[jimcmcgee]

We're not New York, New Orleans, Atlanta or Los Angeles. We are what we are...a small Alabama town with a good lifestyle. You're exactly right, the hosiery mills are winding down. These jobs that were so precious to farm families of the early 1900's are vanishing offshore. There's really nothing we can do about it. But...I do know that there has not been a year since 1984 that the City of Fort Payne's sales tax revenues have declined. In fact, they have averaged a 5-6% increase each year. I assure you that there are industries that have set up shop here that make a diversified job market. We have continuously had some of the lowest unemployment rates in the state. If you would like to see more specific information, go to www.tourdekalb.com. If you have a preconceived bias like Dr. Hei, then I will not even attempt to change your feelings. Come and see for yourself. Or maybe I should be like the state of Oregon or Washington in thie borderline billboards...come and visit all you like, but do not stay. We're doing fine.

[DaddyJ]

Just a note. My cousin, Carlton Benefield ran "The Pet Shop" on Gault avenue for several years before having to close it due to his health. Carlton is gravely ill and is not expected to be with us much longer. It was thru him that I spent a little time in Fort Payne and found that it is really a good place with some really good people. There's quite an assortment of the good, bad, and ugly as with about anywhere, but I found the whole area to be very comfortable. Nothing too fancy but for me it was/is just right.

[ftpayne08]

After several trips scouting out places to retire covering several states, we are looking forward to retiring to Ft. Payne next year. To us it had the right balance of amenities, beauty, friendliness and climate to suit us. Moving there from New Orleans will be quite a change and one we look forward to.
Our realtor Moderator cut: removed (people can PM for contact info) , was so friendly and helpful and worked her butt off finding us just the right bluff lot in Pell's Gap Estates.
It's a definite plus that Ft Payne is "wet"....we do enjoy our cocktails, beer mohitos and an occasional martini or two.

[Reme]

My family and I live in Anniston area, but when we want to get away for the day we take a drive up towards Fort Payne, known as the hometown of the band Alabama. It is a beautiful place, Mentone is marvelous, and the fleamarkets are fun! It would be a long way away I think from any major malls and a quick paced lifestyle, so if that's what you are looking for, forget it. If you want a slow paced life, quiet, away from the world that would be the place.

[Alabamacowboy]

I have lived in Fort Payne just about all my life. There is nowhere prettier to live, and there are good people here. We have our share of problems, but not like in the city. You can still walk safely on the streets, and the air is clean.
I live near Dogtown, and travel down Colbran Gap every day. And every day I say there's not a prettier place to live, anywhere. We may not have the mountains of Colorado, but we have Lookout Mountain, and we DON'T have the cold and blizzards. We don't have the Grand Canyon, but we have Little River Canyon and Desoto State Park. It may not be Gatlinburg, but Mentone is a developing arts and crafts destination.
Like to Fish? Try the public lake at Sylvania, or travel across the mountains to the Tennessee and Coosa rivers. If you have to have the hustle of the city, Huntsville and Chattanooga are an hour away, Birmingham and Atlanta just a little further. Beaches? Go to Gulf Shores, an easy half day drive!
We may not be the cultural center of the universe, and our speech might not be proper English, but you will still hear please and thank you.
Yes, life is good in Fort Payne, Alabama!

[marmac]

Alabamacowboy-------thank you for your observation. I have researched many places for retirement over the last 10 years-------Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. "on paper" Fort Patne/Dekalb County came out on top.
I had been to Arkansas, Tenn, and central Al but never to Dekalb County.
Last week we returned from our trip to Fort Payne and are happy as can be.

We were not expecting a "paradise" as that place does not exist. We had realistic expectations and Fort Payne far exceeded them. We toured the scenic places----Desota Park-----Little River Canyon-(hiked to the bottom and then back up------shopped at Walmarts, dined in the eating establishments, and talked to many people.
We attended church on Sunday and met many warm,friendly people.

We had addresses of homes we were interested in buying and drove by them. We were pleased.

We had taken the long way down from MN (!-75) through Kentucky and saw great scenery. However, on the return trip we had planned to detour and check out towns in Tennessee as alternatives if Fort Payne wasn't what we expected. ---We cancelled that as we felt "good" about Fort Payne.

I had signed purchase agreements on the sale of my MN dairy farm in August, however there are many " contingent" written into it by the buyer ( he has a new house to sell)

My wife and I are both 62 and eager to move. We know no one previously in Alabama and yet we are confident in our decision.

A word of caution to anybody relocating anywhere --------I am not you ,nor you are not me.
What I find as the place to relocate,might not be what you want. (and the opposite is true also)

Visit the town, shop in the stores, treat others as you would like to be treated-----and ask the question-------"would I feel at home living here?"

For us , the answer was yes.

[Bravo35223]

Glad you found a nice place to retire...and your advice is so accurate.

I get frustrated on here sometimes when people move to an area blindly - without researching in advance and actually spending some quality time in the area before making a decision...on the other hand, people like yourself who have done their homework have a far greater chance of being happy....

You are moving to a very pretty town....when you are looking for good shopping or a nice restaurant, drive down I-59 to Birmingham...

[littlecity]

[SIZE=3]I have found in the 4 years I have lived here since retiring that Fort Payne is quiet, very quiet. This is a peaceful town, some crime but very little, and is quite beautiful for anything anywhere close. I must agree about the job opportunities here, they are few and far between, unless you like flipping burgers don’t expect to get ahead here, all you are just going to do is break even, maybe, that is with the cost of housing and gas, good paying jobs are out of the question. The only jobs to move into the area are and have been part time with no benefits. The other good places to work require having family working at those places, yes I mean the “good ol’ boy” system is ramped here; you get nothing, you are nothing without specific family names being relatives or very close friends. So, look closely, be sure you want this type of life, if you do, move to Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon or Washington. [/SIZE]

[douglauri]

My husband and I will be visiting Fort Payne this summer. Has anyone ever stayed at the Fort Payne Inn? We really want to stay at a local place rather than ina chain style hotel.
Thanks in advance for input
Lauri

[marmac]

On our trip last fall. we stayed at Days Inn and were pleased with the rates, location, and cleanliness.

(I , too, prefer local places but we got "burned" a few times)

Hope Fort Payne Inn is one of the-----"good ones"