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You might prefer the hills of Alabama rather than the southern half. It is hot as hell there for about nine months of the year — hotter than Florida — no sea breeze.
The piedmont region has four seasons and a relatively mild winter. It still gets hot enough, but it cools off some at night.
Yes, what's wrong with looking at the area between Birmingham and Huntsville. There's lots of rural land there. Obviously though, it's going to be higher priced. Still think it's worth a look.
Work with a realtor in the area you'd like to live and /or visit and spend some time in the local pubs conversing with the locals. They may know people looking to sell but not listing...You gotta visit any property in person to make sure it isn't a swamp, located next to a military artillery range or vacation resort for liberals from Massachusetts
It's cheaper to buy developed property-- well & septic will cost you $20k+ to install new, and it can cost $1000s to put in even a gravel driveway.....Old houses may need significant repairs, and if the area is zoned, you may not be allowed to make repairs without bringing everything up to code-- $$$
Consider ease of access to medical care and basic shopping. You don't need to be within walking distance, but driving 35 miles for cigarettes and beer can get old fast.
BTW- anybody who thinks bugs, rodents, snakes, coyotes etc are a problem probably shouldn't be considering a rustic lifestyle.
Good advice. Definitely drive around the area and see what areas you like and don't like. Everyone is different, obviously.
We had a 300 acre hunting lease off Vance, AL. OP is somewhat clueless about prices, taxes, infrastructure, weather, critters, housing and what it takes to produce enough to at least supplement a family. Health seems to be a concern already.
Hike Alabama in July/August. Talk to some of the outlier farmers which are still around.
The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced that one doesn't move to Alabama "for better weather" especially not to learn about farming for subsistence and prepping. There are a lot of weather patterns here. I was very naïve when I moved here. People who have always lived 2K miles from the SE do not realize how absolutely different the weather and terrain is. I thought it would be warm here! I moved here on 10/31 two years ago. The very next week a cold front moved in. It was COLD. We get freezes here that kill vegetation. Then the storms started. Horrible thunder, lightning and then tornados started a couple months later.
I understand that in Florida you've dealt with those things OP, but Alabama is really not much different than Florida. I realize you're looking for cheap or cheapER, but Alabama has a lot of considerations. When I look at a weather map of the entire United States, there is often a huge weather front moving diagonally across the central U.S. and continuing on to the east coast. At least in Greensboro you wouldn't be close to the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains.
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