Mobile: A native's semi-in-depth perspective
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8/7/2007
I have lived in Mobile all of my life (27 years). I have lived in many parts of the city, worked at many different places, graduated from the University of South Alabama, and began my professional career here. With that being said, I have been looking to escape for a while now and plan to do so the exact second that I finish my second degree in the spring. It's just ... extremely boring here. Now, if you have never been to Alabama, then please note Alabama is NOT like how it is portrayed in Hollywood. However, it still sucks. My humble opinion on a few specifc things regarding Mobile.
Beaches? Someone said "minutes away from beaches"? Haha. No. But it is only a one hour drive to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach - which are nice, but tiny "get-away" places. Now, depending on where you live, you might be minutes away from the dirty Mobile Bay waters. Looks pretty to drive on the long bridge over, but it is by no means a beach.
Downtown? Dauphin Street (which is basically downtown) has a unique atmosphere and a decent amount of bars/clubs (if you are into that), but it is still small and pretty boring. Speaking of downtown, the Mobile downtown area is historic and unique, but there is not much to it. There is one tall building, one hotel, a few clubs and shops, and nothing else. Nobody actually lives downtown. However, coming from the eastern shore (Daphne), it does look pretty cool as you appraoch it from the BayWay (bridge connecting eastern shore and Florida to Mobile). Also, the hanging trees over Government boulavard are very cool.
Population? If you don't like stereotyping, please ignore this paragraph. I hate to sound this way and it is definitely not politically correct - but it's true. The city is 50% white/50% black - but don't let that mislead you - it is COMPLETELY segregated. It's pretty crazy. There are "sections" of the city. Downtown, North of it (Creighton, Prichard, etc.), and South of it (Maysville, DIP, etc.) are all very low income areas. You also have a few other areas spread about. Then, you have Midtown and the Mall area, which might be the only diversified section of Mobile where whites and blacks co-exist, yet is still pretty low income to moderate income. You then have "Springhill" and "West Mobile" or "Hillcreat" where most of the upper-crust whites live. Then, you have the "other West Mobile" or "Schillengers" (which is actually outside city limits) where the typically redneck whites live. You can also throw in sma
Jim | Greenwich Village-Union Square-Gramercy-Flatiron, NY