[katnewyorker]

My husband is looking at a great paying job in Dothan, Alabama. He's from Nebraska, I'm from Seattle, and we currently live in Upstate New York. Neither one of us have ever been to the South, and are curious as to what people's thoughts are on Dothan?

I think we would definitely love the warm weather, and housing prices are great! It also looks like a wonderful place for families. The big question mark for us is what it would be like living in a town that isn't in close proximity to a larger city. 65,000 isn't too small, but it would be nice to be closer to something a little more urban.

We don't have kids yet... does Dothan have a decent night life scene? Is it a good place for young couples? What are some fun things to do? I know it's in close proximity to the Gulf Coast -- is Dothan affected by hurricanes?

Thanks for your help!

[tljolley]

Wow! I've been in Dothan for 34 years and have always wanted to live in New York! You wanna trade? Just kidding. On a more serious note, I'm glad I found your thread, and I'm sure you can tell that I love Dothan or I would not have been here my entire life. I'll try to answer some of your questions. First, warm weather, it's actually hot weather. The summers are near 100 degrees here. The weather starts heating up around April/May and doesn't cool off until near September. We barely get below freezing in the winter. The plus side to that is we are only 90 miles from the beaches of Florida, which are beautiful! I would definitely suggest getting a house with a pool or you might find yourself spending lots of time indoors during the summer. Housing prices are down, which is great for the buyer, and we've got some excellent neighborhoods, check out The Highlands and Westbrook. Dothan is a wonderful place for families, we've got 2 little boys, so I think you would be happy here once you have children too. Night life is ok. It seems that people tend to go out to dinner or to a movie as opposed to the club scene here b/c it's not that great. We are affected by hurricanes, but not in a manner worthy of worrying about. We are far enough inland that hurricanes general die down and are either tropical storms or just regular thunderstorms before they reach us. Dothan is a relatively small town, I guess, but we have lots of places to shop, and we are close enough to other cities. We are 4 hours from Birmingham, 4 hours from Atlanta, about 3 hours from Tallahassee, so if you don't find what you need in Dothan, just plan a weekend trip to another city. So, what industry is your husband working in?

[ATLCOL1]

Dothan is a good location. Close to the beach and close to larger cities like Tallahassee, Columbus, and Montgomery. Best thing is it's close to Panama City and Destin!

[katnewyorker]

Thanks for these posts! Good advice about the pool! Yes -- I did hear Dothan is hot as oppposed to warm, which is OK by me. I LOVE hot weather, and have only lived in really cold places, so I'm ready for a switch to the other extreme.

As far as nightlife goes, we aren't big nightclubbers. Dinner and a movie is more what we are looking for. My husband does do stand-up comedy on the side. Are there any comedy clubs in/near Dothan?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by katnewyorker

My husband is looking at a great paying job in Dothan, Alabama.

You don't happen to be Jewish do you?

Jewish families offered $50,000 to move to Dothan, Alabama - CNN.com

[katnewyorker]

No...but for $50,000 I could convert! Just kidding =) I did see that article a few weeks back and found it quite interesting.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by katnewyorker

I LOVE hot weather, and have only lived in really cold places, so I'm ready for a switch to the other extreme.

Get used to wearing OFF Skintastic if you like being outside and live near some woods, the skeeters down here will carry you away.

Another thing that may be worth mentioning, that corner of Alabama is peanut growing country. If you or anyone in your family happens to be allergic that is something to think about, I know some people can't even be near peanut dust. It probably wouldn't be a problem in Dothan, but it might be out towards the rural areas.

[Frankie117]

As much as I love having Dothan as my hometown, you need to be warned that hurricanes do in fact cause problems even though Dothan is quite a ways inland. The biggest concern of course being rain. Just recently we had torrential rain falls, and flooding is always an issue in Southeast Alabama.. We lost our home in 1990 and a second time in 1994 to floods brought on by some nasty tropical storms. Even when we moved inside of the circle we still had water issues, there was just no where for it to go during heavy rain storms.

The negativity aside, Dothan is a great town to raise a family in. The excellent beaches at Panama City are not far away, and Dothan has a lot of restaurants and stores for its size. The town basically thrives on Florida bound traffic, as well as nearby Fort Rucker. Not a whole lot of industry left, but Sony and Michelin are hanging in there..

Overall it is a very livable, and very enjoyable city .

[katnewyorker]

Are some areas more prone to flooding than others? Is it common to lose a house to flooding? Also (this probably sounds silly) are there alligators? I say no, but my husband says yes...

[mimpdaddy]

I would think there are gators in the Dothan area. Its in South Alabama. Although I don't know about rivers or lakes in that area.