From California to the Bible Belt (Birmingham, Montgomery: house, rent, travel)

[bobizzy3]

To everyone that has replied,, thank you, thank you,,, you have all been very helpful,,,,I am sorry if I offended anyone, that was not my intent,, I drove all over Alabama and enjoyed every town we visited,,,we greeted by friendly and very polite people were ever we went...I am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression,,

I am sure that there are many, many places to eat in Huntsville on Sunday mornings,,, I just didn't see any, that is more my problem than the city's problem.. it is just one of those first impressions you get when I saw so many churches and so many cars in the parking lots,, it was just an eye opener for me. I was not being judgemental,, just my personal one person perspective opinion,,,I wasn't use to seeing so many churches. I am sure if I had asked someone they would have directed me to a place to eat. While I was in Huntsville about five days we had a nice tour and never had a bad dining experience....
I look forward to moving to the South and look forward to meeting all the great people that have also moved South or have lived there for generations..

I am confident that we will make friends and find a circle that fits our way of life,,,, If you treat people with courtesy and respect you will be OK no matter where you live,,,

Thanks for all your feed back,,,,,,, it has been extremly helpful an I appreciate the time you have taken to try and help me..

[marysally]

No problem Bob! I too was taken aback by the size of some of the churches in Huntsville. It is easy to think if you don't know better that everyone attends every Sunday and if you don't you will be ostrasized. There also are a lot of stereotypes about Alabama which are definitely not true for Huntsville. I have only driven through other parts of Alabama so I can't speak for them. However, I have heard frequently that Huntsville is different from the rest of the state.

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by bobizzy3

We are considering moving to the either Alabama or South Carolina. We will be visiting South Carolina in the near future. Aiken S.C. specifically.
I have been in and traveled all over Alabama and the one thing that stood out was how big religion was in this part of the country. In California it is not a major influence on the local culture. It is there if you want it and if you don't, that OK. I have lived in California for about 40 years, in a variety of towns and cities, and have never met anyone that attends church on a regular basis. Religion is just not what it appears to be in the Bible Belt.

My question is, if you are not big into organized religion will your neighbors still accept you? We will probably live in a gated community in the 500K to
700K price range. I noticed in Huntsville that the town came to a standstill on Sunday morning. I also drove from Mobile to Huntsville on a Sunday morning and had trouble finding a place to eat. (except Crackle Barrel's) We had to wait until afternoon to find a place that was open for food service.

How much does Relgion impact the social fabric of the communities.,,,,? Can a non church going Christian family be happy and accepted in the Bible Belt??????

I live in one of the Bible Belt buckles and on Sundays Springfield is a ghosttown, same thing you're experiencing in AL. There was a fascinating article in the Guardian (UK) I believe it was last week, about how Americans view God. The study also showed that America is much more religious than previously thought, especially in comparison to Europe and the rest of North America where atheism is up to 1/3 of the population. In contrast, 94% of Americans believe in a personal God, and God Himself is viewed much differently by the Northeast than the South, by Midwesterners, and by West Coasters. In the South the study says that most Southerners tend to view God as the traditional Old Testament God who uses nature, disasters, storms, etc. to judge and punish both personal and national sin. But at least where I am in Missouri, though most people are protestant and born-again, there's no pressure to join their churches. They ask, invite you, want to know where you stand, but remain friendly and gracious in allowing you your personal space. I don't think you'll have much of a problem. If anything,the amount of money you'll be spending there is enormous for that area. You'll be living next to doctors and attorneys and state judges in exclusive neighborhoods. It's a whole new (and cheaper!) world.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by brandoni57;92766
The thing is friend.. you can't honestly tell me you have sat in and discussed anything & everything from theology to economics to politics with EVERY single person who attends a Baptist church. Can you? ...

My bible study the other day was led by a homosexual, who is married to a woman now and has repented of his SINS, and we once again we love the sinner, disagree with the sin... is that what you expected??? [cut

Peace.

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Ok, 1) I don't remember saying I've spoken to EVERY Baptist in Alabama. I do know quite a few however. Those I know generally fall into one of the two categories I described. Does everyone in the state? No - there will be vast varieties. Stop being silly and try to start controvery (a trait of the extremes, I might add).

and... 2) You say your class was lead by a homosexual who is now married to a woman? Um.. homosexuals do not marry women. And it's been "uncloseted" that those "conversions" do not work - it was long ago revealed on more than one investigative show that interviewed former clergy who had claimed to have done this that they are fake. The men who "changed" were never homosexual to begin with - they were bisexual men who had "some" interest in the same sex. They got a few pep talks about cold showers and finding things to think about other than that other side of their desires, and then they were asked to go on tape saying they were "homsexuals" who had "changed" into a heterosexual. They were never homosexual to begin with, they were BIsexual - there's a difference.. read up on it and you'll learn somethin'. Poof - end of story and again, a controversial statement about sexuality being a sin that was begun no doubt to try to excite a reaction (another extreme trait). P.S. regardless... you state he repented for his "sins", but the God I'm aware of has a "no judgement" clause, so just making the statement that you feel a person has sinned means you (a human) are judging their actions as another human (not your job - a nono).

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Back to the real people...

People who move to Alabama will find a variety of people, but yes, you WILL find larger numbers of republicans, baptists, and extreme baptists, as you would say, in Maine or Idaho. It's sociology 101. I liked a comment I read comparing an overweight women being made to feel out of place in L.A., and yes, I would say that many Californians will see examples of things in Alabama that will make them raise an eyebrow and go, "Oh my goooooooooood....".. but you WILL meet more moderate and sane people (not those who convert homosexuals "back" or who try to entice arguments - though they are there).

As I would suggest to anyone under any income level or budget - rent first on a short term lease in an area you're considering, THEN if you like it, buy. That way there are no surprises as to the area you're going into. If you don't like that area, move a few miles away - just like anywhere, local attitudes and habits can change pretty dramatically in just a few miles.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by brandoni57;92766 My bible study the other day was led by a homosexual, who is married to a woman now and has repented of his SINS, and we once again we love the sinner, disagree with the sin... is that what you expected??? [cut

Peace.

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And bobizzy... brandoni actually provided the above statement which is a perfect illustration as to the stereotypical mentality some people think ALL people in Alabama have. There is no doubt a certain element of people in the South that have that, "If we don't approve of it, we're going to make sure we get rid of it", mentality - but public hangings are outlawed now so if your beliefs or opinions differ, the worse you have to deal with are debates with these people until you can just learn to laugh in their faces and turn around and walk away (and be thankful you're not them).

As said earlier - you will run into this, and moreso than you ever would in many other states, but it is by no means "the norm" for the whole state.

No one has brought this up yet, but considering the way the Feds handled the Katrina cleanup (or lack thereof) in the Gulf coast regions, I would suggest any other places you may consider be far enough inland from the AL coast that you won't have to worry about this during future hurricane seasons.

[Zelia]

Everyone has a different life experience, so my views of Alabama are influenced by my sexual orientation. Alabama is not a gay-friendly state. Of course not many states are gay-friendly--some more so than others, but Alabama is generally regarded to be at the bottom of the list.

There's no question that being a Republican, and a Baptist would certainly open doors to finding acceptance. If you don't have a typical "Bamish" lifestyle, it's probably wise not to make waves. I guess that's just common sense. I wouldn't be putting a "Hillary 2008" sticker on my car's bumper. No, I think that would be a mistake living in Alabama. I would be talking about sports, family, your job, and avoiding the subjects of politics and religion.

Z

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Zelia

There's no question that being a Republican, and a Baptist would certainly open doors to finding acceptance. If you don't have a typical "Bamish" lifestyle, it's probably wise not to make waves. I wouldn't be putting a "Hillary 2008" sticker on my car's bumper. No, I think that would be a mistake living in Alabama. I would be talking about sports, family, your job, and avoiding the subjects of politics and religion.

Z

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Actually, you're pretty much describing the South in general, with a few exceptions. If you take a city like Atlanta with the huge mix (good and bad) of people, a Hillary sticker would be ignored. Go to Mobile or Tuscaloosa and you might find a brick through the back window of the car.

What you CAN talk about:

1) Hunting (they LOVE killing things for sport here).

2) Babies (everyone has a newborn - really - everyone!).

3) Sports (Start with the sports you played or imagined you played in high school, migrating to the teams you force your kids to belong to now).

4) Anti-smoking laws (discussions about how the government is taking away your right to develop lung cancer in restaurants and public places is a popular topic)

You CANNOT logically discuss as someone said earlier, religion, politics, or anything with "sex" in it down here. I swear every time we go over into Alabama to deal with our customers at work, they try and try and try to drag us into discussions about stuff like this. We learned a long time ago to just let them do all the talking, knod your head up and down, and once every 45 seconds say, "Oh yeah - you got that right", or, "mmmmmm hmmmm", followed by an occational, "uh huh". I'm usually doing a crossworld puzzle in my head while I'm making these noises - I have no idea what the topic of the discussion really is. In the past I would when asked offer MY opinion on the topics were they brought up, and if it did not completely agree with theirs on all levels (which many times it would not), they would ask me if I was a communist, athiest, or worse (to them).. [gasp] "Californian!". LOL

This is again a generalization and you're bound to find reasonable people in Alabama who you're able to discuss (and disagree) topics with, but if you feel someone is radical and steering you into these things, walk away or do the "uh huh" stuff.

[marysally]

Atlantagreg -- Exactly where in Alabama is it that you are so familiar with? Quite frankly I have not seen many of the things that you seem to feel are true in your description of Alabama. With a name like "atlantagreg" maybe you are more experienced with GA than AL.
In particular none of my coworkers ever talk about hunting; one is a sport fisherman who has won several tournaments, but I know of no hunters. My nephew who has lived in La his whole life is the only hunter that I know. Yes, they do talk about children but I thought this was universal, not something unusual about AL.
Very few of my coworkers are smokers and they are pretty much ostrasized since they have to go outside to smoke. I don't know of anyone who would step to their defense about smoking. In fact, I think it is pretty much the universal opinion that it is a filthy habit that they should stop and noone wants to be around smokers at restaurants etc.
The one thing though that you got right on was their obsession with SEC football -- particularly Alabama and Auburn. I am really sick of hearing about "the Bear" and wish they would let him rest in peace!

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by marysally

Quite frankly I have not seen many of the things that you seem to feel are true in your description of Alabama. With a name like "atlantagreg" maybe you are more experienced with GA than AL.
In particular none of my coworkers ever talk about hunting; one is a sport fisherman who has won several tournaments, but I know of no hunters. My nephew who has lived in La his whole life is the only hunter that I know. :

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I grew up in West Virginia, and moved to the Atlanta metro area some years ago. I work for a small construction company doing varied tasks for them, and travel around a little to neighboring states (varied cities) to see clients. You didn't mention your line of work, so I'm curious what you do in Alabama where most of the folks don't smoke and no one talks about hunting. Ok admit it - you're a nun.

Our clients are contractors for the most part. We're talking predominately good 'ol boy types with gun racks in the back of their trucks, chewing snuff or smoking, yadda yadda. Even when they do very well in their business ventures, their trucks get bigger, the cigars get more expensive, and they go to more exotic locations to hunt, but they're still that same type of person. Nope - doesn't describe everyone in those areas, but the group I deal with, you tend to see more of them in that area than some others, if that answers your inquiry.

[marysally]

No, I'm not a nun. I work for NASA. Most of my coworkers are very health conscious and wouldn't think of smoking. As far as the hunting goes, I grew up in Atlanta and none of my family hunted. Never had a gun in my house growing up. As I said before, my nephew (actually my husband's nephew) is the only person I know who hunts (duck hunting in SW La). Personally I think you will see hunting as a pastime more in Louisiana, Texas, and other western states.