[dmagoku]

To assist the OP, One advantage for a gay college going cousin in Alabama is Montevello University. It is well known for it's high gay population and he should check it it out, particularly if you make the jump to Birmingham.

[dmagoku]

Also Port, most people can't just up and leave where they live as most people work or have things tying them down to a geographical location. I just graduated from college and obviously I'm am trying to either get out Alabama or at least live in Birmingham.

[Mystiquebabe]

Thank you all for your replies. I am sorry that I am replying so late. A family emergency occurred.

I am sure Alabama is a great place filled with wonderful people, but we are considering moving to either California or Florida at the moment. We changed our minds because my cousin said that he thinks that he just wouldn't feel comfortable in Alabama.

[dmagoku]

Originally Posted by Mystiquebabe

Thank you all for your replies. I am sorry that I am replying so late. A family emergency occurred.

I am sure Alabama is a great place filled with wonderful people, but we are considering moving to either California or Florida at the moment. We changed our minds because my cousin said that he thinks that he just wouldn't feel comfortable in Alabama.

He would feel like he was in heaven at Montevallo. He should check it out.

[southernerd]

Originally Posted by dmagoku

To assist the OP, One advantage for a gay college going cousin in Alabama is Montevello University. It is well known for it's high gay population and he should check it it out, particularly if you make the jump to Birmingham.

I attended Montevallo, and I can verify: It is known not only for its high gay population, but for the highness of its population in general.

[oakford4]

Mystiquebabe,

I can tell you that as a non-native Alabamian (and for that matter the South), I would do your research. While Southern Hospitality is real, "fitting in" may be a different story. We've lived in Alabama for 5 years now after many years in Florida. While Florida is in the South, it's not necessarily as Southern as most other states in the Southeast. So the move there was quite easy, as folks are from all walks of life and from all parts, literally. As someone who grew up in the Chicago area, I can tell you that I'd suspect you are in for a MAJOR culture shock. I don't mean anything negative by that, only to say that coming from NYC you may notice dramatic differences, things that may not necessarily bother you:

Predominantly conservative (politically, socially, etc.). Personally, I am a hardcore conservative (politically), but am still annoyed at times over the judgement locals put on certain people. I say, 'live and let live'.

Race IS an issue, still. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise

Many smaller retail places are closed on Sundays (like a coffee shop, for example).

Church is at the core of life (even in small-talk conversations in mixed company). While I am a Christian (and practice my faith), I have found this to make me uneasy. Sorry, just my views.


This list could go on. Yes, at least on the surface, folks are friendly. But if you haven't alot in common, you might find it difficult to make long term friends. I've shared this opinion with a number of others who feel the same.

Having said all this, if you do decide to move to AL, give Huntsville your first thought. It's rather "cosmopolitan" (can't really think of a better term) for AL standards, as a large percentage of people are from all over. That's because of the presence of NASA, the space industry suppliers, and the Redstone Aresenal. There are alot of people from all regions of the US and the world!

Good luck.

[Charles]

My response from from non native (From California) living in Huntsville:

Originally Posted by oakford4

Predominantly conservative (politically, socially, etc.). Personally, I am a hardcore conservative (politically), but am still annoyed at times over the judgement locals put on certain people. I say, 'live and let live'.

Maybe Huntsville isn't that bad but I don't sense any animosity towards dissimilar people. In fact, I think Huntsville is seeking more diversity to add value to the community in things like restaurants, music venues, nightclubs, hobbies, etc.

Race IS an issue, still. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise

Never, ever noticed this in Huntsville. Same as Los Angeles. Can't sense anything. However, Huntsville is segregated. My kids played basketball. Every team they played was either 100% black or 0% black (white, Indian, Asian).

Many smaller retail places are closed on Sundays (like a coffee shop, for example).

Oh yes, and this is annoying as hell. Even car washes are closed on Sundays so that leaves one day a week (Saturday) to get your car washed as most people don't have time during the week.

Church is at the core of life (even in small-talk conversations in mixed company). While I am a Christian (and practice my faith), I have found this to make me uneasy. Sorry, just my views.

Extremely true. Church is everything social. If you aren't in a church you are out of the loop. In fact, I'd bet even atheists attend church as church is more than religion and spirituality; it's a social network.


This list could go on. Yes, at least on the surface, folks are friendly. But if you haven't alot in common, you might find it difficult to make long term friends. I've shared this opinion with a number of others who feel the same.

Having said all this, if you do decide to move to AL, give Huntsville your first thought. It's rather "cosmopolitan" (can't really think of a better term) for AL standards, as a large percentage of people are from all over. That's because of the presence of NASA, the space industry suppliers, and the Redstone Aresenal. There are alot of people from all regions of the US and the world!

Yes, I'd say this is true but Huntsville still lacks diversity. It's like 60% white, 35% black, and 5% everything else.

Good luck.

[bama_oahu]

I'm sorry, but throughout this forum I keep seeing mention of how important church is and 'you're out of the loop if you don't go'. I grew up in a small town in central Alabama. I honestly cannot remember being asked once what church I went too(answer being none, my folks didn't agree with religion). I doubt even half of the kids I knew went(this was in the 80's btw). I could be wrong, but I suspect most of the people who make those statements are churchgoers, and perceive an exaggerated emphasis on church attendance, due to being churchgoers themselves. I'm not saying it never happens, but in my lifetime in small town Bama, not even once did that come up(other than the occasional invite to some teen function or something).

I'm not really trying to defend Bama, I choose not to live there anymore for several reasons. I'm just flat stumped by all the 'if you don't go to church you're a social pariah' talk. Never happened once in my small Bama 'hick town' life.(well, we had the Mormons and Jehovas Witnesses, but that's everywhere).

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by oakford4

Having said all this, if you do decide to move to AL, give Huntsville your first thought. It's rather "cosmopolitan" (can't really think of a better term) for AL standards...

I have to say I think Birmingham is WAY more cosmopolitan than Huntsville...if you dare apply even that word. The fact that it's a much bigger city is the biggest reason. And it's WAY more liberal than Huntsville.

As far as diverse, heck, even in Decatur's Wal-Mart I've heard English, Spanish, dialects from Guatemala and Honduras, Japanese, French, Chinese and Korean spoken in one visit.

[NoSpray]

Hey I definetly reccomend moving to Huntsville. It is a great city to raise a family in. Huntsville has alot of great things to offer with shopping, quality of life, and its geographical location. If you get tired of the country life you can always hop in the car and drive an hour north to Nashville, 3hrs east to Atlanta, 2hrs West to Memphis, or an hour South to Birmingham. It is one of the fastest growing cities in America. Do some research on it and you should even take a visit to see it for yourself. I know all of these things to be true because I lived there for the past 5 years before I moved to California.