[gentlearts]

This Old House rated Selma as one of the best places to find a great deal on an old house.
If you know Selma well, would you agree? There may be good old houses there, but if someone wanted to move south from up north would it be a culture shock?

[steveb8140]

Very true. There are MANY wonderful old homes available at very reasonable prices. Some require extensive work to restore them to former beauty and grandeur. We have one of the largest historic districts in the state and some absolutely gorgeous homes. As far as the culture shock, in my opinion, coming from the north, you would experience some. The Selma area is what I would refer to as more "old Alabama". My family and I relocated to this area after 28 years in California and have found the people and lifestyle to be very warm, welcoming and a much slower pace of life. If you relocate here and want to be happy, adapt to our lifestyle and don't expect people to adapt to yours. Reading some of the comments on this forum, that seems to be the biggest problem with people who are not happy here. If you have any other questions or would like assistance with housing availability, feel free to Email me.

[mimpdaddy]

Selma is a beautiful city to me.I been going through it my whole life and those houses still get my attention.There aint many selma's out there.

[Organized Chaos]

I'm 'late to the party' here but...

I have seen many beautiful houses listed in Selma...and the temptation to snap one up is nearly too hard to resist!!!

[Shalako]

I am very familiar with the area. There are some beautiful old Civil War era homes in Selma and prices are likely to be lower than most anywhere else, but there is a reason for that. Yes, you would suffer a definite culture shock. I would not recommend this area.

[Organized Chaos]

I appreciate your response...especially considering that the thread has been 'dormant' for a good while. I can certainly understand your view, as I have since done a good bit of 'research' regarding the area itself and was stunned by the crime stats there...considering that the population is relatively low, I'd guess that someone moving there would need to be 'okay' with the prospect of ending up a victim of robbery or assault....and perhaps more! It is unfortunate for everyone in that town and others like it across the country. I am afraid it is a problem without a 'solution'.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

This Old House rated Selma as one of the best places to find a great deal on an old house.
If you know Selma well, would you agree? There may be good old houses there, but if someone wanted to move south from up north would it be a culture shock?

To be blunt, Selma is a majority black southern town, so for a white northerner, it would most definitely be a culture shock.

[Maddie201]

I am considering a move to Selma, AL later this year. I have looked at the real estate pages but haven't seen much that interested me. I'm mostly interested in an older home, 3000+/- sq ft. (I think the red brick home at the corner of Church and McLeod is stunning, but of course it does not appear to be for sale!)

I'm wondering if there is a large "for sale by owner" market or if many homes have come off of the market due to the current economic environment. (I would not mind having to renovate, and I'm not opposed to something with acreage in the country, as opposed to "in town", but either would do.)

All comments and suggestions are most welcomed.

[33458]

Oh man...Selma...

I spent a few years searching the various historic properties sites (there are a few out there) and Selma always had an amazing offering of homes.

To live there...well, dunno.

[Maddie201]

I'm a southerner, and from my experiences it appears that most small southern towns are very similar. Is there anything out of the ordinary that would make Selma undesirable?

Also, did you find that most of the historic properties were listed with real estate agents or was it mostly "word of mouth"?

I have lived in at least one town where houses changed hands regularly with no "for sale" signs or listings ever appearing. Everyone just KNEW which houses were for sale..... go figure! (It's the South!)