[dandina]

Is anyone familiar with Armore, Alabama? If so, what kind of town is it, does it have easy access to food stores, malls etc. Does it get snow in the winter? Any new communites with acreage going up? does anyone know about registering an out of state car and what the cost is? Best hopitals in the area? Tornados - how common are they in this area? Any info would be helpful. I don't see much info on this city in this forum. Thanks for all your help. Dina

[alabambound]

My mother's family is from Ardmore, and I have visited more times than I care to count. My brother and sister-in-law live there too.The town is small, and the pace of life is definitely slower. Almost all the businesses downtown close at noon on Wednesdays. People are friendly, but the town is not ethnically or culturally diverse at all. I recently met the only African-American student at Ardmore High school, and he is teased mercilessly and frequently hit.

There are two grocery stores in town: L&S and the Piggly Wiggly. The "pig" is definitely the more upscale of the two. Ardmore is mostly dry (no alcohol) and offers almost nothing in the way of nightlife. Ardmore High School sports games are of the utmost importance, and academic quality does suffer as a result. The nearest mall would be Madison, which is about half an hour away. Athens is the nearest hospital (about 15 minutes away), but avoid it if you can.

I did see a lot of new subdivisions when I was there in March, but Ardmore is a bit overpriced for the area. My mother's cousins actually own much of the real estate in Ardmore, and they have an inflated view of its value. Ardmore lies right on the state line, so portions of it are in Tennessee. Tennessee state property taxes are significantly higher, so many people try to buy on the Alabama side. I'm sure this affects car registration too, but I don't know the cost difference.

Originally Posted by dandina

Is anyone familiar with Armore, Alabama? If so, what kind of town is it, does it have easy access to food stores, malls etc. Does it get snow in the winter? Any new communites with acreage going up? does anyone know about registering an out of state car and what the cost is? Best hopitals in the area? Tornados - how common are they in this area? Any info would be helpful. I don't see much info on this city in this forum. Thanks for all your help. Dina

[dandina]

Originally Posted by alabambound

My mother's family is from Ardmore, and I have visited more times than I care to count. My brother and sister-in-law live there too.The town is small, and the pace of life is definitely slower. Almost all the businesses downtown close at noon on Wednesdays. People are friendly, but the town is not ethnically or culturally diverse at all. I recently met the only African-American student at Ardmore High school, and he is teased mercilessly and frequently hit.

There are two grocery stores in town: L&S and the Piggly Wiggly. The "pig" is definitely the more upscale of the two. Ardmore is mostly dry (no alcohol) and offers almost nothing in the way of nightlife. Ardmore High School sports games are of the utmost importance, and academic quality does suffer as a result. The nearest mall would be Madison, which is about half an hour away. Athens is the nearest hospital (about 15 minutes away), but avoid it if you can.

I did see a lot of new subdivisions when I was there in March, but Ardmore is a bit overpriced for the area. My mother's cousins actually own much of the real estate in Ardmore, and they have an inflated view of its value. Ardmore lies right on the state line, so portions of it are in Tennessee. Tennessee state property taxes are significantly higher, so many people try to buy on the Alabama side. I'm sure this affects car registration too, but I don't know the cost difference.

Thanks for the info - that sheds light on things, especially for hospital info.

[Buckelew]

My immediate family has lived in the Ardmore area off and on since 1978, and it settled North Alabama in the early 1800s. Despite my lack of an accent, and the fact I don't behave like I'm from Ardmore, my family has among the deepest roots in this area.

Though the Fox Adult Theater is long gone, and Alvin no longer creates controversy with his "B**bie Bungalow Club" in neighboring Elkton, other problems plague the community.

The town is split by the Alabama-Tennessee state line and the corners of four different counties, far away from the county seats. Getting the sheriffs to enforce the law expeditiously is nearly impossible. The local police chief is, more or less, a political appointee and bolsters the "white trash with money" image plaguing the town by refusing to enforce nuisance ordinances. The criminal element, both small-time and professional, know these facts.

Drag racing, mufflerless vehicles on the road, booming woofers, petty crime and theft are rampant. The noisiest parts of Huntsville, and Los Angeles, do not compete with Ardmore.

The manufacture and sell of methamphetamine is very common in Ardmore. Meth addicts get their fix by stealing from their neighbors and selling the booty.

Prosecution of the troublemakers is SEVERELY lacking. My family recently moved out of a neighborhood because of the pervasive drug problem and the constant noise.

Due to state laws Ardmore, Alabama is virtually banned from expanding its city limits. Therefore, tens of thousands live outside the city limits in homes with septic tanks on swampy, spongy, unperkable clay and a water table just under the surface most of the year. That means septic problems are commonplace -- if you live in the area your new house may smell like a sewer every time it rains. The outside definitely will. Ardmore smells like a sewer every time it rains.

Due to Ardmore's proximity and lack of local, responsible leadership, nothing will likely be done to mitigate the problems for a few more generations.

If you like the smell of swamps and raw sewage during the rains, the thump of boomboxes and rattle of mufflerless 4x4s, pervasive meth addicts and theft, and an almost total lack of law enforcment, YOU WILL LOVE ARDMORE.

If you have little choice but to live in Ardmore, make sure your property perks well, make sure local drainage is good, make sure your house and outbuildings are alarmed and everything outside is chained in place. Keep your neighbors friendly but at a distance.

Ardmore is NOT Mayberry.

[Sarges Dad]

I live between Ardmore, Athens, and East Limestone School. I suggest East Limestone. Between Ardmore, Athens, Huntville, Madison, and Decatur.

[MS CLEM]

I have lived in ardmore and also in huntsville.there is alot being said negative about the town and i have to disagree. Ardmore is small town everyone knows everybody.it is not upscale or anywhere near a big city but it is peaceful and quiet.it is an ideal place for raising children.crime and drugs are present anywhere you live but i believe ardmore has less of this to offer than the bigger cities.yes we thrive on supporting our ardmore tigers but academics are just as important and we have several athletes that also get academic scholarships.there is not a huge diversity not that it is not welcome and there is more than one student of ethnicity in the school. Two that i know very well and they are not tormented or ridiculed.know what you speak of before you make an uneducated judgement of a wonderful town.

[skinem]

I live near Ardmore and much of what is written is true.
It's a town on the Tennessee/Alabama border that had a well-earned reputation for being very, very rough.
However, as with much of the area, it is changing. It is becoming more and more a bedroom community to Huntsville and Athens. It is becoming more diverse and shedding it's reputation of being a rough town.
It is a small town where people have always been friendly to me.
In my opinion, Buckelew paints way to negative a picture. Ardmore's problems are really no more or no less than most any other community--there are good areas and not-so-good areas. However, the worst areas in Ardmore are still pretty good compared to parts of say, Huntsville, or Nashville.

It rarely gets any measurable snow, certainly not within the last 10-15 years. However, it is the South; schools will sometimes close just due to the threat of snow.
We do get our share of tornadoes in the area. There are 2 times a year in which tornadoes are more likely to occur, but they do happen any month of the year. However, they are typcially a very localized event.

[aktanner]

The Limestone County, AL side of Ardmore is dry. The Tennessee side of Ardmore has all your alchohol stores and TN Lottery places, plus tobbaco stores since in Alabama you have to be 19 to buy tobacco. Shockingly, there is actually a Pizza Hut Italian Bistro restaurant in Ardmore. That's right, Italian food in Ardmore (It's on the Tennessee side). Of course, nothing beats Whitt's BBQ and some Sun Drop.

[skinem]

Originally Posted by aktanner

The Limestone County, AL side of Ardmore is dry. The Tennessee side of Ardmore has all your alchohol stores and TN Lottery places, plus tobbaco stores since in Alabama you have to be 19 to buy tobacco. Shockingly, there is actually a Pizza Hut Italian Bistro restaurant in Ardmore. That's right, Italian food in Ardmore (It's on the Tennessee side).

Italian food? Really? Not really!

Originally Posted by aktanner

Of course, nothing beats Whitt's BBQ and some Sun Drop.

Now, THAT sounds good!

[southernnaturelover]

I never even knew there was an Ardmore. I live in Atmore and everytime I talk to someone on the phone that's not from here they call it "Ardmore". I always assumed they were getting it mixed up with the Oklahoma city.