[Southlander]

I wouldn't call Oakville a neighborhood. You could stretch it and call it a village, but it's really just a few houses and a lot of farmland and pasture.

[MaryBeth2]

That would explain why I cannot find anything about it online. (Oakville). This is nerve racking doing this long distance. We moved up here from 2 1/2 hours away and messed up. When we drove around all looked so great here. Then when we moved in we found we had moved right into a drug neighborhood. That is why I am researching this new move as much as I can. I want us to be so comfortable in Alabama. We are not ones that like the adventure of moving. We are total couch potatoes.. ha!

[Keeper]

I don't know anything about Oakville obviously but I would also check out Hartselle, Eva and Cullman too.

You want to be sure you can get decent internet too. Many of these communities are lacking in some services.

We have a member who lives in Hartselle, I was hoping she would check in..

[Southlander]

MaryBeth, I'm just wondering, why not Decatur? Do you want land as well as a house? Your best bet might be to rent a house or an apartment (a house is about as cheap as an apartment around here) for a few months or so and get a feel for the area.
Please PM me if you like. I grew up in Decatur and have been back here for 30 years. I'd be happy to answer any questions or give you background.

[MaryBeth2]

Keeper, thanks for the advise. You gave me Eva, which I hadnt heard of so far, and the info about the internet is very important to me. Two good points to check out. Thanks again.
Southlander, the reason I wanted somewhere other than Decatur, is because from what I've learned so far is I think the city is too big for my small town bunch. We are in Texas now, in a city of about 20 thousand and feel it is too big. The smaller cities surrounding Decatur may be better suited to us. What do you think? Thanks for any advise. Maybe there are smaller places within Decatur?

[MaryBeth2]

Look what I found out about Eve...funny thing is, this sounds like the place we live, and are trying to escape from, now. The drugs and drinking are horrid.. our property is only 50 x 150 so we cannot get away from anyone. This is exactly the information I could get on all the towns we've been considering. I think it's great and I thought this was interesting so I am sharing is all:


http://www.city-data.com/forum/alaba...a-alabama.html

[Keeper]

Marybeth.. while everything in that post could be true, read any city/state forum and you will find a similar post. There are folks who love Decatur like Southlander and there are others who are not happy living there.

I live in Arab, which is a lot bigger than Eva and there are always rumors going around about this or that. One person hates living here, another loves it..

[MaryBeth2]

That is so true Keeper. I guess we will just have to come and visit and hope we make a better choice than we have made here. We have really been uncomfortable for years here and that is why I am so paranoid of making a wrong decision again. We just want to settle in and live. I believe Alabama is the place for us.. just not sure which tiny space is ours. Thanks for all your help and input.

[MaryBeth2]

Keeper, tell me please, is Arab Al humid?

[Keeper]

I don't know if I am the best person to answer about humidity since I moved here from FL where it is humid all the time.

Arab's weather is pretty much like every other place in NE AL. Arab on Brindlee mountain, although most ppl wouldn't consider it a 'real' mountain at 1150 ft. I do know some ppl drive from here to Decatur but it is probably a good hour drive. Pretty much your typical small southern town, lots of churches, a WalMart and very safe. I have found ppl to be friendly, although I have seen posts on CD where others were unhappy. I have made friends but I went out and volunteered with a couple of orgs in order to meet ppl. The town was dry until this Nov. although as of today, you still can't buy alcohol anywhere here. There is a small hospital which I have found to be very good. You are 15 minutes to Guntersville Lake and 20 minutes to H'ville for malls and movie theaters.

It is not a diverse city. We don't have many illegals here. I can't tell you much about drug problems here other than most of the arrest I have read about are in outlying rural areas.

Housing is reasonable and while some areas have older small homes, they are still safe. You can rent a house from $500 - 800 a month for an avg house. Of course, there are some that are more, some that are less.

To be honest, I have lived in several places over the years, including Central America and I have always been happy where I lived. May not have been the house I would have liked to have had, but we made it work until we could move to one that was a little better.