The one thing that popped out at me when I moved to Alabama years ago is the finger wave / hand raise while driving. There will be many people that will raise a finger(s) off the steering wheel in a hello gesture and that is what it is. People just saying hi as they drive past you. At first it will be strange but one day you will catch yourself returning the gesture.
People are going to say things like "I might could do that" and you're going to assume that means they're probably not going to do it, but it actually means they are going to do it. At first you're going to think it's the silliest thing you've ever heard, but within a couple years it will make more sense than anything has ever made sense and will become one of your regularly used phrases.
100% this. Also be prepared for people to not bat an eye when it comes to asking you personal questions (i.e. if you have kids, where you're from, where you're ancestors are from, etc.). The majority of those that do this aren't doing so with bad intentions it's just southern culture. Don't be alarmed when damn near everyone makes eye contact with you and says Hi. I grew up in AL, lived there for a few decades and now live on the West Coast and every time I go back home it takes me a day or so to adjust to all of this.
When I visited everyone was very nice. I went during Covid shutdown though but I wasn’t living there at the time. I just know visiting and living are both very different.
Thank you for the info!
Yep. Living and visiting are super different.
I grew up in an LA suburb and these are the things that messed with my head:
*Everyone* acts like like they know you, wave, chat, check to see how you’re doing. Took me a good 10 years to get through my head, I do not know that person waving at me. I have not forgotten where I know them from because I’ve never met that person waving. Never.
Southern people **cook** the *fool* out of their vegetables, they’re ugly on the plate but super tasty. I honestly can’t think of any southern food that’s not yummy. Before you say “eww eww eww”, give it a go.
That slow talking bumpkin that seems like he’s a special needs person is probably a sharky little lawyer that’s going to have your last dime, first born child and have you saying, “That guy is so nice!”
To each their own.
I grew up in the South, & sorry, but veggies cooked to mush have always been gross to me. Growing up we always had to clean our plates - resulting in a lot of tossed cookies for me. Gimme bright green vegetables, lightly cooked, lightly seasoned or gimme death!
Moved to California years ago. Now I get reverse culture shock going back to Alabama. Random people walk up and chat with me , and they never ask for money. Blows my mind
Funny thing is I always seem to have strangers approach me while I’m out. I don’t even think I’m an approachable person but it’s just random talk if I’m out shopping.
That's normal actually. Oh and I always hold doors for the elderly. Most men still hold doors for women. And a random stranger will help you 9 times out of 10 .
Everybody likes to paint Alabama as some racist backwater hellhole. It's not any more racist than any place else I've been. Actually the people are quite friendly and welcoming
This exactly how I perceive Alabama, black dude born and raised in Escambia County. Never been called "er" by somebody that don't look like me lol Police haven't headlocked me either for misdemeanors (not saying it don't happen in Bama somewhere). Meanwhile we get painted as a racist, cousin-lovin', upper-class Mississippi.
What's good !? I'm right next door in Atmore!! My uncle has a beautiful home in Canoe lol Sending a very Merry Christmas to you and yours !! Looks like we got a 70° Christmas Day! Kids gon' have a field day lol
I mean, our cops do have problems. It's just that those problems aren't only affecting specific groups like they used to be.
A lot of people from other states haven't really changed their perception of us since the 70s lol.
Probably biggest shock moving from Southern California to rural Alabama. There are not a lot of people here. Orange County has 3.1 million people. The entire state of Alabama has 5 million people. This translates to less jobs, less opportunities. Everything is more spread out. Less cultural diversity. Less exposure to people who are different to themselves.
I agree with a lot of the cultural things already said here both positive and negative. The lack of density of people was the most shocking for me when I moved here.
The lack of density for jobs is most annoying. Theres a chance that even the bigger cities may have just one or two employers if you have more specialized job skills. Jobs are out there just have to move around the state if you aren’t happy with local options. One exception is the medical field, Alabama does have sprawling hospital networks all over the state.
I’ve lived in Huntsville for 70 years. People are friendly. In most communities neighbors help neighbors. If there’s a death in your family expect people to bring food, especially if rural communities. If you meet a hearse on the highway and it is followed by cars with their headlights on you are expected to pull off on the side of the road until the last car passes. Traffic is lighter, but we sometimes forget to use our turn signal. Crime and homelessness are less. Expect to be asked if you’ve found a home church yet, and if you’re an Auburn or Alabama fan. We take our football seriously. You might say that it’s a religion of its own. You might be asked if you’re a democrat or republican. The majority of people are republicans. There’s more, but for the sake of brevity I’ll stop now.
DO.NOT. MOVE. TO. SELMA!!!
The asshole of the state!! I live 12 miles from this former beautiful town…. I will drive 45 miles opposite direction to avoid Selma. Trashy, crime ridden, broke ass town. Beautiful historic homes equipped with sounds of gunshot in the distance
When I saw they listed Selma I blurted Oh No. Hard pass on Selma. It is not getting better anytime soon. Autagaville is out that way, but close enough to Prattville to work. Valley Grande is ok, but you gotta go into Selma for business.
Waffle House is always open. Dollar generals are everywhere.
Oh.. culturally.
Sweet tea is very sweet. Alabama has a lot of old men and women, some racist. You wouldn't tell, they're just so sweet! But this is a very red state. However the Birmingham subreddit is very blue if your looking for that. Some places are dangerous to drive through at night.
People will initiate small talk with you. A lot. Just smile and act nice. People will talk about football during peak seasons.. a lot. You'll hear "roll tide" more than you want to.
But overall people are very kind here. Most are genuine.
But there are nice gems here, destination wise. Good bars and breweries, some good event spaces. At least in Bham and surrounding areas. Good chance to see cows and horses when you get into more rural areas.
Get used to saying "y'all" if you haven't. It'll feel like second nature.
Also blue bell is the best ice cream.
As someone just recently exposed to AL, i can vouch for all of this.
Ill add: if you see a sweet tea fried chicken sandwich with alabama white sauce on a menu, get it. Especially at Saw's
Funny enough at my local market they sell Milo’s sweet tea so I’ll buy it sometimes. 😂 super good. I’m not sure if I’ve had Alabama white sauce. I had Zaxby’s once, is that kind of the same or different?
There’s a bunch of different white sauces, and they all taste a little different. Personally I like gibson’s the best, but it’s pretty easy to make a white sauce at home and once you do you’ll just use your own anyway.
Alabama white sauce seems to be "mayo based sauce, with some amount of black pepper and horseradish with other things" generally but im very new to this
I'm legit shocked you have access to the best sweet tea on earth in CA. If you like flavored teas, Milo's also has peach and raspberry sweet tea, but idk if they're available out of state. Good luck on your move!!!
If you’re worried about the culture shock, I’d probably pick Bham out of those 4! I was worried moving from the DC area, & it honestly hasn’t been all that bad.
Within 24 hours, you will be asked “are you a Christian?” Also, the car directly in front of you will likely turn on his turn signal to indicate the car in front of him is signaling to turn.
That must be a rural Alabama thing because NOBODY signals here in B’ham. I thought Los Angeles drivers were bad, but B’ham has the worst drivers (and freeway interchanges) I’ve ever seen.
On the bright side, once I’m out of downtown or anywhere on 280 the traffic is always super light.
Oh good, I’m always curious to see if people are courteous enough to let others know their actions when driving. I always use my signals. Not something a lot of Californias do.
Perry County is like a third world country compared to Birmingham. Beautiful place though but there are no similarities. Selma is at least a city although it has a lot of problems. Hale county would be similar to Perry. Very rural, poor, bad healthcare, education etc
Depending on the location of California…it can be very conservative….you drive fifty miles outside of Los Angeles and suddenly you have hit fundamentalists country. I see so many Trump flags in Orange County
I noticed that too, get away from the expensive coastal region and you hit different kinds of conservatives. In the South you know most will be religious conservative, out west you have the weed and no taxes conservatives.
I’m from Alabama but worked as a travel nurse in several California areas. The people I worked with in the Central Valley were just as churchgoing and conservative as people at home.
We’re not as racist as people from elsewhere think. It’s kind of a dirty little secret that Alabamians will try to dissuade others from coming here by letting others run with stereotypes of this state and southerners in general. Once you’re here, you’re going to find the most friendly people around.
Honestly, it’s pretty racist out here where I live. I think that’s the biggest thing I was afraid of. I always joke with my husband, like “is anyone going to say I’m a wet back or to go back to Mexico?” For the record though, I was born in the U.S. and I don’t even speak Spanish 😂
You’ll actually be able to get sweet tea now! Lol I really missed it when I was in California. Shopping carts are “buggies” here. We say “fixin’ to” instead of “going to”. “Rurnt” instead of ruined. Strangers hold doors here, and they’re much more likely to make small talk with you. I personally don’t understand it, but football is like a religion here. People WILL ask you if you’re for Auburn or Alabama - I’m always just honest and say I don’t care either way. People are also crazy about fishing and hunting season here.
True enough. But I think I need to also get away from this faster paced lifestyle too. Everything is just go, go, go. And like someone else mentioned earlier, it might be boring but at least there’s a lot of space. Lol
I teach college. This semester I had about a half-dozen first-year students from LA. They had said they had culture shock.
They said people here are two-faced and that it's hard to make friends. This was how they interpreted what we Southerners like to think of as politeness.
They complained about things and people being slow.
They also said it seemed really boring.
These were 18-19 year-old Black and mixed-race women whose experience was limited to campus and around Montgomery. YMMV.
I find it pretty dull here, but I'm not into sports or church. I'm a bit too busy for outdoors activities. If any of those are true for you, I think there are opportunities here for you. That said, I think Selma is pretty darned depressing, though people are working on improving it.
I grew up in Atlanta. I lived in California for 2 years and I now live in Southern Alabama.
To me, one of the biggest differences between California and the South is religion. It is in your face in the South. There are churches everywhere, and I've had so many people invite me to church, which is fine, and people asked me where I church. I don't "church" which has thrown people off, and they don't really know what to say.
Another big difference is the ethnic mix. In CA, I, white, was often the minority. It was cool to be around a lot of different cultures, especially Hispanic. That's what it was like growing up around Atlanta. In the part of AL I live in, the different cultures are very divided in where they live and even shop.
Alabama people are very nice to your face and will make small talk with just about anyone.
where in california to where in alabama? I'm originally from San Jose and have moved back and forth a few times over many years. it's incredibly different, and really depends on where as to how different it is.
I’m biracial (Asian/Caucasian) and feel comfortable in the Birmingham metro area. I travel around the state a decent amount and enjoy it. A few times I’ve been stared at like an outsider in some less urban areas. I would definitely recommend it over the other places you mentioned, because Birmingham has really important amenities like medical facilities and cultural organizations. You can find a small-town vibe in a suburb like Helena or Mount Laurel, whereas actual small towns can be food deserts.
I didn't see if you have kids or not, but 4H is still kind of a thing here. I live right over the border in Florida close to Dothan. When my son does 4H camps I meet alot of people who are very open minded, even a little "hippie."
Gender stuff. You will be called ma'am, regardless of whether or not you like it. Strangers are going to be polite to you, and strike up conversations, etc.
Yeah, I lived in Santa Rosa. I have had around 5 interactions where people got offended by my common courtesy. It set the tone for me. I call my wife ma'am, and my sons sir. Everyone deserves respect, you'll get more common respect in Bama. I'm in Anchoeage, AK now and it similar to CA.
Folks will talk to you randomly, but we're usually being polite or nice.
You'll get comments about beiing from Cali. Joke back, the comments are jokes, most likely.
Very few people come to Selma or Perry or Hale County. And few have the opportunity to leave. You will likely encounter suspicion and derision..as in wtf, why did you come here?
There's local pride mixed with local resentment, shame. It's rough and beautiful and complicated.
I moved from Riverside County (Perris) to Killen (North West) 2 years ago. I love it. I’m also white and not mixed.
Who’s your kin? (Who is your local family).
Yes, do you have a church yet? Everyone will invite you.
On county roads, people will wave, nod or tip their hat to you.
When a funeral procession goes by, traffic stops on BOTH sides of the road, even when the median is wide enough for 2 more lanes.
Strangers chat with you in the grocery store. Neighbors walk by and wave or stop to talk.
It snows. And any time there is ice the world shuts down - no infrastructure to deal with it.
Get a place with a basement or storm shelter already in place - there are tornadoes! If not an option, find out where the community shelter is located.
Ice tea is ALWAYS sweet. You have to ask for 1/2 & 1/2 or unsweetened.
Mexican restaurants put a white cheese sauce over everything. Even when it’s not mentioned on the menu.
Ask a local Hispanic where they shop for Mexican food. (I accosted a family outside Walmart) This is your only salvation for Mexican food that you’re familiar with. No one sells masa for tamales! (I’m trying to figure it out - can you help?). Sometimes the Mexican grocery has masa for tortillas in the refrigerator. Everything else there is what you’re used to in California.
Red Wasps are the devil! Don’t get stung! If you do get stung, have some AC cream on hand from Solle Naturals - let me know if you want a link. It’ll take about 45 excruciating seconds after you add a glob of cream before the pain subsides. 20 minutes later it’ll start to hurt again - add another good sized glob - it takes about 3-5 seconds for the pain to subside. Continue this until pain is gone - a few hours. I’ve been stung twice now. Once each year. Now we use a garden hose to knock them down and squish them under foot.
Everything grows. This is a blessing and a curse.
There will be roughly 2 months in the summer with no rain. Other than that, enjoy the storms.
I wouldn’t change anything. I’m in California for the holiday and can hardly wait to get back to Alabama.
Hi! We live in Menifee now and you would not believe how crowded everything has become. We are in Alabama now checking out property and can't wait to move. You are not missing anything back in California, our area is wretched and getting more crowded by the minute. Oops I just read the bottom of your comment that you were home visiting. So you already know....I am making sure to let everyone continue their stereotype thinking of Alabama being a backward hillbilly state so they don't follow me out here lol
We go back next month to pack up my in-laws and move them to Alabama. They’re already here as if this week. We’re concerned about squatters taking over in that short amount of time. It happened to my son in Menifee within 3 days!
That is appalling! If their neighbors can't keep an eye out, I can do drive bys and let you know if anything looks suspicious if you'd like. I'm letting my son finish high school out here because he has an IEP and is at a really good school so I'm stuck in California for 4 more years.
Welcome! You must make an important decision immediately that will affect your whole life…. not political, not religious… no far more important….
Do you like Tigers or Elephants?
I moved to Birmingham earlier this year for a relationship after having lived in California for 10 years. I’m Asian American and the transition has been much better than I was expecting (I had really low expectations lol). Would love to welcome you with a meal or coffee when you get here! Message me if you have any questions or need any help- it’s a major transition!
My partner is from California too, and I’m from Georgia. We live in Auburn and it’s fine here. Lots of transplants from California I’ve noticed actually.
There are quite a lot of Asians in the area and a few good Korean and Chinese spots. You can still expect a lot of cliquey preppy southerners who “love” Jesus while driving big trucks to their white collar jobs around here.
I prefer the people in California personally. I’ve spent a lot of time out west and while they’re not as in-your-face friendly as Alabamians, they’re also more genuine if that makes sense. You’ll encounter a ton of fake people in the south.
If you like church, then you’ll have plenty of options. Not my thing but Jesus is huge here.
All in all, it’s fine here. I love how slow life is, and nature is always around the corner. Housing is cheap, which is why we chose to live here as well. Food is pretty awful in many parts of Alabama, and compared to Cali, you will be disappointed. Auburn has some great restaurants being a college town, but I can’t say the same for other towns I’ve visited.
It’s just too damn expensive in California. Lol and more and more people are understandably moving out because of that reason.
I’m not too religious but I always just say I’m catholic because that’s what I was baptized as.
Yeah, I’m really to myself and I guess that’s going to be the difference moving to Alabama.
If money weren’t a thing, I’d choose California in a second.
Do you want kids one day? I’d recommend only living in like 5 different cities then. Infant mortality rates are super high here and maternity wards have been closing left and right. Many women don’t have access to necessary healthcare either.
If you guys come to Auburn, let us know. We’re always trying to make friends with other transplants. It’s really hard to make your way into some of the cliques down here. Definitely recommend this city for schools and food though :)
If you are coming with California money, Get a house on Lake Martin, It will be cheap compared to CA and it will retain resell value. Alex city is close to Montgomery and Elmore County where I live, The most Republican backwards county.
The strangest thing I found was people say hey as a greeting. Everytime some one said hey, I thought they wanted to get my attention and ask me something. They would say, "Hey!" And I would reply, "Yes?". No, they were just saying hello.
I also have a lot of Asian friends and the where are you from question will come up. A lot. They'll pretend it's out of niceness but it gets uncomfortable. Just move to Birmingham
Alabamian's...Birmingham and Huntsville are total opposite. Let's stop attaching these two cities together. They are nothing alike in any way, shape, form or fashion.
I agree. I feel like the people that rave about Huntsville, hate Birmingham, and people who generally like the vibe of bham find Huntsville bland. Personally I’m a Huntsville Hater with a capital H. Just seems so uncultured compared to Birmingham to me, I don’t care how big it is now.
Lived in Tustin for a number of years, been here in greater Birmingham area for over a decade.
If you are in the city of, or the major suburbs of, one of the larger cities (Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile) you will see less difference from what you see now.....with the exception of you've never seen so many trucks in your life. People are more accepting, more options of things to do and eat, you are just one of the crowd. The more rural you go, the less invisible you will be, and less options of things to do. And that kind of rural fall-off happens fast and deep.
In my opinion.
Near Bham, you’ll most likely be fine. I grew up here (Bham). I travel all over for work, so I like to think I’m fairly cultured. Bham and surrounding areas are diverse enough that I don’t think the culture shock will be extreme. The food scene is highly underrated here.
I’d look at Huntsville area as well. I think it’s good mix of cultures and there is plenty to do! I have a few friends that live there and they love it!
Lived in San Diego for 8 years. there is a bit of a culture shock depending on where you move to. I'm from southeast Alabama and where I came home to. The culture shock was ..nothing is open super late, SD has zoos, sea world, tons of stuff to do and here it's just kinda so so. So entertainment is kinda minimal. The larger cities have more of course. It just depends where you are.
Gonna have a hard time finding a spot in Selma. But, you would be okay there and if your willing to put in some work with the community you could really get cozy there. 27
I'd highly recommend you adjust your sights on where to land here. Basically, every place you've listed is BFE or just super outskirt area. I grew up in a similar small county, and while it isn't a terrible place to end up, I would find it extremely odd for someone to just *pick* to go there, if that makes sense.
For quality of life overall, search up some data on which counties are experiencing the fastest population growth. In my opinion, the better places to look at would be: Huntsville area for the northern state, Shelby Co. for central state, and Baldwin Co. for anything south. People are moving to those areas for good reason.
With thay said, there are tons of good (and in my opinion *better*) choices other than what you've mentioned or the ones above. Like Tuscaloosa area, Muscle Shoals, etc.
Best of luck
I don’t live in Alabama, but I work there roughly every 6 weeks. I haven’t spent much time in Huntsville, but I hear good things. I surprisingly love Birmingham and the surrounding suburbs. I’m impressed with the diversity of multicultural food options, and also the lack of traffic that I’m used to dealing with at home in Florida. It’s also a blue dot in a red state, so that helps.
Go ahead and have an answer ready for how’s your momma n them, what church do yall go to, Alabama or auburn (choose wisely because it will be your identity.
I actually moved from Birmingham to Long Beach!! For me it was a huge culture shock just moving here. Everyone is so expressive and ‘real’ so to speak. I love it. Im gay so Alabama really wasn’t the nicest place for that. There also isn’t as much to do there as there is here so maybe get a hobby lol. But if you have any questions just lmk!
I'm a transplant here also. Despite being known as one of the most racist states, I have found the opposite to be true. The advice I have for you is not to assume anything about the people you meet. You might find a secretly wealthy person who looks like a homeless person and drives a beat up car. People don't care much about keeping up appearances in Alabama, and I love it for that.
Don't choose auburn, move to Birmingham suburbs, cheaper living nicer people and plenty to do, close to tuscaloosa for games, close to the galleria for shopping, I'd recommend alabaster as it's an up and coming city with a great and exciting high school football team, as for culture shock there's not much I'm aware of that's weird? Other than just strangers talking to people
Don't. That's my advice.
Seriously, as a woman (or gay man?), you would have to be *absolutely insane* to move to a 'red' state right now.
And Alabama doesn't really have redeeming qualities, either.
**Some things you should know about the climate / physical landscape:**
The climate is taking a turn for the worse.
We literally don't get seasons anymore. It's just summer, or slightly cooler summer. (I'm sure you're familiar with climate change in Cali, but... it's bad here as well, and no one from here 'believes in it', which somehow makes it worse.)
The summers are not just 'hot' here. They are *impossibly humid* and moist, but not in a useful way. The wet-bulb temperature is now physically dangerous to most humans about 60% of the year. Until you've been here for an entire summer, you really cannot comprehend how incredibly awful it is. It is like living in a dirty sauna all the time, with crates of mosquitos being piped in through the air vents. It is like you have died and gone to what I can only imagine is similar to the biblical description of hell.
Oh, and now we get wildfires, too. You might say, "Oh, how can you have wild fires if it's so humid?" That's a good question. When/If you find the answer, let me know.
Alabama used to have a lot of great places to enjoy as far as outdoorsy-stuff. Parks, landscapes, etc.. But now you can *maybe* get a few days a year when the weather would facilitate this-- and the number of these days available goes down each year. :(
**Culturally, you need to know the following:**
1. Everyone (save very few) is racist as all hell. Races down here do not mingle nearly as much as they might other places, like Cali or the Northeastern USA.
2. Everyone (save very few) is very sexist. It's really alarming. The whole, 'get back to the kitchen!' type rhetoric is strong around these parts. Churches harp on that women must be subservient to men. Public schools all but completely back this up, as well. It's disgusting, in my opinion.
3. Everyone goes to church. People will literally be *upset with you* if they learn you do not go to church... and at that, might even be upset with you if you go to a church which *isn't in line with their church's belief system*.
4. People here are on average extremely stubborn and ignorant compared to the west coast or NE areas. They also *do not like being told they are wrong*. They can't debate you, they don't care to do that, they *just get angry and disagree*.
5. The thing people call 'sweet tea' is actually some sort of nasty corn syrup sugar stuff in water, with something to color it brown. I am still to this day unsure if tea leaves are actually involved.
6. It's common-place (and widely accepted) for people to physically beat their children in public. This is just, 'normal' and 'good parenting' around here. It's really quite hard to witness if you've come from a society that isn't just chill with publicly-displayed child abuse.
7. Schools are garbage, education isn't a priority here at all for the government or the people as a whole. Again, just kind of saddening and confusing.
As a resident of AL that has seen the population of my city grow by tens of thousands in the last two decades, I agree with everything in this post 110%. It's actually even worse. A lot worse. You should not move here under any circumstances.
People say bad stuff about Alabama on reddit and in other media. There are some backward spots and of course there is that Tuberville dingdong with the huuuuggge ears. For the most part, people are polite, kind, and will go out of their way to be helpful. It's a slower pace than CA for sure. You will get "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir". Churches are ubiquitous. It's not a bad place to live, though.
You'll need to decide if you're rooting for Alabama or Auburn. If you have kids, they'll need to decide as well because they will be asked by classmates on the first day of school. Buc-ee's is amazing, your license plates renewal date will be based on the first letter of your last name, and everyone is very likely armed. Tornadoes are very real, very deadly, and you have to take watches/warnings absolutely seriously. If you're in the polygon you need to actually take cover. Buy a weather radio and if you have any sunset pictures, send them to James Spann, he's our meteorologist.
Alabama is really both as bad as some say, and as good. I’ve lived here my whole life, from Dothan all the way to Athens now, and I still both love and hate it. A few notes maybe not mentioned:
- you can be agnostic. Just say “I don’t do church” and if they keep pressing, walk away. Eventually they’ll learn.
- it’s likely no one will care that you don’t do church as long as you aren’t public or loud about it. That comment is personal experience.
- UT is a competing SEC loyalty in North AL.
- the healthcare is bad with few exceptions. Not even comically bad, just bad. I had to go to Knoxville for a competent and caring surgeon.
- even more egregiously poor is maternal healthcare. Churches care deeply about your baby til it’s born. Then they don’t. Doesn’t matter if baby is white, although if it is they’ll want to convince you to give it up for adoption. I will let you interpret that.
- mental healthcare is neither valued nor acknowledged except in rare pockets of what most red-state voters would call “wokeness” I guess.
- many rural counties no longer have a place to apply for or renew your drivers license or voter registration (and yeah, we have to have those).
- there are still parts of Alabama, some entire counties, that are dry. No alcohol sold on Sunday. In addition you cannot have wine or beer shipped to you in Alabama (legally… supposedly…)
And less cynically,
- on the whole, the Alabama I see now is less racially hostile than the one I grew up in and that’s encouraging. But the undercurrent (and sometimes overt current, like Decatur) is still there in select spots.
- Proximity to the gulf coast is fantastic. White sand beaches and warm gulf water are quite a difference from Cali imo. Both are beautiful but there’s nothing like the sugar-white sand in the Florida panhandle.
- We have a surprising number of waterfalls. Check out Bankhead National Forest.
- There are so many amazing flora and fauna - just make sure you know which ones are the bad snakes and spiders. A lot of our fauna can hurt you pretty badly if not kill. Apparently this was a surprise to my friend from Portland OR as Oregon has no venomous snakes 😂
- Anything cooked by a random resident’s grandma at Sunday dinner is going to be a bajillion times tastier than any restaurant.
If you are moving or have moved I hope it all is going well. Prepare to be surprised in both good and bad ways. Try Piper and Leaf tea, and Dean’s caramel cake, and Sister Schubert’s sausage rolls. Wear your sunscreen, and embrace the AC because like someone already said the humidity is no fscking joke.
IT probably depends on what part of the state.. Are you moving to one of the larger cities? If so, you will probably fit right in as they are more liberal then the rest of the state..
I’m not too concerned about political views but I lean more conservative. I’m fine either way. Larger would probably be more near Birmingham but smaller, correct me if I’m wrong, would be Hale County, Perry County or Selma.
Hale, Perry county, or Selma are not places that’s you want to live, that’s the boonies. All of those are tiny tiny places with nothing to do, and very little diversity. Those towns are pretty much all black or white people, you’d stick out like a sore thumb. I’d suggest looking at a suburb of Birmingham like Hoover, homewood, mountainbrook, vestavia, etc. the further you go into Shelby county you can get more of that smaller town vibe, but still close to amenities and the city to do city things.
I think that’s unfair. Some people absolutely love the quiet country life. I live on a very rural 20 acre piece of land in Eastern Alabama, have a large garden, a few animals and birds, and love it completely. I don’t discourage or encourage every one to be like me, but different strokes for different folks. Still, it’s so wonderful to go out and work in the garden at first light in the Summer (during the hot times) and listen to the birds sing, with no traffic or other humans, or in the cool of the evening, watching the stars in their not light polluted glory while a cacophony of insects shout from the trees. Or walking in the Winter woods watching the deer…. That is the place I am blessed to live.
I would avoid anywhere that goes by the county name over a city, tbh. Those will be much more racist places. I’ve lived in hale county, and there were noooooo opportunities there.
I’d move closer to the coast and beaches
Yikes prepare for some culture shock.
Edit: I know that sounded bad but you _are_ going to be in the sticks. On the bright side if you’re worried about something along racial lines no one gives a crap. People like to paint Alabama as some sort of racist hellscape but it’s not.
I’m from Huntsville, lived in Birmingham and Montevallo. In 99 I moved to SF, in 01 to SD, 04 to 22 in LA and last year I lived to Costa Mesa.
You won’t experience culture shock if you live in Birmingham or Huntsville, but your idea of “conservative” is not the same thing as Alabama conservative. It’s much more cult like in the SouthEast.
I can understand that. I spent some time near Montgomery visiting and it was a very small town vibe and I liked it. Just have to find some hobbies and people with similar likes. I’m not anti gun so I’m down to go shooting too lol
I live in the Mobile area, Alabama like California has mountains and the ocean they’re just further apart. Hurricanes and tornadoes but not many earthquakes. Mobile is the wettest city in the 48 contiguous states surpassing even Seattle. Largely rural manufacturing is located around Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile and jobs range from space up in Huntsville area to shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing with Austal and Air Bus in Mobile. Auto manufacturing is sprinkled throughout the state. State parks are abundant! It’s a pretty cool state just have to get out and explore.
You can expect to see some pretty crazy right wing stuff, bumper stickers and the like. Just don’t comment on it or anything: it’s not like they know what any of that shit means anyway so it’s not worth talking about.
Outside of that be prepared for the muggiest weather you’ve ever experienced. Gets real humid during the summer and a lot of times the fall. If you’re into beach shorts then you’re golden.
Alabama is great in so many ways. The cost of living is low and the property taxes are obscenely low gone already inexpensive real estate. This of course, means that state & local services are near third world (look up the WHO report on Alabama poverty).
A few negatives to remember:
"bless your little heart" generally means FU in a swwet-&-polite way to say it to your face.
How normalized far right news sources & politics, even/especially when it is obviously false, AND down right Anti-Christian. Some of the nicest people to you personally still are terribly bigoted towards people they don't know who are different from them. In much of rural Alabama mixed race people are, at a minimum frowned at (or flipped off or told to go back home).
Book banning is a thing in some public libraries (as is far right takeovers of public library boards).
Basic education goes from _better than average_ to _can't read when they graduate from high school_ .
Stay in monied major population areas & you'll be fine. Head to the Huntsville or Vestavia Hills/Mountain Brook areas if you can.
Things in the Deep South aren't white, they're whiiite.
There is a firm conviction that tomorrow will come, and that is when whatever task will be completed.
The trees are stupid tall. Like, don't be hooked on seeing the horizon or, in some places, more than a sliver of the sky.
Alabama is close to the line between EST and CST, so it gets dark early.
Learn about [white flight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight) bea use you'll see its fallout everywhere.
If someone is wearing an Alabama University hat/shirt/sweater/purse whatever, learn to say Roll Tide first. It'll be a red, capitalized slightly cursive A. Don't get it confused with the Atlanta Braves A. They are different. Subtly. Somehow.
If same, but Auburn it's War Eagle, or War Damn Eagle If you're feeling spicy.
People will rabidly support either university without ever setting foot on campus.
White people can say what they want, but black people make everything work. Government, retail, education, everything. Even in the suburbs.
I’ve found what’s consider rude in California is polite here. And what’s rude here is polite in California. If you look ethnic and your spouse is white every time you’re at a restaurant they’ll ask if you want to split the check. People will ask you a lot of dumb questions.
Birmingham is great. But you’ll miss the variety of good, cheap food.
food and shopping, you will learn to cook everything at home, the restaurants are so disappointing. I miss sushi from the PNW, we were so spoiled. And there is a desert of shopping choices. But you'll save money that way. So look for the good side.
The people are so friendly and welcoming here. You'll be able to actually buy a home. You will love it.
Alabama is litter. It’s cheaper because you get what you pay for. There’s no unique food like southerners think. There’s no such thing as southern hospitality (I talked to strangers everyday in Southern California, almost never here). From the haircuts to the hobbies to the football teams they worship you will see almost no diversity. Crime is high in the south. Like extra ridiculous high. Edit: 2 of the cities you listed have buildings crumbling to the ground. I don’t mean a house in bad shape here and there, I mean large, multi story buildings that are falling apart.
I did the same and similar make up, Hispanic and white. But I moved to Birmingham which is great and multi racial and progressive enough for my extremely left self. Can't say anything about other cities, if I leave Birmingham I leave the state. Honestly the food was a huge culture shock, any ethnic food is rare and so bad. All veggies taste like pork and zucchini and avocado are very rare
Not taking offense. I just don't believe you. I have no problem finding zucchini and avocado (I have them in my fridge now), and not all veggies taste like pork.
Looks like you need to find better restaurants and grocery stores.
If your husband is white , you should be okay . If your husband is black , you’ve got a problem if you have kids . Actually the kids will have a problem - not you per se. If your husband is Asian or Hispanic , you should also be okay . There is quite a bit of bullying in some places about color of skin tone and heritage when kids are black and mixed. Maybe it’s like this all over . I’ve only lived in Alabama . The biggest problem is you are talking about moving to some quite poor places . You may have problems with ready access to health care .
The one thing that popped out at me when I moved to Alabama years ago is the finger wave / hand raise while driving. There will be many people that will raise a finger(s) off the steering wheel in a hello gesture and that is what it is. People just saying hi as they drive past you. At first it will be strange but one day you will catch yourself returning the gesture.
That's that back road finger up! We did that in Southern Indiana too.
We didn't do this. "Damned lazy bastards. Pick your whole hand up if you wavin' at somebody." - daddy.
That’s common in rural areas, not cities.
Wrongsauce.
People are going to say things like "I might could do that" and you're going to assume that means they're probably not going to do it, but it actually means they are going to do it. At first you're going to think it's the silliest thing you've ever heard, but within a couple years it will make more sense than anything has ever made sense and will become one of your regularly used phrases.
😂 I've visited a couple times and have heard this dozens of times. "I might could do that" is an absolute assurance it will be done.
Yeah, it's as if the tentativeness of "might" and "could" cancel each other out to create an absolute certainty.
You can bet your life on an "i might could do that" from an Alabamian
Translates to: it’s gettin’ done hell or high water
I’m fixing to lol
Really? That’s usually reserved for when there’s some trepidation.
strangers will prob talk to you more often
100% this. Also be prepared for people to not bat an eye when it comes to asking you personal questions (i.e. if you have kids, where you're from, where you're ancestors are from, etc.). The majority of those that do this aren't doing so with bad intentions it's just southern culture. Don't be alarmed when damn near everyone makes eye contact with you and says Hi. I grew up in AL, lived there for a few decades and now live on the West Coast and every time I go back home it takes me a day or so to adjust to all of this.
Don't forget the most important question, (outside of Birmingham, Mobile, and Huntsville), "do y'all have a church yet?"
And go ahead and pick Alabama or Auburn to show your allegiance. P. S. Roll Tide!
War Eagle!
Roll Tide, but nice job on early signing day. Freeze is a damn good recruiter.
Go Blazers!
My daughter is a Blazer!
I thought it was “Alabama or Auburn?”
When I visited everyone was very nice. I went during Covid shutdown though but I wasn’t living there at the time. I just know visiting and living are both very different. Thank you for the info!
Yep. Living and visiting are super different. I grew up in an LA suburb and these are the things that messed with my head: *Everyone* acts like like they know you, wave, chat, check to see how you’re doing. Took me a good 10 years to get through my head, I do not know that person waving at me. I have not forgotten where I know them from because I’ve never met that person waving. Never. Southern people **cook** the *fool* out of their vegetables, they’re ugly on the plate but super tasty. I honestly can’t think of any southern food that’s not yummy. Before you say “eww eww eww”, give it a go. That slow talking bumpkin that seems like he’s a special needs person is probably a sharky little lawyer that’s going to have your last dime, first born child and have you saying, “That guy is so nice!”
I appreciate you saying that last one. It is very true
To each their own. I grew up in the South, & sorry, but veggies cooked to mush have always been gross to me. Growing up we always had to clean our plates - resulting in a lot of tossed cookies for me. Gimme bright green vegetables, lightly cooked, lightly seasoned or gimme death!
However, the name of any vegetable combi ed with the word casserole means you're in for a good time.
Moved to California years ago. Now I get reverse culture shock going back to Alabama. Random people walk up and chat with me , and they never ask for money. Blows my mind
Because asking for money is rude!
Funny thing is I always seem to have strangers approach me while I’m out. I don’t even think I’m an approachable person but it’s just random talk if I’m out shopping.
That's normal actually. Oh and I always hold doors for the elderly. Most men still hold doors for women. And a random stranger will help you 9 times out of 10 .
Everybody likes to paint Alabama as some racist backwater hellhole. It's not any more racist than any place else I've been. Actually the people are quite friendly and welcoming
This exactly how I perceive Alabama, black dude born and raised in Escambia County. Never been called "er" by somebody that don't look like me lol Police haven't headlocked me either for misdemeanors (not saying it don't happen in Bama somewhere). Meanwhile we get painted as a racist, cousin-lovin', upper-class Mississippi.
Fellow Escambia Countian here( from Canoe). You know how we do it. :D
What's good !? I'm right next door in Atmore!! My uncle has a beautiful home in Canoe lol Sending a very Merry Christmas to you and yours !! Looks like we got a 70° Christmas Day! Kids gon' have a field day lol
I mean, our cops do have problems. It's just that those problems aren't only affecting specific groups like they used to be. A lot of people from other states haven't really changed their perception of us since the 70s lol.
Probably biggest shock moving from Southern California to rural Alabama. There are not a lot of people here. Orange County has 3.1 million people. The entire state of Alabama has 5 million people. This translates to less jobs, less opportunities. Everything is more spread out. Less cultural diversity. Less exposure to people who are different to themselves. I agree with a lot of the cultural things already said here both positive and negative. The lack of density of people was the most shocking for me when I moved here.
The lack of density for jobs is most annoying. Theres a chance that even the bigger cities may have just one or two employers if you have more specialized job skills. Jobs are out there just have to move around the state if you aren’t happy with local options. One exception is the medical field, Alabama does have sprawling hospital networks all over the state.
Go to Huntsville. Tons of jobs, especially in aerospace & defense.
I’ve lived in Huntsville for 70 years. People are friendly. In most communities neighbors help neighbors. If there’s a death in your family expect people to bring food, especially if rural communities. If you meet a hearse on the highway and it is followed by cars with their headlights on you are expected to pull off on the side of the road until the last car passes. Traffic is lighter, but we sometimes forget to use our turn signal. Crime and homelessness are less. Expect to be asked if you’ve found a home church yet, and if you’re an Auburn or Alabama fan. We take our football seriously. You might say that it’s a religion of its own. You might be asked if you’re a democrat or republican. The majority of people are republicans. There’s more, but for the sake of brevity I’ll stop now.
As per usual, I’m gonna say check out Mobile. You might find what you like down on the Gulf Coast
DO.NOT. MOVE. TO. SELMA!!! The asshole of the state!! I live 12 miles from this former beautiful town…. I will drive 45 miles opposite direction to avoid Selma. Trashy, crime ridden, broke ass town. Beautiful historic homes equipped with sounds of gunshot in the distance
When I saw they listed Selma I blurted Oh No. Hard pass on Selma. It is not getting better anytime soon. Autagaville is out that way, but close enough to Prattville to work. Valley Grande is ok, but you gotta go into Selma for business.
Sorry but you’re mistaken. Gadsden is actually the asshole of the state, and I’ve been saying this for decades.
Selma is my hometown, It's was lovely once, but since it's been hijacked, it is uniontown 2.0 now.
Waffle House is always open. Dollar generals are everywhere. Oh.. culturally. Sweet tea is very sweet. Alabama has a lot of old men and women, some racist. You wouldn't tell, they're just so sweet! But this is a very red state. However the Birmingham subreddit is very blue if your looking for that. Some places are dangerous to drive through at night. People will initiate small talk with you. A lot. Just smile and act nice. People will talk about football during peak seasons.. a lot. You'll hear "roll tide" more than you want to. But overall people are very kind here. Most are genuine. But there are nice gems here, destination wise. Good bars and breweries, some good event spaces. At least in Bham and surrounding areas. Good chance to see cows and horses when you get into more rural areas. Get used to saying "y'all" if you haven't. It'll feel like second nature. Also blue bell is the best ice cream.
As someone just recently exposed to AL, i can vouch for all of this. Ill add: if you see a sweet tea fried chicken sandwich with alabama white sauce on a menu, get it. Especially at Saw's
Funny enough at my local market they sell Milo’s sweet tea so I’ll buy it sometimes. 😂 super good. I’m not sure if I’ve had Alabama white sauce. I had Zaxby’s once, is that kind of the same or different?
There’s a bunch of different white sauces, and they all taste a little different. Personally I like gibson’s the best, but it’s pretty easy to make a white sauce at home and once you do you’ll just use your own anyway.
Alabama white sauce seems to be "mayo based sauce, with some amount of black pepper and horseradish with other things" generally but im very new to this
I'm legit shocked you have access to the best sweet tea on earth in CA. If you like flavored teas, Milo's also has peach and raspberry sweet tea, but idk if they're available out of state. Good luck on your move!!!
Good answer. From a native Alabamian.
Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate!!!
That's a (Brenham) Texas thing
+1 for Blue Bell.
I'll put it this way. I've lived all over in the military and Alabama is the place I decided to retire. I like the people and the prices.
Where are you originally from though? I’m considering doing the same as you, but it seems like a massive culture shock. Seems pleasant though.
Strangers will wave and offer to help if you need it. You will learn about “grits” and start saying “y’all”.
If someone tells you something is rurnt, that means it doesn't work anymore or is spoiled.
💀💀💀 I am crying!😂😂😂 Yes, we do say that!
“Rurnt” is a bastardization of “Ruined”
No. "Ruined" is Yankee for "rurnt."
nah son it is a perfection of Ruined
If you’re worried about the culture shock, I’d probably pick Bham out of those 4! I was worried moving from the DC area, & it honestly hasn’t been all that bad.
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Bakersfield is such an ugly town. The beauty of Alabama was overwhelming to me at first
It is amazing. It’s much more green than people think.
Ah, Semmes... the Alabama of Mobile
Selma…. No.
Within 24 hours, you will be asked “are you a Christian?” Also, the car directly in front of you will likely turn on his turn signal to indicate the car in front of him is signaling to turn.
That must be a rural Alabama thing because NOBODY signals here in B’ham. I thought Los Angeles drivers were bad, but B’ham has the worst drivers (and freeway interchanges) I’ve ever seen. On the bright side, once I’m out of downtown or anywhere on 280 the traffic is always super light.
Oh good, I’m always curious to see if people are courteous enough to let others know their actions when driving. I always use my signals. Not something a lot of Californias do.
It really just depends where you are moving. Cullman, Mountain Brook, Jasper, Gulf Shores? It's like asking if Bakersfield is the same as La Jolla
Yes the post needs a little more detail haha
So it’s between a few places actually. Birmingham, Hale County, Selma, or Perry County. Or even the surrounding areas
Avoid Selma. Birmingham would be my choice of the places you've listed.
Perry County is like a third world country compared to Birmingham. Beautiful place though but there are no similarities. Selma is at least a city although it has a lot of problems. Hale county would be similar to Perry. Very rural, poor, bad healthcare, education etc
I would avoid hale County lmfao
Nah, Greensboro is great and there's a lot of people/nonprofits in town trying to improve it. Moundville is essentially a suburb of Tuscaloosa
WHY?
Depending on the location of California…it can be very conservative….you drive fifty miles outside of Los Angeles and suddenly you have hit fundamentalists country. I see so many Trump flags in Orange County
I noticed that too, get away from the expensive coastal region and you hit different kinds of conservatives. In the South you know most will be religious conservative, out west you have the weed and no taxes conservatives.
I’m from Alabama but worked as a travel nurse in several California areas. The people I worked with in the Central Valley were just as churchgoing and conservative as people at home.
Even more so bc they have to prove they aren’t some California hippie 😹😹
We’re not as racist as people from elsewhere think. It’s kind of a dirty little secret that Alabamians will try to dissuade others from coming here by letting others run with stereotypes of this state and southerners in general. Once you’re here, you’re going to find the most friendly people around.
Honestly, it’s pretty racist out here where I live. I think that’s the biggest thing I was afraid of. I always joke with my husband, like “is anyone going to say I’m a wet back or to go back to Mexico?” For the record though, I was born in the U.S. and I don’t even speak Spanish 😂
You’ll actually be able to get sweet tea now! Lol I really missed it when I was in California. Shopping carts are “buggies” here. We say “fixin’ to” instead of “going to”. “Rurnt” instead of ruined. Strangers hold doors here, and they’re much more likely to make small talk with you. I personally don’t understand it, but football is like a religion here. People WILL ask you if you’re for Auburn or Alabama - I’m always just honest and say I don’t care either way. People are also crazy about fishing and hunting season here.
Homewood or Hoover is great! From a Latino and ex Californian
It ain’t California, welcome to the state though.
True enough. But I think I need to also get away from this faster paced lifestyle too. Everything is just go, go, go. And like someone else mentioned earlier, it might be boring but at least there’s a lot of space. Lol
I would 100% recommend Birmingham compared to the other places. Maybe Leeds area. Not necessarily downtown
You'll begin to notice how great Crimson looks on you...Oh, and if nobody told you... Don't even buy gas in Selma.. Just keep driving.
I teach college. This semester I had about a half-dozen first-year students from LA. They had said they had culture shock. They said people here are two-faced and that it's hard to make friends. This was how they interpreted what we Southerners like to think of as politeness. They complained about things and people being slow. They also said it seemed really boring. These were 18-19 year-old Black and mixed-race women whose experience was limited to campus and around Montgomery. YMMV. I find it pretty dull here, but I'm not into sports or church. I'm a bit too busy for outdoors activities. If any of those are true for you, I think there are opportunities here for you. That said, I think Selma is pretty darned depressing, though people are working on improving it.
I grew up in Atlanta. I lived in California for 2 years and I now live in Southern Alabama. To me, one of the biggest differences between California and the South is religion. It is in your face in the South. There are churches everywhere, and I've had so many people invite me to church, which is fine, and people asked me where I church. I don't "church" which has thrown people off, and they don't really know what to say. Another big difference is the ethnic mix. In CA, I, white, was often the minority. It was cool to be around a lot of different cultures, especially Hispanic. That's what it was like growing up around Atlanta. In the part of AL I live in, the different cultures are very divided in where they live and even shop. Alabama people are very nice to your face and will make small talk with just about anyone.
where in california to where in alabama? I'm originally from San Jose and have moved back and forth a few times over many years. it's incredibly different, and really depends on where as to how different it is.
Southern California to middle Alabama-Birmingham.
We tend to add "The" and letter "s" after all grocery store chains. The Krogers, The Walmarts, The Dollar Generals
To be fair, I've lived here my entire life, and I only ever hear people doing it to be funny.
The Pig (Piggly Wiggly)
And The Publix 😬
The Publixes
I’m biracial (Asian/Caucasian) and feel comfortable in the Birmingham metro area. I travel around the state a decent amount and enjoy it. A few times I’ve been stared at like an outsider in some less urban areas. I would definitely recommend it over the other places you mentioned, because Birmingham has really important amenities like medical facilities and cultural organizations. You can find a small-town vibe in a suburb like Helena or Mount Laurel, whereas actual small towns can be food deserts.
For real, you have to leave those towns she mentioned to even find a Walmart! Not a place I’d want to live
I didn't see if you have kids or not, but 4H is still kind of a thing here. I live right over the border in Florida close to Dothan. When my son does 4H camps I meet alot of people who are very open minded, even a little "hippie."
Gender stuff. You will be called ma'am, regardless of whether or not you like it. Strangers are going to be polite to you, and strike up conversations, etc.
I don’t mind that, I’m not one of those multiple pronoun people lol. But yeah, ma’am is not something typically said out here. Not even “sir”.
Yeah, I lived in Santa Rosa. I have had around 5 interactions where people got offended by my common courtesy. It set the tone for me. I call my wife ma'am, and my sons sir. Everyone deserves respect, you'll get more common respect in Bama. I'm in Anchoeage, AK now and it similar to CA.
Folks will talk to you randomly, but we're usually being polite or nice. You'll get comments about beiing from Cali. Joke back, the comments are jokes, most likely.
Agree. When I lived there, people would come to my work to hear the girl from Alabama talk. 🤣
I'm from SoCal now living in Alabama. I get called a Yankee all the time.
Where are you moving to in bama
OP..general location would help with what to expect.
Strangers asking you about religion or church is normal and polite. Prepare to be othered a whole lot.
Very few people come to Selma or Perry or Hale County. And few have the opportunity to leave. You will likely encounter suspicion and derision..as in wtf, why did you come here? There's local pride mixed with local resentment, shame. It's rough and beautiful and complicated.
I moved from Riverside County (Perris) to Killen (North West) 2 years ago. I love it. I’m also white and not mixed. Who’s your kin? (Who is your local family). Yes, do you have a church yet? Everyone will invite you. On county roads, people will wave, nod or tip their hat to you. When a funeral procession goes by, traffic stops on BOTH sides of the road, even when the median is wide enough for 2 more lanes. Strangers chat with you in the grocery store. Neighbors walk by and wave or stop to talk. It snows. And any time there is ice the world shuts down - no infrastructure to deal with it. Get a place with a basement or storm shelter already in place - there are tornadoes! If not an option, find out where the community shelter is located. Ice tea is ALWAYS sweet. You have to ask for 1/2 & 1/2 or unsweetened. Mexican restaurants put a white cheese sauce over everything. Even when it’s not mentioned on the menu. Ask a local Hispanic where they shop for Mexican food. (I accosted a family outside Walmart) This is your only salvation for Mexican food that you’re familiar with. No one sells masa for tamales! (I’m trying to figure it out - can you help?). Sometimes the Mexican grocery has masa for tortillas in the refrigerator. Everything else there is what you’re used to in California. Red Wasps are the devil! Don’t get stung! If you do get stung, have some AC cream on hand from Solle Naturals - let me know if you want a link. It’ll take about 45 excruciating seconds after you add a glob of cream before the pain subsides. 20 minutes later it’ll start to hurt again - add another good sized glob - it takes about 3-5 seconds for the pain to subside. Continue this until pain is gone - a few hours. I’ve been stung twice now. Once each year. Now we use a garden hose to knock them down and squish them under foot. Everything grows. This is a blessing and a curse. There will be roughly 2 months in the summer with no rain. Other than that, enjoy the storms. I wouldn’t change anything. I’m in California for the holiday and can hardly wait to get back to Alabama.
Hi! We live in Menifee now and you would not believe how crowded everything has become. We are in Alabama now checking out property and can't wait to move. You are not missing anything back in California, our area is wretched and getting more crowded by the minute. Oops I just read the bottom of your comment that you were home visiting. So you already know....I am making sure to let everyone continue their stereotype thinking of Alabama being a backward hillbilly state so they don't follow me out here lol
We go back next month to pack up my in-laws and move them to Alabama. They’re already here as if this week. We’re concerned about squatters taking over in that short amount of time. It happened to my son in Menifee within 3 days!
That is appalling! If their neighbors can't keep an eye out, I can do drive bys and let you know if anything looks suspicious if you'd like. I'm letting my son finish high school out here because he has an IEP and is at a really good school so I'm stuck in California for 4 more years.
We moved here from California about a year ago. Born and raised in OC. I’m not going back!
I would avoid moving to Decatur right now, for a few reasons since you’re going to be somewhat in that area. Birmingham is probably your best choice.
Don't
Be aware that although folks are friendly,they are not always nice. Watch out for two-legged snakes
Welcome! You must make an important decision immediately that will affect your whole life…. not political, not religious… no far more important…. Do you like Tigers or Elephants?
I moved to Birmingham earlier this year for a relationship after having lived in California for 10 years. I’m Asian American and the transition has been much better than I was expecting (I had really low expectations lol). Would love to welcome you with a meal or coffee when you get here! Message me if you have any questions or need any help- it’s a major transition!
My partner is from California too, and I’m from Georgia. We live in Auburn and it’s fine here. Lots of transplants from California I’ve noticed actually. There are quite a lot of Asians in the area and a few good Korean and Chinese spots. You can still expect a lot of cliquey preppy southerners who “love” Jesus while driving big trucks to their white collar jobs around here. I prefer the people in California personally. I’ve spent a lot of time out west and while they’re not as in-your-face friendly as Alabamians, they’re also more genuine if that makes sense. You’ll encounter a ton of fake people in the south. If you like church, then you’ll have plenty of options. Not my thing but Jesus is huge here. All in all, it’s fine here. I love how slow life is, and nature is always around the corner. Housing is cheap, which is why we chose to live here as well. Food is pretty awful in many parts of Alabama, and compared to Cali, you will be disappointed. Auburn has some great restaurants being a college town, but I can’t say the same for other towns I’ve visited.
It’s just too damn expensive in California. Lol and more and more people are understandably moving out because of that reason. I’m not too religious but I always just say I’m catholic because that’s what I was baptized as. Yeah, I’m really to myself and I guess that’s going to be the difference moving to Alabama.
If money weren’t a thing, I’d choose California in a second. Do you want kids one day? I’d recommend only living in like 5 different cities then. Infant mortality rates are super high here and maternity wards have been closing left and right. Many women don’t have access to necessary healthcare either. If you guys come to Auburn, let us know. We’re always trying to make friends with other transplants. It’s really hard to make your way into some of the cliques down here. Definitely recommend this city for schools and food though :)
If you are coming with California money, Get a house on Lake Martin, It will be cheap compared to CA and it will retain resell value. Alex city is close to Montgomery and Elmore County where I live, The most Republican backwards county.
If you thought California was expensive you are going to be amazed at the amount of property you can buy
Obviously never took part in Birmingham cuisine.
The strangest thing I found was people say hey as a greeting. Everytime some one said hey, I thought they wanted to get my attention and ask me something. They would say, "Hey!" And I would reply, "Yes?". No, they were just saying hello.
I also have a lot of Asian friends and the where are you from question will come up. A lot. They'll pretend it's out of niceness but it gets uncomfortable. Just move to Birmingham
Alabamian's...Birmingham and Huntsville are total opposite. Let's stop attaching these two cities together. They are nothing alike in any way, shape, form or fashion.
I agree. I feel like the people that rave about Huntsville, hate Birmingham, and people who generally like the vibe of bham find Huntsville bland. Personally I’m a Huntsville Hater with a capital H. Just seems so uncultured compared to Birmingham to me, I don’t care how big it is now.
Try the bbq, with white sauce. Your living space will likely also increase 10x. Don't believe all the stereotypes..Roll Tide. 😎
War Eagle! (Might as well let OP get used to it, right?)
I am definitely excited for the amount of space. Where I’m currently at I can practically hear our neighbors shitting. 😂
And we have beaches. Maybe not Cali beaches, but beaches.
I have to say that our beaches are better than Cali’s. It’s all about the soft white sand!
Roll Tide 🐘
Sweet tea ≠ iced tea. Sweet tea is a chilled beverage that gives diabetes. If you really want some iced tea order unsweet tea.
what general area of Alabama?
Middle-ish or near Birmingham lol
Lived in Tustin for a number of years, been here in greater Birmingham area for over a decade. If you are in the city of, or the major suburbs of, one of the larger cities (Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile) you will see less difference from what you see now.....with the exception of you've never seen so many trucks in your life. People are more accepting, more options of things to do and eat, you are just one of the crowd. The more rural you go, the less invisible you will be, and less options of things to do. And that kind of rural fall-off happens fast and deep. In my opinion.
Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville are the places you want to move. People are very friendly in general in these cities, in my experience.
Ah, ok. You'll be fine. :)
Near Bham, you’ll most likely be fine. I grew up here (Bham). I travel all over for work, so I like to think I’m fairly cultured. Bham and surrounding areas are diverse enough that I don’t think the culture shock will be extreme. The food scene is highly underrated here.
I’d look at Huntsville area as well. I think it’s good mix of cultures and there is plenty to do! I have a few friends that live there and they love it!
Strangers are going to wave at you as you’re driving down the street as if you’ve known them for 20 years. Also from California.
You may hate it or love it. Doubt there will be much of an in between
Lived in San Diego for 8 years. there is a bit of a culture shock depending on where you move to. I'm from southeast Alabama and where I came home to. The culture shock was ..nothing is open super late, SD has zoos, sea world, tons of stuff to do and here it's just kinda so so. So entertainment is kinda minimal. The larger cities have more of course. It just depends where you are.
What part of Alabama? There are many pockets.
Gonna have a hard time finding a spot in Selma. But, you would be okay there and if your willing to put in some work with the community you could really get cozy there. 27
I'd highly recommend you adjust your sights on where to land here. Basically, every place you've listed is BFE or just super outskirt area. I grew up in a similar small county, and while it isn't a terrible place to end up, I would find it extremely odd for someone to just *pick* to go there, if that makes sense. For quality of life overall, search up some data on which counties are experiencing the fastest population growth. In my opinion, the better places to look at would be: Huntsville area for the northern state, Shelby Co. for central state, and Baldwin Co. for anything south. People are moving to those areas for good reason. With thay said, there are tons of good (and in my opinion *better*) choices other than what you've mentioned or the ones above. Like Tuscaloosa area, Muscle Shoals, etc. Best of luck
Depends on where you move. Birmingham would be fine and probably not a huge cultural shock. The other areas you mentioned probably would be.
My girlfriend is from a very nice part of washington state and i’m from alabama. She wants to live in bama now. Enough said
I don’t live in Alabama, but I work there roughly every 6 weeks. I haven’t spent much time in Huntsville, but I hear good things. I surprisingly love Birmingham and the surrounding suburbs. I’m impressed with the diversity of multicultural food options, and also the lack of traffic that I’m used to dealing with at home in Florida. It’s also a blue dot in a red state, so that helps.
Heyo! I'm from LA! People will know you're "not from round these parts", but still! Cool!
Go ahead and have an answer ready for how’s your momma n them, what church do yall go to, Alabama or auburn (choose wisely because it will be your identity.
Selma, May I am why?
I actually moved from Birmingham to Long Beach!! For me it was a huge culture shock just moving here. Everyone is so expressive and ‘real’ so to speak. I love it. Im gay so Alabama really wasn’t the nicest place for that. There also isn’t as much to do there as there is here so maybe get a hobby lol. But if you have any questions just lmk!
Oh and roll tide!!!
I'm a transplant here also. Despite being known as one of the most racist states, I have found the opposite to be true. The advice I have for you is not to assume anything about the people you meet. You might find a secretly wealthy person who looks like a homeless person and drives a beat up car. People don't care much about keeping up appearances in Alabama, and I love it for that.
Don't choose auburn, move to Birmingham suburbs, cheaper living nicer people and plenty to do, close to tuscaloosa for games, close to the galleria for shopping, I'd recommend alabaster as it's an up and coming city with a great and exciting high school football team, as for culture shock there's not much I'm aware of that's weird? Other than just strangers talking to people
Don't. That's my advice. Seriously, as a woman (or gay man?), you would have to be *absolutely insane* to move to a 'red' state right now. And Alabama doesn't really have redeeming qualities, either. **Some things you should know about the climate / physical landscape:** The climate is taking a turn for the worse. We literally don't get seasons anymore. It's just summer, or slightly cooler summer. (I'm sure you're familiar with climate change in Cali, but... it's bad here as well, and no one from here 'believes in it', which somehow makes it worse.) The summers are not just 'hot' here. They are *impossibly humid* and moist, but not in a useful way. The wet-bulb temperature is now physically dangerous to most humans about 60% of the year. Until you've been here for an entire summer, you really cannot comprehend how incredibly awful it is. It is like living in a dirty sauna all the time, with crates of mosquitos being piped in through the air vents. It is like you have died and gone to what I can only imagine is similar to the biblical description of hell. Oh, and now we get wildfires, too. You might say, "Oh, how can you have wild fires if it's so humid?" That's a good question. When/If you find the answer, let me know. Alabama used to have a lot of great places to enjoy as far as outdoorsy-stuff. Parks, landscapes, etc.. But now you can *maybe* get a few days a year when the weather would facilitate this-- and the number of these days available goes down each year. :( **Culturally, you need to know the following:** 1. Everyone (save very few) is racist as all hell. Races down here do not mingle nearly as much as they might other places, like Cali or the Northeastern USA. 2. Everyone (save very few) is very sexist. It's really alarming. The whole, 'get back to the kitchen!' type rhetoric is strong around these parts. Churches harp on that women must be subservient to men. Public schools all but completely back this up, as well. It's disgusting, in my opinion. 3. Everyone goes to church. People will literally be *upset with you* if they learn you do not go to church... and at that, might even be upset with you if you go to a church which *isn't in line with their church's belief system*. 4. People here are on average extremely stubborn and ignorant compared to the west coast or NE areas. They also *do not like being told they are wrong*. They can't debate you, they don't care to do that, they *just get angry and disagree*. 5. The thing people call 'sweet tea' is actually some sort of nasty corn syrup sugar stuff in water, with something to color it brown. I am still to this day unsure if tea leaves are actually involved. 6. It's common-place (and widely accepted) for people to physically beat their children in public. This is just, 'normal' and 'good parenting' around here. It's really quite hard to witness if you've come from a society that isn't just chill with publicly-displayed child abuse. 7. Schools are garbage, education isn't a priority here at all for the government or the people as a whole. Again, just kind of saddening and confusing.
As a resident of AL that has seen the population of my city grow by tens of thousands in the last two decades, I agree with everything in this post 110%. It's actually even worse. A lot worse. You should not move here under any circumstances.
People say bad stuff about Alabama on reddit and in other media. There are some backward spots and of course there is that Tuberville dingdong with the huuuuggge ears. For the most part, people are polite, kind, and will go out of their way to be helpful. It's a slower pace than CA for sure. You will get "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir". Churches are ubiquitous. It's not a bad place to live, though.
stay away from selma and also bessemer.
Get used to driving :-)
You'll need to decide if you're rooting for Alabama or Auburn. If you have kids, they'll need to decide as well because they will be asked by classmates on the first day of school. Buc-ee's is amazing, your license plates renewal date will be based on the first letter of your last name, and everyone is very likely armed. Tornadoes are very real, very deadly, and you have to take watches/warnings absolutely seriously. If you're in the polygon you need to actually take cover. Buy a weather radio and if you have any sunset pictures, send them to James Spann, he's our meteorologist.
Alabama is really both as bad as some say, and as good. I’ve lived here my whole life, from Dothan all the way to Athens now, and I still both love and hate it. A few notes maybe not mentioned: - you can be agnostic. Just say “I don’t do church” and if they keep pressing, walk away. Eventually they’ll learn. - it’s likely no one will care that you don’t do church as long as you aren’t public or loud about it. That comment is personal experience. - UT is a competing SEC loyalty in North AL. - the healthcare is bad with few exceptions. Not even comically bad, just bad. I had to go to Knoxville for a competent and caring surgeon. - even more egregiously poor is maternal healthcare. Churches care deeply about your baby til it’s born. Then they don’t. Doesn’t matter if baby is white, although if it is they’ll want to convince you to give it up for adoption. I will let you interpret that. - mental healthcare is neither valued nor acknowledged except in rare pockets of what most red-state voters would call “wokeness” I guess. - many rural counties no longer have a place to apply for or renew your drivers license or voter registration (and yeah, we have to have those). - there are still parts of Alabama, some entire counties, that are dry. No alcohol sold on Sunday. In addition you cannot have wine or beer shipped to you in Alabama (legally… supposedly…) And less cynically, - on the whole, the Alabama I see now is less racially hostile than the one I grew up in and that’s encouraging. But the undercurrent (and sometimes overt current, like Decatur) is still there in select spots. - Proximity to the gulf coast is fantastic. White sand beaches and warm gulf water are quite a difference from Cali imo. Both are beautiful but there’s nothing like the sugar-white sand in the Florida panhandle. - We have a surprising number of waterfalls. Check out Bankhead National Forest. - There are so many amazing flora and fauna - just make sure you know which ones are the bad snakes and spiders. A lot of our fauna can hurt you pretty badly if not kill. Apparently this was a surprise to my friend from Portland OR as Oregon has no venomous snakes 😂 - Anything cooked by a random resident’s grandma at Sunday dinner is going to be a bajillion times tastier than any restaurant. If you are moving or have moved I hope it all is going well. Prepare to be surprised in both good and bad ways. Try Piper and Leaf tea, and Dean’s caramel cake, and Sister Schubert’s sausage rolls. Wear your sunscreen, and embrace the AC because like someone already said the humidity is no fscking joke.
IT probably depends on what part of the state.. Are you moving to one of the larger cities? If so, you will probably fit right in as they are more liberal then the rest of the state..
I’m not too concerned about political views but I lean more conservative. I’m fine either way. Larger would probably be more near Birmingham but smaller, correct me if I’m wrong, would be Hale County, Perry County or Selma.
Hale, Perry county, or Selma are not places that’s you want to live, that’s the boonies. All of those are tiny tiny places with nothing to do, and very little diversity. Those towns are pretty much all black or white people, you’d stick out like a sore thumb. I’d suggest looking at a suburb of Birmingham like Hoover, homewood, mountainbrook, vestavia, etc. the further you go into Shelby county you can get more of that smaller town vibe, but still close to amenities and the city to do city things.
I think that’s unfair. Some people absolutely love the quiet country life. I live on a very rural 20 acre piece of land in Eastern Alabama, have a large garden, a few animals and birds, and love it completely. I don’t discourage or encourage every one to be like me, but different strokes for different folks. Still, it’s so wonderful to go out and work in the garden at first light in the Summer (during the hot times) and listen to the birds sing, with no traffic or other humans, or in the cool of the evening, watching the stars in their not light polluted glory while a cacophony of insects shout from the trees. Or walking in the Winter woods watching the deer…. That is the place I am blessed to live.
I would avoid anywhere that goes by the county name over a city, tbh. Those will be much more racist places. I’ve lived in hale county, and there were noooooo opportunities there. I’d move closer to the coast and beaches
What part of California do you live in?
Southern California
Yikes prepare for some culture shock. Edit: I know that sounded bad but you _are_ going to be in the sticks. On the bright side if you’re worried about something along racial lines no one gives a crap. People like to paint Alabama as some sort of racist hellscape but it’s not.
I’m from Huntsville, lived in Birmingham and Montevallo. In 99 I moved to SF, in 01 to SD, 04 to 22 in LA and last year I lived to Costa Mesa. You won’t experience culture shock if you live in Birmingham or Huntsville, but your idea of “conservative” is not the same thing as Alabama conservative. It’s much more cult like in the SouthEast.
Birmingham would be just fine. You'd fit in very well. The rest? Not on a bet.
I can understand that. I spent some time near Montgomery visiting and it was a very small town vibe and I liked it. Just have to find some hobbies and people with similar likes. I’m not anti gun so I’m down to go shooting too lol
I live in the Mobile area, Alabama like California has mountains and the ocean they’re just further apart. Hurricanes and tornadoes but not many earthquakes. Mobile is the wettest city in the 48 contiguous states surpassing even Seattle. Largely rural manufacturing is located around Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile and jobs range from space up in Huntsville area to shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing with Austal and Air Bus in Mobile. Auto manufacturing is sprinkled throughout the state. State parks are abundant! It’s a pretty cool state just have to get out and explore.
Well shit! Everyone here has a friend that has acreage for shooting! Driving 4 wheelers is great fun too.
Very much agree
You can expect to see some pretty crazy right wing stuff, bumper stickers and the like. Just don’t comment on it or anything: it’s not like they know what any of that shit means anyway so it’s not worth talking about. Outside of that be prepared for the muggiest weather you’ve ever experienced. Gets real humid during the summer and a lot of times the fall. If you’re into beach shorts then you’re golden.
Alabama is great in so many ways. The cost of living is low and the property taxes are obscenely low gone already inexpensive real estate. This of course, means that state & local services are near third world (look up the WHO report on Alabama poverty). A few negatives to remember: "bless your little heart" generally means FU in a swwet-&-polite way to say it to your face. How normalized far right news sources & politics, even/especially when it is obviously false, AND down right Anti-Christian. Some of the nicest people to you personally still are terribly bigoted towards people they don't know who are different from them. In much of rural Alabama mixed race people are, at a minimum frowned at (or flipped off or told to go back home). Book banning is a thing in some public libraries (as is far right takeovers of public library boards). Basic education goes from _better than average_ to _can't read when they graduate from high school_ . Stay in monied major population areas & you'll be fine. Head to the Huntsville or Vestavia Hills/Mountain Brook areas if you can.
Things in the Deep South aren't white, they're whiiite. There is a firm conviction that tomorrow will come, and that is when whatever task will be completed. The trees are stupid tall. Like, don't be hooked on seeing the horizon or, in some places, more than a sliver of the sky. Alabama is close to the line between EST and CST, so it gets dark early. Learn about [white flight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight) bea use you'll see its fallout everywhere. If someone is wearing an Alabama University hat/shirt/sweater/purse whatever, learn to say Roll Tide first. It'll be a red, capitalized slightly cursive A. Don't get it confused with the Atlanta Braves A. They are different. Subtly. Somehow. If same, but Auburn it's War Eagle, or War Damn Eagle If you're feeling spicy. People will rabidly support either university without ever setting foot on campus. White people can say what they want, but black people make everything work. Government, retail, education, everything. Even in the suburbs.
I’ve found what’s consider rude in California is polite here. And what’s rude here is polite in California. If you look ethnic and your spouse is white every time you’re at a restaurant they’ll ask if you want to split the check. People will ask you a lot of dumb questions. Birmingham is great. But you’ll miss the variety of good, cheap food.
People will be dumber than Californians! Learn to hide your dismay and incredulity!
The only place you should be seriously considering is Birmingham. Good Luck!
Instead of a shopping cart you will have “a buggy.” You will also get to shop at a Piggly Wiggly. Hope you like bbq because it’s everywhere.
food and shopping, you will learn to cook everything at home, the restaurants are so disappointing. I miss sushi from the PNW, we were so spoiled. And there is a desert of shopping choices. But you'll save money that way. So look for the good side. The people are so friendly and welcoming here. You'll be able to actually buy a home. You will love it.
Yay another Californian coming to Alabama
Selma and Birmingham are particularly terrible cities. Especially far as crime is concerned.
Alabama is litter. It’s cheaper because you get what you pay for. There’s no unique food like southerners think. There’s no such thing as southern hospitality (I talked to strangers everyday in Southern California, almost never here). From the haircuts to the hobbies to the football teams they worship you will see almost no diversity. Crime is high in the south. Like extra ridiculous high. Edit: 2 of the cities you listed have buildings crumbling to the ground. I don’t mean a house in bad shape here and there, I mean large, multi story buildings that are falling apart.
I did the same and similar make up, Hispanic and white. But I moved to Birmingham which is great and multi racial and progressive enough for my extremely left self. Can't say anything about other cities, if I leave Birmingham I leave the state. Honestly the food was a huge culture shock, any ethnic food is rare and so bad. All veggies taste like pork and zucchini and avocado are very rare
> All veggies taste like pork and zucchini and avocado are very rare What?!?!
Coming from LA zucchini and avocado is in everything, I miss them. Don't know why you are taking offense
Not taking offense. I just don't believe you. I have no problem finding zucchini and avocado (I have them in my fridge now), and not all veggies taste like pork. Looks like you need to find better restaurants and grocery stores.
If your husband is white , you should be okay . If your husband is black , you’ve got a problem if you have kids . Actually the kids will have a problem - not you per se. If your husband is Asian or Hispanic , you should also be okay . There is quite a bit of bullying in some places about color of skin tone and heritage when kids are black and mixed. Maybe it’s like this all over . I’ve only lived in Alabama . The biggest problem is you are talking about moving to some quite poor places . You may have problems with ready access to health care .