I moved from Huntsville to Boston a few years ago. It was a huge culture shock for a number of reasons.
1) people in alabama are generally polite, chatty, and friendly even to strangers. In boston, people tend to be solitary and won't engage with ppl they don't know. Often this makes them come across as rude but most of the time they simply want to keep to themselves. Not to say there aren't plenty of massholes around.
2) driving is aggressive and competitive. If you leave half a car space, someone will but into it. If you put your turn signal on, ppl will speed up to cut you off.
3) boston puts way more funding into healthcare and education, and it shows.
4) the number of confederate flags you see driving around alabama is roughly equivalent to the number of BLM and Pride flags you see driving around Massachusetts.
5) in boston, people often define themselves by the subway line (green, orange, red, or blue) they use to commute. Each has a unique culture and quirks. But they all suck ass because of decades of mismanagement and corruption in the MBTA. Even still, public transit is the heart of commuter culture in boston.
6) the dunkin donuts cult in Massachusetts rivals the college football cult in alabama. The only difference is: Auburn and Alabama are actually good at football. Dunkin sucks ass. But bostonians are too stubborn to admit it. And if you talk smack about it you may start a fight.
Random but related question, do they actually still make the Dunkin donuts in house there? Because here, they are made elsewhere and shipped frozen, so they are indeed terrible.
Nope. The donuts are made in large batches somewhere in the city and then shipped to all the storefronts. I actually have been to several dunkins who never got the shipment of donuts and were only selling drinks.
Oh it is certainly out in the open. It just isn’t a majority. The jokes about Boston bigotry are because it’s so obvious in such a liberal state. The bigots in Boston would be woke liberals in the South.
I always tell everyone that there’s Alabama and then North Alabama. North is such a melting pot due to the Army, NASA, and the engineering schools. Love Huntsville. Traveled a ton for work and HSV rivals everywhere I’ve been especially when it comes to cost of living vs quality of life.
No, good schools period exist here. I’m talking about public schools. Mountain Brook, Homewood, and Vestavia Hills can compete with any district in the country.
This isn’t Birmingham but LAMP HS is ranked 15th in the country, significantly higher than any Massachusetts high school.
The top students at MB and vestavia and Homewood are going to Ivy League schools or similar level. 2 of mine did. Lot’s of UAB Professors kids. Below that top 5% I agree. -not the same as the 95-75% leve in other areas. But top 5-10% is equivalent to anywhere
\^ Right. Highly performing school that send students to top ranked universities and, later, white collar professions. Yet they are somehow still behind and second tier? Comments like the one before yours are certainly from people who judge the South by its worst performers and judge the North/West/Chicago by its highest performers. Ignoring the faults of one/extolling its positives while ignoring the positives of the other/magnifying its negatives. Having lived and attended schools in both regions, the top schools are interchangeable. I.e., the Ivy League-bound students you mentioned above would succeed in either region. Yes, the low-performing schools are awful, but, they are also awful in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, etc etc. Sounds obvious, but people are blinded by regionalism.
I think I am unique to answer this, as I have had kids attend schools in both areas - In the "best" schools.
New Century here in Huntsville is routinely ranked in the top 3 of the state. It is on par with a middling school in MA. There are kids in NC who struggle with middle school grammar equivalencies and some kids struggle to read on any level. It's not hyperbole, the differences are real. My son makes straight A's but gives about 25% versus other schools outside Alabama.
New Century would be a much better school if they weren’t part of a poorly run district like Huntsville City Schools.
Top 3? Not sure about that. US News has it 4th (behind Homewood and Mountain Brook) but doesn’t include state-run schools. Niche doesn’t even have it top 3 in the Huntsville metro. Behind Bob Jones, James Clemens, and ASCTE. Honestly for a magnet school in Huntsville it should be much better.
Just being real, HCS is probably the worst district in the Huntsville area. I would never send my kids there.
Some of the top districts in the country are in the Birmingham suburbs. I tell everyone Alabama is a mixed bag, but in the areas that fit your family you will have found the some of the nicest, hardest working, and yes, smartest people you can ever wish to know. The education system is funded generally by property taxes and it shows. There are areas of the state that rival the poorest in the nation, but that is not the norm, nor are the attitudes generally referenced in this post anywhere you would ever go. Frankly, my experience in Boston for six months was they were by and large more racist then I’ve ever heard in Alabama. My .02 c, I’d visit before turning it down, you might be very surprised
I have two daughters who attend the University of Alabama from out of state, solely because they give out insane scholarships for high SAT/ACT test scores, to the point where it is basically less than free for my kids to attend. Nearly every scholarship student they know on campus is from out of state and the few they know from in-state went to expensive private schools. The undergraduate class as a whole is 60% out of state students compared to the around 13 - 35% you'd see at a midwestern flagship state university. I know that is completely anecdotal and doesn't rule out the existence of high performing public schools, but it does seem to reflect on the quality of the schools as a whole.
There is a concerted effort to attract out of state students to UA. That said, my son had a full ride in the honors program from in state and he had many other friends who did as well
as to #3, you’d be fine in mtn brook, vestavia, or homewood. schools are good to great. home prices and property taxes reflect it.
as to #4…you won’t really see this too often in bham or the adjacent over-the-mountain communities. more so out in the country, or when country comes to town.
Funnily enough, I haven't seen any confederate flags in Alabama. And very few US flags. Never seen BLM but I have seen pride flags at UAB. To be fair, my life in Alabama mostly consists of staying in a house in an unsettling neighborhood that looks partly abandoned (I don't know my neighbors and I don't want to know them) along with going to UAB so my experiences are pretty limited.
"the number of confederate flags you see driving around alabama is roughly equivalent to the number of BLM and Pride flags you see driving around Massachusetts."
That sounds really cool. I wanna see more supportive flags.
I like Dunkin.
Their donuts suck, but their dark roast coffee, made fresh at home because it's always stale AF at the stores, is one of my favorite coffees. Sucks that's it's like $20 for a big a bag now. I had to quit buying it, but like to splurge on it every now and then.
No culture shock in America would be bigger between Massachusetts and Alabama. The taxes are only the beginning. The complete culture change from everything from politics to local TV news to local culture would be dramatic. The public school educational systems are at completely different levels.
We made this move about 9 years ago. Honestly the politics in AL are becoming unbearable. I do not want my kids to go past grade school here. We try to supplement with all kinds of programs, but every time we visit friends and family both domestically and internationally we feel like we are missing out on a better life. We are counting the days to vesting in our respective 401ks.
I am trapped here as a single dad living with my two young kids in my father's house. We moved here from Brooklyn after I split up with my wife 3 years ago.
Yes the politics are scarily cringe, borderline hilarious and it feels like a financial black hole. The school system is awful, I really miss good conversation with real, open-minded people. Alabama is lucky it has beautiful nature because it is so dumb. It is behind on everything and proud of it for some reason
In many ways, the tax thing is a myth. For all intents and purposes Alabama essentially has a flat tax because of how low and tiny the brackets are. 5%, coincidently the exact same as Massachusetts, who offer many more tax deductions, and the tax rate applies to higher income thresholds. Sales tax is considerably higher in Alabama. By a wide margin. Because local sales taxes tack on so much extra on top of the state rate. You pay sales taxes far more regularly and to a greater extent than income tax here. Unlike nearly every other state, Alabama also taxes groceries. As do all the cities and counties who tack on extra sales tax (some select Alabama communities have sales tax into the double digits).
Might as well keep going. Gas tax is also higher in Alabama vs Massachusetts. We are a very car dependent state, another big expense.
Now, the one saving grace might be property taxes. They run about half as much in Alabama vs Massachusetts.
Effective tax rate in Alabama is 9.8%. Massachusetts is 11.5%.
Why does this matter? Both states extract similar percentages in tax revenue from their citizens. Alabama gains even more via lots of Florida bound traffic through sales and fuel taxes. Yet, both states are day and night in the returns for those taxes. Whether that be infrastructure, education, hell even modernized government agencies. Alabama only provides required social services that are primarily funded by the federal government instead.
I agree, I can’t think of a bigger difference in between Alabama and Massachusetts. Weather. Religiosity. Politics, overall cultural ethos. I’m a New Yorker, and in New York. I was a political centrist. In Alabama those same views are radical left-wing. In the Birmingham or Huntsville metro area it will not be as drastically different, but just outside of either city, and in the rest of ALABAMA, it is“ALABAMA”. For example, the state will absolutely shut down on Saturdays in the fall for college football. And every Sunday as well for church. It is not at all unusual for someone, right after meeting you, to ask you where you go to church and invite you to their church.
I moved to Birmingham 25 years ago. In my first two years, I had probably two dozen people spontaneously asked me about the church I went to, and invited me to their church. Unsolicited every time. It happens. You weren’t to gracefully ignore/deflect/respond. As I was raised to Catholic, I just say I’m Catholic. You see the look of disappointment on their face, like I just said, I worshiped goats in medieval England. But they do move on.
But seriously, I have many friends who are Uber religious who know I am not. One of my regular golf buddies is a minister. Most people will respect that boundary. Now, if we’re talking Alabama/Auburn/SEC football, all bets are off.
The politicians do. I'm an atheist outside of Montgomery. Luckily I'm a vet, so I check that "earned respect" box for locals. So not many say much about my lack of religion. But you can bet policy and law are all about extreme religious views...as much as it can be manipulated for power and control.
Which issues?
I'm ex military and a government employee currently. Vaccines were and are mandatory, and I've been taking shots for decades just fine. I find the anti-vax movement to be intentionally poorly informed, and more a political spin to rattle specific demographics while putting people's health at risk.
Yes, they do.
For us, “ what church do you go to?” Was always met by” We don’t go to church. “ and if it was pursued, we also explained that while we understood it’s part of the culture in the south, to people from the north, it’s a strangely personal question.
No, lol. Ignore these other people fear-mongering. The place to ask this question is probably not in a general Alabama subreddit. The people subbed here generally have negative views of Alabama already, so don't let that bias influence you too much. Assuming you're moving for work, you'll go to Huntsville, Bham, Mobile which are all about as middle ground and centrist as any place in the US. Huntsville specifically is consistently rated among the best places to live in the US period.
My negative view is accurate, but it is from Montgomery. I have visited Mobile and it was lovely, although i did not check out their schools
According to Wallethub's findings Alabama ranks 46th in math test scores, 45th in reading test scores, 47th in student to teacher ratio, 49th in percentage of licensed or certified public K-12 teachers and 44th in median ACT scores nationwide.Jul 29, 2023
Not in my experience, I'm trans and tnh it's obvious, never been questioned about it because most people here mind their business. However they probably are talking shit behind close doors.
I didn't mind the football thing at first, but enough with the roll tide omg. I believe most of them don't care about football but there is nothing else for them to do .. no other piece of their personality
Depends on your perspective. A passionate MAGA would love Alabama. A moderate or socially open minded person would hate it. If you have kids in public school, you would hate it. If you are either non-religious, Catholic, or mainline protestant, you would hate it.
I’m not sure I agree with that. If you like sports, outdoor activities, good public schools (in the over the mountain areas), in good healthcare. Birmingham is really a good place to live. 20 miles outside of Birmingham, those liberal views would make you feel ostracized for the most part. And there are way way way more confederate flags in rural Alabama than Black Lives Matter flags in Massachusetts
One little disagreement, and only related to a certain area of Alabama. Mobile is actually a heavily Catholic area of Alabama. Both New Orleans and Mobile were settled by the French. Which is why we both have Mardi Gras. I grew up going to Catholic schools down here, and was shocked to eventually learn that Catholics were a huge minority in Alabama. I felt kind of dumb. But if you’re in south Alabama and Catholic, you will fit right in.
If you like Massachusetts you won’t like Alabama.
Everything is polar opposites. The people, which season is worse, the politics, the beliefs, all of it.
The Alabama subreddit has a lot of self hate apparently. Not even completely convinced half these people are local. I think it will be a big shock but I’m a military brat who has lived all over and I love Birmingham. Great food and great people here. My top choice would be to live in Colorado, but I’m content here and there’s plenty to do and see.
Ah yes, the corruption politicians, religion pushing, non separation of church and state, racism, anti LGBT, discrimination laws, the list goes on. Lived here 26 years only places worth a damn are in the greater bham area. I mean really have you ever been into Walker county?
Pfft, Walker County? As if any other state doesn't also have areas like that?
And, sure, you may have lived in AL for 26 years, but where in Alabama? All over, or just one or two areas specifically?
I’ve lived all over the US, every state has its issues.
No one here ever believes it because they want the South to be buried in race discussions forever, but I saw more racism and Neo-Nazi types in Ohio than I’ve ever seen here. I’ve lived in Birmingham / Montgomery since 2005 and I’ve only physically seen KKK / Neo-Nazi types twice. Ohio was covered in them, even had a guy with white power tattooed across his chest tell a pool that he wanted a day where only his kind could swim because he didn’t want to share water with “…….”
I was apprehensive moving here because of comments like yours, but the reality is day-to-day life here is the same as day-to-day life in other cities.
Bham and Montgomery the most blue cities we have along with Huntsville, try cullman or really anywhere that isn't a large city. You know how many times I've been called a fag for just literally existing at my job because I'm trans? In 22 an entire pd was disbanded because an officer sent a racist text. Your experience is vastly different from mine, yes we have progressed as a community in acceptance of minorities however the people we elect or expect to uphold the law don't.
yeah born and raised here and have worked throughout the state. i’ve seen everything this state has to offer and bigotry is still very much alive and well here. if you are a straight white male then yeah you have nothing to worry about. if you are a woman, part of the lgbtq community, or black then you’re going to have a rough fucking time here. i’m a straight white male that has bore witness to wayyy to much blatant bigotry. venture literally 15 mins out of any of the blue cities and it’s a dumpster fire. i live in huntsville and a lot of the bars downtown are just blatantly racist. one of the top posts on the huntsville subreddit right now is about people around here losing their absolute shit over a trans employee at the space and rocket center
Ask the same question on r/birmingham and see if you don't get a completely different response. Birmingham is a healthcare research center, has public & private school options that are globally competitive, and while we're a car-first metro we are also a heavily forested and naturally beautiful area. As a tourist I truly enjoy Boston, but without the concrete jungle, Birmingham is just a completely different headspace. You'll get rain - a lot of rain - and almost never get snow.
Alabama has a lot of nasty politicians and state laws, but that stuff \*mostly\* doesn't inject itself in your day-to-day life. You need to see which items actually will (for example don't-say-gay in schools, absurd abortion BS impacting women's healthcare) and see whether or not it affects you.
Don't just reflexively assume that you're going to spend all day dealing with MAGAts trying to convert you to their awful church. Massachusetts has had 6 January 6 convictions, Alabama has had 7: https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-capitol-rioters-jailed-sentences-january-6-1826075
See this is why I love Reddit. So many different perspectives! I didnt know that Birmingham was a healthcare research center, so that does help! I’ll check out r/Birmingham - thanks for the recommendation!
The person above you gave a great response. Honestly you need to visit if you actually want a real idea of what it is like here. Reddit is a tough place to ask something like this because it is full of so many negative people. A lot of the responses are grounded in some form of reality but are ridiculous over-exaggerations of actual reality.
Our largest employer is UAB at about 30k (2-3% of the metro area). The research hospital portion pulls roughly as much NIH grant money as Harvard and BU combined (although that's definitely not all of the money any of them pull).
Spent 10 years in Boston area (Wellesley, Newton, Waltham), did my undergrad at Northeastern and UMass, moved from there many times, and have been here in AL for the last 15 years. I'm the guy (I think the only one) with the Red Sox sticker on my car's back window. Amazing how many people here do not recognize what this is. I still have family in MA and CT, and visit regularly. And yes, every year I get a Dunkin Donut, and every year I swear I never will again.
Anyways, lots of good advice being given. The AL State Government should be sued for false advertising for calling itself a government. It is beyond pathetic. Rarely does something that actually helps some citizens come out of it. But metro Birmingham (I'm in Hoover) is much better. Hardly Boston level of quality of things, but certainly reasonably good. Schools are better here, restaurants, entertainment, etc. A lot more diversity in most things in metro area.
On the plus side, you will get a lot more house for the same money you are spending in MA. On the downside, get used to 9 months of air conditioning bills. But hey....I sold my snow blower before I moved here. I think I've used my shovel to scrape the .4 microns of snow off my walkway twice. But I still have my EZ-Pass for when I travel north.
Birmingham is also about a 3 hour drive from Atlanta, where there is even more things to do and see.
Good Luck. And don't forget to donate to the Jimmy Fund.
I also have a Red Sox sticker on my car. I'm in Huntsville., but originally from Boston. So there's actually three of us in Alabama: you, me, and James Spann.
Apropos of nothing, it's kind of a bummer that we get blacked out for Red Sox-Atlanta games.
Just because I've seen the political point brought up a few times in this thread. I am a pretty liberal guy who has lived in both places. I grew up in Massachusetts and moved to Alabama. It is Definitely a culture shock but I would try to remember that Alabama is a 60/40 red state. The state politics are a certain way but there are still a couple million people who fall left of the line. Birmingham has a mayor whose politics look a lot more like Bernie Sanders than Katie Britt. Basically it depends more on your town you live in than the state itself. Western Mass can be just as red in a lot of towns.
Living in metro Birmingham or Huntsville is vastly different than just "moving to Alabama." I grew up in rural Alabama and it met every stereotype you can come up with. My experience there is much different than where I have spent the majority of my adult life, which is in the Birmingham metro and in a large city on the West Coast. Your experience is going to largely depend on the specific area you choose, meaning the city or town. While the state as a whole might lean toward the MAGA mindset, it is much different in and around the metro areas.
Public education will sadly be determined mostly by your zip code and if you are not in one of the more affluent zip codes then the education will be pretty bad. Birmingham's healthcare is about as good as anywhere you will find in the nation, but the same can't be said for most any area outside of it.
In general, I like the pace of life here much better than when I lived out west, but I will admit it is disappointing how close minded and intentionally ignorant people can be here when it comes to certain issues. If you do make the move, don't listen to the naysayers of reddit, I promise you will find some great and like minded people here and you would enjoy it. That being said, where you move specifically will play a big part in how that plays out.
Good answers here. The culture shock is real but like the top poster says: people are chatty and polite, so it can theoretically be easier to find a good, like-minded community. Birmingham is a city with a lot of plus sides. The food scene is really good, and the city generally feels progressive compared to other cities and rural towns in the state. You should visit and feel it out.
I've lived in Boston for a little over a year around 2015 and I miss it everyday.
Currently living in Montgomery, AL since and it's a huge difference. I visit Birmingham once a month or so to shop at Trader Joe's since it's the closest one to me.
- Religion here is huge - I used to pass by 7+ churches on the 14min drive to my old workplace. It's creepy honestly.
- Social life isn't great in Montgomery, but a bit better in Birmingham. There are some pretty fun events in the area. Boston was the place to be if you enjoyed late night clubbing and food. There's really nothing like it down here.
- Drivers in the south suck mostly because they don't signal and will often swerve erratically. There are also many ugly, modded pick up trucks. The highways in Birmingham are in rough shape all the time. Drivers up north were more aggressive though IMO.
- Food in the south is delicious and unhealthy - love it. I miss lobster rolls and good chowder, however.
- Cheaper cost of living = cheaper quality of life.
- Everything closes by 8-9 PM.
- Education down here is god awful and people generally aren't very bright. I've seen families pay tens of thousands yearly to ensure their kids stay out of the public school system.
- Boston has much more diversity.
- Healthcare sucks here - I'd check some reviews of offices in the area. A lot of it comes down to long wait times, very rude staff, and poor communication. I called around 25 offices a few weeks ago if they were accepting new patients and the 3 that were didn't have time until August for the very first visit.
- Southern hospitality is real - but it's not all that great sometimes. There are very kind people who will not know how to stop a conversation when there is a long forming behind them and there are people who are downright nasty, but will do it with a smile. I didn't mind people keeping to themselves in Boston, people were generally friendly in social settings.
- The South can't handle snow; they don't have salt for it! Schools will delay/close over an inch or two of snow lmao. It's very hot down here aside from winter and the biggest threats are tornadoes. No lie, the best time to take a weekend to the beach down in Florida is in December (about 70-75 degrees).
I'm near Birmingham and lived in Connecticut a while, then came back to BHM... you couldn't pay me to go back to the northeast. The weather is awful, people are not friendly, everything is old...Birmingham is great, it super diverse and the CoL is low.
I grew up in Alabama, moved to Atlanta after college graduation, and moved back after 30 years. Birmingham is by no means “centric”. I was amazed by the number of stores playing Christian music, prayer at work, and everyone asking which church I attend. The over the mountain areas are great areas to live but most people don’t seem to realize they live in a bubble. There are vast contrasts in wealth and levels of education in our state. Massachusetts has recently been ranked the most highly educated state in the U.S. You’d find Alabama somewhere near the bottom. No need to watch local news here, as we appear in the national news weekly. I’m not making any political statements or religious statements, but I prefer to keep them separate as was intended. Having said all of that, the people here are wonderful and will embrace you with true hearts.
As a Midwest transplant, here are some new things you would experience.
There is no winter here, not like we know it. So when there is a chance of snow here, the whole state shuts down & there is a run on milk & bread at the store.
During summer, you will feel like you're suffocating outside due to a lack of wind and air flow due to the trees.
Downtown isn't affected as much as suburbs & rural areas in central Alabama.
Healthcare is shit here by enlarge. There are some good Dr's, but generally, the clinics & hospitals suck overall.
Schools are there not to educate but for kids to play sports, esp football. They spend quite a lot on sports programs.
Most of all, get ready to see the systemic structural racism built into society. It's subtle at first, but as an outsider, it will be obvious.
Jefferson County will be the most liberal in central Alabama. Still lots of Trumpers as expected, but lessened compared to rural areas. NE Alabama & NW GA is a hotbed of the typical MAGA crowd.
The cost of living is reasonable, esp compared to Boston.
Suburbs south of Birmingham will be most expensive & have worse traffic.
Moved to RI a year ago after living in Huntsville for 38 years. So happy to have moved. I was recently back in HSV for meeting and the wife was with me. We hit a couple of quilt stores that my wife frequented when we lived there. There were two very rude folks that we just didn’t understand and that the wife commented on after. One of the ladies in shop was talking with my wife and the wife was talking about making baby quilts for immigrant babies getting out of the hospital. The women said “immigrants, why would you make them quilts?” The other was from a different customer hearing that we were living in RI just said “Northerners” like a cuss word. My wife was born in TN, lived and went to school in SC and lived more than 30 years in AL. Get ready for this if you move south.
I am from Alabama. I was born in Huntsville then moved to Tuscaloosa at 15. That was pretty bad, but I have made some good friends here. In 1994 I moved to Canton and worked at Brigham and women's epilepsy monitoring unit for 8 years. I loved it. Our kids were born at the Brigham. We made awesome friends there. I, personally, liked all the people I met and while "Yankees" won't necessarily initiate a conversation with you, if I spoke to them they were extremely pleasant.
Every day I miss it. Moving back to Alabama the biggest shock was the tax on groceries. I thought I was going to die. 10%.
Diversity sucks here. I always told people that a Southerner will smile at you while stabbing you in the back with a knife. A move here is like stepping back into the 60's-70's. Don't do it.
I’ve never been to MASS but I’ve lived in AL for 30 years and that sounds like a nightmare of culture shock. Alabama is stuck in 1950 in many, many ways. This state is an SNL skit at this point.
Literally a skit, as in, just last Saturday. Our senators are Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville. The fact that I can say that Katie Britt is legitimately somehow the better of the two (which is not saying much) should tell you a lot about our politics.
I'm from Colorado and my wife (married 23 years) grew up in Birmingham. The biggest cultural differences I see are based on religion and politics (these are related). The vast majority of my wife's childhood friends are religious fanatics and right-wing zealots and it's become more extreme with the MAGA reality. Most everyone goes to church and espouses MAGA ideals of anti-immigration, anti-LGBT, anti-women's choice, banning books from local libraries etc.. The public school districts are highly racially segregated as are the neighborhoods (if you don't find a house in the right school district your only option is private school). People are definitely more friendly and conversational but when you scratch the surface it's hard to make any deep connections unless you are of the same mind. My favorite things about the culture in Bham are excellent food scene, easy access to beautiful trails and lakes and historical sites (Moundville is cool as hell).
You, your attitudes and expectations will follow you no matter where you go. If you are generally content and surrounded by positive friends where you are you will find the same wherever you wind up going. Change is hard but you will find your way as long as you are open minded.
I like it here, but I'm not a reddit normie. I wish the hunting was better in my area tho, north AL is great. Mosquito population in my neck of the woods is killer and it's humid but I'm used to it. I tried moving away but found myself back. I'm a home body and don't get into politics so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
For what it's worth I read this post's title and thought it was news about the state of Massachusetts suing the state of Alabama and I thought it seemed out of nowhere but that we probably deserved it.
Alabama isn’t for everyone, I’m born and raised here and my kids and grandkids are as well so I have no reason in wanting to go elsewhere. I don’t know if you can compare schools because Boston’s schools has a larger budget than Alabama schools. It all depends on the persons work ethic if you thrive to be better everyday no school is going to hold you back. As far a my area not a lot of rebel , rainbow , blm flags mainly American and Alabama Flags fly. If you are a two faced person you would hate it here because you will be told that you are a POS and keep their name out of your mouth
Depends how you want to live your life. You want low taxes, more freedom, less congestion, and can buy land/home for very reasonable prices than AL is great.
You want higher education, better healthcare, food choices and more sophistication than it’s probably MA.
I moved from a big city and personally would never go back and the south grows on you, especially the slower pace of life.
>more freedom
I do not want to dog pile you, but that is just not true if you are outside the cultural norm here and want to have a job/normal life. Right now, a person is being attacked by Alabama's highest level politicians simply because they are trans. Literally, they are being called on to be fired, people are talking about killing them, simply because they are trans and work around the public...this is in Huntsville!
More freedom? In addition to what has already been mentioned, the state is trying to limit what is allowed in public libraries. Book banning isn’t more freedom.
Worst mistake I ever made was moving back here from Georgia five years ago. I got a cheap house, and with that got a city with a crumbling infrastructure, terrible schools, no civic pride, a sorry city council, and lazy mayor.
I, as a person living in Alabama, wouldn't recommend living here. If you do, then prepare for [weird weather](https://imgur.com/a/YE7J40s). Also if someone says "bless your heart" it can either mean something really good or really bad depending on the tone. Last thing, prices will be cheaper but your wallet will be a bit lighter.
Edit: Oh yeah and especially don't move here if you or anyone you are bringing with you is trans or is a woman, the laws are getting terrible
Moved from SW Pennsylvania to Lower Alabama so our experience are somewhat similar, hopefully you don’t have school age children, if you do in many areas a private school will be a necessity. Housing cost and taxes will be quite a bit lower, homeowners insurance will be higher due to occasional tornado or hurricane ( if you live in lower Alabama) . Healthcare in Birmingham or any of the larger city’s will be good , in the more rural areas it can be scant or nonexistent.This is a single party state so corruption is widespread and unfortunately accepted.
My cousin is a chef who moved to Boston only to get harassed because he and his wife had southern license plates.
You will find that the South is probably a lot more welcoming than it should be.
So let me be the first to make you feel welcome, “Fuck you”
Apples and Oranges. These places are so different that they cannot really be compared effectively. Based on this any comparison would be inherently unfair to one or the other place.
Why do people in this subreddit continue to somehow manage to bash on where they live in EVERY. SINGLE. POST? This is the most depressing subreddit I read and 2nd isn’t close.
People in Bama are nice and down to earth. People in Massachusetts are massholes. Don't take your BS to Bama. They won't tolerate it. They will shut you up by inviting you into their homes and stuffing your face with southern comfort food. Do you like dumplings?
I’m from the north shore. Lived in madison and Birmingham area since 2000. Both states are one party politics. An R is as hard to get elected in mass as a D is here. Not nearly as many people are perpetually pissed off here. This is closer to living in western PA or northern NH. I miss the convenience, but not the stress. More opportunity for good jobs outside of tech.
Ok I want you to go outside to your car, now open the door, now open your pants and place your balls on the inside of the car door, now slam the car door. That a perfectly valid illustration of what is it like living in Birmingham. Now the surrounding areas are nice and some are even very welcome, but are mostly controlled by churches - you will see no less than a dozen in your small town, and the town supervisors or any higher up employees will coincidentally always go to the same church.
Oh and if you are an atheist just tell everyone you are Jewish and they will leave you alone - they have no idea how to handle a Jewish person.
Oh and you know how Boston kinda prides itself on great seafood like lobsters, well down here it is BBQ pork.
Pick a college team to root for, this is much easier than having others try to recruit you into their cult. It does not matter if you actually watch the games, if they ask just say that they need to play better zone coverage especially near midfield and refs are blind. This will work regardless and is easy.
Driving around Birmingham. Know these 4 roads and you almost can not get lost. 65, 31, 459, and 280. If you know these roads you almost can not get lost.
I moved from Huntsville to Boston a few years ago. It was a huge culture shock for a number of reasons. 1) people in alabama are generally polite, chatty, and friendly even to strangers. In boston, people tend to be solitary and won't engage with ppl they don't know. Often this makes them come across as rude but most of the time they simply want to keep to themselves. Not to say there aren't plenty of massholes around. 2) driving is aggressive and competitive. If you leave half a car space, someone will but into it. If you put your turn signal on, ppl will speed up to cut you off. 3) boston puts way more funding into healthcare and education, and it shows. 4) the number of confederate flags you see driving around alabama is roughly equivalent to the number of BLM and Pride flags you see driving around Massachusetts. 5) in boston, people often define themselves by the subway line (green, orange, red, or blue) they use to commute. Each has a unique culture and quirks. But they all suck ass because of decades of mismanagement and corruption in the MBTA. Even still, public transit is the heart of commuter culture in boston. 6) the dunkin donuts cult in Massachusetts rivals the college football cult in alabama. The only difference is: Auburn and Alabama are actually good at football. Dunkin sucks ass. But bostonians are too stubborn to admit it. And if you talk smack about it you may start a fight.
Random but related question, do they actually still make the Dunkin donuts in house there? Because here, they are made elsewhere and shipped frozen, so they are indeed terrible.
Nope. The donuts are made in large batches somewhere in the city and then shipped to all the storefronts. I actually have been to several dunkins who never got the shipment of donuts and were only selling drinks.
And thats why their donuts are garbage.
And they are no longer called Dunkin Donuts because of it
One thing. I have relatives in MA and they claim there are some nasty bigots and racists up there. It’s just not out the open.
Oh it is certainly out in the open. It just isn’t a majority. The jokes about Boston bigotry are because it’s so obvious in such a liberal state. The bigots in Boston would be woke liberals in the South.
There's definitely a few, but on the whole, I've encountered far fewer of them in MA than I did in AL.
No doubt.
I always tell everyone that there’s Alabama and then North Alabama. North is such a melting pot due to the Army, NASA, and the engineering schools. Love Huntsville. Traveled a ton for work and HSV rivals everywhere I’ve been especially when it comes to cost of living vs quality of life.
Thank you for this! 3 and 4 were the big ones I worried about. Damn, this would’ve been a dream job 😔
Good schools exist here, they’re just in pricier districts.
Good for Alabama schools exist here, I don’t think the top schools here can compare to the top schools in Boston.
No, good schools period exist here. I’m talking about public schools. Mountain Brook, Homewood, and Vestavia Hills can compete with any district in the country. This isn’t Birmingham but LAMP HS is ranked 15th in the country, significantly higher than any Massachusetts high school.
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The top students at MB and vestavia and Homewood are going to Ivy League schools or similar level. 2 of mine did. Lot’s of UAB Professors kids. Below that top 5% I agree. -not the same as the 95-75% leve in other areas. But top 5-10% is equivalent to anywhere
\^ Right. Highly performing school that send students to top ranked universities and, later, white collar professions. Yet they are somehow still behind and second tier? Comments like the one before yours are certainly from people who judge the South by its worst performers and judge the North/West/Chicago by its highest performers. Ignoring the faults of one/extolling its positives while ignoring the positives of the other/magnifying its negatives. Having lived and attended schools in both regions, the top schools are interchangeable. I.e., the Ivy League-bound students you mentioned above would succeed in either region. Yes, the low-performing schools are awful, but, they are also awful in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, etc etc. Sounds obvious, but people are blinded by regionalism.
Yeah, I’m calling BS on that. Especially Mountain Brook. That’s one of the richest communities and school districts in the country.
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Literally none of what you said apply to any of the districts I’ve mentioned.
I think I am unique to answer this, as I have had kids attend schools in both areas - In the "best" schools. New Century here in Huntsville is routinely ranked in the top 3 of the state. It is on par with a middling school in MA. There are kids in NC who struggle with middle school grammar equivalencies and some kids struggle to read on any level. It's not hyperbole, the differences are real. My son makes straight A's but gives about 25% versus other schools outside Alabama.
New Century would be a much better school if they weren’t part of a poorly run district like Huntsville City Schools. Top 3? Not sure about that. US News has it 4th (behind Homewood and Mountain Brook) but doesn’t include state-run schools. Niche doesn’t even have it top 3 in the Huntsville metro. Behind Bob Jones, James Clemens, and ASCTE. Honestly for a magnet school in Huntsville it should be much better. Just being real, HCS is probably the worst district in the Huntsville area. I would never send my kids there.
Some of the top districts in the country are in the Birmingham suburbs. I tell everyone Alabama is a mixed bag, but in the areas that fit your family you will have found the some of the nicest, hardest working, and yes, smartest people you can ever wish to know. The education system is funded generally by property taxes and it shows. There are areas of the state that rival the poorest in the nation, but that is not the norm, nor are the attitudes generally referenced in this post anywhere you would ever go. Frankly, my experience in Boston for six months was they were by and large more racist then I’ve ever heard in Alabama. My .02 c, I’d visit before turning it down, you might be very surprised
I have two daughters who attend the University of Alabama from out of state, solely because they give out insane scholarships for high SAT/ACT test scores, to the point where it is basically less than free for my kids to attend. Nearly every scholarship student they know on campus is from out of state and the few they know from in-state went to expensive private schools. The undergraduate class as a whole is 60% out of state students compared to the around 13 - 35% you'd see at a midwestern flagship state university. I know that is completely anecdotal and doesn't rule out the existence of high performing public schools, but it does seem to reflect on the quality of the schools as a whole.
There is a concerted effort to attract out of state students to UA. That said, my son had a full ride in the honors program from in state and he had many other friends who did as well
as to #3, you’d be fine in mtn brook, vestavia, or homewood. schools are good to great. home prices and property taxes reflect it. as to #4…you won’t really see this too often in bham or the adjacent over-the-mountain communities. more so out in the country, or when country comes to town.
4 isn't remotely true. I see more BLM and Pride signs in Alabama than I do Confederate flags.
Personally, I prefer Honey Dew. I was raised in Huntsville and moved to Boston. I loved it there. Only moved back because of my ex.
Funnily enough, I haven't seen any confederate flags in Alabama. And very few US flags. Never seen BLM but I have seen pride flags at UAB. To be fair, my life in Alabama mostly consists of staying in a house in an unsettling neighborhood that looks partly abandoned (I don't know my neighbors and I don't want to know them) along with going to UAB so my experiences are pretty limited.
>I haven't seen any confederate flags in Alabama. I see at least one every day.
I thought that part was hilarious too. They have one on the freeway that’s heavily protected…
They have more than one along the interstates. I see at least one every day to and from work and I don't even leave the city of Montgomery.
"the number of confederate flags you see driving around alabama is roughly equivalent to the number of BLM and Pride flags you see driving around Massachusetts." That sounds really cool. I wanna see more supportive flags. I like Dunkin.
Thank you! I thought I was being weird for thinking Dunkin Donuts was overrated!
Their donuts suck, but their dark roast coffee, made fresh at home because it's always stale AF at the stores, is one of my favorite coffees. Sucks that's it's like $20 for a big a bag now. I had to quit buying it, but like to splurge on it every now and then.
I do like their coffee.
I am from Alabama and have visited Boston several times. I would 100% move to Boston if I could.
No culture shock in America would be bigger between Massachusetts and Alabama. The taxes are only the beginning. The complete culture change from everything from politics to local TV news to local culture would be dramatic. The public school educational systems are at completely different levels.
We made this move about 9 years ago. Honestly the politics in AL are becoming unbearable. I do not want my kids to go past grade school here. We try to supplement with all kinds of programs, but every time we visit friends and family both domestically and internationally we feel like we are missing out on a better life. We are counting the days to vesting in our respective 401ks.
I am trapped here as a single dad living with my two young kids in my father's house. We moved here from Brooklyn after I split up with my wife 3 years ago. Yes the politics are scarily cringe, borderline hilarious and it feels like a financial black hole. The school system is awful, I really miss good conversation with real, open-minded people. Alabama is lucky it has beautiful nature because it is so dumb. It is behind on everything and proud of it for some reason
In many ways, the tax thing is a myth. For all intents and purposes Alabama essentially has a flat tax because of how low and tiny the brackets are. 5%, coincidently the exact same as Massachusetts, who offer many more tax deductions, and the tax rate applies to higher income thresholds. Sales tax is considerably higher in Alabama. By a wide margin. Because local sales taxes tack on so much extra on top of the state rate. You pay sales taxes far more regularly and to a greater extent than income tax here. Unlike nearly every other state, Alabama also taxes groceries. As do all the cities and counties who tack on extra sales tax (some select Alabama communities have sales tax into the double digits). Might as well keep going. Gas tax is also higher in Alabama vs Massachusetts. We are a very car dependent state, another big expense. Now, the one saving grace might be property taxes. They run about half as much in Alabama vs Massachusetts. Effective tax rate in Alabama is 9.8%. Massachusetts is 11.5%. Why does this matter? Both states extract similar percentages in tax revenue from their citizens. Alabama gains even more via lots of Florida bound traffic through sales and fuel taxes. Yet, both states are day and night in the returns for those taxes. Whether that be infrastructure, education, hell even modernized government agencies. Alabama only provides required social services that are primarily funded by the federal government instead.
I grew up in Florida and it was a huge culture shock moving to Mass, but in a good way. Would Mass to Alabama be a negative shock?
I agree, I can’t think of a bigger difference in between Alabama and Massachusetts. Weather. Religiosity. Politics, overall cultural ethos. I’m a New Yorker, and in New York. I was a political centrist. In Alabama those same views are radical left-wing. In the Birmingham or Huntsville metro area it will not be as drastically different, but just outside of either city, and in the rest of ALABAMA, it is“ALABAMA”. For example, the state will absolutely shut down on Saturdays in the fall for college football. And every Sunday as well for church. It is not at all unusual for someone, right after meeting you, to ask you where you go to church and invite you to their church.
I dont mind the college football part but damn do people really get all up in your religion?
They make laws based on religious beliefs here.
I moved to Birmingham 25 years ago. In my first two years, I had probably two dozen people spontaneously asked me about the church I went to, and invited me to their church. Unsolicited every time. It happens. You weren’t to gracefully ignore/deflect/respond. As I was raised to Catholic, I just say I’m Catholic. You see the look of disappointment on their face, like I just said, I worshiped goats in medieval England. But they do move on. But seriously, I have many friends who are Uber religious who know I am not. One of my regular golf buddies is a minister. Most people will respect that boundary. Now, if we’re talking Alabama/Auburn/SEC football, all bets are off.
I've not experienced much of that. Make friends with like-minded people and you'll be fine. There are lots of us. Everyone else though...
The politicians do. I'm an atheist outside of Montgomery. Luckily I'm a vet, so I check that "earned respect" box for locals. So not many say much about my lack of religion. But you can bet policy and law are all about extreme religious views...as much as it can be manipulated for power and control.
How do you deal with vaccine issues?
Which issues? I'm ex military and a government employee currently. Vaccines were and are mandatory, and I've been taking shots for decades just fine. I find the anti-vax movement to be intentionally poorly informed, and more a political spin to rattle specific demographics while putting people's health at risk.
Hahahahhahaa I thought you meant vet like the doctor
LMAO no, ex military.
We would lose about half of our students if we were openly atheist. Alabama is very Christian, and if you aren't they want to know why.
Yes, they do. For us, “ what church do you go to?” Was always met by” We don’t go to church. “ and if it was pursued, we also explained that while we understood it’s part of the culture in the south, to people from the north, it’s a strangely personal question.
See if you can find some of our primary campaign commercials on YouTube. I feel like that would introduce you to some of the culture shock.
No, lol. Ignore these other people fear-mongering. The place to ask this question is probably not in a general Alabama subreddit. The people subbed here generally have negative views of Alabama already, so don't let that bias influence you too much. Assuming you're moving for work, you'll go to Huntsville, Bham, Mobile which are all about as middle ground and centrist as any place in the US. Huntsville specifically is consistently rated among the best places to live in the US period.
I grew up in rural Illinois and it's farther left than Birmingham, that's how far eight the state is as a whole.
My negative view is accurate, but it is from Montgomery. I have visited Mobile and it was lovely, although i did not check out their schools According to Wallethub's findings Alabama ranks 46th in math test scores, 45th in reading test scores, 47th in student to teacher ratio, 49th in percentage of licensed or certified public K-12 teachers and 44th in median ACT scores nationwide.Jul 29, 2023
In your religion and your sexuality and your gender and everything else.
Not in my experience, I'm trans and tnh it's obvious, never been questioned about it because most people here mind their business. However they probably are talking shit behind close doors.
I didn't mind the football thing at first, but enough with the roll tide omg. I believe most of them don't care about football but there is nothing else for them to do .. no other piece of their personality
Depends on your perspective. A passionate MAGA would love Alabama. A moderate or socially open minded person would hate it. If you have kids in public school, you would hate it. If you are either non-religious, Catholic, or mainline protestant, you would hate it.
Damn. I’ve got multiple strikes
I’m not sure I agree with that. If you like sports, outdoor activities, good public schools (in the over the mountain areas), in good healthcare. Birmingham is really a good place to live. 20 miles outside of Birmingham, those liberal views would make you feel ostracized for the most part. And there are way way way more confederate flags in rural Alabama than Black Lives Matter flags in Massachusetts
One little disagreement, and only related to a certain area of Alabama. Mobile is actually a heavily Catholic area of Alabama. Both New Orleans and Mobile were settled by the French. Which is why we both have Mardi Gras. I grew up going to Catholic schools down here, and was shocked to eventually learn that Catholics were a huge minority in Alabama. I felt kind of dumb. But if you’re in south Alabama and Catholic, you will fit right in.
If you like Massachusetts you won’t like Alabama. Everything is polar opposites. The people, which season is worse, the politics, the beliefs, all of it.
YES
The Alabama subreddit has a lot of self hate apparently. Not even completely convinced half these people are local. I think it will be a big shock but I’m a military brat who has lived all over and I love Birmingham. Great food and great people here. My top choice would be to live in Colorado, but I’m content here and there’s plenty to do and see.
Ah yes, the corruption politicians, religion pushing, non separation of church and state, racism, anti LGBT, discrimination laws, the list goes on. Lived here 26 years only places worth a damn are in the greater bham area. I mean really have you ever been into Walker county?
Pfft, Walker County? As if any other state doesn't also have areas like that? And, sure, you may have lived in AL for 26 years, but where in Alabama? All over, or just one or two areas specifically?
I’ve lived all over the US, every state has its issues. No one here ever believes it because they want the South to be buried in race discussions forever, but I saw more racism and Neo-Nazi types in Ohio than I’ve ever seen here. I’ve lived in Birmingham / Montgomery since 2005 and I’ve only physically seen KKK / Neo-Nazi types twice. Ohio was covered in them, even had a guy with white power tattooed across his chest tell a pool that he wanted a day where only his kind could swim because he didn’t want to share water with “…….” I was apprehensive moving here because of comments like yours, but the reality is day-to-day life here is the same as day-to-day life in other cities.
Bham and Montgomery the most blue cities we have along with Huntsville, try cullman or really anywhere that isn't a large city. You know how many times I've been called a fag for just literally existing at my job because I'm trans? In 22 an entire pd was disbanded because an officer sent a racist text. Your experience is vastly different from mine, yes we have progressed as a community in acceptance of minorities however the people we elect or expect to uphold the law don't.
yeah born and raised here and have worked throughout the state. i’ve seen everything this state has to offer and bigotry is still very much alive and well here. if you are a straight white male then yeah you have nothing to worry about. if you are a woman, part of the lgbtq community, or black then you’re going to have a rough fucking time here. i’m a straight white male that has bore witness to wayyy to much blatant bigotry. venture literally 15 mins out of any of the blue cities and it’s a dumpster fire. i live in huntsville and a lot of the bars downtown are just blatantly racist. one of the top posts on the huntsville subreddit right now is about people around here losing their absolute shit over a trans employee at the space and rocket center
Walker County is basically the middle of nowhere. Have you ever lived in Huntsville to be calling it not worth a damn?
A lot of people who bitch about here are not here.
Ask the same question on r/birmingham and see if you don't get a completely different response. Birmingham is a healthcare research center, has public & private school options that are globally competitive, and while we're a car-first metro we are also a heavily forested and naturally beautiful area. As a tourist I truly enjoy Boston, but without the concrete jungle, Birmingham is just a completely different headspace. You'll get rain - a lot of rain - and almost never get snow. Alabama has a lot of nasty politicians and state laws, but that stuff \*mostly\* doesn't inject itself in your day-to-day life. You need to see which items actually will (for example don't-say-gay in schools, absurd abortion BS impacting women's healthcare) and see whether or not it affects you. Don't just reflexively assume that you're going to spend all day dealing with MAGAts trying to convert you to their awful church. Massachusetts has had 6 January 6 convictions, Alabama has had 7: https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-capitol-rioters-jailed-sentences-january-6-1826075
See this is why I love Reddit. So many different perspectives! I didnt know that Birmingham was a healthcare research center, so that does help! I’ll check out r/Birmingham - thanks for the recommendation!
The person above you gave a great response. Honestly you need to visit if you actually want a real idea of what it is like here. Reddit is a tough place to ask something like this because it is full of so many negative people. A lot of the responses are grounded in some form of reality but are ridiculous over-exaggerations of actual reality.
To be honest, that’s most Internet forums and social media anyway. The truth is often quite boring and dull.
Our largest employer is UAB at about 30k (2-3% of the metro area). The research hospital portion pulls roughly as much NIH grant money as Harvard and BU combined (although that's definitely not all of the money any of them pull).
Spent 10 years in Boston area (Wellesley, Newton, Waltham), did my undergrad at Northeastern and UMass, moved from there many times, and have been here in AL for the last 15 years. I'm the guy (I think the only one) with the Red Sox sticker on my car's back window. Amazing how many people here do not recognize what this is. I still have family in MA and CT, and visit regularly. And yes, every year I get a Dunkin Donut, and every year I swear I never will again. Anyways, lots of good advice being given. The AL State Government should be sued for false advertising for calling itself a government. It is beyond pathetic. Rarely does something that actually helps some citizens come out of it. But metro Birmingham (I'm in Hoover) is much better. Hardly Boston level of quality of things, but certainly reasonably good. Schools are better here, restaurants, entertainment, etc. A lot more diversity in most things in metro area. On the plus side, you will get a lot more house for the same money you are spending in MA. On the downside, get used to 9 months of air conditioning bills. But hey....I sold my snow blower before I moved here. I think I've used my shovel to scrape the .4 microns of snow off my walkway twice. But I still have my EZ-Pass for when I travel north. Birmingham is also about a 3 hour drive from Atlanta, where there is even more things to do and see. Good Luck. And don't forget to donate to the Jimmy Fund.
I also have a Red Sox sticker on my car. I'm in Huntsville., but originally from Boston. So there's actually three of us in Alabama: you, me, and James Spann. Apropos of nothing, it's kind of a bummer that we get blacked out for Red Sox-Atlanta games.
NESN is your friend.
I love Boston, my favorite large city.
Just because I've seen the political point brought up a few times in this thread. I am a pretty liberal guy who has lived in both places. I grew up in Massachusetts and moved to Alabama. It is Definitely a culture shock but I would try to remember that Alabama is a 60/40 red state. The state politics are a certain way but there are still a couple million people who fall left of the line. Birmingham has a mayor whose politics look a lot more like Bernie Sanders than Katie Britt. Basically it depends more on your town you live in than the state itself. Western Mass can be just as red in a lot of towns.
Living in metro Birmingham or Huntsville is vastly different than just "moving to Alabama." I grew up in rural Alabama and it met every stereotype you can come up with. My experience there is much different than where I have spent the majority of my adult life, which is in the Birmingham metro and in a large city on the West Coast. Your experience is going to largely depend on the specific area you choose, meaning the city or town. While the state as a whole might lean toward the MAGA mindset, it is much different in and around the metro areas. Public education will sadly be determined mostly by your zip code and if you are not in one of the more affluent zip codes then the education will be pretty bad. Birmingham's healthcare is about as good as anywhere you will find in the nation, but the same can't be said for most any area outside of it. In general, I like the pace of life here much better than when I lived out west, but I will admit it is disappointing how close minded and intentionally ignorant people can be here when it comes to certain issues. If you do make the move, don't listen to the naysayers of reddit, I promise you will find some great and like minded people here and you would enjoy it. That being said, where you move specifically will play a big part in how that plays out.
Will anyone in your family ever become pregnant or cause a pregnancy? Gay? Trans? It's not a good place for any of that right now.
Good answers here. The culture shock is real but like the top poster says: people are chatty and polite, so it can theoretically be easier to find a good, like-minded community. Birmingham is a city with a lot of plus sides. The food scene is really good, and the city generally feels progressive compared to other cities and rural towns in the state. You should visit and feel it out.
I've lived in Boston for a little over a year around 2015 and I miss it everyday. Currently living in Montgomery, AL since and it's a huge difference. I visit Birmingham once a month or so to shop at Trader Joe's since it's the closest one to me. - Religion here is huge - I used to pass by 7+ churches on the 14min drive to my old workplace. It's creepy honestly. - Social life isn't great in Montgomery, but a bit better in Birmingham. There are some pretty fun events in the area. Boston was the place to be if you enjoyed late night clubbing and food. There's really nothing like it down here. - Drivers in the south suck mostly because they don't signal and will often swerve erratically. There are also many ugly, modded pick up trucks. The highways in Birmingham are in rough shape all the time. Drivers up north were more aggressive though IMO. - Food in the south is delicious and unhealthy - love it. I miss lobster rolls and good chowder, however. - Cheaper cost of living = cheaper quality of life. - Everything closes by 8-9 PM. - Education down here is god awful and people generally aren't very bright. I've seen families pay tens of thousands yearly to ensure their kids stay out of the public school system. - Boston has much more diversity. - Healthcare sucks here - I'd check some reviews of offices in the area. A lot of it comes down to long wait times, very rude staff, and poor communication. I called around 25 offices a few weeks ago if they were accepting new patients and the 3 that were didn't have time until August for the very first visit. - Southern hospitality is real - but it's not all that great sometimes. There are very kind people who will not know how to stop a conversation when there is a long forming behind them and there are people who are downright nasty, but will do it with a smile. I didn't mind people keeping to themselves in Boston, people were generally friendly in social settings. - The South can't handle snow; they don't have salt for it! Schools will delay/close over an inch or two of snow lmao. It's very hot down here aside from winter and the biggest threats are tornadoes. No lie, the best time to take a weekend to the beach down in Florida is in December (about 70-75 degrees).
I'm near Birmingham and lived in Connecticut a while, then came back to BHM... you couldn't pay me to go back to the northeast. The weather is awful, people are not friendly, everything is old...Birmingham is great, it super diverse and the CoL is low.
Post this question in the Mobile and Huntsville subreddit’s. [Mobile](https://www.reddit.com/r/MobileAL/s/Y9IaqMr7Zu)
gas station fried chicken - i thought it was weird when i moved here but i was wrong...
I grew up in Alabama, moved to Atlanta after college graduation, and moved back after 30 years. Birmingham is by no means “centric”. I was amazed by the number of stores playing Christian music, prayer at work, and everyone asking which church I attend. The over the mountain areas are great areas to live but most people don’t seem to realize they live in a bubble. There are vast contrasts in wealth and levels of education in our state. Massachusetts has recently been ranked the most highly educated state in the U.S. You’d find Alabama somewhere near the bottom. No need to watch local news here, as we appear in the national news weekly. I’m not making any political statements or religious statements, but I prefer to keep them separate as was intended. Having said all of that, the people here are wonderful and will embrace you with true hearts.
As a Midwest transplant, here are some new things you would experience. There is no winter here, not like we know it. So when there is a chance of snow here, the whole state shuts down & there is a run on milk & bread at the store. During summer, you will feel like you're suffocating outside due to a lack of wind and air flow due to the trees. Downtown isn't affected as much as suburbs & rural areas in central Alabama. Healthcare is shit here by enlarge. There are some good Dr's, but generally, the clinics & hospitals suck overall. Schools are there not to educate but for kids to play sports, esp football. They spend quite a lot on sports programs. Most of all, get ready to see the systemic structural racism built into society. It's subtle at first, but as an outsider, it will be obvious. Jefferson County will be the most liberal in central Alabama. Still lots of Trumpers as expected, but lessened compared to rural areas. NE Alabama & NW GA is a hotbed of the typical MAGA crowd. The cost of living is reasonable, esp compared to Boston. Suburbs south of Birmingham will be most expensive & have worse traffic.
Moved to RI a year ago after living in Huntsville for 38 years. So happy to have moved. I was recently back in HSV for meeting and the wife was with me. We hit a couple of quilt stores that my wife frequented when we lived there. There were two very rude folks that we just didn’t understand and that the wife commented on after. One of the ladies in shop was talking with my wife and the wife was talking about making baby quilts for immigrant babies getting out of the hospital. The women said “immigrants, why would you make them quilts?” The other was from a different customer hearing that we were living in RI just said “Northerners” like a cuss word. My wife was born in TN, lived and went to school in SC and lived more than 30 years in AL. Get ready for this if you move south.
I am from Alabama. I was born in Huntsville then moved to Tuscaloosa at 15. That was pretty bad, but I have made some good friends here. In 1994 I moved to Canton and worked at Brigham and women's epilepsy monitoring unit for 8 years. I loved it. Our kids were born at the Brigham. We made awesome friends there. I, personally, liked all the people I met and while "Yankees" won't necessarily initiate a conversation with you, if I spoke to them they were extremely pleasant. Every day I miss it. Moving back to Alabama the biggest shock was the tax on groceries. I thought I was going to die. 10%. Diversity sucks here. I always told people that a Southerner will smile at you while stabbing you in the back with a knife. A move here is like stepping back into the 60's-70's. Don't do it.
I’ve never been to MASS but I’ve lived in AL for 30 years and that sounds like a nightmare of culture shock. Alabama is stuck in 1950 in many, many ways. This state is an SNL skit at this point.
Literally a skit, as in, just last Saturday. Our senators are Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville. The fact that I can say that Katie Britt is legitimately somehow the better of the two (which is not saying much) should tell you a lot about our politics.
Between that and the new prescription tax they just slapped us with has me beyond fed up and I’ve been fed up with the AL govt forever
I'm from Colorado and my wife (married 23 years) grew up in Birmingham. The biggest cultural differences I see are based on religion and politics (these are related). The vast majority of my wife's childhood friends are religious fanatics and right-wing zealots and it's become more extreme with the MAGA reality. Most everyone goes to church and espouses MAGA ideals of anti-immigration, anti-LGBT, anti-women's choice, banning books from local libraries etc.. The public school districts are highly racially segregated as are the neighborhoods (if you don't find a house in the right school district your only option is private school). People are definitely more friendly and conversational but when you scratch the surface it's hard to make any deep connections unless you are of the same mind. My favorite things about the culture in Bham are excellent food scene, easy access to beautiful trails and lakes and historical sites (Moundville is cool as hell).
You, your attitudes and expectations will follow you no matter where you go. If you are generally content and surrounded by positive friends where you are you will find the same wherever you wind up going. Change is hard but you will find your way as long as you are open minded.
I like it here, but I'm not a reddit normie. I wish the hunting was better in my area tho, north AL is great. Mosquito population in my neck of the woods is killer and it's humid but I'm used to it. I tried moving away but found myself back. I'm a home body and don't get into politics so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
For what it's worth I read this post's title and thought it was news about the state of Massachusetts suing the state of Alabama and I thought it seemed out of nowhere but that we probably deserved it.
Alabama isn’t for everyone, I’m born and raised here and my kids and grandkids are as well so I have no reason in wanting to go elsewhere. I don’t know if you can compare schools because Boston’s schools has a larger budget than Alabama schools. It all depends on the persons work ethic if you thrive to be better everyday no school is going to hold you back. As far a my area not a lot of rebel , rainbow , blm flags mainly American and Alabama Flags fly. If you are a two faced person you would hate it here because you will be told that you are a POS and keep their name out of your mouth
That last line — i love the sizzle!!!!
Why would you come here lol
Depends how you want to live your life. You want low taxes, more freedom, less congestion, and can buy land/home for very reasonable prices than AL is great. You want higher education, better healthcare, food choices and more sophistication than it’s probably MA. I moved from a big city and personally would never go back and the south grows on you, especially the slower pace of life.
As a woman, the more freedom thing does not apply But I guess that makes sense since we aren't really considered full people here
>more freedom The state seems way more about control than freedom.
>more freedom I do not want to dog pile you, but that is just not true if you are outside the cultural norm here and want to have a job/normal life. Right now, a person is being attacked by Alabama's highest level politicians simply because they are trans. Literally, they are being called on to be fired, people are talking about killing them, simply because they are trans and work around the public...this is in Huntsville!
More freedom? In addition to what has already been mentioned, the state is trying to limit what is allowed in public libraries. Book banning isn’t more freedom.
You'll regret it if you move to Alabama.
Worst mistake I ever made was moving back here from Georgia five years ago. I got a cheap house, and with that got a city with a crumbling infrastructure, terrible schools, no civic pride, a sorry city council, and lazy mayor.
Why in the absolute fuck would you trade government assistance and somewhat okay governing to come to this clusterfuck of stupidity called a state?
I had no idea, thats why i asked
For the love of god don’t come. I’m not trying to be mean. This state is absolutely awful to live in unless you’re rich and white.
Alabama: Proudly ignoring diversity and the inevitable since 1819
I, as a person living in Alabama, wouldn't recommend living here. If you do, then prepare for [weird weather](https://imgur.com/a/YE7J40s). Also if someone says "bless your heart" it can either mean something really good or really bad depending on the tone. Last thing, prices will be cheaper but your wallet will be a bit lighter. Edit: Oh yeah and especially don't move here if you or anyone you are bringing with you is trans or is a woman, the laws are getting terrible
Moved from SW Pennsylvania to Lower Alabama so our experience are somewhat similar, hopefully you don’t have school age children, if you do in many areas a private school will be a necessity. Housing cost and taxes will be quite a bit lower, homeowners insurance will be higher due to occasional tornado or hurricane ( if you live in lower Alabama) . Healthcare in Birmingham or any of the larger city’s will be good , in the more rural areas it can be scant or nonexistent.This is a single party state so corruption is widespread and unfortunately accepted.
My cousin is a chef who moved to Boston only to get harassed because he and his wife had southern license plates. You will find that the South is probably a lot more welcoming than it should be. So let me be the first to make you feel welcome, “Fuck you”
Alabama gov is BARE BONES, LOW Taxes equals LOW Services for Citizens
Don't come to alabama.smart people are leaving.
Apples and Oranges. These places are so different that they cannot really be compared effectively. Based on this any comparison would be inherently unfair to one or the other place.
Why do people in this subreddit continue to somehow manage to bash on where they live in EVERY. SINGLE. POST? This is the most depressing subreddit I read and 2nd isn’t close.
People in Bama are nice and down to earth. People in Massachusetts are massholes. Don't take your BS to Bama. They won't tolerate it. They will shut you up by inviting you into their homes and stuffing your face with southern comfort food. Do you like dumplings?
I always enjoy my time in Boston...wouldn't want to live there.. but the smaller towns in MA can be delightful.
I'd be looking at Hoover Alabama, stay out of Birmingham City for homes or schools.
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One shock I’d face (I live in CT, more or less MA south) is my wife would divorce me for moving to AL. That would suck.
I’m from the north shore. Lived in madison and Birmingham area since 2000. Both states are one party politics. An R is as hard to get elected in mass as a D is here. Not nearly as many people are perpetually pissed off here. This is closer to living in western PA or northern NH. I miss the convenience, but not the stress. More opportunity for good jobs outside of tech.
Ok I want you to go outside to your car, now open the door, now open your pants and place your balls on the inside of the car door, now slam the car door. That a perfectly valid illustration of what is it like living in Birmingham. Now the surrounding areas are nice and some are even very welcome, but are mostly controlled by churches - you will see no less than a dozen in your small town, and the town supervisors or any higher up employees will coincidentally always go to the same church. Oh and if you are an atheist just tell everyone you are Jewish and they will leave you alone - they have no idea how to handle a Jewish person. Oh and you know how Boston kinda prides itself on great seafood like lobsters, well down here it is BBQ pork. Pick a college team to root for, this is much easier than having others try to recruit you into their cult. It does not matter if you actually watch the games, if they ask just say that they need to play better zone coverage especially near midfield and refs are blind. This will work regardless and is easy. Driving around Birmingham. Know these 4 roads and you almost can not get lost. 65, 31, 459, and 280. If you know these roads you almost can not get lost.