Moving to area from Illinois. I need help. (Mobile, Daphne: real estate market, insurance)

[J.L. Edwards]

I am trying to find out about towns in the area. We are planning to move down from Illinois, hopefully within 6 months or so.

I have looked at houses on line in Loxley, Fairhope, Gulf Shores, Spanish Fort, Daphne, and a few others. We would like to be close to the ocean and in a small town.

I am planning on coming down for a couple of days to see what area we would prefer, but I know I probably won't be able to see all of them. I need to narrow my search down a bit.

[oscottscotto]

To me, it always seems like it would be a pain to buy in Gulf Shores and surrounding areas due to high homeowner's insurance costs or not even being able to get insurance at all ... and I say that as a person who would not mind buying in that area years down the road. If you are okay with small towns that are within 20-40 minutes from the beach, definitely explore Foley, Loxley, Robertsdale, Malbis, Daphne, and Fairhope. I know that might not be feasable to look at homes in each town in 2 days, but you could easily drive through each area and look around to get a feel for which areas your prefer. Where in Illinois would you be coming from? Chicago, or rural Illinois?

[J.L. Edwards]

South Illinois. We are only one hour from Kentucky. Is Loxley a nice town? The schools are one of our biggest concerns. Our daughter is 10. We'd rather live in a smaller town, or maybe just outside of a larger town.

[midtownruth]

I would suggest Spanish Fort, Daphne or Fairhope.There isn't much to Loxley and I would assume your daughter would go to Robertsdale school if you lived there. Gulf Shores is mainly a tourist town. Great to go down for the weekend, but I personally wouldn't want to live there. You could also look into smaller towns such as Bay Minette or Silverhill, but might have to drive a little further for school.

[humacaena]

I would suggest Fairhope, Daphne or Spanish Fort. Fairhope is the only one to have a "small town" feel, as it has a nice business area intown. It's also on Mobile Bay and has beautiful park and Pier.

Check out cofairhope.com This gives you a better look of what to expect.The real estate market is still on the low side, and there are homes available on all price ranges. If you want land/farm instead of subdivision that is also available a short drive from downtown. Our schools are very good and there are many activities for children. Fairhope has a great sports complex, with baseball, football, soccer, swim teams, ect. It is also a very safe low crime environment. Good luck!!!

[southernnaturelover]

I'm afraid Daphne and Spanish Fort won't feel like a small town much longer, that area is growing so quickly.

I recommend looking in Loxley, Robertsdale, or Summerdale. All three of these towns are along Hwy 59 so they all kinda run together. For a more rural feeling you could also check out the community of Elberta.

[oscottscotto]

Coming from So Illinois, you would enjoy Loxley and it is defintely "small-town". It's a short drive to all of the other eastern shore towns. About 30 minutes to the beach. About 30 minutes to Mobile. About 30 minutes to Pensacola. I would also suggest Malbis.

And if you are north of Foley (which Loxley/Malbis/Spanish Fort, Daphne, et. all are), then homeowner's insurance won't be a problem.