Saraland, AL 131 Apartments for Rent

First it was called Alvarez Station. Then it was Cleveland Station. Then it settled on the name of Saraland. This small city finally found its calling in life as the friendly neighbor accepting the overspill of people from Mobile.

Sometimes it takes a community a while to get going, and that describes Saraland. Only 12 miles north of Mobile and located on both sides of I-65, Saraland is a tiny city with a personality complex. It is called the "Gateway to Progress" but claims that it represents progress on its own, thank you very much. There seems to be a bit of "small dog" complex going on. Its history says it was "sparsely population" at the start of the century, but the population "swelled" to 4,595 by 1960 and then "swelled" again to the current 13,405. Saraland continues to swell as Mobile expands!

Moving to a Swell Place

Moving to Saraland is a cinch because it's accessible by major highways. Saraland is situated around Interstate-65, a major highway that leads to Interstate 10 in Mobile, Alabama. A bird's eye view of Saraland reveals that I-65 cuts right through the city. As the population swelled, land was annexed, and the city grew up and grew out on both sides of the interstate. Moving companies like it when they get calls to deliver to Saraland because the interstate makes their job easy.

A good guess is that many of the people moving to Saraland are doing so because it's close to, but not in, Mobile. Though it's small, it is a real city so it has all the amenities like garbage service, a library, a fire department, and a police department. As Mobile grows, so goes Saraland so more people just like you will be moving to this swell city over the coming decades.

A word of warning to the wise: since Saraland is small, you want to look for rental properties a couple of months before actually moving. Saraland butts up against the University of Mobile on its south side, so you are competing with a renting kind of crowd. Fail to plan ahead and you'll find yourself on I-65 headed south to Mobile to search out a place to live. That can be a major letdown to anyone trying to avoid all the hustle and bustle that naturally accompanies areas with a big population.

There are apartments for rentin Saraland. In fact, most places for rent are apartments and duplexes, though there are some houses, townhouses and condominiums available too. Would-be renters need to have decent credit and rental history. They are kind of touchy about renting to people with financial issues. Go figure! You need to be prepared to hand over some money too. You'll have to pay an application fee first, followed by a security deposit, pet deposit, first month's rent and utility hook-ups. Saraland may be small, but it acts big!

Two..Count 'EmTwo Neighborhoods

Since Saraland is all of 22 square miles, there are really only two neighborhoods - the area east of I-65 and the area west of I-65. If interested in an apartment complex in Saraland, there are several nice properties on the east side of the interstate which is also closest to the city center and Chickasabogue Park. Most of Saraland's development is east of I-65 because a chunk of the west side is reserved for economic development.

The west side of the interstate is closer to the University of Mobile in the south. Industrial Parkway runs along the southern edge of Saraland, but following Celeste Road (Highway 41) towards the north will get you away from the hubbub of everything. An apartment locator can be very helpful in locating vacancies and save you a lot of frustration.

There is just no getting around the fact that Saraland is small. Yeah, we know, we're a bit of a broken record. Another option when it comes to finding a home is to go just a teeny bit north on I-65 and check out Satsuma. Between the two cities you should have no problem finding three- bedroom apartments.If there are no vacancies, look for a duplex for rent in the neighborhood area between I-65 and highway 43 which is also called Saraland Boulevard. A major road accessing this area is Shelton Beach Road (Highway 213).

Sweet Living in Little Saraland

Saraland is on the western edge of a series of bayous and creeks. Close the Gulf of Mexico, it has a mild climate. People spend a lot of time outside planting gardens, fishing, and sitting on patios. To be honest, Saraland is really more like a big neighborhood than a city, in the sense its "leisure and social" activities mostly consist of spending time at the Saraland Public Library or volunteering to help "Keep Saraland Beautiful."

There are a lot of parks scattered around the city. Some, like Amelia City Park, have it all, including picnic areas, walking trails, and sports fields and courts. If you want a big park, then drive to Chickasabogue Park which is only about six miles away. It has 1,100 acres and 11 miles of hiking and biking trails. There's fishing also, which is almost mandatory for anyone living this close to bayous, creeks, lakes and the daddy of them all the Gulf of Mexico.

If you want some excitement, you'll have to get out and find it. A periodic trip to Mobile may be called for because it's loaded with activities like the Mobile Museum of Art, the Exploreum Science Center and Battleship Memorial Park. Nobody's making you leave Saraland though. You can stay put, and no one will care. It has all the businesses a person needs to live a nice lifeand, wellto take care of business. There are lots of restaurants too, mostly located along Saraland Boulevard and Industrial Parkway. Saraland has a low walk score, so plan on driving to run errands (sounds like an oxymoron).