relocating to alabama for small town family values (York, Carolina: rent, travel)

[nananewell]

Originally Posted by wifmmmy

I was born and raised in california. I have lived all over cali from north to south and I am growing tired of the lack of family values getting worse and worse. I have always loved the southern way of life my dad was born and raised country. So I want to raise my son in a place where family is number one. I really need advice on where in alabama would be a great place to raise a family. I am nervous about being accepted from the community. As we would be "outsiders". I guess no matter where we go we will have to probably run into a few people that will not accept us but I would like a fightin chance. My husband is mexican with an accent but speaks and understands english very well and I am caucasian. I am not worried about the whole mixed marriage thing as much as I am worried about how my husband will be excepted into the community. Especially the whole illegal immigrant thing going on. He is documented and everything is legal but we have come across people that assume because he is mexican he must be illegal. He is a long haul truck driver so a job is not the issue. We know cost of living will be much lower. I would like some advice on some cities that might be more open to us. I have read alot about huntsville. I want a real good school system as well. the current town I am in is very anti christian and I am growing tired of that as well. so I know that Alabama --God and country are open and loud which I love. any advice will be appreciated.

My family is currently in Lehi, Utah. We are from Deer Park, Alabama. We have found that life in Alabama is not what the folks in Alabama might have you to believe. The cost of living is higher than in Utah. The schools are among the worst in the nation. The economy is failing. We are a christian family and also seek a place of high morals and welcoming of people. We have found that in Utah. Unfortunately for us, the rest of our family is in Alabama. We will be returning soon. However, I would recommend to you that you stay in the northern areas or perhaps Tennessee if you have need of schools. It does seem that the further north you go the better it gets. As far as the "acceptance" issues.....I think that people are people everywhere you go and prayerfully, your family will be given the opportunity to show your goodwill and desire for a good life without judgements. I wish you well.

[steveklein]

Originally Posted by nananewell

My family is currently in Lehi, Utah. We are from Deer Park, Alabama. We have found that life in Alabama is not what the folks in Alabama might have you to believe. The cost of living is higher than in Utah. The schools are among the worst in the nation. The economy is failing. We are a christian family and also seek a place of high morals and welcoming of people. We have found that in Utah. Unfortunately for us, the rest of our family is in Alabama. We will be returning soon. However, I would recommend to you that you stay in the northern areas or perhaps Tennessee if you have need of schools. It does seem that the further north you go the better it gets. As far as the "acceptance" issues.....I think that people are people everywhere you go and prayerfully, your family will be given the opportunity to show your goodwill and desire for a good life without judgements. I wish you well.

i could not disagree more with this post.

the fact is that while top to bottom, schools in alabama are some of the worst in the country, there are LOTS of school systems in the state from south to north and east to west that are VERY good.

cost of living is well below the national average, and is VERY cheap when compared to big cities like new york, san francisco, etc.

your comment about the economy failing is asinine. alabama has one of the strongest economies in the nation. very low unemployment, and an economy that has grown faster than the national average for the last several years.

[Deelo]

Auburn is a great place to move and raise children! Great schools, low crime and one of the best colleges anywhere!

[Keeper]

I would have to agree schools are not as bad as some would have you believe. Schools in FL are horrible as the only thing they teach is the FCAT test. There are good and bad school districts just do your homework. N. Ala is the part of the bible belt but I have found most will tell you about their church but they don't come knocking on your door to pressure you into attending. There are not a lot of Catholic churches in N. AL but there are a few if you are catholic. You will find the cost of living reasonable depending on the city. Huntsville is very diverse since Redstone Arsenal and NASA are big employers.

[atlantagreg30127]

Don't confuse "family values" with "Redneck values", either. There *IS* a difference. It's perfectly fine to be a religious person/family, praise whatever God you worship openly, and to raise your children to treat others like they want to be treated (which SHOULD be life's #1 lesson IMO).

However, one thing about the South is that sometimes, you come across people who say they support these things, but they also support OTHER things as well (like cross burnings, shooting an immigrant or two, etc etc). To some people, the much more radical actions are also considered "values".

I knew some folks who moved from Atlanta to about 35 miles south of Birmingham, and they said they found some little area where the folks prided themselves in values. Turns out they discovered that given the chance, their neighbors on all sides would also hang black people from trees, burn homosexuals, and cut the feet off people who dance, too. Scary. They wound up moving to near Montgomery and wound up being MUCH happier in their new area.

So again, *research* exactly what "values" mean in a given area down here before plunking down the down payment on a new home. Values may have very different meanings to different people.

[Rick in Dixie]

Originally Posted by steveklein

i could not disagree more with this post.

the fact is that while top to bottom, schools in alabama are some of the worst in the country, there are LOTS of school systems in the state from south to north and east to west that are VERY good.

cost of living is well below the national average, and is VERY cheap when compared to big cities like new york, san francisco, etc.

your comment about the economy failing is asinine. alabama has one of the strongest economies in the nation. very low unemployment, and an economy that has grown faster than the national average for the last several years.

I totally agree with Steveklein , I've noticed nobody's mentioned Arab Al. Our School system broke away from the county system several years ago to form our own city system and its second to non, we have the top saleried teachers in the state , our system is privately funded by members of the Chamber Of Commerce and students families and local corporations, Money is no issue when it comes to education in our area. We took a lot of flack by seperating from the county but its funny how students county wide will give a local relatives address just to attend Arab Schools . Jobs ? we got jobs , maybe not so many right here in the city limits , but we're only 25 minutes from Huntsville , 25 Minutes from Cullman and an hour and a half from Birmingham. I can almost guarentee what ever your paying for a home in California will buy you twice or three time the home here, One of the Goverment Employees that is relocating to the area from Washington DC was interviewed on a local TV news saying he came to scope out buying a new home and said it was Crazy! he couldn't believe how afordable the home were and he is trying to pursade he intire famlies to pull up root and get down here. Yes there is a lot of building going on, and new homes in ever price range you can imagin. I have a next door neighbor that moved here 3 years ago from Oklahoma City, he is from Mexico and speaks very little english , Tyson Poultry moved him here to manage a processing line in Albertville and the money they gave him to find temorary housing with till his current home sold, he bought a 10 year old 1600sq ft home , this area is so used to seeing people of mexican decent your husban will think this is a border town , Oh yeah ! theres about 15 trucking companies in a 3 county radius , they are constantly running adds for drivers due to exspansion. So don't let the Southern Stereo typing scare you off , they ain't nothing here but just good folks raising good childeren to do the very best they can, You have to live in this old world as bad as it seems at times , you might as well be living somewhere that makes you happy. Good Luck and God Bless

[WORMWOOD]

I Really Enjoyed Reading Your Post. I Felt The Same Way When I
Was Raising My Three Children. I Was Brought Up Near Birmingham
And Enjoyed The 1950's "leave It To Beaver" Small-town Atmos-
Phere. Therefore, I Wanted This Same Experience For Them. I Was
Fortunate To Find It, Again, In 1978 When I Moved To My Present
Home Of Talladega, Alabama. My Children Were Able To Have A Good
Education And Wonderful Church Training As Well As Boy Scouts,
Karate Lessons, Dance Lessons And Private Piano And Voice Lessons. Talladega Is A Beautiful, Tree-lined Small Town With
Lovely Historic Homes, Large Library And Is Home To The Alabama
Institute For The Deaf And Blind And Talladega College. Talladega
Is Located Right Between Birmingham And Atlanta; Two Hours Or
So Each Way. Sylacauga And Anniston Are Only Thirty Minutes
Away. We Have A Historic City Square On Which Is A Restored
1930's Movie Theater Where Famous Entertainers Come To Perform.
We Also Have An Authentic Mexican Restaurant That Employs
Legal Mexicans. (the Food Is Delicious, By The Way!) I Am Not Sure
Of The Mexican Population Here But The People In Our Town Are
Very Friendly And Accepting Of People Of All Races, As We All
Should Be. There Are Many Lovely Churches With Active Youth
Programs. Our Children Belonged To A Wonderful Youth Group
At The First United Methodist Church And Our Son Was An Eagle
Scout In A Troop Sponsored By The Church. We Were Very, Very
Happy Here While Raising Our Children. We Have Many, Many Happy
Memories. Our Children Grew Up To Be Happy, Well-adjusted Adults
Who Never Got Into Trouble. As A Matter Of Fact, When Our Eldest
Daughter Was In College, She Came To Us And Thanked Us For The
Wonderful Life That We Had Given Her; Thanked Us For Her "raising".
That Was One Of The "highlights" Of My Life. I Sincerely Hope That,
Wherever You Choose To Live, You Will Be As Happy As We Were,

[aca1]

Well, If you want small town values, Alabama is a good place I suppose, and you might not have to live in a small town to get them. A few things no one else has said : You said you are from California where it is very liberal and you want to move to a state where political ads on tv use liberal like its an insult. I would be less worried about race and more worried about how quite a few people in Alabama rank California with Iraq and Iran and threats to the United States. Many of the people you would meet with small town values dislike Californians because they believe them to be homosexual, tree-hugging liberals. Also many people are under the assumption Mexicans speak Mexican and not Spanish, which even gets on my nerves. With that aside I would not recommend Birghmingham, because it was just ranked as one of the top ten cities for murders this year, and unless you can afford to live in Iverness, Mountain Brook, or Vestivia Hills, most of B'ham is run down and seedy looking. Many rural towns still fly rebel flags in the town center, and larger towns, like Talladega or Sylacauga have collapising economies. Probaly Montgomery would be good, they just had a huge upset because a high school band played a song with bad lyrics in it at a football game, there is racial diversity, and there is a church on every road, quite literaly. I apologize for my longwindess, just wanted to add my opinion.

[Toni & Patrick]

I personally recommend Shelby Shores. The town is Shelby not far from Columbiana and Calera. It might be what your are looking for. It is a Lake community. Friendly and absolutely beautiful. Moderator cut: removed advertising

[wnbs]

I recommend Calera, Alabama which is in Shelby County. I have new growth and new shopping. Check out the sub-division Waterford which has a huge swimming pool, a stocked lake, tennis court, a tot playground and walking trail. Also, check out Timberline sub-division in Calera. Calera is right off interstate 65 and 30 minutes from downtown Birmingham. We have a new high school, a new library and city parks. I love it here.