PelicanState87

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Mobile's fine. It's cliquey. Midtown and Spring Hill areas are nice, but given the crime and demographics, I'd still opt for Fairhope, Daphne or Spanish Fort.

The best thing about Mobile is the bay and its quick proximity to Daulphin Island, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Ono Island, and so on.

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Mobile's suburbs lack character, development, and charm. They are very cookie cutter bland typical American suburbs without much to do. For active to somewhat active people without kids or older kids ... it's a tough sale to move out there.

I would take my chances on the city in hopes of things will get better. Like I stated earlier. There's a big push in popular American cities (Mobile is one) to push the riff raff outside the city by raising prices ... I'll put my money on that.

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Let’s look at actual facts

From yahoo AI-

Overall Crime Rate: The crime rate in Mobile has decreased significantly, with a reported reduction of over 56% in Part 1 Crimes from 2014 to 2024. This indicates a positive trend towards safety in the city
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Violent Crime: Despite the overall decrease, violent crime has seen an increase in recent years, with a notable rise in homicides, which increased to 39 in 2024, up by 8 from 2023
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Property Crime: In contrast, property crime rates have generally decreased, contributing to the overall decline in crime
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Future Projections: Based on historical data, the crime rate for 2025 is expected to be lower than in 2018, suggesting a continued trend towards improvement
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32 murders? Heh…. Rookie numbers

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Those numbers are fake ...get real. Talking to locals is a better indicator of where crime is.

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I lived there for 8 years and believe me .. you don't want to live there. It's a shithole... Crime everywhere where.. white trash meth heads everywhere. Mobile is a fricking dump.

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I do believe the crime is bad but that's expected giving the demographics. But I didn't feel unsafe and I feel like crime for the most part is very avoidable. I stayed on the nicer sides of town my whole visit ... no need for me to go anywhere else. Also I went walking around downtown one night and felt safe doing that. Also usually I'm in by 7p which increases my safety points

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You want to stay away from Africatown

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Trust me I already know and yes I'm Black. I did see it driving

It reminded me a lot of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. I had a good visit and plan to return

Downtown: I spent most of my time downtown. I liked that downtown parking was mostly free and the historic architecture and walkability very much reminded me of the French Quarter. I kinda wish there were more shopping options and outdoor attractions on Dauphin St (their Bourbon) and around it but at the same time I enjoy the calm less busy feel of the street. Also I was happy to see little to no beggers and homeless people on the street. Mobile is absolutely much cleaner than NOLA and I know they hate being compared to NOLA but I can't help it ... I'm a Louisiana native

Midtown: Lost Pizza Co. was the highlight of my MIdtown experience and I loved the beautiful historic homes and live oak trees lining some of the streets. I could definitely see myself living here if I ever decide to move to Mobile. I can afford living in Mobile really nice neighborhoods before I could every afford the ones in New Orleans.

Safety: I felt pretty safe but I didn't realize Mobile was so dangerous. People kept telling me to be careful which lead me to do more research where I found out Mobile and New Orleans got more in common than I thought. Mobile crime rate is really high and the ghetto side of Mobile is epically bad (I stayed on the good sides). It always seem the cities with the most culture also have a bunch of chaos and crime ... I guess that's the price you pay if you want "culture"

Food: The food was good, nothing impressive or special. The customer service was top tier and again I was a bit surprised with the prices.

People: You can tell there's a lot of old money in Mobile. Especially among the odd cult-like Mystic Krewe families. Mobile is very segregated like most cities ... not just by race but class as well. I had all positive encounters but nothing really stands out about the people. I was actually a little surprised by the diversity ... ran into some Asian and Hispanic residents. I definitely don't get wild party people like I do with a lot of NOLA residents ... more chill. Also the city doesn't seem to be overwhelmed with liberal hippies that have ruined (and ruining) New Orleans with their weird politics.

Mobile seems to be a city on the rise. The only downfall are the hurricanes and insurance rates b/c of hurricanes but outside of that Mobile is highly desirable for affordability, historic charm, Southern culture, and good weather.

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The real head scratcher: How come they can make a yard in a high end neighborhood look pristine when they're on a crew, but if you drive by their personal house the landscaping is a patchwork mess?

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I thought the same. I think maybe because landscaping is a luxury most of them can't afford ... at least the working and middle class ones. I only hire Latinos for yard work and they always do an amazing job at a good price. I don't hire nobody but them for any house or yard needs. Also a lot of these guys are strong

Latinos are the second largest and the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. however they are not well represented in the top two most popular Americans sports. There's a high school near me that's like 80% Latino but damn near every kid on the football and basketball teams are still Black or White ... sprinkle of Latino .... I'm like damn that's sorta weird. I thought by 2026 most Latinos would be Americanized but they are not ... most still need to be "broken in". Americans love football and basketball ... Latinos do but they don't to me.

What say ya'll? Will it ever happen? I even looked at the top football and basketball players/stars in more heavily Hispanic cities like San Antonio and LA and they are still mostly Black and White athletes.

Atlanta is definitely on it's way to becoming the premiere city in the American South, surpassing Nashville, Houston, Dallas, Austin, and Miami by a much larger margin than it does now. Smart people have caught on and bought real estate before they reach NYC/SF/LA level prices

The greenery, good mix of people diversity, the professional sports teams/venues, the Beltline, the top tier colleges, the airport, the diverse beautiful neighborhoods, the diverse economy, the 4 seasons, the Appalachia influenced topography, the unique urban amenities, the CURRENT price point for cost of living ...nobody else can compete with that anywhere actually ... not just the American South.

And this is rarely mentioned but Atlanta has pretty strong leadership. The democrats in the city work very well with republican state leadership. Mark my words, Atlanta will be a top destination in 10 years

90s Buckhead will never happen again b/c COST AND SECURITY at CY. At most it'll be a playground for older more financially comfortable college educated adults 35+. Atlanta is writing the blueprint on how to positively transformed a city from a ghetto public safety hazard to a liveable desirable thriving city. If Atlanta was in a liberal state none of this would happen ... look at Chicago's downtown ... all the momentum it had was ruined by stupid liberal state legislators and it can't get back on track no matter how hard they try. Actually some of those wealthy conservative and moderate Chicagoans will end up in Atlanta .. it's inevitable .. Atlanta is making some noise

Baytown used to be a desirable area with desirable schools but by the mid-2010s it got taken over by lower income Blacks and Latinos fleeing Houston for better schools and bigger neighborhoods. The Latino families are not much of a problem but they did lower the scores at the school. And you already know what happens when an area gets flooded with African Americans ... I don't need to say more