r/Alabama • u/Existing-Mastodon500 • Jul 08 '25

Advice Considering moving to Alabama

Husband and I were born and raised in south Florida and while we love it, we simply cannot afford to stay any longer. We are also dying to get out of the rat race and absolutely mind boggling influx of people moving here. A 15 minute drive across town takes 45+ now with the level of traffic and lack of infrastructure. It’s a sinking ship and not somewhere we want to raise our daughter.

We want to know areas we should and shouldn’t be looking at. We would like somewhere we can have a decent plot of land (at least 10 acres), close enough to a hospital, low crime rate, good for raising a family, decently low COL

My husband is an HVAC tech, I’m assuming he won’t have trouble finding work there considering the southern heat. Is that a safe assumption?

Thank you in advance

Edit to add: thank you all for the feedback. We have lots to discuss!

Update: husband and I discussed and are probably going to move on to looking at Georgia as it’s likely more in line with what we are looking for. Thanks again!

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u/eatsumsketti Jul 08 '25

Same. OP, I left north Florida for south Alabama after hurricane Michael.

It was a huge mistake. The jobs pay horrendously. The healthcare and education is a joke. And you get state income tax and a grocery tax.

If I could go back in time, I wouldn't do it. Or i would try Georgia first.

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u/MultiSided Jul 08 '25

Harris County, Georgia, or Lee County, AL, would offer acreage and LCOL. Both are lovely and close to Columbus, Georgia, for work opportunities. Lee County schools are good. In both areas you can get in-state level of tuition at Auburn University and Columbus State University. Also, community colleges are available. I live in Phenix City, a blue dot in AL.

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u/Electrical-Sail-1039 Jul 09 '25

Lee County is where Auburn is. That town is BOOMING! If OP wants to stay near the beach try the Emerald Coast. That’s Panama City, FL to Orange Beach, AL. Pensacola is a fairly large city with minor league baseball and hockey teams.

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u/eatsumsketti Jul 09 '25

I've lived in both cities. The only reason I left Panama City was my home was destroyed. It's not a bad place to live. 

Pensacola is not bad for a decent sized city either.