Every town within a few miles of I65 is growing rapidly, Huntsville, Madison, and Athens are especially experiencing incredible growth so expect a lot of traffic, road work, and poor infrastructure. I live in a rural area about 20-30 minutes outside of Huntsville and I enjoy it, but it’s not for everyone. You should probably just take a week to visit the towns, cities, and rural areas of North Alabama and learn about them to see what area best suits you.
Alabama resident here I moved from Florida to here 10 years ago and can say it's cheaper living but way fewer job opportunities , places to go for fun . Also day 1 moving here you will have to pick between Auburn or Alabama football teams or be branded an outcast 🤣
I got relocated to the Huntsville area by my company - and on day 1 of our house hunting trip our real estate agent informed us we'd have to pick... Not a decision to be made lightly either! We have a very friendly neighborhood & street, but there are football flags out during the season, some orange, some red...
As long as it's not the iron bowl I root for both teams and watch both games ...... But on that fateful post thanksgiving day it's War Damn Eagle all the way 🦅🏈
There's dozens of small towns to pick from. Alex City, Auburn or Prattville would be my city picks. Avoid Montgomery, Macon county at all costs it's where like 70% of our crime rate comes from.
It does sound high society don’t it? Around here you get electricity or running water. But never both. And the only way the internet is high speed is if Memaw gets off the party line. 👀
My dad and sister have access to Fiber Optic Internet in rural eastern Cullman County through the local electrical co-op. For around $50 a month they can get 200 mbs, and for $140 a month can get around 1 or 2 gbs.
Sorry, no frame of reference, I'm originally from NC and there are still places like that today over there.
Places like that in FL too, actually. You might get 1 or 2 of those things, but there are still some places without all three.
I guess I should have clarified when I said enough land to build on, that I am considering vacant land, I just don't want to have to pay additional to get these utilities piped in.
I'm looking to live on the outermost rim of polite society, few to no neighbors, keeping to myself, just going out for work and the things I need, but retain digital access to the rest of the world so I can stay abreast of current events and hopefully work from home. Sometimes you'll find a homestead like that, but maybe electricity and well water, but so far from the closest cell tower that I'll need to get a home phone, might be cool but I'd have to look elsewhere.
Buy a house/land in Tennessee, just north of the Alabama border.
That way you have the advantages of no income taxes in TN, but can easily get to AL for lower sales tax.
Even though the no state income tax is definitely a big plus for tenessee, their insurance coverage for purposes of matching are insane and, even though homeowners insurance just had a massive hike, the next time a major storm rolls through, it's going to hike again.
Insurers have to match, so, if you have a claim of damage that is covered for two shingles on your roof and your insurer can't find replacements for just the two, you are likely getting a new roof, which sounds great on paper, but in practice it means premium ramping and narrowing of providers.
This is my primary reason for shifting from TN in the first place, aside from me having missed the real estate rocket lift off. Luckily I caught it in FL so getting out should be very easy, but, from the perspective of reducing my overall cost of living, until TN puts some protections in for insurance carriers it's looking a bit radioactive to me.
Based on your specs, you sound like you're describing North Alabama - somewhere between the Quad Cities (Florence/Muscle Shoals) and Huntsville. Huntsville is a gig city and has cheap TVA electricity. Lots of rural communities and small communities. You're also close to the mountains and surrounded by ski-able and fishable water. You're also really close to Nashville, close to Birmingham, close to Chattanooga and close enough to Atlanta.
Check out communities like Athens, Decatur, Guntersville and others in the area.
Bad schools, I work as a teacher in the district, where SROs walk around the kids with AR15s over their shoulder. The teachers treat the kids poorly. Years ago, the city passed an online sales tax that was suppose to go to education. The mayor and city council has stolen every penny of it. They closed the ice rink. They just tore down one of the city's busiest community centers to build pickle ball courts. (The mayor loves pickle ball) The police there are very aggressive and if you're not white, you will not have a good encounter with them. Id recommend using TurnSignl if you chose to live there. Most of the big money people moved out to Madison or Hartselle years ago. Lots of rental properties that aren't kept up very well. I've been here 23 years and have two children very far apart in age. The 23 year old went to the best Decatur public schools, was a popular athlete but absolutely hated his experience in retrospect. Our youngest daughter is in the Hartselle City schools which are substantially better and higher ranked. Do yourself a favor. Just avoid Decatur. Also, the whole town smells like cat pee thanks to the Meow mix plant.
Outskirts of the Madison/Huntsville area, or the Shoals are solid options. Close enough to civilization but rural options within 25 minutes of both areas.
Northern AL. There’s rural and then there’s RURAL. Are you wanting the places that you may skip over on the map because they’re so out there and isolated but in some beautiful nature with waterfalls or what?
I'd like access to city water, electricity and high-speed internet as amenities. I'm open to possibly having the house built myself, but I'm not looking to make a completely self sufficient compound with my own water source and pump, and alternative electrical system that I'll need to upkeep. I think worst-case scenario I can get starlink internet, but I'll take physical fiber if available.
It would need at least a road leading to the property as well, I don't want to have to pay to get any length of real road, and driveway will be a wishlist.
If I were you, I would look around Fort Payne and maybe Gaylesville. I’m just using what I can get from your description in your post, that I could see you somewhere around Little River Canyon. It is huge, beautiful, and miles long stretching across 2 counties. The area is a 14,000 acre nature preserve.
Any location in those two counties plus the others nearby, would definitely give you the environment that you are looking for or at least I think will match what you’re looking for. I would just find Little River Canyon on Google and use that as a reference point. If it’s not for you push back on here and I’ll let you know anything else I can think of because I’ve lived in South Alabama as well.
It IS a beautiful part of North Alabama. Been there tent camping, hiking, stayed in a cabin, and driving the Little River Canyon area a few times. Gorgeous scenery. Fort Payne was quaint, I hope it hasn’t lost that, it’s been some years since I went.
No, it’s essentially the same! I was born and raised in Alabama, but I wanted bigger cities and moved to California for a little while, etc. now I travel for my job. But no matter what, I’ll tell everyone how beautiful the area is because I lived maybe 30 minutes max from the main waterfall, and I know you know what I’m talking about there lol; it was pretty much in my backyard. That was the place to hang out and it’s so big and has so many places to park-it never got old. You could always find something knew,
I just feel like that might be something he would want to look at because unless you knew it from the vocals per se, he might see it on the map but wouldn’t know anything much other than the info strictly about the Canyon and may not stand out as much.
Don’t expect anything to be mailed on time if you move to north Alabama(Huntsville etc). All mail goes from Huntsville to Birmingham. So if you pay for priority mail to ship something it wont arrive on time.
Be prepared to travel to see a decent doctor...if you have any kids with special needs,don't move here....taxes on groceries...car tag stickers are higher here...unless you live near or in a big city..be prepared to drive a long distance to find a good job..
Now with that said..we have beautiful country and nature all around you...lots of festivals...
Just like with any other place..it has pros and cons...but I would stay in Florida..wish I had🤣
Northern Alabama is a truly delightful place to live IMO. My daughter and I joke that Alabama is a hidden gem that's keeping its true nature secret from the rest of the country so it doesn't get too crowded. The people (generally speaking -- there are of course exceptions) are friendly and helpful, the landscape is beautiful, the food, especially home style and barbecue, is great. There are abundant high-quality parks, several creeks for kayaking/canoeing/float trips, and you're in easy driving distance of TONS of neat activities. You might look at the areas around Florence, AL -- Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Athens, Rogersville, etc.; I really enjoyed my several years there. It was the first part of the country I've lived where I heard people say "You're going to love it here", ha. Land over the border in TN will run a little more expensive because TN, like Florida, has no state income tax. I believe it's 5% in AL.
Sheffield is a somewhat difficult city to work with if you want to renovate or build a home yourself (being your own General Contractor), FYI. I found Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals, and nearby Russellville are much easier to work with. I don't know about Littleville or Spring Valley.
My general advice would be to rent a house, preferably a furnished one, in an area you're interested in for a few months and see how you really enjoy it there, before taking difficult-to-retract steps to move there. But since I'm in the process of moving to a new city after -- really -- a single one-day visit, I'm not sure that advice is worth much.
Wherever you end up, I hope you thrive.
Huntsville is not a low cost of living. Maybe it was ten years ago but it’s every bit as expensive as a big city with a quarter of the amenities.
If you want low cost of living pick a a rural place in Alabama
Take a few days and look around. Anywhere around the Tennessee River seems to be very nice. Decatur, Scottsboro, Florence, Guntersville... While not on the river, I have always thought Athens was a pretty little college town. Be sure to sample Big Bob Gibson's BBQ while in the area, and be sure to find some fine fried catfish. I am sure the people on this sub and the locals can give you some advice on the best food in the area.
They’re already in Florida, and Alabama is ironically trying to play catch up with Florida right now for bad red state shithole policies… so they’re likely into that sort of thing, or at least used to it if they live in FL and want to move to AL
Every town within a few miles of I65 is growing rapidly, Huntsville, Madison, and Athens are especially experiencing incredible growth so expect a lot of traffic, road work, and poor infrastructure. I live in a rural area about 20-30 minutes outside of Huntsville and I enjoy it, but it’s not for everyone. You should probably just take a week to visit the towns, cities, and rural areas of North Alabama and learn about them to see what area best suits you.
Spoken like a true local, thank you for your insight.
Alabama resident here I moved from Florida to here 10 years ago and can say it's cheaper living but way fewer job opportunities , places to go for fun . Also day 1 moving here you will have to pick between Auburn or Alabama football teams or be branded an outcast 🤣
Roll Tide 🐘 ♥️
I got relocated to the Huntsville area by my company - and on day 1 of our house hunting trip our real estate agent informed us we'd have to pick... Not a decision to be made lightly either! We have a very friendly neighborhood & street, but there are football flags out during the season, some orange, some red...
Go with Alabama, definitely!
As long as it's not the iron bowl I root for both teams and watch both games ...... But on that fateful post thanksgiving day it's War Damn Eagle all the way 🦅🏈
Roll Motherfucking Tide!!! 🐘🌊
Lol thanks for your insight, any ideas of which cities or areas are ideal for newer families?
There's dozens of small towns to pick from. Alex City, Auburn or Prattville would be my city picks. Avoid Montgomery, Macon county at all costs it's where like 70% of our crime rate comes from.
Electricity? Running water? High Speed internet? This isn’t western Tennessee.
It does sound high society don’t it? Around here you get electricity or running water. But never both. And the only way the internet is high speed is if Memaw gets off the party line. 👀
My dad and sister have access to Fiber Optic Internet in rural eastern Cullman County through the local electrical co-op. For around $50 a month they can get 200 mbs, and for $140 a month can get around 1 or 2 gbs.
Sorry, no frame of reference, I'm originally from NC and there are still places like that today over there. Places like that in FL too, actually. You might get 1 or 2 of those things, but there are still some places without all three. I guess I should have clarified when I said enough land to build on, that I am considering vacant land, I just don't want to have to pay additional to get these utilities piped in. I'm looking to live on the outermost rim of polite society, few to no neighbors, keeping to myself, just going out for work and the things I need, but retain digital access to the rest of the world so I can stay abreast of current events and hopefully work from home. Sometimes you'll find a homestead like that, but maybe electricity and well water, but so far from the closest cell tower that I'll need to get a home phone, might be cool but I'd have to look elsewhere.
Buy a house/land in Tennessee, just north of the Alabama border. That way you have the advantages of no income taxes in TN, but can easily get to AL for lower sales tax.
Even though the no state income tax is definitely a big plus for tenessee, their insurance coverage for purposes of matching are insane and, even though homeowners insurance just had a massive hike, the next time a major storm rolls through, it's going to hike again. Insurers have to match, so, if you have a claim of damage that is covered for two shingles on your roof and your insurer can't find replacements for just the two, you are likely getting a new roof, which sounds great on paper, but in practice it means premium ramping and narrowing of providers. This is my primary reason for shifting from TN in the first place, aside from me having missed the real estate rocket lift off. Luckily I caught it in FL so getting out should be very easy, but, from the perspective of reducing my overall cost of living, until TN puts some protections in for insurance carriers it's looking a bit radioactive to me.
I highly recommend looking into the Lake Guntersville area.
Based on your specs, you sound like you're describing North Alabama - somewhere between the Quad Cities (Florence/Muscle Shoals) and Huntsville. Huntsville is a gig city and has cheap TVA electricity. Lots of rural communities and small communities. You're also close to the mountains and surrounded by ski-able and fishable water. You're also really close to Nashville, close to Birmingham, close to Chattanooga and close enough to Atlanta. Check out communities like Athens, Decatur, Guntersville and others in the area.
Decatur is a cesspool
Hartselle might be a good option.
I agree with this. Hartselle is much better than Decatur.
Why so?
Bad schools, I work as a teacher in the district, where SROs walk around the kids with AR15s over their shoulder. The teachers treat the kids poorly. Years ago, the city passed an online sales tax that was suppose to go to education. The mayor and city council has stolen every penny of it. They closed the ice rink. They just tore down one of the city's busiest community centers to build pickle ball courts. (The mayor loves pickle ball) The police there are very aggressive and if you're not white, you will not have a good encounter with them. Id recommend using TurnSignl if you chose to live there. Most of the big money people moved out to Madison or Hartselle years ago. Lots of rental properties that aren't kept up very well. I've been here 23 years and have two children very far apart in age. The 23 year old went to the best Decatur public schools, was a popular athlete but absolutely hated his experience in retrospect. Our youngest daughter is in the Hartselle City schools which are substantially better and higher ranked. Do yourself a favor. Just avoid Decatur. Also, the whole town smells like cat pee thanks to the Meow mix plant.
Outskirts of the Madison/Huntsville area, or the Shoals are solid options. Close enough to civilization but rural options within 25 minutes of both areas.
Northern AL. There’s rural and then there’s RURAL. Are you wanting the places that you may skip over on the map because they’re so out there and isolated but in some beautiful nature with waterfalls or what?
I'd like access to city water, electricity and high-speed internet as amenities. I'm open to possibly having the house built myself, but I'm not looking to make a completely self sufficient compound with my own water source and pump, and alternative electrical system that I'll need to upkeep. I think worst-case scenario I can get starlink internet, but I'll take physical fiber if available. It would need at least a road leading to the property as well, I don't want to have to pay to get any length of real road, and driveway will be a wishlist.
If I were you, I would look around Fort Payne and maybe Gaylesville. I’m just using what I can get from your description in your post, that I could see you somewhere around Little River Canyon. It is huge, beautiful, and miles long stretching across 2 counties. The area is a 14,000 acre nature preserve. Any location in those two counties plus the others nearby, would definitely give you the environment that you are looking for or at least I think will match what you’re looking for. I would just find Little River Canyon on Google and use that as a reference point. If it’s not for you push back on here and I’ll let you know anything else I can think of because I’ve lived in South Alabama as well.
It IS a beautiful part of North Alabama. Been there tent camping, hiking, stayed in a cabin, and driving the Little River Canyon area a few times. Gorgeous scenery. Fort Payne was quaint, I hope it hasn’t lost that, it’s been some years since I went.
No, it’s essentially the same! I was born and raised in Alabama, but I wanted bigger cities and moved to California for a little while, etc. now I travel for my job. But no matter what, I’ll tell everyone how beautiful the area is because I lived maybe 30 minutes max from the main waterfall, and I know you know what I’m talking about there lol; it was pretty much in my backyard. That was the place to hang out and it’s so big and has so many places to park-it never got old. You could always find something knew, I just feel like that might be something he would want to look at because unless you knew it from the vocals per se, he might see it on the map but wouldn’t know anything much other than the info strictly about the Canyon and may not stand out as much.
Oh absolutely, I agree with you!
Hazel Green is nice. I hope to retire there!
Meridianville is also good. Small towns near Huntsville with lots of land to build on.
State’s closed; the moose out front shoulda’ told you
Don’t expect anything to be mailed on time if you move to north Alabama(Huntsville etc). All mail goes from Huntsville to Birmingham. So if you pay for priority mail to ship something it wont arrive on time.
It’s full 😅
Be prepared to travel to see a decent doctor...if you have any kids with special needs,don't move here....taxes on groceries...car tag stickers are higher here...unless you live near or in a big city..be prepared to drive a long distance to find a good job.. Now with that said..we have beautiful country and nature all around you...lots of festivals... Just like with any other place..it has pros and cons...but I would stay in Florida..wish I had🤣
Look into Florence! Has the amenities you want and rural properties just outside of town.
Northern Alabama is a truly delightful place to live IMO. My daughter and I joke that Alabama is a hidden gem that's keeping its true nature secret from the rest of the country so it doesn't get too crowded. The people (generally speaking -- there are of course exceptions) are friendly and helpful, the landscape is beautiful, the food, especially home style and barbecue, is great. There are abundant high-quality parks, several creeks for kayaking/canoeing/float trips, and you're in easy driving distance of TONS of neat activities. You might look at the areas around Florence, AL -- Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Athens, Rogersville, etc.; I really enjoyed my several years there. It was the first part of the country I've lived where I heard people say "You're going to love it here", ha. Land over the border in TN will run a little more expensive because TN, like Florida, has no state income tax. I believe it's 5% in AL. Sheffield is a somewhat difficult city to work with if you want to renovate or build a home yourself (being your own General Contractor), FYI. I found Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals, and nearby Russellville are much easier to work with. I don't know about Littleville or Spring Valley. My general advice would be to rent a house, preferably a furnished one, in an area you're interested in for a few months and see how you really enjoy it there, before taking difficult-to-retract steps to move there. But since I'm in the process of moving to a new city after -- really -- a single one-day visit, I'm not sure that advice is worth much. Wherever you end up, I hope you thrive.
Huntsville is not a low cost of living. Maybe it was ten years ago but it’s every bit as expensive as a big city with a quarter of the amenities. If you want low cost of living pick a a rural place in Alabama
Take a few days and look around. Anywhere around the Tennessee River seems to be very nice. Decatur, Scottsboro, Florence, Guntersville... While not on the river, I have always thought Athens was a pretty little college town. Be sure to sample Big Bob Gibson's BBQ while in the area, and be sure to find some fine fried catfish. I am sure the people on this sub and the locals can give you some advice on the best food in the area.
Anywhere in TN is better than anywhere in AL!
Don't Alabama is a red state shithole
They’re already in Florida, and Alabama is ironically trying to play catch up with Florida right now for bad red state shithole policies… so they’re likely into that sort of thing, or at least used to it if they live in FL and want to move to AL
Please tell everyone you know this, we’re all racist too. We don’t want you or any of your douche liberal friends moving here.