Job/housing market

Me and my girlfriend have been throwing around the idea of moving back to the coast somewhere. We both enjoy our trips down to GS and think that we could definitely see ourselves living in a place like that. What is the work situation like down there? Totally seasonal or is there steady work available? I have been running retail stores for about 5yrs now and can pretty much selling anything. She has her CNA and is taking classes to be an RN. So we can pretty much work anywhere. Is pay pretty competitive? Also how is the housing? We dont need much. 3brd 2bath and a hard for the dog. Is GS pit bull friendly?

Pit bulls get a bad rap, I think it is a lot with the owners , some in the blood line ....but mostly the way the owners treat and train them....all dogs want and need loving and respond to that in positive ways

my boy and grandson

100% agree. We rescued our dog from pound when she was 3 months. She's a sweet heart unless you come in the back yard or the house, which is what we want, and at that point im more dangerous to you then she is. She curles up next to my girlfriends nephew like hes a teddy bear. We will not live anywhere that wont allow "aggressive breeds".

Just a suggestion, Pensacola isn't too bad. I just moved over here last year. I have been liking it so far. There are also a lot of homes for sale at good prices. Plenty of retail stores and plenty hospitals and clinics to choose from. Also you are in between Gulf Shores and Navarre sI there is a nice variety of fishing.

There are lots of cost-of-living comparison calculators for cities. Not too useful for smaller towns though.

Market for CNA/RNs is good. She wont have much trouble finding a job. If she gets on with a hospital, it might be night shifts for a while, but it gets you in the door.
Retail varies, right on the beach is very seasonable, but off the beach, say up in Fairhope, Daphne, Spanish Fort & Mobile, it is not. Get your resume organized and hit the pavement and you should be able to find a job.

Housing: Housing in Mobile & Baldwin Counties is very reasonable, especially when compared to other markets, like Atlanta or some cities up north. As long as you don't want to be right on the water, you should be able to find something reasonable very easily. I know of 3br/2bt 1400 sqft rental houses in Loxley going for $900/month. Some other areas are a little more, some are a little less.
If you have the down payment to buy a house, its still a good market here. Prices have rebounded from the lows 2-3 years ago but are definitely not back to "bubble" prices after Katrina. Insurance is still a wild-card. Depending on which agency you get a quote from, some wont write new policies in certain areas or if they do, its an arm & leg.

Yea my Bride would want right on the beach.....no way....not that I wouldn't mind it, but sure don't think we could afford it....I see a drive in my future to the fishing, but better then the 14-1/2 hrs now

Every hurricane season, I give thanks that I don't live on the water. My house is one one of the higher spots before you get to the Bear Point area and though it's still in the zone to be flooded by a catastrophic storm, I feel like it'll still be there when I come back from an evacuation. I hope I didn't just draw God's attention with this post---He seems to delight in showing me how wrong I can be.

"if you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans."

We don't need to be on the water. Just don't want to drive an hr to the water either. Work is more of our concern. It's so hard to find a decent job up here and when you do its still not that good. Really dont want to go somewhere else and not be able to find good work

find work first and then a permanent place to live, rent while you look for that....there is a nice area Obie lives in (the old forum owner) north of Pensacola I am sure plenty others around....if it's not between the piers or west Pensacola..... I can't help at all....
hopefully looking one day too

i would love to move there but i am settling for the MS coast near Louisianan so its not a heck of a long haul to there and i still have some fishing near me! now if i can just land this FD job i applied for it would be awesome!

No matter where you live in MObile or Baldwin County, you are almost never more than 30 minutes from publically accessible water of one sort or another.
If you want to be within an hour of GSP Pier, then you will need to live in Baldwin County. If you want to be within an hour of Dauphin Island, its Mobile County.
Either way, like noted, its easier than a 14 hour drive!

The big retail centers are Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, Foley, Spanish Fort/Daphne and Mobile. If retail job market rules where you live, look into one of those areas.

She shouldnt have a problem getting a job and you can get a job in the $10 to $11 range

I live in Foley and work at the largest hospital in Mobile as a nurse. The job market for nursing assistants at the three Baldwin County hospitals (South Baldwin, North Baldwin and Thomas) is very good and is even better in Mobile/Pensacola. In Mobile, the market is currently becoming difficult for RN's as the area is saturated from the many nursing schools that feed the city and cutbacks by some of the big hospitals in town. There is a massive need for CNA's, especially those who are certified. Pensacola to the east is also a very competitive healthcare market for her to consider and is about the same commute time as Mobile from the Foley area. Pay for CNA's and RN's is somewhat lower than the national average in this area but there is a lot of variation between hospitals depending on what their need is at that particular time.

The housing market took a nice upswing the last quarter of 2013 with homes not lasting long on the market for a typical 3 bed/2 bath property. There are still several 3/2 rental homes in nice neighborhoods in the $900-1000 range in Foley that I am aware of. We bought in this area because it puts us 15-20 minutes from the pier and we can be at the Weeks Bay ramp in 5 minutes for kayak fishing the bay. Homeowners hazard insurance is comparable to what I paid in KY with the exception of wind insurance-some agents only write so many policies per year and once they reach their quota, they stop and refer everyone else to surplus line. It pays to shop around A LOT for wind coverage as quotes for identical coverage varied by as much as $1500/year for us last September. Many companies have stopped insuring people for wind damages after Hurricane Ivan hit the GS/OB area causing billions in damages, so what is left is either a surplus carrier that is owned by a well-known insurer (North Light is owned by Allstate and sold by Allstate agents) or the beach "wind pool" that is sort of a quasi-insurance of last resort for wind damage. There are pros and cons to each so do your research before you sign. Property taxes are low here, which offsets some of the other inflated living expenses.

Does anyone know of houses to rent around the area. I am looking to move to the coast from atmore due to A new job. Anything would he helpful. Thanks guys.

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Originally Posted by randy36535

She shouldnt have a problem getting a job and you can get a job in the $10 to $11 range

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That would be a drastic pay cut for me. Not sure we could take a hit like that. But that 900-1000 sounds good though. Almost what we pay up here and dont get an ocean

I currently pay $435 a month on for my house which I own. It needed a little work but my parents and I are working on that. You can definitely find some good deals out there.

I use a management company called Alabama Coastal Rentals (251) 626-3915), give them a call.
My house is rented with a fantastic long-term tenant but give them a call and they will tell you what they have available. They manage condos & houses all over the Daphne, Spanish Fort, Loxley, Fairhope area.