[{ Durf }]

Greetings. My wife and I have stumbled across an opportunity to purchase property "in the valley" just outside of Crossville. We don't know anything about the state of AL let alone that part of the state, and we really don't want to make a mistake in purchasing our retirement property blinded. Can anyone advise the in's and out's of this area please? Is it considered rural to the extreme that services are limited (electricity, water, etc), or is the area beginning to develop? Are there any major cities/towns nearby within a 30-40 minute drive? We are looking at relocating from FL when we retire and we really enjoy traveling to the mountains of NC and TN throughout the year. We've got friends that already purchased in AL and are tryiing to talk us into joining them. Thanks in advance!

[Keeper]

Crossville is a very small town. Whether or not a property has electric and water would depend on where it is located. I would hesitate to recommend you purchase property without knowing these things. You also want to check out to be sure you aren't near any chicken houses.
Here is their website
Town of Crossville Alabama Home Page

Are your friends located in that area? Are you dealing with a realtor, they would know about utilities. If not call utility company and ask what the charges would be to have electric and water installed. Are you going to build a house?

Shopping is going to be very limited in Crossville. Boaz is 13 miles away where you can find grocery and Kmart. Albertville is right next to Boaz where there is a Walmart/Lowes. Not sure what is available in Collinsville or Geraldine, but they are about the same size as Crossville.

I moved up here from Tampa and I can tell you I love it here.

[{ Durf }]

Originally Posted by Keeper

Crossville is a very small town. Whether or not a property has electric and water would depend on where it is located. I would hesitate to recommend you purchase property without knowing these things. You also want to check out to be sure you aren't near any chicken houses.
Here is their website
Town of Crossville Alabama Home Page

Are your friends located in that area? Are you dealing with a realtor, they would know about utilities. If not call utility company and ask what the charges would be to have electric and water installed. Are you going to build a house?

Shopping is going to be very limited in Crossville. Boaz is 13 miles away where you can find grocery and Kmart. Albertville is right next to Boaz where there is a Walmart/Lowes. Not sure what is available in Collinsville or Geraldine, but they are about the same size as Crossville.

I moved up here from Tampa and I can tell you I love it here.

Forgive me from asking, but are you saying that you live there "in" Crossville? That's excellent info that you gave and I truly appreciate it! The friends I was referring to have already purchased their property on AL Hwy 28 (I think it's 28) which is within a mile or so of the property for sale. What I've learned so far is that the property has been owned by one family for the past four generations and that they have essentially "land locked" it preventing commercial development. It is located in the valley in between Crossville and Collinsville. As for electric and water, I do not know yet.

Tampa......a lot like the Jacksonville area and I've had enough

[Keeper]

No, I don't live in Crossville, I live in Arab, AL. North of Crossville, between Huntsville and Guntersville Lake. Arab has 7500 residents MOL.

It sounds like there may not be electric or water on the property itself. There may or may not be city water. If there isn't city water then you would want to consider the cost of drilling a well. As long as there is electric on the road the property is located on, then that shouldn't be a hugh problem. Are you going to build a home on the land? I have to warn you, if you are going to build a house, be prepared for it to take a while. I have heard that it is hard to get someone to build a home and if they do, it always takes longer than expected. I can recommend a builder who builds in AL, but whether or not they build in that area, I don't know.

It is different from FL to be sure. I do love it up here, but it is not for everyone. If you are use to living in a subdivision with friends coming over all the time to visit, that won't happen if the folks around you have been there a while. Not that they aren't friendly, it is just the way things are.

[{ Durf }]

Unknown yet if the property has city water/electricity. We will build a home but it will be sometime yet before beginning that process. We are on a 10-yr plan to purchase and pay off the land and then build the final home. All very good points and I'll be sure to address them with the seller when we visit the area in a few weeks. I could do without the subdivision living since I like my privacy and have a sincere disdain for unruly or inconsiderate neighbors. I've also had my fill of living so close to teenagers and wondering what I'll find next (broken mailboxes, trash in the yard, criminal mischeif to cars, broken sprinkler heads from bicycles....)....the list goes on and on in city life.

[jsherman9901]

Originally Posted by { Durf }

I could do without the subdivision living since I like my privacy and have a sincere disdain for unruly or inconsiderate neighbors. I've also had my fill of living so close to teenagers and wondering what I'll find next (broken mailboxes, trash in the yard, criminal mischeif to cars, broken sprinkler heads from bicycles....)....the list goes on and on in city life.

I wish you the best of luck in beautiful NE Alabama, but keep in mind that rural life is not necessarily an escape from all these things you listed. It's probably good that you're not in a rush to build your house, so that will give you more time to make sure it will work out for you.

[{ Durf }]

Originally Posted by jsherman9901

I wish you the best of luck in beautiful NE Alabama, but keep in mind that rural life is not necessarily an escape from all these things you listed. It's probably good that you're not in a rush to build your house, so that will give you more time to make sure it will work out for you.

Thanks. We are still entertaining the N. GA areas as well, but financial-wise, AL has GA beat (property taxes, retirement income taxes, state taxes, etc).

[Keeper]

Having lived in FL and AL. I can tell you it doesn't compare at least here in Arab. There have been a few mailbox bashing and now few home burglaries and both started about a year ago. I don't think there is any place you can move where there is no crime.

Kids do still 'roll' a house though. I haven't seen that in years.

[ymp54]

We are looking to buy property in Northern Al and finally decided on Florence Al but some of our concerns in the beginning of our search were chicken houses and junky looking houses/yards whether it be Al or Tn. We also wanted to be fairly close to some shopping and hospitals as we are retiring. We would prefer public utility but considered a well, the house we looked at had smelly water so that was a concern in getting that treated/fixed. We wanted a pond, some listings said pond, but ponds were dried up. A nice stream on property or natural spring is nice to have. We wanted a somewhat rural location, existing house that sat way off the road with area to hunt on. We didn't want road noise and we wanted secluded privacy. It's hard to find all of what we wanted but I guess you have to compromise on some things. We thought about building but I don't think we could bear the aggravation and the 'slowness' in making that happen. Al is friendly nice state, good hunting, low taxes, change of season. I find here that some people talk about being God fearing church people but only when someone is looking. If you're not looking for lots of cultural activities and would like small town atomsphere, AL is the way to go. Just check out the areas and ride all around location you are buying. Contact Chamber of Commerce too, they are very helpful. You can also check crime statistics but crime is everywhere. There are dry counties so if you drink that could be an issue buying alcohol. Make sure there are close restaurants that you like if you like to eat out. My husband owns a tractor so we wanted to make sure there was a Kubota dealer close by. We even stopped at one locale and asked the neighbor how they liked living there so that is always an option. We finally decided, I think, on buying in county outside of Florence, Al. This weekend is the Trail of Tears ride so they have some of the roads shut down for all the bikes. The ride is an impressive sight but could inconvenience some people. I am rambling but these are just some of our concerns in looking for locale. We have 2 daughters located around Tennessee area so that is why we searched mainly the northern parts of Al and most of Tn. We are in process of acquiring 40 acres with existing house. Of course, if you don't like to mow or have a tractor the large yard can be a chore.

[ymp54]

Oh, and I forgot that we considered trying to move near the major roadways, I-65, I-40, or I-24 just to be able to visit family fairly quickly but it's not a huge requirement for us. We will end up west of Florence but I think we will be happy.