[MotleyCrew]

My husband and I would like to build our last little house on some land without HOA's and neighbors right on top of us. We can wash each others windows here in AZ. Husband is an architect and we originally escaped from a very liberal town in Calif. We are looking for somewhat rural areas but close to a city with some fine dining. I don't give a rat's .... about culture anymore. Not even sure what mine is now. We also love old fashioned bbq cook offs and bluegrass (go figure). Could you recommend a nice town/ city with some affordable building lots? Many thanks. Oh and friendly people that will wave back at you.

[harry chickpea]

"Fine" dining means B'ham or trips to Atlanta. There is plenty of good dining around if you look for it, but the state doesn't support the exclusive restaurants that can only thrive in cities where $400,000 a year is a common income. For whatever reason, the cooking tends to get worse as you head north and west from B'ham. It may be on the end of the produce route, but the fast food resaurants have hard green tomatoes, local diners option soyburgers, and even some of the staples get corrupted. We went to a "Southern Buffet" in Athens and discovered that it was 3/4 cheap Chinese food. Southern China Buffet? Sweet-n-sour catfish? Pork Fried Grits?

My guess is that off 280 going southeast of B'ham might be a good spot for you to check out. There are some lots with restrictions against manufactured housing, but few other restrictions.

[Sleestak]

Hartselle, Alabama might be what you're looking for.

[MotleyCrew]

Ok. How about Fridays and Applebees, that could be considered fine compared to sweet and sour catfish. We like to just bbq as well. Do you have Costco and or Sams Clubs? We like to get our meat there.

Thanks for the information, we will start a search.

[steveklein]

yes, the birmingham area has several sam's clubs and at least one costco in hoover that i know of.

[Keeper]

Huntsville has both Sam's Club and Costco plus the restaurants you mentioned. There are a lot of small towns all around Huntsville meaning a 30 min (mol) drive. Guntersville has the same type of restaurants you mentioned. Any town southeast of Huntsville would be close to both Sam's and Costco and the cost of living is cheaper than AZ. I have a friend who just moved from Phoenix and loves it here. He lives in Albertville and loves it there especially the cost of the house he bought and the property tax
Check out Marshall and Jackson county, property and taxes are really low in those counties. The cost of houses in Huntsville cost more and are closer together usually than the ones in smaller towns.

[jetjockey75]

Originally Posted by Jill Warner

My husband and I would like to build our last little house on some land without HOA's and neighbors right on top of us. We can wash each others windows here in AZ. Husband is an architect and we originally escaped from a very liberal town in Calif. We are looking for somewhat rural areas but close to a city with some fine dining. I don't give a rat's .... about culture anymore. Not even sure what mine is now. We also love old fashioned bbq cook offs and bluegrass (go figure). Could you recommend a nice town/ city with some affordable building lots? Many thanks. Oh and friendly people that will wave back at you.

Northern AL is good but you might be even better off in TN (especially since you like bluegrass). There are many liveable areas within 30-45 minutes of Nashville where land & house prices are reasonable.

[MotleyCrew]

Many thanks to all who posted. Good places to start.

[dbkeel1]

Alabama's property taxes are low due to an income tax. Tennessee doesn't have an income tax and property taxes can reflect it.

Someone mentioned Jackson County and that is a good thought. Land is still affordable, it's scenic (hilly with beautiful October leaves) yet you're pretty close to Huntsville. Also look at the Hartselle area of Morgan County and maybe Elkmont north of Athens in Limestone County.

In most counties here you don't have zoning in unincorporated areas unless you want it (covenants) and most rural land isn't incumbered that way. Plan to buy enough land while cheap to insure the isolation you'd like; there's a land rush starting in the Huntsville area and it won't be long before it reaches into more rural areas.

[Sleestak]

Hello again,

I forgot to mention it earlier, but northern alabama is loaded with good BBQ joints. There's also a yearly BBQ cookoff just over the state line in Lynchburg, Tn. Don't quote me, but I believe it's held on or near the Jack Daniels Distillery. As for bluegrass, the city of Athens, AL. holds a yearly bluegrass festival, the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers' Convention. To make a long story short, there's no shortage of things to do around here. If you go to the huntsville.about.com website, you can find plenty of info about northern alabama in the daytrips section. Good luck with the search.