What is most appealing about living in AL? (Birmingham, Mobile: income, work)

[CelticLady1]

Originally Posted by IDVague

I'm a fan of Henry Cho, as well, CelticLady, but you already guessed that, lol. Actually Henry was born and raised in Knoxville, TN, but his wife is from Arab, AL. Growing up in NE Alabama, I heard a lot of that saying, so I knew exactly what he was talking about when I heard it. It seemed appropriate in this thread, too.

Oops, sorry about that. Now that I think about it, I do remember him talking about Knoxville, TN. Guess I got that mixed up with his jokes about Arab, AL. Well, at any rate, at least I had him in the right region!

[Dixie]

Alabama is a great place to live! I love the Southern style and laid back attitudes. Alabama has the most kind and gracious people - always saying hi and extended the *southern courtesy* that people speak so much of. Go North - you won't find the courtesy that you have in the South. I have lived many places but Alabama is home and always will be.
*Sweet Home Alabama*

[DallasAnn]

1. Roaches - LSU (Louisiana State University) developed a spray called Bengal. (football team Bengal tigers). It will kill the roaches, and keep them out of the house! At present we live in (Katrina) Louisiana, and have NO roaches!
2. I have lived all over the US. North Alabama is a great place to live. Look up that stats on the Internet. My pick would be Madison. Madison is just outside of Huntsville. Check the amenities. Great schools, neighborhoods, shopping, cultural advantages, and the costs are some of the lowest in the country. The schools have government funds. For each student that has a parent or parents employed directly or indirectly by the Federal Government, they receive additional funds in addition to the local taxes. The Huntsville area has a lot of Federal money. Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA), US Army at Redstone Arsenal, Missile Command, etc. There are a lot of spin offs.
3. The education level of the average citizen in Madison County is very high. Traffic is not like it is in other cities. Check it out for yourself. If you live in the south, it is going to be HOT in the summer. But, there are good air conditioners for the houses, cars, schools and everywhere else.
4. It is a great time of the year to visit. Check it out for yourself!

[IDVague]

DallasAnn, you are so right. If anyone has children of school age, the Madison/Huntsville area would be great. There are very good private schools in the area as well, if you prefer that. (Madison Academy, for example) There are many small communities within an hour or so from Huntsville if you prefer that lifestyle (as I do) and the cost of living is low. It is hard to go wrong in North AL if you do a little research first.

[hollym]

I am an Alabama native and have lived here all my life. I am originally from Birmingham and moved to Huntsville/ Madison 8 years ago.
What I loved (and still love) about growing up in AL:
I loved being just 4 hours from white sandy beaches in the Gulf.
I loved playing outside at night with my friends catching fire flys or "lighting bugs".
I loved going to the lake every weekend to swim, fish and go boat riding.
I loved living around (what we call) mountains. It is not flat here, it has a beautiful terrain from Birmingham all the way north.
Fall is beautiful w/ all the gorgeous fall colors on the trees.
During the winter if it spits snow the whole city closes down (unless your job is to serve and protect or to save lives).
I personally had no choice as far as living hear. But, I have done some traveling, and I could not imagine living anywhere else. This state has an a la carte of things to do and see. It has been a true blessing to live and grow up here. There are places that are great to visit like the Carrabian and there are places that are great to live and grow up in like AL. I hope this helps!

[NOLA YaYa]

Hi. We are looking into Northeast Alabama as well. I was looking very seriously at Huntsville. My only hesitation is that we are currently in Sarasota, FL. It has grown extemely quickly. Traffic is nuts, insurance is nuts, and the northern retirees also vote down all of the taxes here. Every time the schools need money, someone writes a letter to the editor saying that the people with kids should have to pay. And everyone comes down wanting what they had, only cheaper. They take control and change the very thing we moved there for.

Everyone seems to think that, becasue an area is fast growing that is a plus. I'm trying to get away from that. While I don't want to live in Siberia, I'm not sure I can do another city (I escaped New York for a quieter existence...). Guess I blew that one!

I miss the south. I want a big old house for a reasonable price, low crime, slow pace, good shopping (antiques and boutiques, not national chains) and great food (I'm originally from Katrinaville myself). I am a software consultant but I love theater and music and my partner (yes we live in sin) is an artist and graphic designer. We have gay friends and we want them to feel safe when they visit. We live a good, honest life and don't like political extremes. Other than "in my dreams", is there someplace for us?

Thanks!

[kadillac]

the beautiful white beaches!!!!

[Caliguy2007]

Alabama has Gorgeous Scenery,Friendly Folks and Homes aren't built so close together like here in CA,and I also love the Front Porches as it helps neighbors to get to know eachother from actually seeing who lives in the neighborhood.

Alabama was also surprisingly hilly...I always thought it would be flat like Kansas...I also heard about the poverty in Alabama,but when I was there I didn't notice much poverty,but most of the state looked rather Wealthy with many Large Brick Homes.

I miss Alabama,and I hope to visit again someday :-)

[colelecman]

Am a farm raised fella from SE Oklahoma - western foothills of the Ouachita mountains coming out of Arkansas. To help you size me up. Graduate of Oklahoma State - Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate work. 30 years total USAF duty - some Reserve years (retired 2003). 23 years as manufacturing engineer in several Fortune 100 size industries. Now in US Army civil service - Quality Assurance Specialist (Ammo) at Independence, Missouri.
Been offered a DCMA job in Birmingham. Have lived in Bryan, Texas for past six years (home of Texas A&M). Spent three years at the Corpus Christi Army Depot in Corpus Christi, Texas - getting them where they could get the UH60 and CH47 helicopters overhauled like they should.
Wife was born in Muskogee, Ok, lived in Indiana a while (ex-preacher husband got into drugs) - she divorced him (after he run a bunch of bills up). We been married about six years. My 1st wife (23 years) was OK until she got the idea it was OK to encourage my oldest daughter it was OK to have the wrong boyfriend and got herself pregnant. We were regular Southern Baptist church goers at the time. I raised hell about it, she figured to calm me down with a divorce. Madison is a great little gal, just hasn't had a daddy to love her and play with her - since she was born some 10 years ago.
I/the 'new' wife attend church regular and pray to God to guide our lives. Being a creek bottom / hill ridges sort of farm boy - not much bothers me - not heat, not bugs, not rain, not tornadoes (was on the fringes of the F5 that went thru Norman & Midwest city a few years back, doing duty at Tinker AFB), was across the street (about 75') from an F1 that sat down in Stillwater, Ok a while back. Saw it coming, thought it was a cloud that looked funny all strung back. Felt the house shake bad, heard a knock on the door. A fella standing there with nothing on but his pants. Went with him across the intersection (about 125'), walked thru his front door (roof was gone, most walls gone), he opened the door to the bathroom, I raised up a big piece of sheet rock(was the ceiling) on the bath tub & helped his wife and little girl out of the tub.
Me, the size I am, sometimes would pick up a piece of fire wood to 'even the odds' some when I saw a fight coming. Found out most fellas over 5'10" wouldn't argue much when I had a 3' piece of limb in my hands. My life was plowing with a horse or mule, milking by hand, splitting wood with an axe, fixing fence, baling hay (small square bales), hauling, feeding hay. chopping ice in winter so's the cattle could drink.
Think I'll fit in & get along in the Birmingham area? I have cousins in the Calera area - just west of Birmingham. They seemed OK last I saw them about 30 years ago.
What about the wife? Fine lady, she sometimes calls herself a 'southern belle'. She fits the idea. She likes a nice neat yard - (I gotta keep that grass mowed), keeps a good house, likes to walk her little dog around the neighborhood. We like to grille, sing in the choir (like them good gospel songs with good tenor parts). We have us a porch swing we sit on. I like to sit under a shade tree in the back yard with a pitcher of unsweetened ice tea & read my fishing & hunting magazines (haven't got to go all that much here in the past few years).
Enough for you to maybe say a thought or so.
Thanks

[vanbgoen]

C'mon people! There's crummy things about all places. I'm from Michigan and now live in Alabama. I left mosquitos the size of small birds, humidity that rivals a rain forest, urban blight, unemployment, black flies that make piranhas look tame, and environmental concerns too numerous to mention just to name a few things. It also has beautiful lakes, fishing, hunting, and camping. I've lived in Alabama and Michigan.....I pick Alabama.