Mentone (Birmingham, Huntsville, Carolina: house, travel, income)

[IDVague]

Any residents of the Mentone area (full time or part time) who would like to give a review of the area? It looks like a place I would consider for retirement, maybe before. What kind of income is needed to live a moderate lifestyle? (I know that question is extremely vague, but I would like to provoke a wide variety of response.)

[VMH2507]

Are you self-employed or retired?

[IDVague]

Originally Posted by VMH2507

Are you self-employed or retired?

Neither at the moment.

[harry chickpea]

There is no single answer. A brow view home north of the town might be very expensive. Some of the older places to the south and east are still reasonable. We looked at the area extensively along with Ft Payne and the surrounding towns.

[mentonite]

I Grew Up In Mentone And I Might Make A Suggestion To You,,
A Lot Of People Use To Come Up And Spent The Summers There To Get The Feel Of The Locals,,it Was A Quiet Place With No Development But Soon It Became A Haven For Bham,atl And Various People Got Property Cheap And Now It Is Almost Impossible To To Get Good Cheap Lots There,,,,
If You Are Retired The Summer Camps Or Lodges Can Always Use Extra Help,,,even Closer To Desota State Park Is A Good Place To Live,,i Grew Up On Farm Land On The Brow And Near The Park,,wish I Had Stayed,,where Are You Moving From And Do You Know How Cold It Gets In The Winter?
Signed Kt Mentonite

[welltraveled]

I just read this post for the first time...
My wife and I are in the process of moving to Mentone. I was born and raised there, and I have 80 acres on which to build. I get back quite often. I have spent most of my adult life running away from Northeast Alabama. It's gotten a little better, but let me tell you a few things first.
Dekalb County has only been "wet" for a little over 2 years now, and this is still an area of great controversy. I should say actually, Ft. Payne is wet. The rest of the county is still under Prohibitionary law. So don't get caught drinking, especially if it's booze from out of state (and being that GA. is only 5 miles from Mentone, it's tempting to just drive across the line). The cops are real hardasses who are mostly hardcore Bible thumpers to boot. I've run into a lot of cop trouble in my hometown. Mentone's not so bad, but now that Little River Canyon is under federal jurisdiction there is a lot of pressure on the rangers to enforce drinking ordinances. If you don't drink, there's no problem. But you must be aware that there are a lot of corrupt cops in this area.
It's a beautiful place, and very quiet. Are you from the South? My wife is from up north and she has difficulty with the locals' perceptions of her as a "Yankee", and therefore an outsider. Still, we have a circle of friends who are in the same boat, and we all get by. And so, sometimes I feel like the outsider. For the most part people are very friendly and courteous, but suspicious.
Things are cheaper here. Plus, you are an hour away from Huntsville, 45 min. from Chattanooga, and 1 1/2 hrs. from Birmingham and the Atlanta area. Rome is nice, too, and now they have a new minor league baseball team and new stadium which is very fun. If you're into the outdoors the Cohutta Wilderness in North Georgia is but 2 hours away. The Nantahala area of North Carolina is less than 3 hrs. away.
I'm looking forward to being back, building a house and starting a small business. I'm not looking forward to poor selections at stores, the bad crystal meth problem in the area and the oppressive heat (it's been over 100 for almost 2 weeks straight).
Anything else?

[Sarges Dad]

Originally Posted by welltraveled

I just read this post for the first time...
My wife and I are in the process of moving to Mentone. I was born and raised there, and I have 80 acres on which to build. I get back quite often. I have spent most of my adult life running away from Northeast Alabama. It's gotten a little better, but let me tell you a few things first.
Dekalb County has only been "wet" for a little over 2 years now, and this is still an area of great controversy. I should say actually, Ft. Payne is wet. The rest of the county is still under Prohibitionary law. So don't get caught drinking, especially if it's booze from out of state (and being that GA. is only 5 miles from Mentone, it's tempting to just drive across the line). The cops are real hardasses who are mostly hardcore Bible thumpers to boot. I've run into a lot of cop trouble in my hometown. Mentone's not so bad, but now that Little River Canyon is under federal jurisdiction there is a lot of pressure on the rangers to enforce drinking ordinances. If you don't drink, there's no problem. But you must be aware that there are a lot of corrupt cops in this area.
It's a beautiful place, and very quiet. Are you from the South? My wife is from up north and she has difficulty with the locals' perceptions of her as a "Yankee", and therefore an outsider. Still, we have a circle of friends who are in the same boat, and we all get by. And so, sometimes I feel like the outsider. For the most part people are very friendly and courteous, but suspicious.
Things are cheaper here. Plus, you are an hour away from Huntsville, 45 min. from Chattanooga, and 1 1/2 hrs. from Birmingham and the Atlanta area. Rome is nice, too, and now they have a new minor league baseball team and new stadium which is very fun. If you're into the outdoors the Cohutta Wilderness in North Georgia is but 2 hours away. The Nantahala area of North Carolina is less than 3 hrs. away.
I'm looking forward to being back, building a house and starting a small business. I'm not looking forward to poor selections at stores, the bad crystal meth problem in the area and the oppressive heat (it's been over 100 for almost 2 weeks straight).
Anything else?

I have lived in a dry county for 27 years and if you drink responsably and put it in your trunk no one cares where it comes from or that you drink it. Just stay off our roads while drunk or you are considered no better than the man who run the meth lab.