Avoid

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6/4/2021
I have lived here for a little over a year. I had imagined this would be a small town with some sense of community, but it seems entirely geared toward becoming a second rate tourist attraction.
Restaurants lean towards Midwest with a tropical twist, so they serve up large quantities of fried and previously frozen food. Even the Yelp photos of food at local Asian restaurants feature frozen french fries (no joke) and the Mexican restaurants have somehow managed to delete any spices and make their food bland.
Foley could easily replace NYC as "the city that never sleeps". No one here ever seems to sleep, and you won't either because of LOUD vehicles driving through the neighborhoods at all hours. There are not many highways, so the neighborhood streets are used as if they are an interstate, including semi-trailer traffic. Might as well live under a bridge on I-10.
There is stultifying humidity with high heat indexes from June to November, that pretty much puts the kibosh on outdoor activities during the day. First thing in the mornings or in the evenings when it is slightly cooler, you will probably encounter the mosquito spray truck, which operates on no set schedule, so you will once again be relegated to the indoors.
Escape to the beach is no relief either. There is not much of a beach as the sand is not wide. And there is always a riptide, so you can't go in the water. With all of the bays dumping fresh water into the area, it doesn't even smell salty like a beach.
Winter is not any better for being outdoors, There is temperature relief, but the wind comes howling in from the northern plains, generally at a 20-30 mph clip. And it is pitch dark by 5 p.m.
In summary, It's not a good place to live, but it's a great place to leave.
Susan | Foley, AL