Looking for employment around B'ham (Birmingham, Gadsden: property taxes, housing, rent)

[csmichigan]

My husband and son and I are looking to move to AL soon from the depressing state of Michigan. We do have family down there, so I have an idea of what to expect.
Housing and employment are tops on our list of to-do's of course. My husband has a background in carpentry, building maint., landscaping, etc. I can adapt and always find a decent job for a second income. How are employment opportunities there? Would it be easy to find a job to support a family and pay for housing? Probally looking to rent until house in MI sells. That could take awhile, market here is DOWN 20%!!! at least. People here are just walking away from their homes because they can not get what they owe on them.
From what I have seen and heard about AL, the lifestyle is laid back and slow paced. I like that. My son is 4 and will be starting school next year. Schooling is not much of an issue, I believe even public school is what you make of it, involvement is key.
Thinking about mainly B'ham area to be close to family, it would make the move easier.
Any opinions on employment?

[sassytrisha]

Welcome to Alabama from a transplanted Michigander. Where are you in Michigan? We're from Lansing.

We really like it down here. The climate is much better, especially if you hate snow and ice! The property taxes are just a fraction of what they were in Michigan and the unemployment rate I believe is in the 3% range. I know Michigan is having a tough time with Olds closing up shop.

We live outside Center Point near the Clay limits. We like this area, the Clay-Chalkville schools are pretty good. Trussville is another good area.

I've found the pace to be slower down here (except on the highways!) and the people to be a lot friendlier than up north.

I guess I didn't really answer your question, but welcome

[Sandy6]

Originally Posted by csmichigan

My husband and son and I are looking to move to AL soon from the depressing state of Michigan. We do have family down there, so I have an idea of what to expect.
Housing and employment are tops on our list of to-do's of course. My husband has a background in carpentry, building maint., landscaping, etc. I can adapt and always find a decent job for a second income. How are employment opportunities there? Would it be easy to find a job to support a family and pay for housing? Probally looking to rent until house in MI sells. That could take awhile, market here is DOWN 20%!!! at least. People here are just walking away from their homes because they can not get what they owe on them.
From what I have seen and heard about AL, the lifestyle is laid back and slow paced. I like that. My son is 4 and will be starting school next year. Schooling is not much of an issue, I believe even public school is what you make of it, involvement is key.
Thinking about mainly B'ham area to be close to family, it would make the move easier.
Any opinions on employment?

I moved from Poor Cloudy Beautiful Clean Michigan 2 years ago, lived there al of my (old) life. I love the Sun and I love it here. The Southern Hospitality is genuine, bring plenty of your favorite Pizza, and Pickled Bologna though, and Kessler's because there are a few things down here you can't get.

[sassytrisha]

Another thing that is hard to find here, but not impossible if you know where to look, is Vernor's ginger ale. After looking for quite awhile, we located it at the Pig and also Publix.

[bamagal]

Hi!

If you're looking for construction jobs, I think you could find one. There are lots of houses being built in our area - I'm also in the Clay area, which is near Trussville on the N side of Birmingham towards Gadsden. In fact, I counted 7 new houses going up in one subdivision near us when I was driving today - they hadn't even been started the last time I drove through that area a few weeks ago. There are some new homes that haven't been sold yet in that same subdivision - but they might not be completely finished inside yet - but I can't imagine that they would have started 7 homes at once without some expectation of selling them. There are also new homes being built in other subdivisions around Clay.

Another area that is really growing is between Argo and Moody - Argo is just north of Trussville and just south of Springville, also on the N side of Birmingham near Clay, and Moody is just N of I-20 and E of Birmingham. There must be 6 new subdivisions - if not more - in that stretch.

Perhaps you might call one of the local lumber stores and ask to speak to someone in their contractor department - maybe they might be able to give you an idea of whether or not the construction industry is truly "hot" in our area right not. We have 84 Lumber - they cater to builders and are located in the Irondale area of Birmingham, and Lowe's, Marvins, and Home Depot - all in Trussville. You could probably find their phone numbers on anywho.com.

And yes, we love living here! We came from Florida, and it's much more laid back here than it was down there.

I hope this helps!