Thinking about relocating to Mobile from Orlando, FL (Fairhope, Louisville: transplants, apartment)

[Austin83]

Okay, so ignore the title a little bit because I am nowhere close to relocating yet, I am still doing a lot of research on different cities.

Just to give you some background information on me, I am a 26 year old single male, originally from Kentucky now living in Florida, and graduated college in December 2006 with a Bachelor's in Business Management. I moved down to Orlando because I thought about going into Hospitality Management and I loved the allure of Florida (I had done an internship with Disney in 2005 in Orlando so I already knew the area a little bit). I did a hotel internship with one of the leading hotel companies in the area, working the front desk, concierge, back office area, and group reservations. It was a great experience for a year but seeing the industry from the inside, there was no way I wanted to go into Hospitality Management. After that, I got a temporary position in the Human Resources department as an HR Generalist for 6 months. At that time, the economy started going south and the temporary assignment was ended even though they wanted to keep me. The only position I could find (outside of going back to the front desk or working at another hotel or a restaurant) was a Photography position at Disney. It is not my career goal obviously but I have always loved Photography so I have been doing that for the past year and a half.

With that said, I am really looking to get out of Orlando. I have looked for a year and a half for any kind of Recruiting or HR related position. I have had a few interviews here and there but nothing serious. I love Florida but there is really nothing here in terms of jobs unless you want to work in a low wage hospitality job or in the medical field, that's really all there is here. Very little in Finance, HR, IT, or Education. Not only that, but Central Florida is quickly becoming like South Florida in the fact that English is becoming the second language. I can't see myself settling down and raising a family here because I believe within 25 years there will be no difference between Central Florida and South Florida in term of culture and the fact that Spanish will be the dominant language. Finally, Orlando was just ranked as the #1 overpriced market in the country which I can believe. The houses here are cheaply built (usually in like 6 weeks or less by crews full of illegal immigrants) and have no character whatsoever. Simply put, $200,000 gets you nothing here, and even if I had a lot of money, I really don't see a lot down here that attracts me to buy. So overall I am done with Orlando.

When I decided to start looking elsewhere, everyone of course told me to look at the typical southern cities, Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte. None of these attract me though for several different reasons. First of all, I grew up in Louisville, KY, which is not small but is not a metropolis by any means. I want to live in a medium sized city and I am not really interested in the arts or theatre (besides a visit every couple of months). Atlanta is just too big and Atlanta traffic makes Orlando traffic (which is nothing to sneeze at) look like a breeze. Nashville is not horribly intimidating like Atlanta but I think lacks character similar to Orlando and it's too far from the beach and mountains. Charlotte is probably the best of the three but taxes in North Carolina are very high and with the vast amounts of people from the northeast invading North Carolina, I think North Carolina could very well become the new Florida, and not in a good way (higher property taxes, increase in traffic, increase in crime, not southern). I want to find a city that still has southern people in it, and we all know Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte really do not have that southern atmosphere any more.

So I started to think about other places and Mobile was one of those places that came up. Here are the pros and cons I came up with for Mobile.
Pros:
1) Medium sized city, similar to Louisville, without the traffic and size of a huge city.
2) Close to the Gulf Coast Beaches as well as other Gulf Coast cities like Pensacola, New Orleans, and Gulfport.
3) Slower pace and friendlier people compared to Florida.
4) More of a stable less transient population compared to Florida.
5) Lower overall taxes compared to Florida.
6) Better home quality and somewhere that I could see raising a family.
Cons:
1) No real major airport, would have to travel to New Orleans for traveling.
2) Right in a prime hurricane area.
3) Jobs could be scarce (that's everywhere right now however).
4) Not knowing anyone (are people in the area open to meeting new people?).

At this point I am not looking at specific areas or places to move to. What I would like to know are some of the basics. How is the job market in Mobile? With my degree and basic experience, would I be able to get an entry level HR or Recruiting position? How much could I expect to pay for a decent 1 bedroom apartment (I would prefer suburban over downtown or midtown)? Are there a fair amount of younger people (under 35) in the area or is it an older area?

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. In terms of size and location, I know Mobile is kind of what I am looking for. I just want to see if I have the right idea on what Mobile has to offer so I can make a choice on whether to seriously pursue it farther.

[Azalea City Man]

1) According to your wants, you would love renting in West Mobile. You can find a 1-bedroom for anywhere between $450 and $700 (depending on "prestige" of the place).

2) With your experience, you can find a job. I'm not sure about recruiting so much, but definitely at an entry-level management position somwhere. As with anywhere, now is not the best time to be searching. Mobile will be better in regards to the economy than most places, but Mobile is still growing - not a major market for jobs by any means. Mobile is seen as a very positive growth market in the next decade though.

3) $200k will get you a great house in a great neighborhood. Heck, we are probably buying a relative's house next year and $100k is getting us a good house in a good neighborhood.

4) Your pros and cons are prettymuch on point. You can fly out of Mobile's airport, but anwhere outside of flights to Atlanta, Memphis, or Houston (etc) ... you will have to use connectors (which isn't really that big of a deal). And Mobile is a smaller medium-size city, not as big as Louisville. Still a considered a medium-size city though.

[midtownruth]

Your pros and cons are pretty good, especially the pros.

Hurricanes here usually aren't that big of a deal, especially if you want to live out in West Mobile. During Katrina downtown flooded and some power lines and tree limbs went down; I would recommend a generator, though, even if it's just a small one. We usually only get a bad storm every 20 years or so.

Like Scott said about the airport, it will get you to Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, Memphis, or DFW. Then you can always get on a connector flight.

In this market right now, $200,000 can get you a good house.

Obviously, the job market will be so-so, but we were supposed to weather the recession pretty well, so it may be a little better than other places.

Mobile is largely a family oriented city in my opinion, while we also have a lot of younger people. Even though we aren't really a "college town," between U of South Alabama and Springhill College (and other smaller colleges), we have a good number of college aged kids as well.

Over all, people around here are very accepting and warm to new comers. Honestly, I'm not as familiar with the suburbs, but this is definitely true of areas such as Oakleigh, where many people have kids and the whole neighborhood is friendly, throwing block parties and the like. It is also the "cool" spot for young adults and couples. Oakleigh is right by downtown, though.

We are mostly southerners, but also have a few transplants from Atlanta and up north, not that we mind. We also have a small German population (I recommend you try some homemade spelt bread, available at the Market in the Square downtown on Saturday mornings), due to companies such as TK and Degussa.

Yes, we are close to NOLA, Biloxi, Pensacola, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Fairhope, the beaches, Dauphin island, etc.

[renee12345]

I moved to Mobile to attend Spring Hill. I am now a senior and cannot WAIT to get out in May. There is WAY too much traffic here for such a small city (Aiport Blvd. is atrocious.) The road system is also horrible; people do NOT know how to drive and the service roads everywhere just confuse everyone - even the native Mobilians, it seems
The mall leaves much to be desired. Downtown is ok.

That is completely my own short little opinion..