Baldwyn county living (Mobile, Fairhope, Bay Minette: transplants, real estate market, rentals)

[msedgil]

My husband and I are seriously considering making the move to the Baldwyn County, AL area within the next year to two years. We currently live in north Mississippi. I am currently in nursing school, and my husband is self employed and does collateral repossession. By the time we actually move we will be 40 and 42 years of age, with three of our five children being grown (18 and over) and the last two in their teens. We love this area and have vacationed here many times. We actually were married on the beach in Orange Beach and couldn't have asked for a more beautiful wedding. I do not really have any concerns about finding employment as I will be a registered nurse before we make the move, and my husband has already had job offers in the Mobile area. My biggest concern so far is this: Are the self proclaimed "true" locals really so opposed to "transplants" moving in? I follow the city of Gulf Shores on Facebook, and it just seems to me that there are people who call themselves "true" locals (because they have lived there all their life?) that do not want people from other areas moving in. The thing I'm seeing most is they want to keep the perpetual beach bums out of their city. I understand this, and I also understand that Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are mainly tourist towns. What draws us to the area is the laid back way of life, the beaches of course, and just a chance to get a change of scenery and start over with me having a new career and grown children. My husband and I are hard working, educated people and we are looking forward to having the small town lifestyle that we are accustomed to, with the big city convenience of Pensacola and Mobile. However, what we do not want is to move to an area where the so called locals are not welcoming, or are resentful of the transplants. Any advice on this or can someone who is a local clear this matter up for me?
All responses will be read and appreciated!

[ronrutmr2]

I've been here a little over three years now, and I have not experienced anything like what you described. No one has ever inquired as to where we originated, unless we've initiated the conversation that way. Being resorts towns, many servers in restaurants will ask where you're from, or are you local. We just say we live in Foley, and we're assumed to be "local". And the majority of servers we've talked to are from other areas, including over seas. There are so many retirees here, it's harder to find a native-born person than you would think.

In a nutshell, you will be welcomed with open arms! (BTW, it's spelled "Baldwin")

Ron
Foley, AL

[msedgil]

Thank you Ron for your insight! I noticed after I posted that I did misspell Baldwin, but we have a Baldwyn, Mississippi close to us in the area that we live in, thus my mistake lol! I would certainly like to think the hospitality that the south is known for would extend to that region. I have also heard that many of the "true" locals moved out years ago when the area started to become so touristy. We have vacationed there since I was in jr. high school, and I do remember the Gulf Shores of no high rise condos, the Gulf Shores before the Hangout and actually when a lot of the condos were across the street from the beach and the view of the beach down Beach Boulevard was completely unobstructed. I guess the booming real estate market drove the actual people who are from there away,as would be expected.

[southernnaturelover]

Most of the locals live a little further inland from Foley northward through Robertsdale and Loxley. It's not really practical to live in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach.

[msedgil]

SNL, we wouldn't mind living more inland and actually something rural would be nice. We live in a small town now (pop. 6,000) and I grew up in a very rural area with very few close neighbors. I have never had the opportunity to explore Baldwin county like I'd like to. I have heard Fairhope is very nice and we actually visited Bay Minette when we got our marriage license. So far, everything we actually have gotten to see is very much like home, minus the beach. I can imagine the traffic during the peak season is horrid, as well as trying to get in and shop for groceries and such. I guess we all take the good with the bad, or maybe find other routes and places to shop. Is there a website that I can visit to look at homes that are not vacation rentals? Every time I have tried to search for real estate in the area I am directed towards condos and beach houses. A nice little home in the country would be ideal!

[southernnaturelover]

I have a friend from Byhalia, so I've visited your area a few times. I really don't think you'll find things around here all that much different. Down near the coast you'll find lots of people from the Midwest, and even some from Canada, but as you get about 25 miles inland you'll notice it's mostly folks born and raised here.

[Keeper]

I love Fairhope but if you want rural I would check out Silverhill, Summerdale or Marlow. There are 2 hospitals in the area. One in Foley and one in Fairhope so you will have no problem.

[ronrutmr2]

It won't take long to learn what times to avoid AL59 due to traffic, and there are many alternate routes. We use an app called Waze to navigate, in fact, we did a lot of the mapping for the app when it was new. Keeper named some nice areas, I would also throw in Elberta and maybe Lilian, too, out US98 towards Pensacola. One thing is for sure, no matter where you are, you are never far from the rural areas. It's not as hilly as you may be used to, but the farms and crops are similar to what you see up there. We saw the same when we lived in Grenada.

Anyhoo, take your time and visit us to get familiar with the areas. We had vacationed here for years, so had some idea of the layout.

Ron
Foley, AL

[vicliz]

We just bought a house in Perdido Beach. Wanted a quiet pretty area and were pleasantly surprised. Had no idea south of Elberta was so nice and a decent distance away from 59!
Vicki

[msedgil]

Thank you all for being so helpful! I am hoping after the first of the year we will be able to make a weekend trip down and just ride around the areas we are unfamiliar with. If my school schedule permits that is!