Apartments for Rent in Alabama

Alabama

Known as "the Heart of Dixie," Alabama has traditionally been a southern enclave with agriculture (including cotton, corn, peanuts and poultry) as the primary industry. An ideal climate for crops with hot summers, mild winters and plenty of precipitation has continued to keep Alabama a farming state, but since the mid-1990's, other forms of commerce have also contributed to a strong economy.

Hydroelectric power, mining and extraction of minerals, steel production and fabrication and banking have all become power players. Education is also a major part of the economy in Alabama, as is the aerospace industry.

Apartments in Alabama are most readily available in major cities like Montgomery and Birmingham, although no matter where you rent an apartment in Alabama you'll enjoy a small-town atmosphere, since there are no cities with populations approaching a million. The largest city, Birmingham, has about 850,000 residents.

Outdoor Attractions

Although the Gulf Coast portion of the state is small, it has some of the finest white sands beaches in the U.S. and none of the pollution or overcrowding of more famous areas. Boating, swimming and snorkeling are all popular. The greater part of Alabama, however, moves from rolling farmlands to deeply carved riverbank canyons along the Alabama, Tennessee, Tombigbee and Chattahoochee Rivers. Lake Eufaula is considered the "Bass Capital of the World," drawing avid fishermen year after year.

Along the rivers, canoeing and rafting are popular because of the relatively calm waters that wind through most of the state with gorgeous scenery on all sides.

Colleges and Universities

The state university system in Alabama oversees fourteen campuses of the University of Alabama. Auburn University is one of the most outstanding colleges in the state along with seventeen additional private institutions, including a range of Bible colleges and traditionally minority institutions.

Real Estate and Housing

If you want to work in a city but enjoy the Ocean, consider looking for an apartment in Mobile, where rents are lower than the national average and there are many locations just a stroll from the beach with easy commutes to the downtown. You'll discover, though, that any Alabama apartment is a bargain – the cost of housing here is 25% below the national average, with some of the smaller mid-sized cities boasting Alabama apartment rents that are nearly half of what you would find in other states.

If you're looking for a nice rural feel with short commutes, consider apartments northern Alabama. If you want to be in the center of a growing and bustling economy based on manufacturing and high tech, look for central Alabama apartments.