NOLA but we are older... 1702- NOLA wasn't founded until 1718.

We are 30 minutes from Dauphin Island and closer to getting in a boat on the bay!

Panhandle has prettier water.

[spaghetti_squash]

thanks so much---helpful info! at first i was leaning towards nola since it was the only place i knew anything about, but ive heard such great things about the mobile area that im definitely going to check it out!
& no, i had no idea that mardi gras started there, thats awesome!
thanks for the help

[oscottscotto]

Mobile, albeit smaller, is much safer (in most areas) than New Orleans ... and it still carries a good bit of "culture" - although understandably much less culture than New Orleans.

And yes, Mardi Gras originated in Mobile .

[downtowndoll]

Originally Posted by red_0329

thanks so much---helpful info! at first i was leaning towards nola since it was the only place i knew anything about, but ive heard such great things about the mobile area that im definitely going to check it out!
& no, i had no idea that mardi gras started there, thats awesome!
thanks for the help

Here are some great links to get you started.

Welcome to the Downtown Mobile Alliance

Welcome to City of Mobile Neighborhood and Community Services

City of Mobile : Visiting Mobile : Mardi Gras
We have a pretty large Mardi Gras here, sometimes as many as 100K at a parade in great weather. The only thing I don't like is the parades are too short here: only 20 units/floats typically are allowed...in my MS Gulf Coast, we had 40 floats. But I guess they like to spread it out more but seems like more work for public service workers to me.

Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau - Official Tourism and Convention Website for Mobile Alabama

I have family who live all over the MS Gulf Coast, including New Orleans French Quarter on Royal Street, and I like Mobile, Alabama the best! It offers the best of everything: beaches within 30 min. and even a good sized French Quarter of sorts in the Lower Dauphin Street District (LODA). Food is, of course, excellent since the " so-called New Orleans" cuisine was invented HERE. ( Again, Mobile founded in 1702....New Orleans...1718. ) The beach water gets clearer the further one gets from the Mississippi River so Dauphin Island/Gulf Shores can have some decent water!

We have friends that have had to move to New Orleans for work and majority of my friends are, like, "oh no-poor things!" Noone wants to move there, typically, unless it's really worth their while.

[JTJ1977]

Mobile is awesome. I must admit, I haven't been there in almost ten years. But the weather is excellent, the people are friendly, and there's the beauty of Florida minus the high cost of living. The only bad thing that I can say about the area is that its humid...REAL HUMID!! LOL

[PortCity]

I love Mobile too there is room for imrovements but the place isn`t that bad. I wish the whole city would be historicle as midtown from Govt,dauphin,Oldshell, and Springhill. I love the density and the culture along with the charecter of these areas. The best park in the whole city that gives a huge wow factor is the that little park in the Oakleigh Historic distric !!