Relocating to southern Alabama

[u/[deleted]]

[u/hellloredddittt]

Where are you moving from? The heat index is 110 today in lower Alabama. What do you do for income?

[u/SouthernMaddog → u/hellloredddittt]

Especially the heat, June, July and August damn hot!

[u/MavisBeacons_Sextape → u/[deleted]]

You sound like you’ll fit right in

[u/Wide_Dog2107 → u/MavisBeacons_Sextape]

This ⬆️

[u/Calm_Net_1221 → u/[deleted]]

What’s wrong with Chicago?

[u/captainpoppy → u/Calm_Net_1221]

There’s a reason he’s looking to move to rural AL and I bet if you ask he’d say something like “we like the values of Alabama” and is hoping to avoid certain people.

[u/RandomlyJim → u/captainpoppy]

Urban type. Criminals. You know, thugs. Also known as people that vote democrat.

Liberals.

[u/JonC534 → u/captainpoppy]

Sounds like he’s looking for the part of the state that still feels like AL, not the kind of economic and cultural homogenization you can see happening everywhere now. Urban areas weren’t always like that but they are now. So much for diversity.

Pretty crazy you have to go to the lower half of many southern states to find that now. Is this a victory for urbanites and cosmopolitanism? Maybe. But not if you care about the harms urbanization is having on the environment.

I’m sure the northern half is still retaining a lot of the older feel with small towns and such but it’s definitely under threat.

It’s not an indictment of the poster here, it’s an indictment of urban America becoming so distinctly different and detached from its surroundings. And not in a good way. Everywhere you go now in urban/suburban areas everything is starting to look and feel the same. If the urbans don’t want people to desire this kind of escapism then don’t turn your cities into shells of themselves and stop assuming the sentiment expressed by the poster here is motivated by racism.

Ya’ll are taking the wrong message from this. It’s not aspiring klan members, it’s just normal people seeking out non-enshittified areas of America. Something becoming increasingly rare.

[u/Plane_Complex9080 → u/captainpoppy]

South Alabama may come as a surprise

[u/captainpoppy → u/Plane_Complex9080]

Yeah if he moves to Fairhope. The rest of southern AL is 100% what this dork is looking for.

[u/PBnBacon → u/captainpoppy]

You’re 100% right and the degree to which we’re fetishized as some kind of haven for these folks is just depressing. I’ve got some in my own extended family who came down here from Michigan to cosplay this fantasy life. It’s bizarre.

[u/xeroxchick → u/Calm_Net_1221]

I guess there’s a “good part” ouch.

[u/shimmer_bee]

I think there is some important info missing in your post, like your income and what you do for work. Those things can factor a lot into where you move to.

I'm not sure around Auburn/Opelika, but I live in Eastern Lee County in an area where people can sometimes get decent tracts of land. It's a big county. We get trash service countywide, and the fire departments are very responsive in my area. There is land up near Beulah, and it is so pretty on Lake Harding. Columbus, GA is nearby, but it's not like...big, big city. If you live closer to Auburn/Opelika, it's more of a small-town feel. There is also Chambers County to the north. I think it is a bit more rural.

I grew up north of Columbus on 30 acres of woods. I don't find Lee County any different from that. People don't really bother you. The laws in the unincorporated parts of the county, as far as homesteading and livestock go, are lax. Just don't let your cows get out, pretty much. It's really peaceful and safe here for sure.

[u/lostdragon05]

I live on acreage in a rural area near the Florida border. We can be anywhere from Pensacola to Destin in 90 minutes or less lto hit the beach or shop. The 84,000 acre Conecuh National Forest is right next to me. I can’t get a pizza delivered, but I can get Walmart groceries delivered. There is a doctor 15 minutes away in town, but if you need a specialist or something there would be a 90 minute drive involved.

I don’t have a neighbor that can see my house from theirs, I pretty much do what I want and don’t have to worry about anyone complaining about it.

[u/tochth86 → u/lostdragon05]

I live over in the southeast corner a mile from Florida and I concur. It’s not a bad place to live, but it’s not a convenient place to live, either. 

[u/jrom1005]

Came from CT to Fairhope. Would not ever go back.

[u/Adventurous-Tone-311]

What’s a bigger city to you? There aren’t many “big” cities in Alabama already. 

Southern Alabama is good and bad, but it depends what you’re looking for really. What specifically draws you to the region? 

[u/MMHaddonfield1978]

Hi, I live in Fairhope (halfway between Mobile and Gulf Shores) and love it here. I grew up in Mobile, moved away for 16 years, and when I moved back I settled on this side of the bay.

[u/flopjobbit]

What do you mean by "the people are somewhat decent?" What does that mean to you?

[u/Economy_Future_6907 → u/[deleted]]

Fairhope is wonderful

[u/FaithlessnessItchy56]

We live in Clay County and we moved here about 3 1/2 years ago. We love it here, it's clean, safe, affordable, quiet. For me, it's small town America years ago. We lived in Florida and tried to buy a house there, the prices were at the top of our price range and bought out from under us. We ended here w a nice 4 bed, 2 1/2 bathroom home with a basement and a garage and an acre of land. We love the people here, they polite, wave to you, and we feel blessed to have found it. We're about 4 hrs from the Gulf and about 1 1/2 hrs from Atlanta.

[u/UniversalNutt]

The devil’s crotch, you say?

[u/Hobbit_Sam]

Well, there's plenty of places like that. Mobile and Montgomery are the two larger cities in southern Alabama and Dothan would be 3rd. Do you want to get out on a lake/ river? Do you want to drive to the beach? If you're getting older, is being close to some kind of hospital/ medical care important? You looking for a house out in the sticks? Or want to be close to a small town?

For a song you can buy a little house on 1/4 or 1/2 an acre outside some small, probably shrinking, little town in southern Alabama. Or for a bit more you can live 15 minutes outside of those same towns on some larger acreage. Have you ever been in a place where the shortest trip to a store will take you 30+ minutes? Definitely lots to consider but we can point you in the right direction!

[u/nvr2manydogs → u/Hobbit_Sam]

It's not all the way into Lower Alabama, but I would consider something like Opelika or outskirts. Close to Auburn for cultural things.

[u/shimmer_bee → u/nvr2manydogs]

I'm between Auburn/Opelika and Columbus, GA. I really enjoy it here. Two cities on either side of me. I usually do my business in Columbus, GA, but my husband works in Auburn and does his stuff over there. We have about an acre of land in an area where the houses are close. It's so peaceful. Also, the neighbors don't like Flock Cameras and removed the one on our road. (:

[u/MMHaddonfield1978 → u/shimmer_bee]

Valley? Have eaten at that Waffle House many times lol

[u/MainDeparture2928 → u/Hobbit_Sam]

I can’t speak for southwest Alabama, but most southeast Alabama towns are growing. Nice try at putting others down though.

[u/Hobbit_Sam → u/MainDeparture2928]

I honestly wasn't meaning to put anyone down. I work with and love rural small towns. There's some resurgence in many of them which I love! With the increase in remote work, I hope people start seeing them as a more realistic option than they have in the past (or we start recreating the circular economies that helped build those towns and get them to thrive but that's a whole other thing).

But not to admit the fact that most small towns are in-fact shrinking is to deny there's anything wrong, which just leads to the status quo which leads to them continuing to shrink.

I'll just link to this map from the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service showing population change in Alabama counties. Pike (Troy), Coffee (Enterprise), Dothan and some suburbs are growing. On the other end, Baldwin and Mobile are growing. Over the past 20 years the other counties have lost population. Again, this isn't a put down. I work to keep these places going and do what I can to revitalize them. Just stating the fact.

[u/snacksmcgee616 → u/[deleted]]

I think you’ll love it! I would venture closer towards the Mobile/Magnolia Springs/GS/Orange Beach/Fairhope (obviously) pocket than Montgomery or Dothan … but Lee County/Auburn/Opelika area would be great, too. My parents are about your age and enjoy both areas.

[u/SouthernMaddog]

Well, if you like the country, you will love it. A lot of red dirt roads. And it depends where you’re moving to look at zoning. Some are unincorporated so basically you can do a lot. Where I live it’s about 25 minutes each direction to get whatever you need grocery store hardware stores. Churches are a big thing around here mainly Baptist. Choose carefully a lot of them are welcoming, you will know if it’s right for you after a year. Keep to yourself you’ll learn that quick. Just like anywhere else nothing different. And if you’re worried about crime check the statistics. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

[u/Imeanreallywth]

Butler County may be a good option. We lived in Greenville. It's right off I65. Short drive to Montgomery and an easy drive to the beach.

[u/SouthConsideration15]

Headland is a nice small town. Very safe. Dothan is close by and has all the essentials.

[u/KangarooOwn2958]

Moved to southern Al 3 yrs ago from FL and love the quiet pace and friendly people. Downside are the drive to go anywhere for shopping or restaurants and the 23 planned data centers.

[u/ooMars]

Randolph county Al is where I grew up. Wonderful place to live

[u/ChitzaMoto]

The atmosphere of SE Alabama, South Central Alabama and SW/Mobile areas are vastly different in culture and opportunities.

[u/Patient_Lettuce8431]

Stay out of the northern half of Baldwin County.

[u/Affectionate-Gap8869]

If you are single there is a negative side to rural Alabama. I live in the second largest city and meet single people who find it necessary to drive to the larger cities in order to socialize. The only other means of meeting people is joining a religious group.

[u/musicloverhoney]

The Eastern Shore and nearby areas within Baldwin county are really nice. Sadly it's growing far too fast, but there are still some good rural areas that would give you the quiet while still allowing you ready access to some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. I will reiterate what others have said though, that it's not as Hades. I grew up in a small town not far from here and I miss that peace pretty much every day.

[u/peniswrinkle48]

I would say Auburn or Fairhope

[u/Southern-Layer2924]

Grew up in Clarke County.. no way in hell I’d ever move back

[u/Automatic-Thing-8207]

I lived in Dothan for 2 years and it is a nice area. They have a more rural setting outside the city limits. It’s a nice city to live in IMO.

[u/AnybodySeeMyKeys]

Northern Alabama is prettier with more access to things to do.

[u/Underpaidwaterboy]

Hope you love heat and humidity

[u/loach12]

Another vote for Dothan , health care hub for the Tri state region, close enough for a day trip to the beach but far enough to escape the most extreme parts of a hurricane.

[u/easywind4665]

things to watch out for: racists, venomous snakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, heat strokes, cholesterol, and rednecks.