Hello All,

 I am looking to relocate to a warmer climate. Could someone familiar with the Foley, AL area share their thoughts of the area
as far job market, schools, crime etc.?

Thank you.

Curious, why Foley?  Baldwin county in general is a good place to live. Crime is very low except for a few small areas right around the Wilcox/Loxley area (i've been told it is meth related).  What kind of work would you be looking for and how old are your kids? Public or private school? Where do you fall on the economic scale?

Ever since Katrina, property insurance is sky-high for real estate south of I-10. My Aunt, Uncle, and Grandmother moved down from N. Alabama to outside of Fairhope in 1995, but went back in 2011 because their homeowners insurance quadrupled after Katrina. The sad part of that was that they were at least 20 miles from large bodies of water like Mobile Bay or the Gulf. Many others they knew followed suit. Not trying to "rain on your parade", but just wanted to give you something else to figure into your thoughts. Good luck.

I know people that live in Fairhope and their insurance went up, but did not quadruple. I suspect they were either in a flood zone or had to get an insurance rider with the "wind pool" which is very expensive. However, insurance companies have been coming back in recent years and insurance rates have come down and availability gone up.

Isn't Foley also known as "The Catheter Capital of the World"?

I can't speak for the schools or job opportunities, but Foley is a nice little town and not far from the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.  Quite a bit of retail in Foley, considering it's size, which I would assume is due to it's proximity to the beach areas.  Clean town with little crime.  Housing costs aren't as high as they would be in Fairhope.

A lot of shops there and the growth has been explosive due to the outlet mall and proximity to the beaches. You really need to tell us what you do for work for anyone to give you an idea of where you want to live. If kids and public schools were the focus i'd choose Spanish Fort and second possibly Gulf Shores. If wanting to live in the country were the issue, i would choose somewhere that had easy access to East Baldwin county, but work would be limited. You have money, then Fairhope, Spanish Fort or Magnolia Springs. The Elberta area is really quiet but close to Foley, the beaches, and even Pensacola. If you wanted to live in Alabama but work in Pensacola, that would be a good option. Job opportunities might be better there, again, depending on what you do. Oh, and i would be remiss if i didn't tell you that you're going to stick out like a sore thumb as a Yankee in most areas of the county . Be nice and people will be nice back at ya.