Rural housing/neighborhoods near Tuscaloosa and racism question (Montgomery, Taylor: cul-de-sac, leasing)
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Rural housing/neighborhoods near Tuscaloosa and racism question
My family (my son, my husband, and our soon to be adopted child) will probably be moving to Tuscaloosa next summer as my husband will be starting a PhD-Economics program at University of Alabama.
I prefer to live in one of the following situations: quiet suburb/cul-de-sac community with lots of families; or, more preferably, a very rural area (ie: "out in the country" as we call it in Texas). What neighborhoods or rural areas would you recommend in this case. Ideally within 30 minutes or less of UofA.
What are some of the good public schools? My son will be going into 8th grade and our likely adopted daughter will possibly be old enough to go into pre-school shortly after we arrive.
Also, is racism a big concern there? We are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia and I am concerned about the possibility of encountering racism. I know in my hometown in Texas (not where we live now), it would be a fairly big concern, and I'm wondering if it's the same in Tuscaloosa. If so, are there culturally diverse neighborhoods or schools in Tuscaloosa where we might encounter less of this?
Oh, also, is there a military base for any of the services within driving distance of Tuscaloosa? My husband is in the Air Force and it would be nice to have a military base (even a National Guard base) nearby).
Well - do you want a close neighborhood or space? As usual - what budget what other requirements ...? Would you mind to use the search function to get some answers to your other questions? Thank you.
The Taylorville-Hillcrest area (unincorporated area just south of Tuscaloosa) might be a good choice for you , as that area seems to be very popular with newcomers, the school is supposed to be good, and although it's a rural/suburban mix, it's a pretty straight drive into town and the university.
As far as racism is concerned, it's pretty much a guessing game anywhere. If you get one racist neighbor, it might as well be the whole town for all the grief it causes, but that could happen anywhere.
I would say that the farther out in the country you go, the more likely you might be to have deal with "redneck" type people, but again, that's probably true anywhere. I do know interracial families who are happy in Tuscaloosa.
There is an air force base in Montgomery (100 miles southeast) and one in Columbus, MS (60 miles west).
Well - do you want a close neighborhood or space? As usual - what budget what other requirements ...? Would you mind to use the search function to get some answers to your other questions? Thank you.
The search function was not working for me. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to. And the "as usual," I have never been on this forum before now and since the search function wasn't working... As for budget: under $1500 per month or around $300,000 to purchase. And I apologize, but I don't understand what you mean by "close neighborhood or space."
The Taylorville-Hillcrest area (unincorporated area just south of Tuscaloosa) might be a good choice for you , as that area seems to be very popular with newcomers, the school is supposed to be good, and although it's a rural/suburban mix, it's a pretty straight drive into town and the university.
As far as racism is concerned, it's pretty much a guessing game anywhere. If you get one racist neighbor, it might as well be the whole town for all the grief it causes, but that could happen anywhere.
I would say that the farther out in the country you go, the more likely you might be to have deal with "redneck" type people, but again, that's probably true anywhere. I do know interracial families who are happy in Tuscaloosa.
There is an air force base in Montgomery (100 miles southeast) and one in Columbus, MS (60 miles west).
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I think Threestep meant.. you might find some answers about Tuscaloosa using the search function. However, there is no requirement that you do so.
Are you looking to rent or buy?
What size house?
What is your budget to rent or buy?
I think Alatex has it right as far as any problems regarding racist. AL for the most part is not as racist as most ppl assume, not that there aren't some around just not the whole state.
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I think Threestep meant.. you might find some answers about Tuscaloosa using the search function. However, there is no requirement that you do so.
Are you looking to rent or buy?
What size house?
What is your budget to rent or buy?
I think Alatex has it right as far as any problems regarding racist. AL for the most part is not as racist as most ppl assume, not that there aren't some around just not the whole state.
Thanks. Honestly, I would use the search function if it would work for me, but it just closes the website when I try to use it. Probably a problem with my computer...
We'd be happy either renting or buying, whichever works out better for us economically. However, we will only be in the area for three years, so renting is probably a better bet. As for size, we would be open, but probably around 2,000 sq ft or a little more. Budget to rent is about $1500 per month (our housing allowance from the military) or around $300,000.
I've never had to think about the racism thing before being a white southern girl, so this is a new ground for me. Just want to make sure there are no "definitely avoid" neighborhoods as there are in some places. I expect looks and I'll just deal with those on my own. I just want to spare our child from blatant racism if I can help it.
Oh, and this is probably not even feasible, but are there any reasonable towns to commute from that would be between Tuscaloosa and Montgomery. Up to an hour would be fine. I looked on a map, but it looks like there is not a lot between those two cities, so I didn't know if there was some hidden gem exactly located between those two points that is reasonable to commute from. The reason I ask is that after our three years there, we will be moving to Montgomery where my husband will be teaching. So we actually have six years in Alabama...just three years in each place.
There's not really much in between, unfortunately.
With your budget, you should have zero problem finding a very nice place here.
If you were looking more in the city of Tuscaloosa itself, I'd suggest my brother's house north of the river, which he's trying to sell but I think would consider leasing. Although not rural (just a mile or two from the university), it is a large older house on a half acre lot.
There's not really much in between, unfortunately.
With your budget, you should have zero problem finding a very nice place here.
If you were looking more in the city of Tuscaloosa itself, I'd suggest my brother's house north of the river, which he's trying to sell but I think would consider leasing. Although not rural (just a mile or two from the university), it is a large older house on a half acre lot.
Well, if it's still available next summer... lol! It actually sounds very nice and just like what we would be happy in.
I'll also throw in the suggestion of the Lake Nicol and Lake Tuscaloosa area.
That's a quiet, rural area with some good schools, too, and lots of newer homes. The lakes here are quite nice, but aren't too well known outside of the Tuscaloosa area because there's practically zero tourism development, but plenty of houses.
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