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I've been doing a lot of research lately and am considering a move to the northern part of Alabama to live out whatever's left of my life. I hope that doesn't come off as sounding too dark or morose. I consider myself a pretty happy person in decent health, I'm just a Pragmatist. In The Doors song, "Five to One", the legendary Jim Morrison said, "No one here gets out alive" and he wasn't kidding.
I'm currently in my mid-50s (as February, 2023) and would like to move within the next 5-10 years.
My current occupation is working from home in the Oil & Gas industry and honestly, with the flexibility of my job, I would consider myself already semi-retired as I never have to go into an office, do ZOOM calls or any of that garbage. Phone, email and text is how I get along professionally with my Clients and Contractors. As long as I have my phone or laptop and internet access, I can work from anywhere. If I wanted to, I could play golf 7 days a week, but right now, I'm happy just practicing Monday - Friday and playing on the weekends.
Now, some of you might say, "Why don't you just move to Alabama now and keep working?". I'm not opposed to that as I probably could move and still maintain my business. It just seems to be a little risky in my mind -- being in Alabama and coordinating with my contractors who work in Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Occasionally, my contractors, who all live here in Oklahoma, still need to bring their work to my house. That obviously won't work if I'm living in Alabama.
I'm not opposed to moving sooner and finding a new job in Alabama, but I don't know if I could find something comparable to what I'm currently doing. Especially with the flexibility and decent income I currently enjoy, it's a pretty sweet gig. I know my dog loves having me around all the time.
A little background on me:
Growing up on the Western Slope of Colorado (small town of around 6,000), I learned at a very young age how to ski, hunt, golf, fish and camp.
I'm not as outdoorsy as I was in my youth, but if I have any opportunity to go play golf, I will jump on it. That's about the extent of my forays into the Great Outdoors at this point in my life. On occasion, I will be known to, as my mom used to say, "drown a worm" at a local fishing spot.
I went to college at Arizona State and got my Journalism/Mass Communications degree and had a great career in radio for 23 years. After that, I got into the Oil & Gas business and have been working in that sector since 2008.
The places I've lived/worked are:
Tempe, AZ; Phoenix, AZ; Houston, TX; Philadelphia, PA; Charleston, SC; Charlotte, NC; Greenville, SC and I currently live in Oklahoma City, OK -- since 1998.
I've always liked living in big cities because of the access to great restaurants, golf, sports teams and socializing, etc.
Those aren't huge priorities at this point in my life -- except for the golf. I'm really just looking to retire to a decent community of around 10,000 people so I don't have to go too far out of my way for good places to eat, making good friends, getting groceries, enjoying access to some entertainment (movies, plays, sporting events, concerts, etc.), and playing golf. Wherever I end up must also have excellent internet. I would absolutely lose my mind not having a link to friends and family or the outside world for that matter. I really don't cook much -- I cook for my dog all the time, but not for myself very often -- so that's why a good variety of nearby restaurants is important to me. I'm not a big fan of chain restaurants. Plus, everything I've read about the cuisine in Alabama sounds like it's a great place for an amateur foodie like me.
For golf, I don't need to join some hoity-toity private country club, but I would like to have access to a larger variety of great public golf courses to play than I currently have here in Central Oklahoma. Public access to the RTJ Golf Trail is what sent me down this rabbit hole in the first place. I am absolutely ADDICTED to playing golf and that's why retiring in Alabama came up on my radar -- RTJ Golf Trail, I'm talking to you.
I should also mention, wherever I end up living, I'll be joining the membership of a local golf club. At the moment, Timberline in Calera looks like a good choice for me. I would also be purchasing an annual RTJ Golf Trail pass too. I would be happy to entertain suggestions for a golf membership at a different course in the area, it's just that Timberline seemed to have what I liked through my internet searches. Of course, wherever I end up living will also have influence on which club I join. I don't want to join a course that you can just "grip it and rip it", I like a golf course that challenges me and makes me strategize while playing it.
My father introduced me to the game of golf as a child and I absolutely fell in love with it.
The decent public golf choices in Central Oklahoma are pretty slim and I've finally had my fill of playing every round in 15-25 mph winds. It's definitely accurate what the Broadway/state song says, "Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain". Given all the other places I've lived throughout my life, Oklahoma is an eternal wind tunnel and I hate it. I understand, if one is participating in outdoor activities, there will be some breezy weather from time to time, but not EVERY. FRIGGING. DAY. And the wind is BLOWING, there is no such thing as a gentle breeze in Central Oklahoma.
The cost of living in Alabama seems to be pretty comparable to what my current cost of living is in Oklahoma City which also piqued my interest in retiring to Alabama. Also, the area between Huntsville and Birmingham seems to be fairly central to several of the RTJ Golf Trail courses. I'm really not interested in living anywhere near the coast, I'm just not the beach-going type.
I'm aware of the hot, humid summers in Alabama. I got a really good taste of that living in Houston and both Carolinas. Believe it or not, the summers are incredibly humid here in Central Oklahoma as well. It's not out of the ordinary to have summertime highs reach into the triple-digits. I guess it has to do with all of the moist air coming up from the Gulf. That moist Gulf air is also what makes Oklahoma the capital of Tornado Alley and I'm fully aware of the tornadoes you get in Alabama.
So, as I said, I'm looking for a community with a population of around 10,000-ish with a low crime-rate that isn't a food desert and lies somewhere between Huntsville and Birmingham. I'm not completely opposed to living in either city, but I'm sure I'd get more bang for my buck living a little ways outside of either city.
I currently live in a 3-bed 2-bath house (around 1,800 sq. ft.) by myself with my dog -- no wife or kids. I use one of the bedrooms as a home office and the other for putting up friends and family whenever they come to visit. After perusing some home information in the areas from Huntsville to Birmingham, somewhere around $170K - $230K is about all the home I would need. I could probably go a little smaller, but I would need a good, safe storage place nearby. I've also noticed, unlike Oklahoma, some Alabama homes have basements in which I could use as storage, I guess.
I hope I'm not sounding too pretentious, but I consider my current living situation in Central Oklahoma as fairly average and what an average existence in Alabama would be like as well.
So, that's my story. Sorry it's so long, but I'm really interested in living out my days NOT in Oklahoma.
On the surface, Alabama seems to tick most, if not all of the boxes, for my criteria on living out my retirement years.
Any and all feedback/suggestions -- positive and negative -- would be greatly appreciated.
I will also be cross-posting this in the Birmingham Area thread as well to get some more viewpoints.
TLDR; I live in Oklahoma and am considering a move to Alabama to retire in a community of 10,000-ish people somewhere between Huntsville and Birmingham so I can play lots of golf.
Sounds like either Arab or Guntersville would be perfect for you. Both are about the same size and have a couple of good golf courses. Plus, both are within reasonable commuting distance of Huntsville.
Not sure about Calera - not too familiar with it, but I-65 is a mess of traffic much of the time.
Summers in north Alabama are nowhere near as humid as in Houston.
Alabama has the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, but also don't overlook great Alabama State Park golf courses.
North Alabama has two fabulous RTJ courses in the Shoals (playing 8050 yards), and they happen to be 1/4 mile down the street from my lake house. Another RTJ golf complex is in SW Huntsville in an absolutely beautiful part of the county. Guntersville State Park (30 mi.) has another fine golf course.
North Alabama is truly blessed with great golf, but our greatest asset is the Tennessee River. If you find golf and the river, things just don't get any better than that.
Alabama has the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, but also don't overlook great Alabama State Park golf courses.
North Alabama has two fabulous RTJ courses in the Shoals (playing 8050 yards), and they happen to be 1/4 mile down the street from my lake house. Another RTJ golf complex is in SW Huntsville in an absolutely beautiful part of the county. Guntersville State Park (30 mi.) has another fine golf course.
North Alabama is truly blessed with great golf, but our greatest asset is the Tennessee River. If you find golf and the river, things just don't get any better than that.
Guntersville also has Gunter's Landing, a neighborhood golf course that is very challenging. And just north of Arab is Cherokee Ridge, one of my favorite local courses. Scottsboro has two municipal course that are both decent, one much better than the other. Huntsville doesn't have a municipal course, if you can believe it.
Guntersville also has Gunter's Landing, a neighborhood golf course that is very challenging. And just north of Arab is Cherokee Ridge, one of my favorite local courses. Scottsboro has two municipal course that are both decent, one much better than the other. Huntsville doesn't have a municipal course, if you can believe it.
And don't forget about Joe Wheeler State Park which is 30 minutes east of Athens. They've put a bunch of money into the golf course, the campgrounds and re-doing the fine state park inn there.
When the Robert Trent Jones bunch came in to see the Shoals land, they said they'd never seen a better piece of land for building a golf course. The clubhouse is 153 feet above the Tennessee River and the first Robert Trent Jones golf course built in 1957 is a mile across the river--Turtle Point.
A friend asked Steward Cink how good Turtle Point is in comparison with other country club courses that they play on the PGA Tour. He said it's top of the line for all golf courses.
And don't forget about Joe Wheeler State Park which is 30 minutes east of Athens. They've put a bunch of money into the golf course, the campgrounds and re-doing the fine state park inn there.
When the Robert Trent Jones bunch came in to see the Shoals land, they said they'd never seen a better piece of land for building a golf course. The clubhouse is 153 feet above the Tennessee River and the first Robert Trent Jones golf course built in 1957 is a mile across the river--Turtle Point.
A friend asked Steward Cink how good Turtle Point is in comparison with other country club courses that they play on the PGA Tour. He said it's top of the line for all golf courses.
Yep, it's a great place for a golfer to live.
I've never been to turtle Point but we may give it a try this spring. The RTJ courses in the Shoals are really good. There's also Terry Pines at Cullman, and the city course in Cullman (can't remember the name offhand) is quite good as well. And, if you want to go a bit further, there's Limestone Springs in Oneonta (NNE of Birmingham 30 or so miles) but just off US Hwy 31 from Huntsville.
Huntsville doesn't have a municipal course, if you can believe it.
It just means Huntsville's priorities lie elsewhere. BTW, Huntsville used to have a double-A baseball team but they let that go also. Currently Huntsville is concentrating on other type of entertainment.
It just means Huntsville's priorities lie elsewhere. BTW, Huntsville used to have a double-A baseball team but they let that go also. Currently Huntsville is concentrating on other type of entertainment.
And they still do for all intents and purposes with the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Nobody's ever thought of Madison as the Rocket City.
I've never been to turtle Point but we may give it a try this spring. The RTJ courses in the Shoals are really good. There's also Terry Pines at Cullman, and the city course in Cullman (can't remember the name offhand) is quite good as well. And, if you want to go a bit further, there's Limestone Springs in Oneonta (NNE of Birmingham 30 or so miles) but just off US Hwy 31 from Huntsville.
My brother in law plays the great courses of the world every year. I'm talking about Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and Augusta.
My BIL has a friend that is a Turtle Point member, and every time he plays there he's bowled over by the quality of the course. It was RTJ's first golf course built around 1957.
And the public RTJ-Shoals across the lake is another pair of great, long courses.
We retired in NE Alabama about 13 years ago. No regrets at all.
Property was inexpensive, taxes are ridiculously cheap. 4 vehicles at a red light is a traffic jam, We have a decent hospital, plenty of General Practitioners, Huntsville is just an hour away which is filled with excellent specialists, North Alabama is a paradise for those that love the outdoors!
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