willeslinger wrote:Moving to Alabama? I'm sorry... Seriously though, I went to college at Samford in Birmingham, the WORST years of my life. However, there is some climbing.
So, you were ten minutes from downtown Homewood and Mountain Brook with their coffee shops, hipsters, yuppie moms, bike shops, karate studios, boutique eateries, five minutes from one of the best gear shops in the country, could get to good world class restaurants, lively bars, great golf, a variety of athletic events, dozens of music venues, spectacular paddling, great road biking, multiple breweries, libraries, museums, and shopping only miles away, were surrounded by Southern co-eds, with Oak Mountain and Moss Rock accessible in half an hour, Steele in 40 minutes, and any sort of steep sandstone you could possibly want from 30' to 200' in a little under an hour, Chatt in two hours, WNC in five, and these were the worst years of your life??? Bummer.
The keys to flourishing in Dixieland are not necessarily few or easy to piece together....However, if you can figure it out, life here can be very rich and rewarding.
For the other dude's benefit.....
Consider your ability to travel; get out of town from time to time....drive North to mountains, South or East to beaches, and West for, well, not a whole lot....the Birmingham and Atlanta airports are both easily accessible as well.
Find a way to cope with the oncoming heat; climbing above river canyons and in shady box canyons is the ticket.....climb/swim/paddle....or head to the quasi-alpine arenas of Western NC in June and July and camp in the high country.
Avoid Wal-Mart altogether; and chain restaurants that show football during prime season, but do catch a college game and some Baron's baseball once or twice a year....good people watching and good to be part of the culture if not immersed in it. UAB also has a strong basketball program.
Support local, independent food producers and the restaurants they serve....Alabama has some of the richest soil in the world and many local growers contributing to farmer's markets in Birmingham and Montgomery and a long standing tradition of locally supplied mom and pop restaurants.
Find some intelligent people to convene with regularly and do so over cold Good People IPAs. Breweries have sprung up in Birmingham, Gadsden, Anniston, Huntsville and other areas around the state and are putting out some gooooood beers.
From time to time, capitalize on the loose firearms laws and poorly enforced speed limits and have you a good ol' redneck time....every red-blooded American male should take to the woods in 4x4s, with the dogs, to exercise the 2nd amendment from time to time.
Fully exploit the opportunities to get out of doors in our year-round climbing/hiking/biking/boating-friendly weather.
Take in the nature and environment of a part of the country that is diverse with terrain, lush with wildlife and flora, abundant with rivers, lakes, streams, and full of history...
Be friendly to everyone.....there is major diversity of people here, be it in the cities, in the country, or somewhere in between....we all mostly get along these days.
Generally, look for what's great about this part of the country and try to overlook that which brings the stereotypical view of the South.....fat people, racism, poverty, moonshiners, etc.
Actively engage the available resources....they are many.
Alabama is a good place to be if you like your freedoms and want to live an ecclectic lifestyle.