Working remotely from the coast? Check the line before you check the view

The call usually goes like this. Someone with a laptop job has found the house. Screened porch, ten minutes to the beach, the whole picture. They ask about the flood zone, the roof, the insurance. Good questions. Then, almost as an afterthought: “The internet’s fine out there, right?”

Maybe. That answer depends on the exact address, not the town. For someone whose paycheck runs through a video call, it’s the first question, not the last.

Here’s how I’d check it before you fall any further for the porch.

Check the address, not the zip code

Start with the FCC’s National Broadband Map at broadbandmap.fcc.gov. Type in the street address and it lists the providers that report they can serve that location, along with the technology and the advertised speeds.

Two cautions. The map reflects what providers report. It isn’t a guarantee. And “can serve” can mean a line has to be run to the house, sometimes at your cost and on their schedule. If the map is wrong, the FCC lets you file an availability challenge, and the provider has to respond. That helps the next buyer. It won’t help you close on time.

So do two more things. Ask the provider for a serviceability check on the exact address, in writing. And ask the seller, through your agent, which service they use and what it actually delivers. A current bill tells you more than an advertisement does.

The picture is shifting in parts of Baldwin County. In October 2024, Point Broadband bought the residential cable and internet business of Riviera Utilities, based in Foley. It said it would convert that network to 100 percent fiber and double its footprint in the area. That’s good news in general. It doesn’t tell you what reaches one particular street today. Out on acreage off a county road, your only options may be fixed wireless or satellite. That can be workable. Just know it before the offer, not after the movers leave.

Plan for the storm week

Hurricane season runs through November 30. When the power goes out, your internet goes with it, however good the line is. The question isn’t whether you’ll lose power at some point. It’s what your work week looks like when you do.

Find out who supplies electricity at the address. Depending on where you land, that’s Baldwin EMC, Riviera Utilities, a city-run utility, or, across the line in Florida, FPL, which absorbed Gulf Power at the start of 2022. Different utilities restore power on different schedules, and neighbors on the same street will tell you more than any brochure.

Then build a backup. A cellular hotspot on a different network than your home service is the cheapest one. If you’re thinking about a generator, the CDC’s rule is plain: run it outside, at least 20 feet from doors, windows, and vents. Never in the garage, even with the door up. Put a battery-powered carbon monoxide detector in the house either way. A permanent standby unit is its own project, with permits through whichever city or county has jurisdiction, so price it before you count on it.

This isn’t meant to scare anybody off. People work from here year-round. The ones who don’t miss a deadline in September planned for the outage in June.

The airport math is changing this fall

If your job means flying out a few times a quarter, the map just moved. The Mobile Airport Authority has said commercial service will shift from Mobile Regional, on the far west side of Mobile, to a new terminal at Mobile International Airport at the Brookley Aeroplex, with the first flight anticipated by November. Delta, United, and American are all expected to move over. The terminal opens with five gates.

For anyone living on the Eastern Shore, that puts the Mobile airport on the downtown side of the bay instead of across town. Pensacola International is the other option, and for Perdido Key or Foley it may still be the closer one. Confirm opening dates and routes with the airlines before you book anything. Then drive both airports once in real traffic, the same way you’d test a commute.

One small gift

Both sides of the line run on Central time. Alabama and the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River share a clock, so a house in Perdido Key and a house in Fairhope won’t change when your 9 a.m. standup starts. Coastal logistics rarely hand you something for free, so enjoy that one.

Before you write the offer

1. Run the exact address through the FCC map, and save a screenshot.
2. Get a written serviceability check from at least one wired provider.
3. Ask what the seller actually uses, and what they pay for it.
4. Identify the electric utility, and ask two neighbors how long the last outage lasted.
5. Price your backup, whether that’s a hotspot, a portable generator, or a standby unit.

None of this is complicated. It just has to happen in the right order, because a house that can’t hold a video call isn’t a home office. It’s a very nice place to be unreachable.

If you’re moving your job to the coast and want me to run an address or two through these checks with you, send them over. No pressure, just honest numbers. Call or text (251) 597-5809, and I’ll answer.

Mandy Longshore · RE/MAX of Gulf Shores · licensed in Alabama and Florida