University of South Alabama ?s

mommyofmiles

My husband will be heading to the area for a job interview and will be driving around the area to get an idea of what is around. If you live near this university, what neighborhood do you live in? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Schools are important to us too. If he gets this job, my oldest son will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. Thanks for any input!

 

mystic_J

I live in Midtown, about 15 minutes away from the school. We loved the neighborhood when we moved back to Mobile 6 years ago, but now that we have DS, we want to move to the Knollwood area or West Mobile. There is a lot of crime in Midtown. Not to mention that we want a real neighborhood that has kids and nice sidewalks and not creepers lurking around the neighborhood at all hours of the day.

As for schools, prepare yourself to having to send your kids to private school. The public schools here are horrible. Also, don't wait to register your kids at the private schools. My son is 9 months old and I had to register him for K3 a few months ago because spaces were filling for his starting year. Yes, it's that competitive here.

I love Mobile, there's just some things you need to know to be prepared and have a good experience here.

lcox2010

We went to ER Dickson for elementary school. And my sister went to Council. Not all public schools are bad. That being said, there are a lot of good private schools down here as well. I would not recommend enrolling your child at Knollwood christian. I've hear horrible things from there. As for neighborhoods, there are plenty in west mobile. Also the neighborhoods on hillcrest and even on cottage hill are good. Welcome to Mobile!!

jacksjen09

I live in North Mobile. Saraland is what it is called. The school system up here is great. a couple of years ago they broke away from mobile county. This year my son starts kindergarten and they are about done with the brand new Elementary school. it is beautiful. I love the school system up here I would not go back to Mobile county after being here. Satsuma also has their own school system  

hullabalou

I live in West Mobile, Dawes Road/Airport area. I grew up in a rough part of Mobile, and this is SO much safer and more family-friendly. It is only about a 15-20 min drive to South, even at 8 am or 5 pm when I'm headed to/leaving class and traffic is bad. I do love Mobile, it has its flaws but everywhere does! Where I live, my kids will go to O'Rourke Elementary, Causey Middle and Baker High. All are good schools. There are also several private schools in the area.

AngelSong1976

We live in Baldwin County and my husband commutes to work (on the University campus.)  I work in Gulf Shores, so it made sense for us to live somewhere in the middle.  The schools in Baldwin County are historically better than the ones in Mobile and the crime is much, much less.  The commute can be frustrating, but it was worth it for us to buy a home where we felt completely safe.  We lived very close to the University for a year and a half, on Nassau Drive, right next door to a police officer, and someone still managed to steal a gift card out of a greeting card that was in our mailbox for no more than a few hours one afternoon.