<p>Does anyone have any information about the pros/cons of renting an apartment across the river in Northport? There are a couple of nice looking complexes with a 7-8 minute drive of UA according to Google but I wondered how accurate it was. Does traffic get backed up coming over the river? Also, is Northport considered a safe area to live in? Thanks.</p>
<p>A lot of students don’t think to look at apartments in Northport because they don’t have a Tuscaloosa address. Traffic is generally not that bad and is better than that on the other side of McFarland such that its quicker to get to the Walmart on the far end of Northport than the Tuscaloosa Walmart. Additionally, Northport has more student-friendly housing laws as relatively few college students live in Northport. Additionally, a lot of families prefer to live in Northport because it is part of the Tuscaloosa County School System rather than the Tuscaloosa City School System.</p>
<p>Coming from Northport one has a choice of two bridges with easy access to the UA campus.</p>
<p>Northport and the part of Tuscaloosa on that side of the Black Warrior River did not suffer as much damage from the April 27, 2011 tornado and had power restored very quickly. Students were able to go across the river to Northport to purchase hot food and gasoline as well as find outlets to charge their electronics.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply SEA_tide. That’s really valuable information and much appreciated.</p>
<p>My daughter lived in Northport for 2 years and loved it! She loved living in a complex that was a mix of families and students. PM me if you want more info!</p>