Tomorrow's Great
Energy Center For the Eastern Gulf of Mexico
Compiled by the
Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce
Community
Despite its reputation as a laid-back
Southern community, Mobile is on the move. Basking in a prime coastal
location, Mobile enjoys all the business and leisure benefits of being on
the water. Location is just one of the many appealing aspects of our quality
of life that includes
affordable, state of the art healthcare
facilities, a rich history and endless recreation.
A thriving location, Mobile’s international business profile has been raised
to new levels with the opening of the Mobile Container Terminal,
construction of the ThyssenKrupp state-of-the-art steel and stainless steel
processing facility, the selection of Mobile as an Airbus Engineering Center
facility and a potentially major manufacturing plant for the U.S. Air
Force’s next generation tanker fleet. Since 2001, over 13,084 new jobs have
been created as the result of 103 new and expanding industries/companies.
Forbes.com recently named Mobile the No. 1 Small Metro Area on its Best
Places list of America’s Fastest Growing Metros.
From Old South charm to sleek modern practicality, the housing styles
available in Mobile are endless. A home in Mobile is not only affordable,
it’s a great investment. A low cost of living and a high quality of life are
reasons why Mobile is continuously ranked in Money Magazine’s “Best Places
to Live” annual survey. The selection of existing homes in any one of
Mobile’s downtown and midtown neighborhoods, including seven historic
residential districts, range from mansions to Victorian cottages. Further
away, suburban neighborhoods offer the options of waterfront property,
rolling hills and quiet cul de sacs. The average cost of a home purchased
during 2009 was $147,015, well below the national average. ACCRA, The
American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association, produces a quarterly
cost of living index for over 300 cities throughout the United States. The
ACCRA index uses the national average as a base of 100 and ranks the cities
accordingly. Mobile’s cost of living is consistently one of the 15 lowest
out of the 80 largest U.S. metropolitan areas according to the ACCRA study.
The index measures regional differences, and is based on six major
components including housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation,
healthcare and miscellaneous goods and services. The most recent cost of
living index for Mobile is 92.4. The average per capita income for Mobile
County is $26,464 and the median household income is $45,995, which is 87%
of the U.S. average.
Mobile County is home to a thriving healthcare community. Mobile County has
five general hospitals, a women’s and children’s hospital, a public mental
hospital, a private mental hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, five
outpatient surgery centers, a cancer institute, a cancer center affiliated
with the MD Anderson Physicians Network, numerous hospice organizations, a
mental school, numerous nursing homes, assisted living facilities,
outpatient mental health centers, emergency centers and alcoholism/drug
abuse centers. The University of South Alabama (USA) offers many unique
medical services including the area’s only neonatal intensive care unit, the
only level 1 trauma center, and the Mitchell Cancer Institute. Also, USA is
the only facility in the region providing burn care from injury to recovery
and is nationally recognized for its research.
The Mobile County Public School System continues to improve programs and
facilities. The Mobile County public schools have the state’s largest
Advanced Placement program, six magnet schools, two schools with
International Baccalaureate programs, an Engineering Pathways Integrated
Curriculum and the Mobile Math Initiative. The area has a large parochial
school system operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile and many other
schools operated through churches or private boards. The area provides
residents and businesses access to three public and private four-year
universities and two community and technical colleges.
The Mobile region offers an abundance of cultural and recreational
opportunities for people of all ages – more than 16 museums, an IMAX
theatre, six libraries, a variety of theater, opera, symphony, ballet,
fishing, hunting , golfing, boating, sailing, relaxing at the beach and
more. After several years of planning and fund raising, construction has
begun on Gulf Quest, the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico. The
museum, located on the Mobile River between the convention center and the
cruise ship terminal, will be one of the nation’s largest maritime museums
and will show case Mobile’s maritime heritage – past and present. The museum
plans to open in late 2012.
Mobile was founded
in 1702 and is the home to the country’s original Mardi Gras. Mobile is also
home to the Senior Bowl, GMAC Bowl, Mobile BayBears AA baseball, BayFest,
Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, the Dauphin Island Regatta, Bellingrath Gardens
and Home, Distinguished Young Women (formerly America’s Junior Miss) pageant and
the USS ALABAMA battleship. For updated calendar information and specific event
dates, visit the City of Mobile’s web site,
www.cityofmobile.org, and select
Calendar of Events.
The Mobile Copeland-Cox Tennis Center is the nation’s largest public facility
with 50 hard courts in one location. Regional golfing is among the nations
finest, with more than 25 courses.
The Mobile area’s incredible climate supports year-round outdoor adventures.
There are more than 70 parks and playgrounds in the Mobile area offering
facilities for picnics, canoeing, biking, hiking, camping and other leisure
activities.
From shrimp and oysters to red snapper and grouper, seafood dishes from Mobile
Bay and the Gulf of Mexico define Mobile cuisine. In kitchens throughout our
city, an abundance of fresh Gulf seafood simmers in a rich culinary heritage to
produce delicious meals meant to be shared. But if you don’t like seafood, don’t
worry; Mobile has plenty of other great food to keep you happy. To explore
restaurants in the Mobile area, search restaurants on-line at
www.mobilechamber.com.
Mobile’s strategic location and tremendous infrastructure – two interstate
highway systems, two airports, close proximity to open Gulf of Mexico water, and
five major railroads – make it a hot center for business and a great location to
raise a family. Its superb quality of life, diverse cultural and recreational
activities, low cost of living, close distance to the beach and the temperate
climate attract many newcomers and visitors every year. There are exciting
things happening in Mobile that will continue to attract residents and
businesses to this progressive part of the southeastern United States.